Monsalvat (Mons salvatus - saving mountain)
Monsegur (Mons segurus - reliable, safe mountain) (Ran O. Crusade against the Grail. M., 2002. S. 8.)
Everything that he saw on his first trip to Languedoc was described by Otto Rahn in his book "Kreuzzug gegen den Gral" ("Crusade against the Grail"), published in 1929, and only four years later noticed by the scientific community and … the Nazis (It was translated into Russian only in 2001.). The latter played a fatal role in the life of this undoubtedly talented historian and archaeologist.
Not for the Nazis, he - Ran - wrote his heartfelt lines opening his work:
"For the sake of the mysterious Cathars, this book was written …" (Ran O. Crusade against the Grail. M., 2002. S. 7.)
Alas, the book and the author were used in political games.
Did Ran understand what his friendship with the Nazi leadership could lead to? Insight came late, but for now, in 1933-1934, he was undoubtedly proud of the fact that he was noticed that such significant figures interested him in ideas that the first persons of the German state listened carefully to him. (He, like thousands of other Germans, hoped for the revival of his country, a state with a rich history and claims to world domination).
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After presenting to Himmler his thoughts on possible further archaeological research, Rahn was forced to stay for a long time in Berlin (he, however, did not waste time, since he was "absorbed in further study of the Grail mystery"). “His search for the secret original religious tradition - the Religion of Light”, was limited only by the walls of book depositories and archives, but even here Ran made a lot of finds and discoveries (Otto Rahn and the search for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. Red. Ru / religion / ra / otto)).
Apparently, Himmler carefully studied Rahn's note and took his considerations seriously. Rahn was invited several more times to an appointment with the all-powerful Reichsfuehrer SS, where he gave explanations on a number of important and controversial positions.
Without any delay, he was recruited into the service in the "Ahnenerbe", Himmler himself congratulated him on the beginning of research work within the walls of such a respected institution in Germany. (In 1936, he was persuaded to formally join the SS, and within a few weeks Otto Rahn was promoted to the rank of Unterscharführer / NCO / SS.) Here in the Ahnenerbe, Rahn became close to Willigut, who became for him a real teacher, advisor, ideologist and patron.
* * *
Late evening, a suburb of the German capital. The mansion where Willigut lives and works. His house and office are surrounded by an aura of mystery. Few people were honored to be accepted by the owner, he is very busy and schedules his time literally by the minute.
But for the young archaeologist Rahn, he found … a few hours. This is almost the only case!
… Ran had to sit in the waiting room for fifteen minutes, then he was invited to the office.
It was a huge room, three walls of which were lined with shelves of books, folders with papers (manuscripts, extracts, correspondence) were piled on a wide window sill, on the floor were all the same books and magazines. The office is dim, the owner has sore eyes, he is not a fan of sunlight.
- Please, Mr. Ran, come in, sit down. We'll be served coffee now.
- Thank you.
“So, Mr. Ran, I am glad that our meeting took place. I read your book. This is undeniably a masterpiece. You have managed to combine history and poetry, mysticism and real life in the book.
- Thank you, I have always had great respect for your assessments, I have always considered you my mentor, in absentia, but a mentor.
Wolligut smiled with the tips of his lips; he was flattered.
- Let's leave verbal honey to those who cannot live without it. You and I should be interested in more real things. It seems to me that your expedition is only the first step. I think the Reichsfuehrer will be pleased if you offer him a more promising plan for finding the Grail.
- I already had a long conversation about this, a few days ago. Oh, the Reichsfuehrer was not only pleased, he himself insists on continuing the search. My archaeological experience fits into several years. This is minuscule, I am only taking the first steps, I don’t have enough hands, I don’t have enough funds, I don’t have the most basic conditions for processing materials. But the Reichsfuehrer gave me hope, he promised everything - the means, and people, and conditions.
- Oh, yes … the Reichsfuehrer always keeps his word, he is a man of his word. However, a swarm of idlers hovers around him, those who are trying to take a chair on the foam. You should be afraid of them, they can use you, use your brains, your hand, your ability to work.
- I'm not sure…
“Trust me, Mr. Ran. It's not the first day I've been in this environment, I know a lot. However, I diligently bypass all the pitfalls, I am a scientist, not a politician, I don't care who will serve as the right or left hand of the Reichsfuehrer. The main thing is that these hands take their place.
- I hope that this cup will pass me. Like you, I am just a scientist, and to a greater extent - an armchair.
- Oh yeah. Our science implies precisely the "armchair style" … We make our discoveries at the desk.
- Archeology is primarily a fact. And the fact is the truth. And I seek the truth in medieval tomes and dusty manuscripts.
It seemed that the owner of the study and his guest could hear only each of himself.
“No, Mr. Ran, no. We must never give up the "land" either. Oh, she hides a lot, she keeps her secrets tightly and reluctantly lets her treasures out of her embrace (I'm talking about archeology).
- Yes it is. I was convinced of this, having made the first steps on that sacred mountain for me, where Montsegur clung to. Oh, how reluctantly the mountain gives up its secrets. We will have to pay dearly for many of them. But I will not regret it. I'm sure you will too.
“I like you, Mr. Ran. You have that spark that is so necessary for everyone with whom I am ready to share my work. We will go far with you. We still have a lot to do. Just think, the Holy Grail - it exists, but none of our contemporaries has touched it. And she can and should become our fetish, our symbol, our God. Remember Nietzsche, remember Wagner, remember your beloved Eschenbach.
Ran smiled while Willigut continued:
- I have a small circle on Thursdays. Young people, but very, very capable. We talk a lot, drink a lot of coffee, read a lot and argue. Of course, they respect my old age, but I feel they disagree with me in many ways. Yes, they are even bigger than you, armchair worms, yellowed by the electric light of their desk lamps and afraid of daylight. Yes, yes, don't be surprised, just like that!
- I'm not surprised, I myself know such …
- I will interrupt you, I do not want to miss the tail of thought. So that's it. We, first of all me, will be glad to see you at our meetings. Perhaps you will also be interested …
- I will only be glad.
- The only thing I want to warn you about. The pseudo-scientific public that hangs around the Reichsführer dislikes us, watches us hard and scribbles denunciations. It is good that Herr Himmler trusts me more than all these slaves … But be careful and always ready to answer not very pleasant questions from the Reichsfuehrer.
- The Reichsfuehrer, in my opinion, is a reasonable person and does not ask unnecessary questions. But thanks for the warning anyway. The only pity is that you will have to "fight" on two fronts: both on your research frontline and on the frontline of bureaucracy.
- What to do, what to do …
* * *
Only thanks to his service in the Ahnenerbe, the favor of Himmler and the support of Willigut, Rahn managed to get funding for new expeditions - in the Baltic States, East Prussia and, of course, southern France.
* * *
Baltics, Konigsberg. It seemed that its walls carry a mystical charge, and the towers keep the wisdom of the centuries and are just waiting for an opportunity to pass them on to the “initiates”. And so it has been for many centuries. Nobody and nothing can destroy what has been created for centuries, passed down from generation to generation, preserved by the "initiates".
Alfred Rode considered himself such a "dedicated" (Rode Alfred Franz Ferdinand (24 January 1892, Hamburg -?) - journalist, writer, statesman and public figure of the Third Reich. He was also considered an art historian.), One of the highest leaders of the Third Reich, who received " on the ideological ransom "the Baltic states occupied by the Wehrmacht. He, Rode, like Himmler, imagined himself to be a real magician, capable of mastering the secrets of the human psyche. And for this he resorted to the most, as it seemed, incomprehensible and most secret ancient traditions.
He was matched by the Gauleiter (that is, the Nazi party leader) of East Prussia, Erich Koch, who collected medieval bricks with imprints of wolf paws (it was believed that such "talismans" would save one from defeat in any, the most brutal battle and grant victory over the enemy.
* * *
Characters:
Koch (Koch) Erich (19.6.1896, Elberfeld, Wuppertal - 9.3.1959, Warsaw) - Nazi party and statesman.
