[Aquinasfan]

Looks like I missed it, although local affiliates may air it at a later date or rebroadcast it. Anyone see it? I saw a similar fascinating story regarding Hitler, the occult and the Holy Grail on the History Channel recently.

[Doctor Doom]

"Nazis. I hate these guys."
-Henry Jones, Jr., Ph.D.

[Aquinasfan]

The Occult Roots of Nazism seems to be the best scholarship on the subject.

[skeeter]

A pretty good documentary, revealing a bizarre side to nazism I was totally unfamiliar with. More proof the leadership was utterly nuts.

I don't know if I agree with the assertion that the nazis' archeologists should have been punished, however. 'Committed' would be more appropriate.

[Marc Poor]

bump

[damnlimey]

"There really was a Nazi archaeological unit and it did send teams across the world to try to find the Grail. "
I heard there was also a nazi horticultural unit that sent teams across the world to look for a shrubbery.

[freedomcrusader]

Hmmmm...crazy totalitarian leader searches for Holy Grail and later his reign falls apart. Where have I heard that before? LOL!

Although King Arthur wasn't evil like Hitler...

[Thinkin' Gal]

Now who would have an old [antique] sword like Orion?

Or the Spear of Longinus, as it were.

[Cicero]

Ah, there seems to be some confusion here. The Holy Grail was the chalice Jesus used at the Last Supper, which was thought to have been brought by Joseph of Arimathaea to England or Wales, probably to Glastonbury. The object found by Indiana Jones was the Ark of the Covenant, probably removed from the Temple of Jerusalem by the Emperor Titus when he destroyed the Temple in 70 AD. Two quite different objects, one Jewish--as would be appropriate to Spielberg--the other Christian. Hitler, of course, was essentially what we would now call a New Age pagan, although he had been raised as a Catholic (education that obviously never took). Whatever he was looking for, he thought of as essentially a magical means to gain power, not as the goal of a religious quest.

[Frances_Marion]

Those Indiana Jones movies get even better when you realize they're all written around factual history. Hitler really was interested in acquiring the Ark of the Covenant and the Grail, both of which he thought would make his armies invincible. IJ and the Temple of Doom's villains are the Cult of the Thuggee, a cult of Kali worshippers who were infesting India in the 19th/20th centuries before the British wiped them out.

[ibbryn]

Those Nazis are nuts!

[#1CTYankee]

It was great!

I particularly liked the part when those French guys catapulted a cow on them.
Oh, and then they sent in the Trojan Rabbit, that was too funny.

One thing, I don't remember them dressing quite like that.

[Pietro]

Have you read "The Spear of Destiny" by Ravenscroft?

It's an "inspired" history of Hitler's fascination w/ the occult, although I think it contains much useful information. For example, it ties in the Parsival myth w/ the Holy Grail and medieval secret socities (like the Templars). It also provides a fairly comprehensive who's who of 20th century germanic occultists (including Crowley).

The spear in question is the so-called Spear of Longinius, the Roman Centurian that pierced Christ's side on the cross. It is a currently a part of the Hapsburg Crown jewels kept in a Vienna museum. It supposedly has cosmic powers to effect world history and so was immediatly confiscated by Hitler when the Nazis took over Vienna.

The Catholic Encyclopedia says the this particular spear (in Vienna) is not authentic, although Hitler certainly thought it was.

In any case, Ravencroft's exploration of the occult in Nazi germany is the best (admittedly esoteric) that I've seen.

[Skooz]

Ditto. I hope they rerun it soon. They ran "An Occult History of the Third Reich" several years ago and it was absolutely fascinating.

[AppyPappy]

The Nazis were fascinated with the idea of Aryan superiority and Jewish inferiority. One facet was of that belief was the Jews weren't really Jews. They were fake Jews with the real Jews being Aryans. It's really hard to follow. Hitler and his cronies felt the need to find the Jewish artifacts to restore them to the real Jews (Aryans). The fake Jews were really Slavs, considered subhuman.

They also believed somewhat in the ancient Gods of the forests that enabled the Germanic tribes to defeat the Romans. Nazism was rooted in the idea of Germanic/Aryan superiority ordained by all creation. They also believed in the Master Race which were pure Aryans which they believed could only be identified by research. Those members must reproduce while the subhumans must be prevented from "poisoning the genetic well".

Oddly, if Hitler had listened to Mussolini, The Axis may have won the war. Mussolini wanted to wait until late 1940 to start the war. Hitler thought he was being cowardly. But at the time, Germany was far outpacing Russia and the West and Italy was just beginning to improve their air assets. The West was perfectly content with ignoring the German military expansion while growing fat on peace.

[The KG9 Kid]

Hiter choose... Poorly.

[jrherreid]

bump

[Kermit the Frog Does theWatusi]

Another possible Grail.

[Kermit the Frog Does theWatusi]

A perilous quest...

[A CA Guy]

Hope some nut won't clone him so he'll try to do that and other things again.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT