FAITH OF THE FUTURE
by Matt Koehl
“Wir sind nicht die Letzten von gestern, sondern die Ersten von morgen.”
H. Sündermann
I. Idea and Civilization
Every
great culture, every great civilization—every human order of any significance,
in fact—has a polar ideology or mythos,
which furnishes the emotional, supra-rational foundation for that particular
order. The life and destiny of a culture are inseparable from such a nuclear
idea. It serves as a formative pole, which during a cultures vital period provides
for a unity of political, religious and cultural
expression.
There
are numerous examples. In ancient
If
one now turns to the West, one cannot avoid the conclusion that it is the Christian worldview which stands at the
heart of this particular culture.* Indeed, its very symbol is the towering
Gothic cathedral. In its art, its architecture, its music, literature and
philosophy, the West is pervaded by the omnipresence of Christianity.
* In
referring to the West, we mean that manifestation of European culture which
emerged following the collapse of the Classical civilizations of
In
the magnificent frescoes of Michelangelo, in the polyphonic rhythms of Vivaldi
and Bach, the literary masterpieces of Dante, Chaucer and Milton, the
philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, Kant and Hegel—in all of this, the heavy backdrop
of Christianity looms unmistakably against the cultural horizon.
Even
figures such as Shakespeare, Rembrandt, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and
Schopenhauer—even Voltaire and Nietzsche!—
whose creative daemon transcended
Church dogma in noticeable fashion—even they are witness to the ineluctable
presence of the Christian idea as a cultural fact. And even if one contends
that the works of these personalities had nothing to do with Christian doctrine
as such, but derived their ultimate inspiration from other sources, the very
fact that such an argument is put forth at all constitutes the most conclusive
proof that Christianity is, indeed, the mythos
of Western culture, the core idea around which all cultural expression
revolves. For even when its fundamental tenets have been challenged and
disbelieved, it has continued to qualify the cultural milieu and furnish the
central reference point for thought and action.
It
is not without significance that those two major languages of Western
thought—German and English—should have received their modem form from a
translation of the Christian Bible; that the main function of the first Western
universities was to teach Christian theology; and that natural science—that
domain so uniquely fascinating to the Aryan intellect, which has come to
challenge the very foundations of traditional faith itself—began very humbly as
the quiet, conscientious study of the world of the Christian creator. All of
this is but eloquent testimony that the Christian worldview does, indeed, form
the spiritual matrix—the nuclear center—of Western culture.
II. Christianity and the West
When
Christianity in its Nicene form first made its appearance amongst the Germanic
peoples of
The
inborn religiosity—Frömmigkeit——of
these men of the North involved values of personal honor and loyalty, upright
manliness, courage and heroism, honesty, truthfulness, reason, proportion, balance
and self-restraint, coupled with pride of race, a questing spirit and a
profound respect for the natural world and its laws—ideas representative of a
worldview which the early Christian missionaries found incompatible with their
own doctrine and which they proceeded to condemn as heathen.
If
they displayed but little inclination to embrace the new faith, these early
Teutons were by the same token not unaccommodating in their attitude. With
characteristic Nordic tolerance in such matters, they were perfectly willing to
permit the peaceful coexistence of a foreign god alongside the natural deities
of their own folk.
For
its part, however, the intruding new doctrine—impelled by a hitherto-unknown
Semitic spirit of hatred and intolerance—commenced to demand the elimination
of all competitors, insisting that homage be rendered to but one jealous god,
the former Jewish tribal god—Yahweh,
or Jehovah—and to his son. Alien in its doctrine, the Creed of Love now felt
obliged to employ equally alien methods to achieve its purposes. Under the
auspices of the sword and accompanied by mass extermination, Christian
conversion now made great strides where formerly peaceful persuasion had
failed. In this manner, for example, were the tender mercies of the Christian
savior disclosed to Widukind’s Saxons and Olaf Tryggvason’s Norsemen. If it was
hypocritical and inherently contradictory, it was nevertheless effective, and
all of
* * *
It
would be a mistake, however, to assume that only though force and violence did
Christianity prevail. In the propagation of its doctrine and the fulfillment of
what it considered to be its holy mission, the Church displayed amazing
flexibility and suppleness. It was not loath, for instance, to adopt and adapt
for its own purposes as it deemed appropriate certain aspects of ancient
heathendom, particularly those which were most firmly rooted in the folk
experience of our early forebears. Not only did this serve as an aid in the
conversion process, making the Christian notion more palatable to the Nordic
prospect, but it was also useful in inducing greater conformity and submission
on the part of those already converted.
Especially
during the reign of Pope Gregory did this policy receive definitive sanction. Former heathen holy places were appropriated as
sites for the new chapels, churches and shrines. The Northern winter solstice
celebration, Yule, was arbitrarily
selected as the official birthday of the Christian savior. The spring
celebration of reawakening Nature, Easter,
was designated as the time of the Christian resurrection following the Jewish
Passover. The summer solstice celebration, Midsummer,
was transmogrified into the Feast of St. John, accompanied by the traditional
rites of fire and water. In similar manner were other ancient festivals taken
over and transformed: Whitsuntide, or High May, became the Day of Pentecost;
the Celtic festival of Samhain became All Hallow’s
Eve; and Lent, acquiring Christian coloration, recalled a former season of the
same name.