Member of the First World War. After demobilization from the ranks of the army, he worked on the railroad, served in the Volunteer Corps, and participated in armed clashes with the communists in Heinz (Upper Silesia). Since 1922, a member of the NSDAP, one of the leaders of the party organization of the Ruhr district. Since 1923, he organized anti-French actions in the Rhineland, together with A. Schlageter, he was arrested by the French security services, but was soon released. From March 1926, the closest employee of G. Strasser, from 1926 Deputy Gauleiter of the Ruhr, from October 1928 to May 1945, Gauleiter of East Prussia. Since 1929, member of the East Prussian Landtag, head of the Nazi faction in the local parliament. Since September 1930, a member of the Reichstag and head of the pro-Nazi "Prusskaya Gazeta". Since September 1933, Chief President of East Prussia,from September 1939, the Imperial Defense Commissioner of the 1st Military District.
At the beginning of May 1942, he was appointed to the post of Reichskommissar of Ukraine, waged a merciless struggle against Soviet partisans and underground fighters, not stopping even before using the "scorched earth" tactics and shooting hundreds of hostages taken from among the civilian population. In late 1944 - early 1945, he led the evacuation of the civilian population of East Prussia, who feared reprisals from the Red Army and Soviet special services. Thanks to Koch's efforts, several hundred thousand people, most of them children, were taken out to Germany, which saved their lives, since Konigsberg, after the storming of Soviet troops, turned into a heap of ruins.
In May 1945, he was arrested by British counterintelligence. In February 1950 he was handed over to the Polish authorities. In October 1958, he was sentenced to death by a court of the Polish People's Republic on charges of war crimes. Hanged (Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. M., 2003.).
* * *
Koch and Rode considered themselves educated people and, imitating their boss, SS Reichsfuehrer Himmler, closely followed everything that happened in the areas of "responsibility" of the "Ahnenerbe". Koch was aware of the excavations and searches that Otto Rahn conducted near Montsegur. And even secretly went there (accompanied by Sievers).
Rohde and Koch found common ground on this basis, their conversations about the search for the Holy Grail sometimes grew into real discussions and lasted for many hours. And already nothing could interfere with this conversation.
And Konigsberg itself was somewhat reminiscent of Monsegur, the same legends about the treasures hidden in the Middle Ages, the same crusaders, dungeons, caves, underground passages and labyrinths, whole expeditions that disappeared in these catacombs.
Here, in the basements of the Konigsberg towers and old mansions, the Nazis hid the jewels they had taken from Russia, huge archives, and stocks of unprocessed amber. Here, in Konigsberg, the staff of the "Ahnenerbe" tried to find traces of the treasures of the crusaders.
At the invitation of Koch and Rode, all significant figures of the Ahnenerbe, including Willigut and Haushofer Sr., visited Konigsberg. Visited the residence of Koch and Otto Rahn.
* * *
Characters:
Haushofer Karl Nikolay (27.8.1869, Munich - 13.3.1946, Pele near Weilheim) - head of the German school of geopolitics, major general (July 1919).
Graduated from the Cadet Corps (served in the 1st Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment), the Military Academy and the University of Munich. From 1897 he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in particular as part of the German embassies in Southeast Asia and Japan. Member of the First World War: commanded an artillery regiment then the 7th Bavarian reserve division.
In July 1919 he was demobilized, entered the service at the University of Munich, assistant professor (since 1921 professor) of the Department of Geography. He founded the Institute of Geopolitics and the Journal of Geopolitics, which he edited from 1924 to 1944. He is the author of a number of original theoretical studies in the field of geopolitics, which, in essence, "worked" for the national socialist ideas of A. Hitler. As modern researchers note, “Haushofer's theory became part of the official doctrine of Nazi Germany. The science he developed was extremely popular under Nazism and he was even considered the man behind Hitler."
Only after the arrest of his son, a participant in the July 1944 conspiracy, Haushofer began to doubt both the legitimacy of Nazism and his own developments, which, as it turned out, pushed the Third Reich to the brink of a systemic crisis.
Having first received news of the death of his beloved son (Haushofer) Albrecht (7.1.1903, Munich - 23.4.1945) - poet, playwright, member of the German Resistance movement. Son of K. Haushofer. Since 1940 he taught political geography at the University of Berlin and at the same time served in the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Author of the plays "Scipio" (1934) and "Sulla" (1938), in which he indirectly condemned National Socialism. Criticized the foreign and domestic policy of the NSDAP, in the early 1940s After the failure of the July 1944 conspiracy, he was imprisoned in Moabit Prison. The Moabit Sonnets written there survived and were published after 1945. Shot by order of the People's Court of Justice,even his father's intervention failed to suspend the execution. After his death, Haushofer Sr. was handed the poems found in his son's jacket pocket: “Father, believe me, fate spoke to you! Everything depended on putting the demons in a dungeon in time … But you broke the seal, father, you were not afraid of the breath of the devil, you, father, released the demon into our world.), Then about Hitler's suicide and the collapse of Nazi Germany, Haushofer fell into a terrible depression. He committed suicide, having shot his wife before that (Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. M., 2003.).released a demon into our world.), then about Hitler's suicide and the collapse of Nazi Germany, Haushofer fell into a terrible depression. He committed suicide, having shot his wife before that (Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. M., 2003.).released a demon into our world.), then about Hitler's suicide and the collapse of Nazi Germany, Haushofer fell into a terrible depression. He committed suicide, having shot his wife before that (Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. M., 2003.).
* * *
Karl Haushofer remained one of the most enigmatic figures in the Ahnenerbe. Along with Willigut, he was "responsible" for the ideology of society: he advocated the continuation of the search for gospel relics, supporting the undertakings of Rahn and his younger colleagues.
* * *
In Lithuania and near Königsberg, Ran was looking for the golden ecu of the Templars (he believed in the commonality of the Templars and Cathars!), Which they had taken out on seventeen ships! - in October 1307 from the French port of Rouen in an unknown direction.
(Ran was one of the first among the seekers of mysterious Templar treasures, who suggested that the Templars had taken their gold not to the American continent, but to the shores of the Baltic states - to Latvia).
According to rumors, Ran found a small treasure of gold coins in the dungeons of one of the castles located on the Riga seaside, which he transferred to the local authorities for temporary storage.
Already during the Second World War, a new expedition of German historians and archaeologists arrived in Riga, which followed in the footsteps of Rahn. The finds made by him were transported to Berlin, there were also multi-page reports of researchers who carefully studied dozens of objects - the ruins of medieval castles, monasteries, cemeteries, archival depositories, ancient settlements … The expedition itself was evacuated from Courland by submarines only in April 1945, when Soviet troops were already on the outskirts of the German capital. Together with the expedition, he left Konigsberg and Koch. He believed that his organizational talent would still be useful to the Third Reich, he clearly did not want to die at the ancient walls of the Prussian capital.
And in the Baltic States, archaeological searches continued, but already by new owners - the Soviet security officers. The work was supervised by Ignatiy Yakovlevich Stelletsky (See about him and his work: Stelletsky I. Ya. Searches for the library of Ivan the Terrible. M., 1999. (In 1945, he visited the liberated Riga, officially on vacation, but most likely he was engaged in the analysis of trophy archives, including the Templars. Apparently, on his recommendation, this archive was taken to Moscow, where the donkey, hidden from researchers under the heading “secret.” An interesting fact, after the death of Stelletsky, which followed in 1949, his widow handed over his personal archive to the State Archives of Literature and Art, but part of the archive … ended up in private hands, perhaps the materials of the Templars?)), perhaps the only person who has studied the Templar archives taken from Konigsberg to Moscow in May 1945.
The sixteen-page report by Stelletsky did not interest the Chekists. The scientist remained a scientist, wrote dryly and everything was “out of the question”: instead of clearly saying where the Templars' treasures lie, he smeared a piece of paper with words about the value of this archive for historians.
