Karl Heise

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Karl Hermann Heise (born November 27, 1872 in Laucha an der Unstrut , † August 18, 1939 ) was a German anthroposophist and writer who wrote works on esoteric and conspiracy theory . He was best known as the author of the book The Entente Freemasonry and the World War (1919), a classic of the anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic conspiracy literature, in which he blamed a conspiracy by Freemasons against Germany for the outbreak of the First World War and for which Rudolf Steiner , the founder of anthroposophy, wrote the foreword and paid for the printing costs.

life and work

Little is known about Heise's life. He learned the printing trade from his father and then worked as a printer at Orell Füssli in Zurich. He was a supporter of racial runes - mystic and ariosophs Guido von List , a member of the Anthroposophical Society and the Mazdaznan -Kults. Later he turned to National Socialism .

In his essay A Word on the Chapter of Earlier Earth Lives , Heise dealt with the doctrine of reincarnation and criticized so-called "seers". In his opinion, the real "I" of a person can be found on the devachanic level, which is still above the astral level. Heise explicitly refers to Buddhism and protests against the assumption that it would adopt ideological elements "from the East". He writes: “Not at all! Rather, it should be shown how the Westerner can find all necessary knowledge for life "at home", but that all real knowledge of the world always finds its way again where, as if by chance, it turns its gaze to the "strange". "

Heise developed his race theory in the essay The Secret of Spiritual Progress . After that, the Aryan white race had reached its lowest point at the turn of the century. The pagan sun savior had become a sufferer in this world.

Heise's conspiracy-theoretical work Entente Freemasonry and the World War was inspired by lectures by Rudolf Steiner , the founder of anthroposophy , during the war, and Steiner also financed the printing and contributed a foreword.

reception

Heise Entente Freemasonry was received by leading National Socialists such as Heinrich Himmler and Alfred Rosenberg . In the year of its publication it received positive reviews from the Munich Observer, renamed Völkischer Beobachter a little later . And in 1923 Rosenberg wrote: “Under the guise of liberalism and the struggle for progress, the Masonic organizations were exploited ever more emphatically as a political means of the Jewish high finance, which largely supported them. Throughout the decades we see a systematic enforcement of the Masonic lodges with representatives of Judaism going on; Today, almost everywhere at the head of Freemasonry is a Jew or some non-Jews dependent on Jews. The whole problem cannot be brought up in this context; To substantiate these claims, reference must be made to three writings: To Karl Heise, The Entente Freemasonry and the World War , to Friedrich Wichtl , World Freemasonry, World Revolution, World Republic and to Alfred Rosenberg, The Crime of Freemasonry . In these works there is a precise justification of the allegations made and the refutation of the Masonic defenses. From them it is irrefutably clear that the gullible following in many states is nowhere informed about the intentions of the actual leaders, that while the individual brothers rave about world fraternities, the other organizations of Freemasonry have deliberately exploited them for national-political purposes. "1926 published Heise, together with Rosenberg, wrote The Red Thread in Contemporary Freemason Policy .

Publications

Books

  • Passion legend and Easter message in the light of occult research . Two lectures given on March 17 and 29, 1907 in the Free Theosophical Society in Zurich, 2nd A. Zurich 1907.
  • Lourdes , Lorch 1908.
  • Karma. The universal moral law of the world . After a lecture given at the Free Theosophical Society in Zurich, Lorch 1909.
  • The age of the world in the light of occult science , Leipzig 1910.
  • The astral constitution of man. Explained from the standpoint of occult science , Leipzig 1911.
  • Entente Freemasonry and World War I. A contribution to the history of the world war and an understanding of true freemasonry . Finkh, Basel 1919 (in this book on conspiracy theory , Heise blames Freemasons , Jews and theosophists for the First World War)
  • Occult logism . Leipzig 1921. ( online  - Internet Archive )
  • The Catholic onslaught against occultism , 1923.
  • Parsifal. A stage dedication festival by Richard Wagner in occult-esoteric lighting , Berlin-Pankow 1924.
  • How dreams and other supernatural facts became world history , Zurich 1930.
  • The esoteric meaning of the Tell saga , Zurich 1930.