Not
only was Christian adaptation confined to sacred days alone, however, it
extended to heathen deities, customs and symbols as well. A multiplicity of
saints and angels, for example—not to mention demons—came to replace the
various gods and heroes of pre-Christian times. Ritual infant-sprinkling
became Christian baptism, or christening, just as the salubrious effect of holy
water generally was quickly discovered by the new faith. Similarly, the lighted
tree and evergreen decoration at Christmas time were taken over virtually intact
from previous heathen custom. Even the Cross
itself was adapted from pre-Christian sources, replacing the earlier Fish, Dove
and Star as the emblem of the faith—a fact which led to considerable distress
and controversy when it was first introduced in the early Church!
And
so, in addition to those Hellenistic, Roman and Babylonian elements which
already overlaid an original Jewish nucleus, a Northern component was now
introduced to the spiritual mélange
which was to become medieval Christianity. With all of these accretions,
however, it was essentially the outer form of the faith which was affected and
modified; the inner substance of the doctrine retained its basically
Oriental/Semitic character. If the new creed was not particularist
like its Judaic parent, this had to do with its conceived leveling function
among non-Jews. For what had originally been an exclusively Jewish sect had
become—at the instance of the erstwhile Pharisee Saul/Paul—a universal creed
directed at the Aryan world, denying the validity of all racial, ethnic and
personal distinctions.
Thus
it was, that out of this alien germ there emerged the faith which was to form
the spiritual mold of Western culture.
III. The Decline of Christianity
The
imposition of Christianity on the Aryan peoples of
As
we have seen, the external character of Christianity was greatly modified in
its metamorphosis from a small Jewish cult into the mighty religion of the
West. The medieval institution known as chivalry, in fact, with its refined
honor code—which save for its Christian trappings more properly reflected the
outlook and mores of a pre-Christian time—resulted from this very process, and
provided a modus vivendi for
opposing spiritual interests during the Middle Ages. Thus, through a mutual
accommodation of sorts was the underlying contradiction largely contained. And yet despite any institutional adjustment,
the unease deriving from an alien idea remained latent within the fabric of the
culture.
The
social and intellectual response to this inner tension varied. For their part,
the kings, emperors and other secular rulers tended to treat the matter with
cynical detachment, accommodating and offering resistance as political
requirements dictated.
Among
scholars and thinkers, on the other hand, there were those who, like Giordano
Bruno, rose in open revolt against Church dogma. More often, however, the
stirrings of disquiet were manifested in subtle attempts to orient Christian
doctrine toward innate Aryan religiosity. This was particularly true of the
mystics of the Middle Ages, like Scotus Erigena, Amalric of Bena and Meister
Eckhart, who—going beyond the theology of the Church—looked inward into their
own souls and to Nature itself to discover the
It
was with the Renaissance, however, that there appeared the most significant
movement to challenge Church doctrine—a movement which would, in fact, set in
motion an irreversible chain of events leading ultimately to the discrediting
of that very doctrine as the core idea of a culture. Now, for the first time,
was the Promethean impulse able to break out of the clerical mold. Art came to
express, not merely a sterile Semitic outlook, but the feelings of a Northern
racial soul—a most notable development, which announced that creative vitality
had stepped beyond the mythic prescriptions of the culture. The entire
Judeo-Christian cosmology was called into question by new discoveries in the
natural and physical sciences. Exploration across unknown seas commenced.
Perhaps
the most revolutionary single development of this time, however, was the
discovery of movable type by Johann Gutenberg, which enabled a much wider
circulation of knowledge—knowledge other than that bearing an ecclesiastical imprimitur, knowledge transcending the basic ideology of
the culture.
* * *
The
most important consequence of the Gutenberg invention is to be seen in the
Protestant Reformation, to which it was a contributing factor and whose
development it greatly influenced. Up until the time of Martin Luther, the
focus of Christian authority was the Papacy, whose word was unquestioned in
matters of faith and dogma. Now, with the great schism in Christendom, a direct
challenge was presented to ecclesiastical authority. It certainly was not, of
course, the intent of Luther and the other dissenters to undermine or eliminate
the Christian faith; rather the opposite. They merely wished to reform it. And
yet, by challenging the one unifying institution of Christendom and causing a
split in Christian ranks, they inadvertently opened the door to disbelief in
the Christian mythos itself.
