Last Podcast on the Left – Episode 640: Heinrich Himmler Part IV – From Atlantis to Auschwitz

Overview

This episode explores the pseudo-history, occult ideology, and bizarre myth-making that Heinrich Himmler embedded into the Nazi regime, particularly as the SS was shaped in his image. The hosts—Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ed Larson—chronicle Himmler’s efforts to rewrite German history and spirituality, blending ancient myths (Atlantis, Aryans, Hyperborea), pseudoscience, and esoterica with the machinery of genocidal fascism. Through gallows humor and sharp commentary, the episode reveals how the Third Reich weaponized delusion, rewrote reality, and orchestrated atrocity beneath a veneer of mythical destiny.

Key Discussion Points

1. The State of Nazi Germany in 1934–35

• By 1934, Himmler had consolidated control over the SS and Gestapo. The Night of the Long Knives wiped away Nazi internal dissent and gave the public the illusion of stability. ([04:25])
• Nazi policies were now free to follow the most deranged racial and mystical doctrines, grounded in fabricated Aryan myths.

“With Germany firmly in Nazi control, Himmler and the rest of the Nazis were free to reshape the country in their own image without opposition, using a framework that was directly inspired by the pseudo scientific and pseudo historical authors that Himmler and Hitler had loved so much.” – Henry [04:00]

2. The Aryan Myth and Nazi Race Ideology

• Nazis fetishized the image of tall, blonde, flaxen-haired Aryans, claiming they alone had gifted civilization to the world. ([05:05])
• Details behind the myth were invented—literal fan-fiction appropriated for state policy. This myth drove purges within the SS itself, as Himmler cut 60,000 “not Aryan enough” men, keeping only his personally idealized elite.
• The boys club atmosphere and obsession with beauty, fitness, and ritual permeated the SS. Outward physical superiority masked inward insecurity and neurosis. ([09:55])
• Discussion includes the irony of unfit Nazi leaders, the constant need for ceremonial affirmation, and even the notion that “Aryan” did not always mean white—contradictions that Nazi logic ignored or twisted at will. ([34:01])

"Heinrich Himmler used his main guys, the SS, as a sort of petri dish to game out a lot of the ideas put forth by his favorite right wing pseudoscientists and pseudo historians." – Henry [07:52]

3. Himmler’s Occult Obsession and Wewelsburg Castle

• Wewelsburg Castle was remodeled as the "Camelot" of the SS, a Nazi Arthurian retreat, and a physical anchor for their occult fantasies. Slave labor enabled its transformation. ([16:56])
• The Grail Room, modeled after Holy Grail mythology, exemplified Himmler’s belief that ritual, regalia, and myth would spiritually bind SS men.

“Himmler and his followers were obsessed with King Arthur… They considered them the pinnacle of white people.” – Marcus [23:05]

• These rituals—rings, daggers, cultish weddings, and pseudo-Christian festivals—prepared SS men emotionally to commit atrocities for the Nazi state.

“It only bound Himmler’s men further to the SS, making them far more amenable to carrying out the atrocities that Hitler would ask them to commit in just a few short years.” – Henry [26:29]

4. The Nazi Campaign to Replace Christianity

• Himmler, raised Catholic but deeply anti-Christian, sought to fully “de-Christianize” Germany, replacing Christian feasts with sun-worshipping solstice events and new, racially exclusive rituals. ([34:36],[35:33])
• Nazi pseudo-religion fused bad folklore, sun worship, and Hitler-worship, imposed through secret society induction and SS ritualized life events (marriage, birth).
• The hosts compare Himmler’s methods to cult leader tactics, noting the slow replacement of old belief systems with new symbols, ceremonies, and “saintly” figures of Nazi lore.

“This is what Himmler wanted: a state religion that sprang from the forests of Germany… a Nazi religion.” – Henry [34:46]

5. The Construction of Alternate Histories: The Ahnenerbe

• The Ahnenerbe (“Ancestral Heritage Society”) was established in 1935 as Himmler’s think tank for manufacturing a grand Aryan past.

“Its mission: find new evidence of the great deeds and accomplishments of the Germanic people—evidence sneakily hidden or destroyed by the Jews.” – Henry [50:32]

• Staffed by academics (some terrified, some true believers), the Ahnenerbe sent expeditions worldwide—seeking Aryan “roots” in Tibet, seeking a German Stonehenge, searching for Atlantis evidence, fabricating connections between Aryans and ancient Greeks, Romans, even Tibetans.
• Nazi history erased facts, asserted fantasies, and justified annihilation of others in the name of “ancestral lands.” Academic dissenters risked concentration camps.