Contributions

  • Germanic runic lore. The initiation into the secret of the Ario-Germanic Seven Primordial Salvation Runes . In: Theosophical Culture , 3rd year, February 1911, issue 2.
  • Freemasonry all over the world . In: Weltkampf, 3rd year issue?

literature

  • Reinhard Markner: Karl Heise (1872–1939). In: Helmut Reinalter (Hrsg.): Handbook of the conspiracy theories. Salier, Leipzig 2018, pp. 129–33.
  • Lorenzo Ravagli: From Ariogermanism to Christosophy. Attempt on Karl Heise . In: Yearbook for Anthroposophical Criticism , Volume 11 (2003), pp. 86 ff. ISBN 3-907260-10-4 .
  • Max Rechsteiner: In memory of Karl Heise . In: Communications from the Anthroposophical Association in Switzerland , No. 81, pp. 34–36.
  • Manfred Spalinger: Karl Heises “Entente Freemasonry and World War” - attempt to assess . In: Contributions to threefolding, anthroposophy and art. Issue 40/41. Pp. 15-39. Published by Arfst Wagner. Rendsburg 1994.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Staudenmaier: The German Spirit at the Crossroads: Anthroposophists in Confrontation with Völkischer Movement and National Socialism . , in: Uwe Puschner : The völkisch-religious movement in National Socialism: a history of relationships and conflicts. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht , Göttingen 2012. p. 475.
  2. ↑ See the comment in brackets by Arfst Wagner under 11. ABOUT THE PERSON OF KARL HEISES in Manfred Spalinger: Karl Heises "Entente Freemasonry and World War" , accessed September 7, 2012.
  3. ↑ Karl Heise: A word on the chapter of earlier earth life . In: Zentralblatt für Occultismus XV. Vol. (1921/22), H. 9
  4. ↑ Karl Heise: The secret of spiritual progress . In: Psyche, III. Vol., 1918-1919, issue 1, October 1918, pp. 13-17
  5. ↑ See Helmut Zander: “Steiner's long-known authorship is clearly identified today” (GA 265,59. Helmut Zander, Anthroposophie in Deutschland , Volume 2, 2007, p. 991). On Heise's collaboration with Rudolf Steiner also Helmut Zander, Sozialdarwinistische Rassentheorien aus dem Occult Untergrund des Kaiserreichs , in: Uwe Puschner, Walter Schmitz, Justus H. Ulbricht, Handbuch zur Völkische Movement 1871-1918 , 1999, p. 235. See also: Uwe Werner, Anthroposophists in the time of National Socialism (1933–1945) , 1999, pp. 13, 70, 245f.
  6. ↑ Uwe Werner, Anthroposophists in the time of National Socialism (1933-1945) , 1999, pp. 13, 70, 245f, ISBN 3-486-56362-9 .
  7. ↑ see Johannes Rogalla von Bieberstein , The Thesis of the Masonic Conspiracy , Contributions to Threefolding, Anthroposophy and Art, Issue 49/50, 2002 ( online version )
  8. ↑ After Alfred Rosenberg: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the Jewish world politics . 1923. Online version ( Memento of July 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). For the meaning of Heise's book in conspiracy-theoretical circles, s. also Daniel Pipes, Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes from , 1997, p. 101: “ These ideas (i.e. fear of freemasonry) were then stoked by some powerful books. Friedrich Wichtl's World Freemasonry - World Revolution - World Republic, 'the best-known and most influential work to propagate an antimasonic conspiracy theory myth', came out in 1919 and had an 'astonishing diffusion'. Also in that year appeared the important screed by Karl Heise, Entente, Freemasonry and World War. [...] The Nazis subscribed to secret society myths; after Jews, Freemasonry were the second group to be persecuted. Still they were second, turning up in Hitler's public statements mainly as an instrument of Jewry's world conspiracy. 'Semitic Freemasons were the main agitators of [First] World War. Secretly concealed Masonry is Jewry's best weapon '. The verbal assault began even before 1933, and so active were the security services' antimasonic units that by August 1935 the party newspapers could announce 'the end of Freemasonry in Germany'. ”
  9. ^ In: Der Weltkampf, Issue 29, May 1926; Reprint in: Arfst Wagner: Documents and letters on the history of the anthroposophical movement and society in the time of National Socialism . Volume IV, Rendsburg, June 1992. On Heise and the völkisch-occult environment see also Helmut Zander, Sozialdarwinistische Rassentheorien aus dem Occult Untergrund des Kaiserreiches , in: Uwe Puschner / Walter Schmitz / Justus H. Ulbricht (ed.): Handbuch zur " Völkischen Movement "1871-1918 , Munich 1999, pp. 224-251 (available at akdh.net )
personal data
SURNAME Heise, Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heise, Karl Hermann (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German author of esoteric works
DATE OF BIRTH November 27, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Laucha on the Unstrut
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 1939