To
replace papal authority in matters religious, Luther proposed to substitute the
authority of the Book; and so, with the prospect of employing the Gutenberg invention,
he undertook the prodigious task of translating obscure Hebrew scriptures into the German language—to the everlasting
misfortune of Christianity. It is ironic that in his quest for spiritual
freedom, the Great Reformer should have rejected the despotism of the Papacy
only to embrace the tyranny of the Torah and the ancient Jewish prophets. The
arcane texts which had remained on musty shelves behind cloistered walls arid
accessible only to priests and theologians now became universal property. And now,
instead of one single authority in matters of Christian exegesis, everyone—and
no one—became an authority. Out of this there could be but one result:
contradiction and confusion.
The
effect on intelligent minds, of course, was devastating. For here it was now
possible—in the best Talmudic fashion—to prove mutually exclusive points of
view by reference to the same Semitic texts. Not only that, but critical
examination of biblical literature gave rise to serious doubt concerning the
veracity and validity of the subject matter itself, not to mention the peculiar
mentality of its various authors. For the first time, perceptive minds could
observe the obvious contradiction between empirical reality and what was
claimed as holy writ.
Gradually
there grew the inner realization that the faith itself was flawed, and creative
genius began to look beyond the ideology of the Church for inspiration and
direction. Even in those instances where Christian motifs continued to provide
the external form for artistic expression—such as in the works of Bach, Corelli
and Rubens, for example—the vital daemon
which spoke was clearly extra-Christian and of a religious order transcending
Church dogma. And so even the Counter Reformation, and the stylistic mode it
inspired, succumbed to widening skepsis. A
lessening of traditional belief had set in, and Aryan creativity now began to
look increasingly in other directions for the divine. At the intellectual
level, philosophy—which had long separated itself from
theology—pursued its own independent quest for truth, while at the artistic
level a succession of stylistic periods— impelled by irrepressible inner
tension—sought ever newer forms of expression. Thus, the Baroque, having
exploited all of its possibilities, gave way to the Rococo and the Classical,
which in turn yielded to the Romantic of the last century and to the
Impressionist, which has now been succeeded by the Modern era—which concludes
the historical experience of the West.
* * *
Today,
Christianity has reached its final stage. From both a spiritual and a
scientific standpoint, its fundamental beliefs have become untenable. The
advances of Aryan science have forever shattered the old Jewish myths. The
cumulative impact of such figures as Copernicus, Galileo, Keppler, Newton and
Darwin could not be eternally suppressed by ecclesiastical edict. When Church
dogma, for example, insisted that the earth was the center of the universe and
scientific investigation demonstrated otherwise, Aryan man was compelled by his
innate regard for the truth to accept the latter at the expense of the former.
In so doing, he came to question all other aspects of a once-sacrosanct belief
system.
For the modern Church, this poses an impossible dilemma. The more it adheres to
its fundamental doctrines, the more preposterous they must appear and the
quicker will be its demise. On the other hand, once it attempts to reconcile
itself with the findings of science by reinterpreting and redefining its basic
tenets, it automatically concedes its moral position and its very reason for
existence as an arbiter of truth.
The
fact is that Christianity, as the dominant ideology of the West, has failed. It
has exhausted all of its historical possibilities. No longer does it carry the
emotional, mythic, polarizing force necessary to direct the spiritual life of a
culture. Indeed, it is a spent cultural force no longer capable of adapting
successfully to new organic realities.
All
of this can be readily seen in the emptiness and sterility of modern cultural
expression—reflecting the absence of any real spiritual values—as well as in
the secularization of the Christian idea itself into liberal democracy and
Marxism. Especially is this to be noted in the self-devaluation process of
ecumenism and interfaith/inter-ideological dialogue, which constitutes the
clearest concession by Christianity that it has failed and no longer has
anything vital to offer. For once the Church admits that its doctrines are
coequal with those of the nonbeliever, then what reason is there to be a
believer?
It
is not without significance that while the influence of Christianity is waning
in the West, it is—through the sheer force of demographic pressure—gaining
souls and expanding among nonwhites. Not only is this particularly true in
may have
traditionally represented for past generations of Europeans and North Americans
no longer obtains.
Accordingly,
it would be a mistake to assume that the Judeo-Christian idea has anything to
offer the white peoples in their contemporary struggle for survival—that it
might in any way be capable of addressing the vital needs and concerns of
endangered Aryan life on this planet. What now exists in the name of
Christianity—apart from certain nostalgic, retrograde attempts to revive a
historical corpse in a world of uncertainty and personal insecurity—is nothing
more than fossil formalism and sterile nominalism without genuine vitality or
substance, reflecting the marginal relevance of this particular ideology in
today’s society. For in the face of modern realities, the Christian worldview
simply has nothing more to say. It has fulfilled its historic role; it is now
moribund. At best, it is irrelevant. At worst, it is an avowed enemy, a deadly
menace to the Aryan race and its survival.
It
may well be argued that the worst consequences of such ideological and
spiritual error were far less conspicuous before the Second World War. Does
the same hold true today, however, when the final effects of that error can be
plainly seen? For well over a millennium now, Christianity has held a monopoly
as the self-proclaimed custodian of the spiritual and moral well-being of an
entire cultural order—for which one must reasonably assume that it has accepted
concomitant responsibility. What, then, are the fruits of its spiritual regime?