The senior operative of SMERSH did not know how careful Professor Stelletsky was (life taught), especially when dealing with representatives of the glorious security agencies. Ignatiy Yakovlevich did not utter a word that the Chekists could perceive as a thread to the crusader treasures buried (possibly buried) in the Konigsberg land. Four years later, Stelletsky died, taking with him the secret of what he found (or did not find) in the archives seized in East Prussia.
* * *
But it seems that in the Baltic States, the German archaeologist Ran was looking for traces of the Albigensian Cathars, evidence of their stay here. He received full support in his search from Rode, the same follower of Qatari ideas, like the indefatigable Otto himself.
Unlike conversations with Koch, Rode in conversations with Ran tried to appear in the role of a student (he really did not have enough special knowledge to help him understand the ideological pyramids of representatives of a particular heresy).
He knew Rahn - from his publications - as not only a talented scientist, but also an obsessed person. (And Rode was exactly the same.) They - Ran and Rohde - quickly hit it off, despite the different "weight categories" they held in the Nazi hierarchy. On Rode's personal order, Ran was given out the rarest editions in the university library, which he “swallowed” with extraordinary speed, making extensive extracts in his black calico notebooks.
* * *
In 1935-1936, Rahn wrote to the head of Ahnenerbe several enthusiastic letters about the places he visited in search of news of the Grail in Germany and the Baltic States, asking him to maintain complete confidentiality on this matter, notifying only Himmler.
In the summer of 1936, thanks to the financial support of the SS, Otto Rahn went on an expedition to Iceland. Highlights from this journey were included in several chapters of his second - and final - book, The Court of Lucifer (Luzifers Hofgesind), published in 1937. (In his book, Ran does not mention the SS and the fact that the ship on which he left for Iceland was sailing under a flag with a blue swastika on a white background (which was different from the official flag of the Third Reich).
* * *
Iceland … solitude and monotony …
And here indefatigable Ran is looking for traces of the legendary Chalice. It follows the trail of "songs of gods and heroes" known as the "Elder Edda" (preserved in a manuscript dating from the late 13th century). "The Elder Edda" was nothing more than a collection of ancient mythological ideas, the subjects of which were known to the Germans before the "Viking Age" (that is, the 9th-11th centuries).
Or perhaps the indefatigable Ran was looking for traces of a treasure of mysterious Niflungs (from German - "Nibelungs") (Niflungs are inhabitants of the mysterious land of darkness, fog and eternal ice located in the north. Demonic creatures associated with the underworld. Protect the treasures of ancestors from outsiders.), which was sought before him - both in Iceland and on the Rhine.
But according to all the same "Edda" a curse is imposed on the treasure of the niflungs, and everyone who dares to take it will die.
* * *
The final chord in Rahn's research can be considered an expedition to Montsegur in the summer of 1937.
More than thirty people participated in that last expedition for Rahn, of whom (not counting Rahn himself) five archaeologists representing various German universities, two philologists, three ethnographers, one historian - a specialist in crusades, two specialists in speleology; the rest are students, inspired by the search for Rahn and volunteering for him.
SS officers, employees of the "Ahnenerbe" were attached to the expedition for supervision. But the latter kept quite quietly, without interfering with the research process itself, paying more attention to keeping records of finds and compiling numerous memoranda for the authorities.
The leader of "Ahnenerbe" Sievers himself twice appeared, once - alone, even without a personal secretary, the second time - accompanying some, apparently, significant "person", whose name remained "incognito" for the expedition members. (Only Rahn recognized the mysterious stranger. It was his old Koenigsberg acquaintance Koch, who persuaded Sievers to take him to Montsegur for at least a day.)
* * *
Characters:
Sivers Wolfram (? - 2/2/1948, Landsberg on Lech) - scientist-ethnologist, specialist in race, SS Standartenführer
Graduated from the University of Berlin, collaborated in a number of research institutes and medical centers.
Since 1935, the manager of the Ahnenerbe, one of the closest advisers to the SS Reichsfuehrer G. Himmler. He coordinated the organization of archaeological expeditions in Tibet and Antarctica, excavations in Austria and Hungary, collection of ancient manuscripts and antiques.
On instructions from the top Nazi leadership, he conducted medical experiments on prisoners of concentration camps, on terminally ill, which, as a rule, led to the painful death of prisoners. He was responsible for the technical and economic equipment of laboratories and research institutes on the territory of "death camps" in Poland and the Soviet Union. He kept detailed notes, which he practically did not show to anyone; despite the fact that there was a real hunt for his diaries and workbooks, he managed to save the results of his work.
In May 1945, he was arrested by American counterintelligence, and remained under investigation for more than two years. While in solitary confinement, he wrote memoirs and summarized the results of his many years of research.
In July 1947, at the trial of the American military tribunal in the case of Nazi doctors, he was sentenced to death.
Hanged.
Even the promise to transfer his richest archive to the investigation did not save him from death.
* * *
Ran and his colleagues surveyed the caves over and over again, trying to look into every passage, to write on paper every wall inscription, drawing, or just a scratch. Ran believed that all this could serve as a basis for a serious analysis of the events that unfolded here in the 13th century, and about which the ancestors left evidence on the walls of the caves.
Everything that had to do with the events of the fall of Montsegur was especially carefully copied.
Ran was not limited to dungeon "travel". His staff went around all the nearby villages, where they expected to collect all - written and oral, material - evidence of the long gone into oblivion of the era of the crusaders. If there was practically no material evidence, then there was no shortage of oral sources. Every day Ran was handed over written notebooks for viewing, containing songs, legends, stories passing from one generation to the next. Rahn searched between the lines of records for something that could lead him to the location of the treasures of the Albigensians, which remained hidden somewhere behind the thickness of the mountains, walled up in the labyrinths of numerous underground passages, or in one of a thousand caves.
Another group of researchers worked tirelessly in the local archives, hoping to “fish out” there something interesting.
In general, Ran's “net” was wide enough, hoping to cover as large an area as possible for searching.
The wound was able to establish for sure that not six, but at least ten "initiates" were saved from the besieged fortress. If about the first six was known a lot (about four - even names), then about the last "brothers" who left the besieged hill - practically nothing. Rahn could only assume that these four also escaped only in order to take the Albigensian values to a safe place.
But why did they leave in groups, and not all at once? They were afraid that the breakthrough might end in failure, otherwise at least one of the groups would break through. Moreover, the second and third groups came out of their hiding places even when Monsegur fell. It was safer that way.
Rahn's thoughts again and again returned to the third, most mysterious group, how, how she left the hill, why no one remembered her, why no evidence was preserved, and only in a few, sometimes simply incredible stories slip vague mentions about her.
The answer came by itself: the first two groups were sent only for a diversion, everything about them was known, down to the names and tasks facing them. Only the latter had the honor to take out of Montsegur the most precious thing for the Albigensians, their fetish, their secret, their Shrine. This object was small, it could be imperceptibly taken out by one "initiate", the rest acted only as a guard, an honorary escort.
As for the numerous legends about the allegedly priceless treasures of the Albigensians, Rahn realized that all this is nothing more than a myth. After all, it was the Cathars-Albigensians who were opponents of material acquisitiveness, supporters of spiritual values (and they considered the Holy Grail itself as an exclusively spiritual symbol).
During the week Ran, hiding in his tent and forbidding anyone from entering it for several hours a day, very carefully compared all the information he had in order to decide exactly where to look for the mysterious bowl.
The week passed quickly. Early Monday morning, Ran, apparently very pleased with his search, ordered the creation of a small group - of five people - which was to move along the underground passage only known to him, into the very depths of the mountain labyrinths.
Ran did not say another word again (he was generally distinguished by his silence). At 8 o'clock in the morning, the group, led by Ran, left on their way. The rest of the expedition members went about their usual business. Everyone was looking forward to the return of their colleagues with impatience, which increased with each passing hour.
