Zodiac and Swastika: How Astrology Guided Hitler's Germany - Wilhelm Wulff [epub]

Wilhelm Wulff's memoir of World War II is a terrific book. Wulff wrote the book in order to counter the accusation that he had strong Nazi credentials and was the official astrologer of the Third Reich. Wulff wrote his book in 1968 (titled Tierkreis und Hakenkreutz in German) and it was translated into English in 1973. According to Wulff, despite the rumors, the Nazis did not really have a high regard for astrology except as a propaganda tool. (The British too exploited astrology for its propaganda value by publishing phony astrological forecasts to boost British morale and manufacturing false astrological magazines in German with dire predictions for the Third Reich and smuggling them into Germany in an effort to undermine German morale.)

Wulff, like Hitler, began his career as an artist. But early on Wulff became interested in astrology and decided that this was his true metier and became an astrologer instead. He was a top astrologer in Germany when Hitler came to power. The Third Reich basically prohibited astrology and some astrologers thrown into concentration camps. Hitler's second in command, Heinrich Himmler, however, had a strong interest in the occult and read through Wulff's occult library after the Nazis confiscated it. He then summoned Wulff and questioned him about it. As a result, Wulff involuntarily became Himmler's astrologer, casting and interpreting horoscopes for top Nazis and mundane events. He was really a prisoner, he states, and was kept working around the clock to answer questions and make predictions for the Nazis. According to Wulff, the major question was "When will Hitler die?" and "Will he be assassinated." Wulff counseled Himmler to stage a coup by arresting Hitler and ending the war. Unfortunately, Himmler was intrigued by Wulff's advice, but procrastinated until it was far too late. Himmler listened to Wulff, but heard only what he wanted to hear. Wulff was amazed at Himmler's naivete. As the war worsened for the Germans, Himmler had a nervous breakdown. The portrait of Himmler at the end when he is desperately trying to make his stars seem positive is chilling. "Then it's all over? It's the end? What am I supposed to do?!"

Whether or not Wulff tells the whole truth no one knows, but truthful or not, the story is quite gripping. This book offers some explanation for the Germans' so quickly embracing National Socialism. In Ian Kershaw's biography of Hitler, he states that people voluntarily "Nazified" their professions. According to Wulff, fear was the motivation, not zeal for Nazism. When Hitler took power, astrologers formed "a National Socialist Astrological Society" in an effort to curry favor with the Nazis. It did not work. Astrology was still banned.

This was probably a difficult book to translate into English because of all the astrological terms employed. There are places where the English is clumsy. But overall, the book is quite well written. I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in World War II and/or astrology. Knowledge of astrology is not necessary to appreciate this book.