We see them all around us. They are the symptoms of a diseased civilization:
decadence, degeneracy, depravity, corruption, pollution, egoism, hedonism,
materialism, Marxism and ultimately—atheism.
Yes, atheism. By destroying whatever natural religious feeling once existed in
the hearts of our people and substituting alien myths and superstitions, it
must now bear full responsibility for the diminished capacity for spiritual
belief among our folk.
It
will perhaps be objected that the Church itself is opposed to all of the above indesiderata. I am sorry; the responsibility for
what has been claimed as a divine charge cannot be so easily evaded. Words
aside, these happen to be the actual results
of its earthly reign.
The
Promethean spirit of Aryan man, for its part, must now look in other
directions.
IV. Twilight of the West
As
we have seen, the ultimate source of the decline of the West lies in the
failure of the polar ideology, or mythos,
which has formed its foundation. Once the dogmas of the dominant faith were
effectively called into question and challenged—an unavoidable development,
given the preposterous assertions of Christian doctrine on the one hand and the
truth-seeking nature of Aryan man on the other— it was only a matter of time
before the entire cultural order which rested upon it was itself called into
doubt.
With
the loss of belief in its guiding ideology—that is, with the dying out of
Christianity—the West has lost faith in itself, and its death becomes
inevitable. For the Christian worldview has stood at the very heart and soul of
the West, permeating its art and culture. It was no accident, for instance,
that in times past the term “Christendom” was synonymous with the West.
Cultures
live and die with their gods. That the god of the West should have died was
foreordained from the very beginning, and it is in this sense that Nietzsche’s
celebrated pronouncement must be understood. For how could a Middle Eastern
import permanently satisfy the real spiritual needs of Aryan man?
Yahweh/Jehovah could murder Zeus and Jupiter, Odin and Thor. But how could he
maintain forever the fiction that he was the real father of their children?
If
we disregard all ephemeral revivalism, it can be clearly seen that the culture
of the West has now reached the point of practical disbelief and atheism, a
fact which is reflected in every field of modem cultural endeavor. Atonality
and the eruption of alien rhythms in music, formlessness and insanity in
painting and the plastic arts, cheapness and vulgarity in literature and on the
stage, vapidity and grotesque ugliness of line in architecture—all of this
bears disturbing witness to a spiritual emptiness and sterility, to
disorientation and a lack of direction, to an absence of values and standards
and an ethos to inform artistic expression.
It
is modem technology, however, which—by assuming a
utilitarian function in a soulless, materialistic produce/consume society,
rather than serving a higher cultural purpose—offers the conclusive statement that
Western culture has nothing more to say. The West, as a culture, has exhausted
all of its historical possibilities; it has no new direction in which it can
go. This, of course, does not mean that Aryan man himself no longer possesses a
creative capability. But his genius and talents must now find expression in a post-Western context. Western
civilization itself cannot experience a rebirth. It has exploited and expended
its potential and destroyed its one hope for a resurgence,
and now it can only wallow in decadence and die. The Old Order is doomed.
Not
only is the final collapse of the West inevitable, but for a
V. The Tragedy of 1945
The
fall of
The
events of 1945 were, in fact, but the concluding scene of a great tragic drama
which began on
It
is perhaps the greatest of historical ironies that it was Adolf Hitter, the
father of a new age, who offered the West its last opportunity for
resuscitation and renewal. By infusing new spirit into the old civilization and
by defending its major institutional forms—as the Führer proposed—it is conceivable that the Old Order might have
been able to protract its historical life, perhaps even for another millennium.
It was not to be, however. The decay was too advanced. In its diseased and
delirious condition, the West rejected the one hand which could have rescued it
from impending death.
Beyond
that, however, the contradiction between the values of the Old and the New was
simply too great. In the final analysis, these values were mutually exclusive.
And so the Second World War was, in fact, a “war against the West,” as critics
of National Socialism have charged. It represented a
titanic struggle between the Old and the New. Unfortunately, the entrenched
forces of the Old—even in their decadent and moribund state—proved momentarily
too formidable for the incipient New.
It
must be noted here—and this is not without significance—that the Third Reich,
the provisional state of the New, was itself heavily and fatally infected by ideas and elements carried over from the Old.
The New had not completely prevailed against the Old. For that it had hardly
had time; in fact, it had barely begun. The very nature of its introduction,
which was dictated by the political and social realities of contemporary
Thus,
the outcome of this tragic drama could not have been other than what it was.
Fate had chosen the time and the place and had set the stage, and events
proceeded in their appointed manner. Yet even this cataclysmic tragedy—with the
immolation of its godlike protagonist and his martyr people—was historically
necessary for two reasons:
• First, it resulted in a decisive blow to
the Old Order, a mortal blow from which it can never recover and which assures
its disappearance from the stage of world history; and
• Secondly, by clearing the field, it has
served to release the new Movement from any lingering constraints, inhibitions
or commitments with respect to the Old—thus enabling it to acquire the necessary
freedom for the fulfillment of its revolutionary mission. This is particularly
important to consider, for not only was 1945 a watershed in the larger history
of the world; it was a great divide in the development of the Movement as well.