The group returned only after midnight, obviously something "did not go well" in the search. All silently, without asking a single question, went to bed. Only in Rahn's tent was a kerosene lamp smoldering until dawn. He again compared something, read, made extracts and calculations.
E. Parnov believed that Ran found seven swords, one of them broken (the inscription "INOOMINE" ("In nomine omnipotentis in nomine" (anagram). - "In the name of the almighty in the name." Such a stigma was put on swords of the twelfth - thirteenth centuries (E. I. Parnov)) on the handle), six spears, five daggers, chain mail armor (Parnov E. I. Alexandrian gem. M., 1990.).
In the morning it became known that the group, according to Rahn's calculations, had discovered two walled up caves. The masonry covering the passage was quickly knocked out. But in the caves themselves, only stocks of weapons were found - swords, arrowheads, armor (or rather, everything that was left of them). Everyone was upset except for Rahn himself. Most likely, the contents of the caves only confirmed some of his hypotheses. The day passed at work, and in the evening he went to the caves … only Ran, who took with him a substantial supply of food, water and an alcohol lamp.
Ran emerged from the caves exactly two days later, completely exhausted, but happy. The smile never left his stubbled face. But again there was complete silence. No one ever found out if Ran had found something or not.
Two days later, accompanied by three employees of the "Ahnenerbe" Ran, unexpectedly for everyone, leaves Monsegur, leaving the expedition to his deputy. But without an inspirer, all work gradually collapses, interest in routine work disappears, and no positive results are visible. One by one, the expedition is left by the employees, some are already tired, some are out of resentment against Ran.
Archaeologists were the last to leave; the expedition ended two weeks earlier than planned.
Ran never appeared in Montsegur again, no one knew what he was and where he was …
* * *
“And Zarathustra spoke thus to the people:
I teach you about the superman. Man is something that must be transcended. What have you done to surpass him?
All beings until now have created something higher than themselves; Do you want to be the ebb of this great wave and rather return to the state of the beast than surpass man?
What is a monkey in relation to humans? A laughing stock or an excruciating shame. And man must be the same for a superman: a laughing stock or a painful shame.
You have made the path from worm to man, but much in you still remains of the worm, once you were a monkey, and even now man is still more a monkey than any of the monkeys.
Even the wisest among you is only discord and a cross between a plant and a ghost. But do I command you to become a ghost or a plant?
Look, I am teaching you about the superman!
Superman is the meaning of the earth.
Let your will say: let the superman be the meaning of the earth!
I conjure you, my brothers, remain faithful to the earth and do not believe those who tell you about the hopes above the earth!
They are poisoners, whether they know it or not.
They despise life, these dying and poisoned themselves, from whom the earth is tired: let them disappear!
Previously, blasphemy against God was the greatest blasphemy; but God died, and these blasphemers also died with him. Now, to blaspheme the earth is the most terrible crime, just as to honor the essence of the incomprehensible higher than the meaning of the earth!
Once the soul looked at the body with contempt: and then there was nothing higher than this contempt - it wanted to see the body skinny, disgusting and hungry. So she thought to run from the body and from the ground.
Oh, this soul itself was still skinny, hideous and hungry; and cruelty was the desire of this soul!
But even now, my brothers, tell me: what does your body say about your soul? Is not your soul poverty and filth and wretched self-satisfaction?
Truly, man is a dirty stream. You have to be the sea in order to receive the dirty stream and not become unclean.
See, I teach you about the superman: he is the sea where your great contempt can be drowned.
What is the highest thing that you can experience? This is an hour of great contempt. The hour when your happiness becomes disgusting to you, as well as your reason and your virtue.
The hour when you say: “What is my happiness! It is poverty and filth and wretched self-satisfaction. My happiness should have justified my very existence!"
The hour when you say: “What is my mind! Does he seek knowledge as a lion pursues his food? He is poverty and filth and wretched self-satisfaction!"
The hour when you say: “What is my virtue! She hasn't made me mad yet. How tired I am of my good and of my evil! All this is poverty and filth and miserable self-satisfaction!"
The hour when you say: “What is my justice! I do not see that I am flame and coal. And the just one is fire and coal!"
The hour when you say: “What is my pity! Isn't pity the cross to which everyone who loves people is nailed? But my pity is not a crucifixion."
Have you said that already? Have you exclaimed already? Ah, if I had already heard you exclaiming so!
It's not your sin - your complacency cries out to heaven; the insignificance of your sins cries out to heaven!
But where is the lightning that licks you with its tongue? Where is the madness that should be instilled in you?
Look, I am teaching you about the superman: he is this lightning, he is this madness!"
* * *
Otto Rahn's expedition was not the last, for many years Monsegur was courted by archaeologists and speleologists, treasure seekers and adventurers:
“Several years ago, cavers saw some signs, notches and an incomprehensible drawing on one of the walls of the castle. They decoded it, that was the plan of the underground passage …
“… In the musty air of the dungeon, Montsegur breathed fresh air. The underground passage ended. And suddenly the torches of cavers lit up two skeletons lying against the moldy wall. Nearby were halberds, conical helmets, belt buckles. An arrowhead protruded from the spine of one skeleton, a spear pierced the ribs of another …
It is believed that the Albigensians hid their scrolls and relics in one of the nearby grottoes, and there are more than 1000 of them (Around the World. 1967. No. 8.).
* * *
Miguel Serrano (Serrano Miguel / Miguel Serrano / (born in 1913) - historian, writer, adventurer, “man of the world”, the founder of the so-called theory of “esoteric Hitlerism.” Born and raised in Chile, was educated in France and Spain. From 1939 to 1945 he was the editor of the journal "La Nueva Edad", on the pages of which he published the results of his research in the field of archeology and ethnography. In 1947-1948 he traveled across Antarctica, one of the mountains of the icy continent was named after him. 1962 - Ambassador to India Serrano was acquainted with many Indian yogis, and also personally knew Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and the Dalai Lama (becoming the only foreigner whom the Dalai Lama received in the Himalayas, where he hid after escaping from Chinese Tibet). In 1962-1964 - Ambassador to Yugoslavia,simultaneously accredited in Romania and Bulgaria.; Ambassador to Austria and simultaneously Ambassador to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Agency) in Vienna in 1964-1970. He belonged to the "Hermetic Circle" founded by Jung, who wrote the foreword to Serrano's book "Visits of the Queen of Sheba". He knew Hermann Hesse, in whose house in Italian Switzerland, in the house of Camuzzi, he lived for ten years, leaving his diplomatic work in order to continue his research and writing activities. I was looking for the mysterious and enchanted cities of Shambhala and Aggart in the Himalayas, the City of the Caesars in the Andes. He offered the famous German pilot Anna Reich to fly to the South Pole in order to penetrate through it into the "New Berlin". Serrano's books have been translated into many languages of the world.).:Ambassador to Austria and simultaneously Ambassador to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Agency) in Vienna in 1964-1970. He belonged to the "Hermetic Circle" founded by Jung, who wrote the foreword to Serrano's book "Visits of the Queen of Sheba". He knew Hermann Hesse, in whose house in Italian Switzerland, in the house of Camuzzi, he lived for ten years, leaving his diplomatic work in order to continue his research and writing activities. I was looking for the mysterious and enchanted cities of Shambhala and Aggart in the Himalayas, the City of the Caesars in the Andes. He offered the famous German pilot Anna Reich to fly to the South Pole in order to penetrate through it into the "New Berlin". Serrano's books have been translated into many languages of the world.).:Ambassador to Austria and simultaneously Ambassador to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Agency) in Vienna in 1964-1970. He belonged to the "Hermetic Circle" founded by Jung, who wrote the foreword to Serrano's book "Visits of the Queen of Sheba". He knew Hermann Hesse, in whose house in Italian Switzerland, in the house of Camuzzi, he lived for ten years, leaving his diplomatic work in order to continue his research and writing activities. I was looking for the mysterious and enchanted cities of Shambhala and Aggart in the Himalayas, the City of the Caesars in the Andes. He offered the famous German pilot Anna Reich to fly to the South Pole in order to penetrate through it into the "New Berlin". Serrano's books have been translated into many languages of the world.).:
The Grail was inherited by the Cathars from the Visigoths of Languedoc. The Cathars were unable to decipher the runic inscriptions carved into the bowl. During the last expedition, Otto Rahn found the Grail in the caves of Sabarta, experts from the SS deciphered the records, hence the creation of Hitler's ovni flying saucer.
