The "Holy Days" of the Third Reich
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November 9: 1924-1945 celebrated.
Commemorates the "Day of Blood" on which the Beerhall Putsch takes Place.
One author likens the celebration to "Good Friday" in which Hitler attempts to personify the sufferings
of a new millenial leader, at first cast down, imprisoned in depths and then raised as a renewed, restored
leader. The "Day of Blood" is so name because of the violence associated with the Putsch in Bavaria, but
is also integral with the belief in 'blood and soil' or that the German Volk is defined and tied to
German land.(See Philosophies
Influencing the Nazis and
The Day of Blood.
Hitler Becomes Chancellor: The Nazis take full power.
Celebrated by mass political rallies and events, Hitler's takeover of the office of
Chancellor was celebrated as the true 'marker point' or landmark of the beginning of the reign
of the "Fuhrer" and the Third Reich. Just as we center our calendar around the figure of Christ,
marking his birthday, his resurrection, and so forth, the Nazi Calendar emulated the solar calendar
intertwined with the events of the life of the Man, Adolph Hitler.
Hitler's Birthday
The Concept of the "Fuhrer" had more the concept of "Lord" than of merely a national figure.
Obedience was so trained on "der Fuhrer" that his word was considered holy and infallible. Ley
in early speeches regarding Hitler notes this 'perfection' and while Hitler was seen as a fringe
character before rising to power, he ascended to a deified status quickly. As such, his birthday
was celebrated by Germans and those in some occupied territories, as a further proclamation of his
imminence and importance.
When there is thunder and lightening, the child is afraid and hurries to its father, for it wants to be safe. That is like the leadership of a people. ...You must say: "Citizens, stay calm! The Führer is always right!" They may ask: "How do you know that?" You will answer: "I believe it." "And who tells you that?" "The Führer is always right. I sense it. I can prove it from the successes of the past, the things this man has done. He rose from a lowly worker and soldier to the Führer of Germany." If you persuade the people of this, that the Führer is always right, then our people's sacrifices will never be fatal, but will only make it harder, stronger and greater. If cowardice and unreasonableness have been defeated, if the people are confident, and if true popular leadership is present, the Führer will be able to do whatever he wants with the nation. He will be able to make important political decisions. The people will obey him blindly and follow him blindly. The Führer is always right. Every last citizen must say this. Robert Ley
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter
These holiest of days on the Christian Calendar
were hardly meant at 'holy days' for the Nazis. Goebbels and the Propaganda ministry struggled greatly
with the Church and Christian Practices: on the one hand they espoused a "God, Law and Order" platform,
on the other, they quite literally meant to do away with the Church after the war in the "New European Order".
Christian holidays were particularly troublesome for the Nazis, because they were so firmly entrenched for
centuries in the minds and hearts of domestic Germans. This was at its height with the 'high holy days' of
the Christian Church: the Passion of Christ in Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.
May 1, Mayday, Labor Day, Beltane
Mayday has
traditions dating back centuries to pagan rituals. In much of 20th century
Europe, the holiday became a "Labor Day" in honor of workers, and promoted by Labor Unions.
Celebrations of May Day were akin to our celebrations of Christmas, while the origins of the
holiday are purported to be the Nativity [this is actually incorrect]; the celebration is
mixed with paganistic emblems and practices which also have lost contemporary meaning. The Nazis
wished however to replace both the liturgical Christian and Secular Calendar events with their own
commemorative days, based on 'solar' calendars associated with pagan worship. This meant the
re-introduction of such days as Beltane, or Mayday which indicated fertility
rites and 'renewal' and went handily along Nazi promotion of the promotion of large German-Aryan families
even giving out interest-free loans to new married couples which would become grants which did not
have to be repaid upon the birth of enough children.
June 21-22:Summer Solstice
While some may consider
the re-instatement of holidays related to pagan or volkish practices tobe speculative, mention
of the re-instatement is mentioned in correspondence and communiques of the time
including those of Goebbels in directives regarding propaganda, the press and domestic Germany. Two major
pivotal points during the year are consider critical: the Summer Solstice when . (Eugenics)
July 29:Hitler 'Ascends' to Power
July 29 marks the day of Hitler's ascent to the
leadership of the Nazi Party. While in the beginning Hitler was just another angry
politico with the agenda of bringing down the weak Weimar Republic, his ascent to
leadership in the National Socialist Party meant that his previously 'theoretical'
agendas would now be pursued and established. The Day was at least marked for
celebration in Germany as many were, by rallies, activities and political speeches.