A phase which had been essentially political and military now became
spiritual—yes, even religious.
Militarily
and politically, National Socialism stood defeated in l945—completely. Had it
represented merely a political or military structure, it could not have
survived the collapse. The Idea of Adolf Hitler, however, was more than just
political or military. It was above all spiritual—and spiritual ideas cannot be
broken by brute force or military means alone. And yet, military might and
physical compulsion were the only resources at the disposal of the Old Order,
morally and spiritually it was bankrupt. And so its apparent defeat of
National Socialism in reality proved to be something quite different. For in
the contest, the new Idea had lost none of its integrity—its inner
substance—but remained spiritually undefeated,
awaiting only the proper moment to make its reappearance. Indeed, it was
precisely in this vital area that it proved itself stronger than ever.
Unimpeded by expedient—i.e., political—considerations of any kind, it was now completely
free and unfettered to pursue its high destiny. Out of the crucible of the most
horrible suffering and hardship, a Movement had emerged—inwardly purged,
perfected in its faith, fortified, steeled and infinitely more conscious of its
holy mission on this earth.
As
we now move further into the future, we begin to perceive the faint outline of
an awesome design: Adolf Hitler and his
people had to sacrifice themselves so that the wonderful, new Idea could one
day be reborn in exalted form as a glorious beacon and symbol for embattled
Aryan mankind everywhere. That was the purpose and essence of their heroic,
Olympian struggle. And it is now upon this sacred foundation—one forged and
hallowed in the flames of monumental tragedy—that a regenerate Movement must
build, and in so doing give eternal meaning to the precious blood sacrifice of
those martyred millions, representing a higher humanity, who fell with the
faith of a new age in their hearts.
VI. Worldview of a New Age
Today
we are witness to the death throes of a civilization. An entire order is
collapsing. The Old cannot be restored. It is doomed.
The
confusion and uncertainty we now see is but a prelude to the utter chaos and
agony which awaits. When the bright star of civilization
implodes, it creates a spiritual black hole, one which acts in the same awesome
manner as its material counterpart. All spiritual reality is impacted into
nothingness by anti-spirit, as it
were. No purpose, no meaning, no values, no standards, no principles, no roots,
no direction, no ideals, no truth, no honor, no beauty, no excellence, no
order, no gods—nothing—remains.
Only that which is able to distance itself from the old world and remove
itself from its terrible gravitational pull can escape
the all-consuming vortex of the collapse.
In
this latter category will be found all those now spiritually alienated, who
somehow manage to find their way to a new world. Today there exists a brooding
sense of despair—a despair reflecting more than a mere loss of faith in some
governmental regime or social system, but touching every aspect of life and
existence. Men cry out for something to believe in, for something to guide and
inform their lives. Perceptive minds are searching for purpose and direction,
for a new focus of faith to replace that which has been hopelessly and irretrievably
lost.
But
where is such an idea, such a faith?
As
has been noted, Aryan man has suffered for over a thousand years from a
spiritual tension caused by the intrusion of alien ideology into his natural
thought-world—a process which has distorted the culture of the West from the
very beginning, and prevented the fulfillment of a higher mission. Not only was
an incredible cosmology foisted upon the reluctant Aryan by the new creed, but
he was forced to accept a statement of teleological purpose which amounted to a
declaration of war against the natural order and its eternal laws. God was
divorced from his creation; Nature itself became suspect; the spirit was set at
enmity with the flesh; man was declared inherently and hopelessly sinful; God
became an external object—a remote, arbitrary, despotic figure—whom man should
fear and before whom he should cringe and cower, God was also seen as kind and
benevolent; accordingly, he was said to have agreed not to torment and torture
man in perpetuity, as he had planned, if man in turn would consent to ritual
expiation through one of his three parts. By implication, responsible, upright
behavior was denigrated in favor of forgiveness through divine grace.
The
preoccupation of religion in the West for over a millennium with salvation of
the individual “soul,” without regard for any larger racial considerations, has
had the most disastrous consequences. Not only has it encouraged the grossest
form of spiritual pettiness and selfishness, but it has had an even more
harmful effect. By assigning cardinal importance to individual salvation, it
thereby downgraded the well-being of one’s own kind—of one’s folk and race— to
something of lesser significance. The community of believers— red and yellow,
black and white—was more precious in the sight of the Church fathers than the
tine community of flesh and blood, love for which was denounced as a species of
“idolatry.” Whereupon the spiritual marrow of Aryan man was
left to marinate in a moral concoction of meekness, mildness, resist-not-evil
and love-thine-enemy.
Finally,
coupled with all of the foregoing measures for moral disarmament, there was
added a Judeolatrous component: Those of the House of
Israel were conveniently exempted from all of the above, on the grounds that as
Chosen Ones they should not be disturbed by such unnecessary considerations.