Jean Marie Anger on the 1937 expedition: Rahn's search for the Grail was crowned with success, he was taken to Germany, and later evacuated to a secret base on one of the Alpine glaciers, which was supposed to melt in 1992.
If the glacier did melt in the early 1990s, then most likely Rahn's cache was not found there.
And if you look at things realistically, then where could Rahn's mysterious findings be kept?
According to modern researchers, "the SS men needed their own Camelot."
"Already in 1932, a year before coming to power," said SS General Karl Wolf (Wolf) Karl Friedrich Otto (13.5.1900, Darmstadt - 15.7.1984, Posenheim) - one of the highest SS officers, SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer and Colonel-General of the SS troops (1945-20-04).) ("transparent, almost white eyes, quick smile, dry mouth …"), - Himmler told us, the group of senior officials closest to him, that he was trying to create from the SS not only the elite guards units, but also the order of the knights - a type of new aristocracy on "blood and earth".
Only one thing caused concern: this new aristocracy had to have its own castle."
Therefore, Wolf, Willigut and Himmler began looking for him in the year the Nazis came to power. It is thanks to Willigut's "knowledge that goes back to antiquity" that such a medieval castle - Wewelsburg - was found by Himmler in the shortest possible time. This castle was to become the SS Camelot.
It was planned to rebuild Wewelsburg by 1960, but history did not give the Nazis such an opportunity.
French scientist Jean-Michel Angebert writes in his book "Hitler and the Cathar Traditions" that the precious vessel (that is, the Grail) was transported to the Wewelsburg castle, guarded by a whole SS division, where the bowl was set on a marble pedestal. In 1945, before the surrender of Germany, the chalice allegedly disappeared from the castle (Evteev A. SS in search of Atlantis // Interesting newspaper (Electronic version - www.soznanie.org)). We will return to this version later.
But Himmler and his "brothers" also cherished a broader dream, as Povel and Bergier wrote, the world was to receive a sovereign SS state as a model. “At a world conference,” Himmler said in March 1943, “the world will learn about the resurrection of ancient Burgundy. This country, which was once the land of sciences and arts, was reduced by France to the level of an alcohol-based appendage. The sovereign state of Burgundy, with its army, laws, coins, mail, will become a model SS state. It will include Romanesque Switzerland, Champagne, Fran-Comté, Hainaut and Luxembourg. The official language will, of course, be German. Only the SS will rule, the National Socialist Party will have no power in Burgundy. The world will be shocked and admired by the state, where our concepts will be applied”(Povel L., Bergier J. Morning of the Magicians. Kiev, 1994).
* * *
It is known that at the end of 1937, Otto Rahn lost the patronage of the highest ranks of the SS and the highest leaders of the Nazi party and, for unknown reasons, was seconded to serve in the Dachau concentration camp, which was guarded by SS units. Such a service was clearly not for him.
In the winter of 1938-1939, he wrote a report to the SS Reichsfuehrer requesting his dismissal from the SS. Briefly and clearly.
Himmler replied with one phrase: "I can't cover you anymore!"
In general, very few cases of expulsion from the SS are known, such was followed by arrest and execution (with rare exceptions), Ran was lucky, he did not receive a bullet in the back of the head.
There are many rumors about the reasons for Otto Rahn's departure from the SS. People in black SS uniforms from the department of G. Mueller claimed that he was a homosexual (a criminal offense), that there were Jews among his ancestors (a political crime), but no evidence was given to substantiate these charges. (All these accusations are far-fetched, everyone who joined the SS was checked for racial purity many times, and if something was discovered, the path to Ranu's black ranks would be closed forever.
The point is different, Rahn, even while serving in the SS and "Ahnenerbe", remained an independent researcher in his judgments and actions. The scientist's analytical mind allowed him to quickly figure out what is what and who is who, and what Nazism threatens him and Germany. Ran did not hide his thoughts and fears, which, naturally, could not but provoke a response.
In one of his private letters, Ran claimed that he was betrayed and that his life was in danger. He openly expressed his critical doubts about the Third Reich and his fate:
“I am saddened by the way things are going in my country. My country scares me. Two weeks ago I was in Munich. After two days, I chose to go to my mountains. It is impossible for a tolerant, liberal person like me to live in such a country as my homeland has become."
Was Ran a Liberal? Question … Yes, the way of life, the intellect leave a certain imprint on the worldview, apparently, Ran was not averse to mimicking (that is, adapting) to the environment, which he could hardly endure. (That is, he lived by his own rules, but was forced to play with people according to the rules imposed on him. Sooner or later, such a contradiction was bound to lead to disaster.)
And then one more amazing phrase from the letter:
"The main requirement is to take your own life not from despair, fear or pain, but only in order to finally get rid of the material shell."
The last sentence is directly in Qatari, refusal of material, dedication of oneself to spiritual service. Even at the cost of his own life.
Only thirty-five years, so much was predetermined by fate for Otto Rahn. Unlike most of his colleagues in the "Ahnenerbe", he really was engaged in science, as evidenced by his two amazing books. Yes, the search for the Grail was more like an adventure novel. But science without such adventurous streaks would turn into a boring pastime. Ran belonged to that small circle of scientists who saw in their research primarily an opportunity to apply knowledge about the past to an objective study of the present and the future, an opportunity to combine the useful with the pleasant, to interest in their searches the surrounding readers, students and ordinary people.
And Ran did it. His books have been published, republished, translated and translated, and, most importantly, they are still read …
* * *
Colonel Howard Buchner, author of The Emerald Cup, writes: “It is no secret that Rahn was against the war for which Germany openly prepared in 1938.
Instead of war, he believed, Germany, and then Europe, should be transformed into a community of "pure" or Cathars. In other words, Rahn's many years of connection with the history of the Cathars and their unjust persecution by the Church and the King of France led to his conversion to the Cathar faith. He also advocated a "new order" in which the states of Europe and perhaps all other countries adopted the Cathar faith in the interests of world peace "(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. Red. Ru / religion / ra / otto)).
It may be so, but Ran was not such a major figure whose change of views could radically affect the domestic or foreign policy of the Nazi state. It is likely that Ran was a supporter of pacifist ideas. But there were a lot of people with similar views in Germany, especially (oddly enough) among the officers of the Wehrmacht. However, no one used any kind of repression against them.
The point is different, he really found something during the 1937 expedition. This "something" also cost him his life. Himmler decided this: the less people know about the find, the better. This also applied to Rahn himself, who fully coped with the mission entrusted to him. ("The Moor has done his job …" - the SS Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler liked to repeat.
March 13, 1939 - almost on the anniversary of the fall of Montsegur - Otto Rahn died in the snows of the Tyrolean mountains (In one of the books by E. I. Parnov, perhaps the only author who wrote at least something about Rana in Soviet times, we find: “Only after World War II journalist Saint-Loew, author of the sensational brochure "New Cathars of Montsegur", tried to inquire about the fate of Rahn from the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany and received an interesting answer: - According to SS documentation, Rahn committed suicide by taking cyanide on Mount Kufstein. (Correct - Kaufstein. - VT) “The reason?” The persistent Saint-Low asked another question. “On political and mystical grounds,” the official of justice quoted, most likely without suspecting it himself, the SS diagnosis. "(See: Parnov EI Throne of Lucifer: Critical Essays on Magic and Occultism. M., 1985.)).
“Many die too late and some die too early. The doctrine sounds strange: "Die in time!"
