The Thule-Gesellschaft (Thule Society) was founded August 17, 1918, by Rudolf von Sebottendorff. Its original name was Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum (Study Group for German Antiquity), but it soon started to disseminate anti-republican and anti-Semitic propaganda.

The Thule Society was part of the volkische movement in Germany around the turn of the century. Like many other groups, it sought to find an ethnic and historical identity for Germany, which had only been united in the 1870s.

It had members from the top echelons of the Nazi Party, including Rudolf Heß and Alfred Rosenberg. Although Adolf Hitler himself was not a member, he received support from the group, and one of its members, Dietrich Eckart, actually coached him on his public speaking skills. Hitler later dedicated Mein Kampf to Eckhart.

Its press organ was the Münchener Beobachter (Munich Observer) which later became the Völkischer Beobachter (People's Observer). The Thule Society is speculated to be closely connected to the Germanenorden secret society a.ka. the "Order of Teutons" (1912).

Thule Beliefs

A primary focus of Thule-Gesellschaft was the discovering the origins of the Aryan race. Thule comes from the greek and means "land". This society was named after "Ultima Thule"- the "Farthest Land" and capital of ancient Hyperborea at the extreme north near Greenland or Iceland.

The Thulists also believed in the hollow earth theory. Thule's ultimate goal was to prove that the Aryan race came from a lost continent, perhaps Atlantis.

Status During the Third Reich

After Hitler came to power, he suppressed many organizations. Thule was one of these, mainly due to possible embarrassment if Nazi leaders were linked to mystical organizations.

Nonetheless, Thule members and their ideas were often incorporated into the Third Reich. Some of the Thule's teachings were expressed in the books of Alfred Rosenberg. Also, many of the occult ideas found favor with Heinrich Himmler who, unlike Hitler, had a great interest in mysticism.

Conspiracy Theories

Like the Ahnenerbe section of the SS, and due to its occult background, the Thule Society has become the center of many conspiracy theories on Nazi Germany. Such theories include the creation of spacecraft and secret weapons. Because the group helped Hitler with his speaking skills, some have even suggested that the society somehow granted him magic powers that contributed to his later success.

See also: Nazi mysticism.