The modem condition presents itself as the end result of this extraordinary
doctrine.
* * *
The
worldview of the future will differ radically from the Judeo-Christian
outlook. It will proceed from a totally different perception of the human
condition and its purpose.
It
will be based, in the first instance, upon a profound respect and reverence for
Nature, which it conceives as a timeless order without beginning or end but
undergoing constant change and cyclic renewal, and which in its ultimate
configuration is consubstantial with the divine, which it treats as subject rather than object.
It
regards man as part of Nature, and proposes to restore the natural laws to
their rightful place in human affairs—thus re-forging the sacred link between
man and Nature, a link which was shattered by Semitic ideology.
At
the same time, it declares that for the conscious Aryan there can be no
separation from the divine; that his god is not in some other world, but
resides within the precincts of his own heart; and that a proper religious
attitude is one of veneration, rather than one of fear.
Thus
does it lift the burden of original sin and guilt from his shoulders and end
his abasement before the Almighty, proclaiming his glorious nobility instead.
It restores the essential wholeness of man, for in its view there can be no
cleft between body and soul. It represents, finally, an affirmation—rather than a negation—of life, and teaches joyful
heroism, defiant courage and manly resolve in the face
of inexorable destiny, even when it involves gloom and despair, adversity and
death.
Thus
does the new Idea—by returning to traditional values of Aryan religiosity—free
Aryan man from that inner tension which has characterized spiritual life in the
West for the past millennium, and bring him into harmony with the laws of
Nature and his own being. In a word, the outlook of the future reinstates Aryan
man to a sound, natural condition, once again allowing unhindered expression
for his native spirituality, as well as freeing him for the accomplishment of a
great mission.
In
so doing, it recalls the faith of our ancient forefathers, who lived in
communion and rapport with Nature and enjoyed a fully developed religious life,
which established the moral and ethical standards of their society and set the
spiritual tone of their destiny.
Most
importantly, by going back to the primal source of life itself, the new Idea
is able to re-establish the primacy of race
as the sacred premise for all higher existence on this earth. By thus raising
the concept of race to an inviolable religious principle—indeed, to a moral imperative—it is able to speak to
the paramount issue of modem time, the supreme biological/environmental issue,
namely, the survival of Aryan man as the most advanced form of life on this
planet. Hence, not the salvation of a mere individual, but rather the salvation
of an entire race is its vital concern. By contrast, any system of
contemporary philosophical or religious thought which fails to address this
fundamental question in an explicitly positive manner is irrelevant,
meaningless and useless—if not downright harmful—to the cause of our continued
existence.
* * *
And
here it must be noted that the threat to our racial survival begins with
spiritual causes; consequently, it can only be overcome by a solution which is
spiritual in character. It is not from a lack of political alternatives or
intellectual strategies that we suffer, but rather a more fundamental lack of
will, courage, determination, dedication, commitment, integrity and overall
morale—not to mention a lack of basic understanding and insight and a sense of
true common identity. Whatever external dangers pose themselves derive, in the
final analysis, from this internal problem.
Therefore,
the question of racial survival must be seen as involving not only political
and propagandistic activity, but must in the first place encompass a moral and spiritual mobilization.
Without such a moral muster, all other efforts—however noble and valiant—must
necessarily prove futile. The effects of decades and centuries of cultural
decadence are simply too advanced and widespread to be overcome through
political appeal alone.
The
proper function of politics, of course, is to take people—in the mass—as they are and utilize them for a
larger purpose. The spiritual condition of the Western masses is such, however,
as to preclude any useful potential for revolutionary political activity at
this time. Consequently, the first task of the contemporary Movement must be
to establish a firm spiritual/moral base—a standard of absolute moral
fixity—capable of attracting those alienated young idealists of our race who
are searching for answers in a confused and despairing world, one which will
influence their lives and transform them into dedicated partisans of the
holiest of causes, It is just such a strong spiritual foundation which must
underlie any effective political action in the future.
There
is an accompanying consideration. It must be recognized that the condition
which prevails evolved over a long period of time and cannot be eliminated by
instantaneous panacea, but only through a process of protracted struggle involving decades and generations. The
integrity of such a struggle, however, can only be sustained by spiritual—i.e., religious—conviction and commitment,
with the Movement often depending solely on its moral resources for continuity
and survival. Therefore, the development of those resources as a critical
necessity must assume highest priority over every other consideration.
* * *
If
the new Idea represented merely an instauration of traditional Aryan spiritual
values and the natural outlook of pre-Christian times, along with an appeal for
racial preservation, it certainly would possess relevance, meaning and
utility; yet it would remain incomplete, and would not hold its dynamic,
historic quality. For ultimately, every great historical idea
embodies a special mission as well as a call for a new type of man.