Die in time - so teaches Zarathustra."
Ran died on time, less than six months later, the Second World War began, many of those who recently (under the banner of "Ahnenerbe") were engaged in history, archeology or led expeditions far from Europe to Tibet, were, as if on command, not at the mercy of Reichsfuehrer, who fused yesterday's favorites into the active army. From there, completely different people returned, broken and fearful, wanting only one thing - to save their lives.
Only Willigut was “lucky”, thanks to his years he did not get to the front, but was expelled from both the Ahnenerbe and the SS. He spent the rest of his life wandering around private hotels and hospitals.
Willigut and Ran were replaced by others - unprincipled, obsequious, but …
* * *
We did not find articles and books dedicated to the fate and activities of Otto Rahn in Russian. But the Internet has found a place to post at least some information about this extraordinary researcher:
"Like the heretic Cathars," writes the historian and archaeologist, publicist and journalist Nigel Pennick, "Rahn voluntarily left a world that was falling apart before his eyes." Several years earlier, Otto Rahn wrote in his book Crusade Against the Holy Grail:
“Their teaching permitted suicide, but argued that a person can end his life not out of disgust, fear or pain, but only with the aim of completely freeing himself from matter. Endura (strengthening, hammering to death) was permitted when it took place at the moment of mystical vision of divine beauty and kindness. There is only one step from fasting to suicide. Fasting requires courage, but the final act of total austerity requires heroism. Its consequences are not as severe as it might seem. " The history of the mysterious life and works of Otto Rahn, symbolizing the Great Mystery, will always attract researchers of the Holy Grail and the traditions of the Cathars. A glimpse of this Mystery can be caught in the following quotation from the "Book of the Resurrection"
Miguel Serrano:
“When we talk about the religion of love of the troubadours, about the dedicated knights of the Grail, about the true Rosicrucians, we must try to discover what lies behind their language. In those days, the word love was not meant what we mean today. The word "love" (Amor) was a code, it was a code word. “Amor,” read from right to left, is Roma. That is, this word meant, as it was written, the opposite of Rome, everything that Rome embodied. In addition, "Amor" can be divided into two parts: A-mor ("no-death"), which means the possibility of immortality, eternal life due to initiation into A-Mor. Initiation directly opposite to the values of Rome. This is esoteric, solar Christianity. Meister Eckhart's Gnostic Christianity. And mine too. Because I tried to teach Western Man to resurrect Christ in my soul. Because Christ is "I" for the Western person. That is why Rome (Roma) destroyed Love (Amor), Cathars, Templars, guardians of the Grail, minnesingers (minstrels) - everything that could arise in the "Hyperborean Memory of Blood" and that could have polar, solar origins. Love, about which so much is said and written in novels, poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death") which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp as a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Kingdom of the Immortals, Ultima Thule "(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. red. ru / religion / ra / otto)). That is why Rome (Roma) destroyed Love (Amor), Cathars, Templars, guardians of the Grail, minnesingers (minstrels) - everything that could arise in the "Hyperborean Memory of Blood" and that could have polar, solar origins. Love, about which so much is said and written in novels, poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death") which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp as a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Kingdom of the Immortals, Ultima Thule "(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. red. ru / religion / ra / otto)). That is why Rome (Roma) destroyed Love (Amor), Cathars, Templars, guardians of the Grail, minnesingers (minstrels) - everything that could arise in the "Hyperborean Memory of Blood" and that could have polar, solar origins. Love, about which so much is said and written in novels, poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death") which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp as a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Kingdom of the Immortals, Ultima Thule "(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. red. ru / religion / ra / otto)).minnesingers (minstrels) - everything that could arise in the “Hyperborean Memory of the Blood” and that could have polar, solar origins. Love, about which so much is said and written in novels, poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death") which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp as a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Kingdom of the Immortals, Ultima Thule "(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. red. ru / religion / ra / otto)).minnesingers (minstrels) - everything that could arise in the “Hyperborean Memory of the Blood” and that could have polar, solar origins. Love, about which so much is said and written in novels, poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death") which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp as a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Kingdom of the Immortals, Ultima Thule "(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. red. ru / religion / ra / otto)).poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death"), which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp like a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Realm of the Immortals, Ultima Thule”(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy.red. ru / religion / ra / otto)).poems and magazines, love for one's neighbor, universal love of religious confessions, love for humanity - has nothing to do with "love without love" (A-mor, "without death"), which is a harsh teaching, cold as ice, sharp like a sword, and which aims to overcome the human-all-too-human condition in order to reach the Realm of the Immortals, Ultima Thule”(Otto Rahn and the Quest for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy.red. ru / religion / ra / otto)). Ultima Thule”(Otto Rahn and the search for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. Red. Ru / religion / ra / otto)). Ultima Thule”(Otto Rahn and the search for the Holy Grail (Electronic version - https:// fantasy. Red. Ru / religion / ra / otto)).
Nicholas Goodrick-Clark:
“The portrait of Otto Rahn is quite a typical portrait of a European romantic writer, traveler and historian. Among his pompous and pastoral texts are quite vivid descriptions of a summer village in Hesse, the hills of South Tyrol, the rocky strongholds of Montsegur, a small village where he spent a snowy winter, the seclusion and monotony of Iceland. Although Rahn's focus and scientific mind set him apart from the eccentric occultists, there was a certain similarity of interests and motives between them. Their common ground was the search for the lost German tradition, presumably destroyed by the Catholic Church and other hostile forces (Goodrick-Clarke N. The Occult Roots of Nazism. Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology. Bm., BG; See., also: The Power of Magic Cults in Nazi Germany. M., 1992.).
Jocelyn Godwin believes that "the creation of the mythological complex that links the Cathars and Montsegur to the Holy Grail and its Castle is largely due to Rahn."
Norma Lorr Goodrich emphasizes her conviction that Rahn's The Crusade Against the Grail is “a wonderful book, a monument to this idealist German author who mysteriously died in the Alps while descending the mountains.” (Otto Rahn and the Search for the Holy Grail. [?] (What kind of riddles are there? Everything is clear, to the limit!)
French researchers, for whom his books were a real discovery, wrote:
Otto Rahn came to believe that the Cathars were the last guardians of the Holy Grail and that the Holy Grail “disappeared” when they died at the hands of the “Pope and King of France” in the early thirteenth century. The war of the Roman Catholic Church against the Cathars is described by various authors as a war in which Rome (Roma) and Love (Amor) opposed each other, and in which the Catholic (vulgar) idea, with fire and sword, asserted its dominance over the Catharic ("pure") idea. Medieval Cathars believed in the existence of an eternal war between the principles of Light and Darkness, on the interaction and collisions of which everything in the universe is based. For them, darkness was a dark substance, an imperfect, transient essence. They considered all ecclesiastical and secular rulers, and above all the Catholic Church, to be the embodiment of Darkness. In their mythology, the sun symbolized the original Light,from which all living things came.
Miguel Serrano called their doctrine "Solar Christianity". And for Otto Rahn, Montsegur was a "beacon of catharism" (Otto Rahn and the search for the Holy Grail [?]).
“At Montsegur,” stresses Nigel Pennick, “in 1244, the heretic Cathars fought their last heroic battle against the Catholic Crusaders, who ultimately defeated them. Tradition says that on the night before the last attack, three Cathars descended the wall unnoticed, taking with them the sacred relics of their faith. They took away the magical regalia of the Merovingian king Dagobert II and the cup, presumably the Holy Grail.
The possession of the Grail has always been the dream of the knightly orders. The Knights of the Round Table of King Arthur, the Templars, even the Teutonic Knights were looking for a mystical vessel. But Otto Rahn believed he could succeed where centuries of searching had failed."
As Nigel Pennick suggests, the principles of "sacred geography" familiar to Ran can also be found in the Druids and Templars. It is believed that the Cathars also had this kind of knowledge.