“If it’s not reality, we’re going to make it a reality.” – Marcus [55:17]

6. Pseudoscience, Homophobia, and Eugenics

• The Ahnenerbe was also tasked to provide “scientific evidence” for Nazi social policies—such as the persecution of homosexual men (Himmler claimed it was contagious) and the valorization of “Aryan blood” as a literal magic elixir. ([55:34],[61:37])
• Crackpot theorists and fringe occultists dominated Nazi research. The podcast features the story of Carl Maria Willigut (aka "Wise Thor"), an institutionalized lunatic who became Himmler’s “Rasputin,” “channeling” Aryan history in a state of delirium. ([73:02])
• The Nazis borrowed and expanded American eugenics practices, launching the Lebensborn program to encourage “racially pure” births and facilitate the kidnapping and re-education of Aryan-appearing children. ([109:17])

7. Contradiction, Bullshit, and the Fascist Method

• Nazi mythology required cognitive dissonance: contradictory “histories,” irrational cosmology (the “world ice theory”), and a willingness to believe anything, so long as it justified Nazi goals.

“It's not necessarily about what is true, as much as about what can be true… Just so long as it feeds back into the movement.” – Henry [95:33]

• The hosts draw contemporary parallels: how authoritarians use propaganda, spectacle, and victimhood narratives; how cult behavior and “feels right” intuition are manipulated on a mass scale.

8. The Path to War: Expansion, Appeasement, and Collaboration

• The last segment details how Hitler, emboldened by inaction from Britain and France, escalated annexations from Austria to Czechoslovakia to Poland—each new victory feeding Nazi myth and public mania. ([124:21])
• Himmler’s SS, meanwhile, prepared rituals, uniforms, and the machinery of genocide to launch in the conquered East.
• Corporations (including BMW and Mercedes) supported the Nazi apparatus, funding Ahnenerbe projects in pursuit of favor and contracts.
• The episode closes by warning listeners—which the hosts stress is not mere “Hitler derangement syndrome”—of the real dangers in normalizing fascist logic and propaganda today.

"Just know these guys burn out. Remember that, little Nazis out there—your job isn’t safe." – Marcus [127:42]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Nazi pseudo-spirituality and myth-making:

“Heinrich Himmler used his main guys, the SS, as a sort of petri dish to game out a lot of the ideas put forth by his favorite right wing pseudoscientists and pseudo historians.” – Henry [07:52]
"This is all a part of an indoctrination process." – Marcus [28:12]

On Nazi rituals and their absurdity:

"If you joined after number 2000, you could earn a ring by becoming a leader in the SS. And earning that spot usually meant that you had done or were willing to do horrible shit.” – Henry [26:26]
“Marriage ceremonies in Himmler's new religion would start with quotes from Hitler speeches, followed by…a handshake to commemorate a commitment to a shared life ... and the SS anthem of loyalty." – Henry [39:13]

On Carl Maria Willigut, Himmler’s batty spiritual advisor:

“He believed that he could see into the past … the racial soul, the collective unconscious only for white people.” – Marcus [74:31]
“Yeah, Carl, I fucking hate you. Shut up.” – Marcus, on Willigut’s obsession with polishing rocks [75:45]

On Nazi pseudoscience:

“Himmler believed that if the Ahnenerbe could somehow crack the code of synthesizing pure Aryan blood…that blood could heal all illness, transform those of mixed blood into pure blooded Aryans and produce superior livestock. It's an all in one.” – Henry [61:37]

On the cult-like dynamic of fascism:

“It’s not necessarily about what is true, as much as about what can be true, just so long as… it constantly feeds back into the central ideas of the movement… So it all just gets added up and up until nothing is true and everything is true.” – Henry [95:33]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction / Taylor Swift SS necklaces joke: [02:40]
• SS Aryan purity, absurd rituals: [09:55 – 16:56]
• Wewelsburg Castle & Nazi Grail Room: [16:56 – 23:05]
• De-Christianizing Germany, Nazi pseudo-religion: [34:36 – 38:24]
• Ahnenerbe founded, Nazi alternate histories: [50:32 – 55:17]
• Pseudoscience, Aryan blood, Carl Willigut: [61:37 – 73:02]
• World Ice Theory, contradictions: [91:23 – 96:15]
• Expansion and annexation—Austria, Czechoslovakia, lead-up to WWII: [124:21 – 127:28]
• Lebensborn & Nazi eugenics: [109:17 – 113:12]
• Outro / Contemporary warnings: [126:15 – 128:13]

Style and Tone

• Hosts balance exhaustive research with irreverent, biting humor (“Cabbage Patch doll with half a shaved head…”; “Wise Thor,” and absurd riffs on Nazi failures).
• Commentary is both darkly comic and sharp in its historical analysis, drawing pointed parallels to contemporary political events and the mechanisms of cult thinking.
• Regular reminders that the myth-focused, ritualized, pseudo-academic Nazi worldview was both dangerous and, at its core, utterly ridiculous.

Bottom Line

This episode deftly illustrates how Himmler’s obsession with myth, ritual, and pseudoscience shaped the SS and Nazi policy, setting the stage for the Holocaust and the horrors of World War II. The hosts dissect how delusion, ritual, cult thinking, and systemic lies can bring about catastrophe—while never losing sight of the importance of facing such histories with clarity, dark wit, and vigilance.

End of Episode Summary