What
is unique about the Idea of the future is that it proposes to relieve the human
condition by transcending it. It proclaims a higher destiny for Aryan man, and
summons him toward a full realization of his potential for physical, spiritual
and moral elevation—indeed, toward godhood—an
undertaking so tragically stymied and stunted till now by the warped, deforming
doctrines of an alien creed. Nevertheless, it is precisely the possibility for
such upward evolution toward a godlike race in the Nietzschean sense which
assigns to the new Idea its higher purpose and meaning and gives to it its
extraordinary, revolutionary character.
If
we examine all of the ideological and spiritual trends of the past one hundred
years, as well as those of the present time, it becomes immediately apparent
that there is but one Idea which can
conceivably qualify to serve as the formative principle of a post-Western,
post-Christian world.
The
coming dispensation will not involve so-called alternatives which are merely
secularized outgrowths of the same underlying idea which is itself the cause of
our present condition.
And
here it must be emphasized that in the revolutionary convulsions which are
coming, the neo-Semitic ideology of Karl Marx will have no more lasting
significance than that of a cultural emetic. Whatever momentary power and
success it enjoys is all ephemeral within a larger historical context—just as
is that of all the gurus, fakirs and exotic, new cults from out of the East in
these latter days of the twilight of civilization.
In
the contemporary world, an idea or conception may be viewed as either
reactionary—and therefore transitory—or as revolutionary and enduring.
Everything which tends to perpetuate the Old Order is reactionary. Everything
which continues to work within the framework of the past is reactionary.
Everything which tends to foster decadence is reactionary. All falsehood, all
hypocrisy and opportunism are reactionary. As such, they are transitory and
will not last. Only that which embraces hard reality and difficult truth will
form part of something new and wonderful. Only it can truly be called revolutionary,
for it will endure. It alone will furnish the spiritual foundation—the radiant
nucleus—of a new age.
Today
there is but one Idea which may be regarded as the regenerating seed of a
revolutionary
VII. The Faith of Adolf Hitler
Beyond
its purely intellectual aspect, the revolutionary Idea of Adolf Hitler contains
an added dimension, to which one must turn to discover the source of its
ineluctable attraction—its compelling magic, as it were. It is from its
sentient—its emotional—content that
one must deduce the secret of its extraordinary mystique—just as it is here
that one cannot help but perceive its nuclear potential as the mythos of a new age. For it is not by
logic and reason that great, earthshaking movements are impelled, but by the
unfathomable force of supra-rational faith subjectively felt by the adherents
of such a movement. In the arena of great world events, even the most rational
of ideas must take on the character of subjective faith—or remain forever
condemned to the realm of sterile abstraction. It must, in other words, proceed
beyond the understanding of the mind to an appreciation of the heart. Only
thus does it assume that mysterious and inexplicable quality which guarantees
success.
If
we examine the various individual features of the National Socialist idea—its
views on such fundamental concepts as race, personality, the state, work,
struggle and Nature, for example—we find that these do not, even when taken
together, suffice to explain the curious fascination surrounding its
manifestation. For that we must turn, ultimately, to the personality of its
author. For in the person of Adolf Hitler, the Idea undergoes fusion into a
transcendent whole which is greater than the sum of its parts. Only in a subjective
appreciation of this phenomenon and what it represents does the Idea become
comprehensible.
* * *
Who,
then, was Adolf Hitler? What was he?
Certainly,
he bore the attributes of any man. He had two natural parents. He had flesh and
blood. He ate and slept. He grew up, went to school, and worked for a living.
He formed friendships, had personal likes and dislikes, became angry, but also
had a warm sense of humor. He experienced joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain. In
other words, his were all the normal human experiences and emotions. He was, in
fact, completely human.
Historically,
of course, Adolf Hitler was something more. He was a great national leader and
statesman. Where can one find a comparable instance of a humble man of the
people rising—by sheer will, determination and genius in the face of every
conceivable obstacle and odd—to leadership of a great nation, liberating it
from alien domination, purging it of racial and moral decay, and building
within it a regime of national unity and social justice? Where was there a
similar statesman who, single-handedly, was able to halt the seemingly inexorable
advance of Communism across the face of a continent? Where else was there a
leader who was able to lift his country—a country defeated in war and burdened
with unbearable reparations—up out of economic and social misery and restore it
to a position of prosperity, dignity and pride, while other nations sickened
in the throes of a Great Depression? Where in all of history was there ever a
ruler who enjoyed greater popular support?
Yet,
it is beyond his manifest role as an outstanding national leader and
statesman, as well as his obvious humanity, that we
must look to discover the essential person of Adolf Hitler. Specifically, it is
in the domain of the extra-historical--i.e.,
in that area outside the normal historical process—that we must turn to find
the true identity of the figure who stood in our midst just a few short
generations ago. For although his life’s work continues to
exercise an ongoing effect, its real meaning cannot be disclosed through the
usual investigations of historiography.