The legend of the Holy Grail, as Miguel Serrano explains, “reappears in the Middle Ages in a heavily revised Christian interpretation. Its distributors are the Templars. It is based on the legend of the court of King Arthur (who is the King of the Holy Grail and also bears the name Amfortas). It is interesting to note that Arthur is Arthos, the Bear, that is, the Arctic. Thus, the exact geographic location of the lost continent of the first solar age is indicated: Hyperborea, the location of the Holy Grail.
In the Middle Ages, when this myth underwent Christian processing, the Grail becomes a cup from which, according to legend, Christ drank during the Last Supper, or in which Joseph of Arimathea collected the blood of Christ flowing from his side when He hung on the cross”(Unknown planet (Electronic version - https:// www.neplaneta.ru/phorum/read/)).
The lineage of the Cathars, who kept the Holy Grail in their castle on Mount Montsegur, according to Otto Rahn, can be traced back to the Druids who converted to Manichaeism. The Druids in Britain were the forerunners of the Celtic Christian Church. He saw in the culture of Languedoc, the medieval stronghold of the Cathars, a strong resemblance to the culture of the Druids. Their priests were akin to the Parfaits ("perfect", preachers, shepherds) of the Cathars. Later, the secret knowledge of the Cathars was preserved by the troubadours - itinerant poets and singers of the medieval courts of France.
Most of the troubadours, Ran believed, were secret Cathars. Their songs, at first glance full of longing and unrequited love, but only occasionally dedicated to any particular woman, their female symbolism related to the Cathar community, to Sophia, the Wisdom of the Gnostics (Unknown planet [?]).
Julius Evola explains in The Mystery of the Grail:
“To make this doctrine inaccessible to the uninitiated, it has been wrapped in erotic symbolism, like the Grail cycle, where it is represented by heroic symbolism” (Unknown Planet). Trevor Ravenscroft, Jean-Michel Anjaber and Jacques Madol created their works under the full influence of the personality of Otto Rahn, his research and their results. They argue among themselves, curious readers discuss with them, they are translated into many languages. One way or another, they popularize the ideas of Rahn, who did not have time to say everything he could and wanted.
Domestic publicist Grigory Bondarenko, responding to the first publication in modern Russia of the book by Jacques Madol "The Albigensian Drama and the Destiny of France" (Madol J. Albigenskaya Drama and the Fates of France. St. Petersburg, 2000), wrote, in particular:
“Southern France, Languedoc have always attracted inquisitive minds with their originality and proud adherence to all sorts of tempting heresies: either the Druids and Mithraists hid in the mountains, then the“surrealist”Manicheans come from the east, the Albigensians, the Huguenots preach and, finally, the southern mockery flashes the Vichy government … However, what Madol writes about the druidic cult in the Pyrenees in the Middle Ages, let me not believe. In general, there is an interesting tendency in such a way to raise all European sects and secret societies to unknown druids from the dense primordial forest. The trend is at first glance wild and Gallomanic, but even here it is not so simple. For example, in 1022 in Orleans the first Cathars ("pure", they will later be called Albigensians) Herbert and Lisa said:
“The earth and the sky existed for eternity, no one created them. A beneficent God could not be the creator of the wicked."
Wicked, in the opinion of the Cathars, is the entire created world. Likewise, the Cathars did not believe in the end of the world. All these views correspond to the doctrine of the Druids, who denied both creation and eschatology, which is known from Strabo's Geography. It is not even interesting here whether the Cathars borrowed the elements of their doctrine from the ancient Gallic priests or not. It is noteworthy that the doctrine of these Languedoc heretics clearly differs from the Christian in explaining the foundations of the universe, not to mention the Qatari dualism, belief in the transmigration of souls, contempt for the flesh and denial of the Incarnation and Resurrection of the Savior. It is precisely on the question of the Qatari doctrine that I cannot agree with Madol, who, being primarily a historian-popularizer, and not a religious scholar or philosopher, considers the Cathars to be good Christians. Say, "and their rituals are similar to the early Christian"!
Jacques Madol, the author of this non-binding popular book, unfortunately ranks among those French historians who were truly influenced by the charm of Montsegur's "innocent victims." Of course, the Inquisition is disgusting, and its victims are innocent and noble! We all know this from The Name of the Rose (some from the book and some from the film). The only thing missing is the wise William of Baskerville … to bring the secret tablets of the Cathars and a bonus - the Grail from the flames of Montsegur / Monsalvat.
Everything is much more complicated. Probably, in any era in many knowledge - a lot of sadness. That is why the fate of the various Gnostics, who despised the world, is so sad. /… / Madol's assertion that the connection between the Albigensians and the Manichaeans and Bogomils has not yet been proved and cannot be proved, does not inspire confidence. One could simply recall that even in the 11th century, the Cathars believed that the Holy Spirit was transmitted only through Mani, the messenger of God, and the bright mani stone destroys worldly desires.
/… / Regarding the ascetic morality of the Cathars, praised by Madol, I can give only one politically incorrect example. The English word bugger, "homosexual", comes from the ethnonym "Bulgarian", and it meant a very specific kind of Bulgarians - Bogomils. What can you expect from the Western Cathars, subordinate to their Eastern bishops?
No comments.
/… / Among the Cathars, there were indeed convinced ascetics who ate only "light vegetables" - melons, pumpkins, cucumbers - like the ancient Manichaeans or starved themselves during the endura rite. Only such mortifications of the flesh without proper spiritual content, as practice shows, often turn into carnal excesses. It is not in our power to debunk the myth of the Albigensians or overshadow their charisma, and I did not set myself such a goal here. But still, I would like to advise adventure seekers, real and virtual: do not look for the Grail in the vicinity of Montsegur, do not waste your time! " (Nezavisimaya gazeta. 2000, June 22.)
May the reader forgive me for such long quotations and repetitions of what has already been said. I just wanted to show how this is possible given the paucity of information, how widely and ambiguously the views of Otto Rahn himself and his few followers were assessed (and are being evaluated today).
In our opinion, there are as many opinions as there are researchers. And everyone has a right to exist, even those that resemble rather a mockery of serious attempts to consider a topic of concern to more than one generation of historians and archaeologists, than a scrupulous assessment of the research approach.
* * *
The evidence that Otto Rahn actually found the Holy Grail and that the latter was kept until the very end of World War II in the SS castle in Wewelsburg does not seem convincing to everyone. For example, Rene Nelly and Julius Evola believe that there really was a "Grail" in Wewelsburg, but it was just a huge piece of rock crystal (just like W. von Eschenbach's), since the Sacred Chalice is not mentioned in any of the known Cathar texts (Unknown planet (Electronic version - https:// www. Neplaneta. Ru / phorum / read. /).
But Rene Nelly and Julius Evola forgot that the texts of the Cathars did not survive at all, only the testimonies of their descendants reached us.
It is impossible to say what happened in Wewelsburg after 1945, just as it is impossible to answer the question of whether any inventory of the property kept in this unlucky SS Camelot has survived.
* * *
Another version.
The Holy Grail was brought to Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" at the Berghof. But the days of the "Third Reich" were already numbered and the inscriptions simply did not have time to decipher.
Despite the defeat in the war, despite the fact that nothing could be done, the Ahnenerbe employees hid the bowl and all the decryption materials. On the day the Berlin garrison surrendered, a group of SS officers blocked the Innsbruck-Salzburg road to ensure the passage of a convoy of trucks from the Berghof. However, there was no shooting, the enemy was far enough away.
The column went at high speed, making no stops anywhere. Arriving at the foot of the Zellertal mountain range, the Ahnenerbe group performed a torchlight ceremony, took a heavy box (bronze?) And headed along the trail leading to the Schleigeis glacier at the foot of Hochfeiler Mountain.