With holidays related to the Fuhrer such as this one, there was often a display
of 'Aryan Prowess' in athletics and gymnastics along with large public 'dance' displays
which were a tribute to the fitness of the aryan physique.Sept. 21-22 Autumn Equinox
A celebration around the time of the Autumn Equinox is not very new in most cultures: pagan
cultures celebrate with rites, the Jewish Culture has its High Holy Days around this time, and
German Culture had traditionally celebrated 'Oktoberfests'. The notion of harvest completion
and celebration and rest from hard work were often implicit in this end of good weather time of
celebration before Winter set in. The Autumn Equinox though parallels the Spring Equinox and in Germany
was meant to become a standard holiday in a return to a nordic-aryan culture after the war. The Druids
referred to the holiday as Mea'n Fo'mhair, others as Mabon. In an 'Earth-based' religion, it was the marking of passage
from youth to age, and an honoring of the oncoming darkness, since it represents a time in the year
when the dark and light are evenly divided. Lithasblot, preceding the Equinox by a month was noted in connection
with the magical thinking of the Nazis and their opponents in the following:
Interestingly, Lithasblot 1941 was allegedly the time when the magical lodges of England performed rituals to keep the Nazi forces from invading their country; which may have worked, since Hitler eventually abandoned plans to invade Great Britain. Lithasblot has long been associated with ceremonial magic and magical workings."1(See All Souls/All Saints Day)
Hitler's "Half-Birthday"
Six months from Hitler's birthday, begins the "Oktober" celebrations: also an emulation of the 'halves' of
the Solar Calendar, equating Hitler with deity. The alignment of the timings in Hitler's life and career with the timings
of the calendar were meant to reinforced a view of a messianic-type leader, an infallible victor. The six month period
from Hitler's birthday also happened conveniently to fall around the time of the Autumn Equinox or Mabon, and was on the
doorstep ushering in the more critical dates of All Souls/Saints Day and the Nordic "Winternights". These holidays worked
cognitively and emotionally in their integration with dates associated with Hitler to inculcate a 'belief' in the Fuhrer
as a larger than life deified persona, a leader of the "Third Reich", like a millenial reign, and perhaps on a more clandestine
level was either purposely or coincidentally aligned with "dark arts" or dark powers, which this man was believed by many to
personify, although what most would call 'occult' they saw more as a mysticism and imbuement with the power of earth.
All Souls/Saints Day
Based upon the Roman Catholic and High Protestant Liturgical Calendars, the Celebrations paralleled Hallowe'en
(All Hallows eve, or All Souls Day} in which evil spirits were warded off, and in which some cultures even practiced
human sacrifice in appeasement, and "All Saints Day" a Holy Day of Obligation in the Roman Catholic Church. The two
days in the liturgical calendar bear a 'hell and heaven' 'death and resurrection' connotation. The Latter Day is
commemorative of the 'ordained' 'saints' of the Catholic Church by canonization, although the word 'saint
' scripturally refers to all of the Christian faith.Winter Nights
'Winter Nights' is not really a different celebration from All Souls and Saints day, but comes directly from
Nordic Culture. The holidays of Autumn Equinox, Hitler's 'half' birthday, and All Souls /All Saints days were
basically linked: in Pagan culture the holiday of note was the blood holiday of Samhain in which human sacrifice was
made. A Dark-arts holiday, one tradition on 'Winter's Nights' was to spend the night on a grave, which was believed
to incur for the next year new powers and the spirits of 'galdr' and 'skaldr'. The connection of 'earth-based' power
in an occultic sense is loosely tied to the recognition of Hitler as the 'oncoming' dark, but accompanied with an
induced 'power'. The difficulty with outlining these holidays with regard to the Nazis is that most probably did no
more than celebrate the holidays with inattention and a festival spirit (much like Halloween in America for middle-class
School-Age Children) but for others, and far more than most would assume, the holidays, spirits, and 'gaining of power'
really did hold attention and belief. One author notes the Advent
In the Roman Catholic Liturgy, Advent is the Celebration
approximately four weeks before Christmas in which the announcement of the Coming of the Christ Child is Celebrated.
One of the "Holy Days of Obligation", attendance at Mass is required. Homilies given at St. Michael's Catholic Church
by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich, renouncing attacks on Catholics and Christians, and Hitler's racial policies
gathered world attention, but shortly following was followed by shots through his study window.adventWinter Solstice:Dec 21-22
We have briefly described the four cornerstones on the Nazi and many pagan calendars: Summer and Winter
Solstice, indicating the longes and shortest days of the year; and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes: constant reference
in metaphor was made to periods of death and life and death and life. Spring was celebrated with fertility and renewal rites
; Autumn with celebrations of harvest and completion. The Solstices trace far back in history as celebrations. Goebbels
mentions in his conference notes that he wished to do away with celebrations of Christmas all together: he considered it
a deterent to the war effort and the 'remaking' of the National Psyche- he referred to it as 'overly sentimental'. (See
Nazi Celebrations of ChristmasChristmas
Christmas is so firmly entrenched in German Life, than it would
be hard to imagine a Germany without Christmas. Part of the Liturgical Calendar of the Lutheran and Catholic Church and
Celebrated also in the Evangelical Church, Christmas at the time of WWII was recognized by most. Some legends attribute
the tradition of the Christmas Tree to Martin Luther, but for others, cu
The Significance of Jewish Feasts
While most obviously the Nazis did not celebrate Jewish feasts and holidays
and in fact disdained them, the Jewish Holidays were critically important to the Nazis. On the holiest days of the year
to the Jews, the Nazis focused their aktions and pogroms, to capitalize on cruelty and the lack of vigilance in the Jewish
communities during the celebrations or commemorations. The most severe and violent persecutions coincided with the High
Holy Days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashannah (the Day of Atonement and the Jewish New Year), Purim (the celebration of Esther's , Mordecai's and
the Jews defeat of the wicked Haman) and Tisha B'av, meant to be a solemn commemoration of the Destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem in the first century. The days the Jews mourned, the Nazis celebrated, the days the Jews rejoiced, the Nazis attacked.
The Jewish Sacred Calendar was more of determinant of Nazi violence against the Jews, than the Nazi Calendar.
Footnotes