* * *
More
than one observer has commented on a certain strange, compelling quality which
seemed to emanate from the person of Adolf Hitler. Kubizek,
for example, has described the remarkable incident on the Freinberg.* Others have reported similar, if less dramatic, experiences
in their own personal encounters with Hitler. And not only did this mysterious
quality manifest itself in such individual meetings, but before larger
audiences as well. Even persons who were not German and not National Socialist
have testified to the singular ability of Adolf Hitler to articulate the
unspoken feelings and aspirations of his listeners as though he were giving
utterance to their innermost thoughts and emotions.
Recalling
a Hitler rally which she attended in 1930, one Social Democratic writer
described the phenomenon in this way:
“The
audience was breathlessly under his spell. This man expressed their thoughts,
their feelings, their hopes; a new prophet had arisen—many even saw in him
another Christ . . . .” *
That
he was able to affect his contemporaries in this manner is in itself remarkable. What is even more extraordinary and
amazing, however, is the ability of
Adolf Hitler to exert a continuing charismatic effect on generations which
were not even born during his mortal lifetime! He still seems to articulate
our deepest, most heartfelt feelings and longings as Aryans. He seems to strike
a flawless chord with our innermost being. When he speaks, there is an immanent
awareness that we are actually listening to the sound of our own inner voice. So perfect is his relation
to our racial psyche that it is as though he has become one with it. We have
the feeling that here before us is the consummate expression of the collective
unconscious of our race.
It
is as though we are confronted by an awesome presence, by a timeless charisma. Indeed, there is a certain
enigmatic aura surrounding the figure of Adolf Hitler which seems to transcend
all barriers of time and space. When we mention his name, we sense that we are
speaking of more than a historical phenomenon; we allude to something which is
eternal and infinite. We have the feeling that we are referring not only to the
past, but to the present and future as well. Instinctively, we sense that here
was more than just another man, that here was someone quite extraordinary.
The
truth is that in Adolf Hitler we are confronted by a phenomenon which defies
all objective analysis and rational explanation.
* Lilo Linke, Restless Days (New York, N.Y., A.A. Knopf, 1935), pp. 397-398
* August Kubizek, The Young Hitler I Knew, tr. E.V. Anderson (New York, N.Y., Tower Books, Inc., 1954). Chapter 10
Indeed,
it is one which can only be understood in its symbolic, or representative,
role—that is, through mythic interpretation. For only in the realm of the mythos—of the epic, the saga and
legend—do we find those elements adequate to describe this most unusual personality.
Only through a process of apotheosis
can we hope to achieve a coherent understanding of the true reality of this
remarkable figure. Only then do the various facets of his earthly life and
career submit to plausible explanation.
Accordingly,
we may proceed to a recognition that this very unusual
being did, indeed, bear a divine mandate. He was, indeed, the instrument of a
higher destiny. He was, indeed, endowed by
Intuitively
we recognize that represented here is something elemental, something
primal—something that goes back to the very foundation of the world. We
perceive that this singular figure was/is a manifestation of the will of the
Eternal in corpore; that he was/is
the voice of the Almighty, the word—the logos—spoken
anew to modem man; that, indeed, he was/is the herald of a new age here on
earth.
At
the same time, we recognize him as the perfect personification of our racial
soul. He is our consciousness and our conscience. In him is our racial will
made manifest. In him do we see embodied the highest hopes and aspirations of
Aryan man.
And
so, in paying homage to this extraordinary personality, we at the same time
defer to our own soul and to the divine which lies within us. In immanent
relationship with him and in the service of his Cause do our lives acquire
purpose, meaning, value, relevance, direction, structure, significance.
Without him, we have no worth; we are nothing—nil. With him, we are privileged to become part of a larger
order—indeed, we possess the possibility of transcending the limitations of our
own mortal existence.
This,
then, is the One whom we are honored to call Führer— Leader—our spiritual
guide, special gift of Providence, the One chosen
to disclose the divine will, the divine ordinances to the present age.
Every
human order contains an idea which is symbolic of its higher purpose and
mission. And so it is, above all, as a symbol of a new age that the figure of
Adolf Hitler must be seen. It may be stated that he represents the inner
principle—the raison— of our entire
racial existence, of our history, our destiny, our life. He stands as our
eternal emblem before the world. He is our law and our guide as Aryans for all
time to come. He is our hope, our redemption, our promise of victory.
Thus
do we perceive the outline of a new, immanent reality in which the transfigured
person of Adolf Hitler joins with regenerate Aryan man and the Absolute in
mystic union to form the noble mythos
of a new faith.
Already,
the rudiments of this faith, the Hitler faith—Hitlerism— exist in wordless, inchoate form in the hearts of a
small, but growing number. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, a sacred retinue is
gathering in sworn bond of deathless loyalty and honor. Defiantly, its banner
is raised. The prospect of battle stirs its blood. It hails the struggle— the
awesome challenge. It awaits the coming storm.
A
new dispensation now looms on the horizon. A new, transforming reality is
rising. As the darkness of a dying civilization casts its lengthening shadow
over a confused and despairing world, the
faith of the future will shine forth ever more brightly as the one great,
redeeming hope—the polar star of a new age and a resplendent