They entered a cave on the glacier and were never seen again. As you know, an underground passage led from the Schleigeis Cave to Monsegur. Apparently, the last Anenerbites decided to hide the Grail in Monsegur, in the very cave from which Otto Rahn brought it out. Local residents heard muffled explosions from the side of the caves, but did not attach much importance to them (the war taught not to react to explosions or gunfire). Only a few days later it turned out that unknown persons were trying to fill up a number of passages leading into the depths of the Monsegur caves with explosions (See: https:// www. Magistar. Org / magie / gdm 2. html).
It turns out that those who believe that the Grail does not belong to the human world, but it cannot be recognized as a divine gift, are right (See: Makhov A. E. "The story of loyalty will go …" Wolfram von Eschenbach and his novel // Wolfram von Eschenbach. Parzifal. M., 2004. S. 18.). Even Eschenbach spoke of certain "neutral angels" who did not adhere to either God or Lucifer, staying away from the clash of good and evil.
It was the "neutral angels", according to Eschenbach, that the Grail belonged before it came to Montsegur. It was to them that the treasures were returned at the end of the last World Battle, so that he would not fall into the hands of either God or the devil again.
* * *
It is known about the expedition sent by "Ahnenerbe" to Palestine in 1938, in search of the Holy Grail there, among the sands and mountains. (There is information about three participants - a certain Otto Krantz (Krantz also appears in E. I. Parnov's novel "Gem of Alexandria" (M., 1990). I don't know, maybe it's a coincidence.), Heinrich Klein and Richard Berg, all of them - employees of "Ahnenerbe", graduates of German universities, specialists in archeology. All - members of the SS, and, despite their youth, who managed to serve in the army.)
The dangers of the seekers of the Chalice here - in Palestine - lurked at every step: the British, who had a mandate for this territory, the warlike Arabs who plundered the caravans, the equally determined Jewish settlers who defended their homes both from the Arabs and the British. (Let's add to this the various religious associations that have their own armed formations, which were tasked with protecting missions from the aggressive local population.)
Krantz's group spent more than three months in Palestine, successfully combining (primarily for their own lives) archaeological searches with the repulsion of detachments of armed aborigines.
The expedition traveled more than one hundred kilometers, having climbed all the caves, oases, and ruins of ancient castles that were encountered on its way. Krantz was counting on the help of the local population (with whom he did not want to talk only with a rifle or revolver). But the Arabs greeted the travelers gloomily (they were afraid of the infidels and hated, what kind of conversations were there). The Jewish population, if Krantz's words sounded convincing, did not take up arms, but, after carefully listening to the archaeologists, only shrugged their shoulders: “We don't know anything, we work from dawn to sunset, and we simply have no time for anything else” … (By the way, Krantz concealed that the expedition was German, he spoke in pure English, posing as an opponent of the colonial policy of the British crown.)
The surviving pages of Krantz's diary (in English) are full of complaints about the Arabs, Jews and the British (the latter also clearly spied on the expedition, by all means forcing the archaeologists to turn back).
The path of the expedition was marked by graves, they died from bullets, from the bites of poisonous creatures, there were cases of suicide, nerves could not stand it. So, Heinrich Klein, who turned thirty-five the day before, opened his veins.
Having made a "circle" in Palestine, the expedition returned to Jaffa, here it was to board a ship going to Europe. And here, in Jaffa, two days before sailing, Krantz struck up an acquaintance with an amazing man who himself came to him. Krantz and the stranger (who called himself Jacobson) met three times in small port cafes. They had a conversation (in a low voice) about the Chalice, a topic, as it turned out, close to Mr. Jacobson. He showed Krantz the manuscripts that had passed to him from his father, yellowed maps, two or three books. All this, of course, interested Krantz, but he never received an answer to the question - where to look.
But Jacobson got what he was looking for - information about Krantz and his expedition. Jacobson was none other than Lev Shtivelman, an employee of the Soviet special services, who settled in Palestine at the end of 1929.
Krantz left a detailed account of his expedition. But, alas, it has not survived. True, very short excerpts are cited by Western researchers. How do they match the source?
Let's try to summarize what we came across in the research literature.
In his report, Krantz noted that as he moved through Palestine, he spread rumors that his group was just the vanguard of a large detachment of researchers who would follow the same path a few months later. And any opposition to the Krantz group will have far-reaching consequences. "Thus, by intimidating the local population," Krantz summed up, "it was possible to pass through dangerous areas without casualties, without skirmishes and not expect a dastardly stab in the back."
Krantz unequivocally believed that the goal of the expedition had not been achieved (except for the huge corpus of corrections that were made to the topographic maps).
All of Krantz's finds (it was not possible to establish what exactly) fit in three boxes, they were transported on camels. One box (along with a camel) was stolen by a local guide. Krantz ordered Berg to organize a chase. Berg returned three hours later, tired and angry, catching the guide in these places is like trying to hold on to a lizard by catching its tail: it will still break free.
Krantz summed up: the expedition was extremely poorly prepared. Despite the fact that finances were not spared for the expedition, the expenses did not justify themselves, since they went to the wrong "articles". Instead of spending money on pleasing the local population and bribing British officials, most of the money went to pay for tickets (the most expensive cabins) - from Kiel to Jaffa and back, as well as for the purchase of equipment. As for the first point, Krantz expressed his opinion bluntly:
- We would have arrived in less comfortable conditions.
The second point - purchases - did not even require an explanation, everything could, and much cheaper, be bought on the spot.
Krantz wrote with bitterness about his impression that the expedition was forgotten immediately after the ship with its participants left Kiel.
This is all that we managed to extract from the short quotes extracted by a number of authors from the Krantz report.
The information is insultingly small, quite a bit. I tried to "scrape together" at least something else in the German press: "National Socialist Monatschefte", "Illustrirter Beobachter", "Westdeutscher Beobachter". It was thought that at least the "Volkischer Beobachter" ("Volkischer Beobachter") is a daily newspaper, the official organ of the National Socialist Workers' Party of Germany. At first it was published twice a week under the patronage of the Thule Society, at the end of 1920 it was bought by the leaders of the German Workers' Party D. Eckart and E. Rem, in 1921 the publication came under the complete control of A. Hitler. In February 1923, the newspaper became a daily, it was headed by A. Rosenberg. After the failure of the "Beer putsch" in 1923, the newspaper,Like the Nazi Party, it was banned by the Bavarian authorities, but it left illegally, continuing to criticize the policy of the Weimar Republic and supporting the arrested Nazis, including Hitler, by advertising his oratorical skills. The publication was supported by financial circles that relied on the Nazis and feared that left-wing parties and groups would come to power. The newspaper was resumed in February 1925, and the issues were published until May 1945. "Velkischer Beobachter" reflected on its pages the foreign and domestic policies of the National Socialist Party, criticizing all dissidents and opposition. Receiving huge government subsidies, the newspaper was little dependent on the number of subscribers and the demand for published materials, although party members were obliged to subscribe to the newspaper. (See: Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. M.,2003.)) should help.
Alas, nothing.
Even Krantz is not mentioned anywhere (however, as, for example, the Antarctic ice researcher Alfred Reacher).
Then I collected all the solid emigre press during this time (three months of the expedition and three months after). In 1938, few Russian émigré newspapers and magazines were published, but those that still existed tried to reflect on their pages any more or less interesting events. And even more so - they could not miss such a risky expedition.
I looked through the Parisian "Latest News", "Renaissance", "Illustrated Russia", New York "New Russian Word", then - some pale Canadian leaflets, Riga "Today" …
Nothing…
Empty …
The silence is dead …
Krantz and his colleagues did not seem to exist, as if they all disappeared without a trace.
The request to the former special archive of the KGB of the USSR, where numerous certificates of the Third Reich confiscated in Germany in 1945 were kept, were also unsuccessful. The name "Krantz" was not found in the catalog.
Where else to look?
In literature (Russian-speaking, English-speaking), published and published in Israel (that is, in the former Palestine)
I searched where I could. Nothing yet.
"Ahnenerbe" skillfully keep its secrets, even after its liquidation.
"The Holy Grail and the Third Reich", Vadim Telitsyn