Theos-Talk Archives (January 1995 Message tl00042)

Martin and all--

It wasn't I who saw the program in October, and the guy was who
attacking HPB didn't mention it.  Please keep us posted on this.
For the information of others of you, the attack against HPB on
the newage newsgroup was to the effect that her ideas inspired
Hitler.  My reply was that the authoritative source on this topic
was The Occult Roots of Nazism by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, whom
I met in London some years back.  His talk, and presumably his
book, made it clear that preexisting racist doctrines (Houston
Chamberlain, notably) had some Theosophical teachings mixed in
with them by an early 20th century German proponent of
"Ariosophy," an amalgamation which later influenced Hitler.  But
Goodrick-Clarke, a non-Theosophist, was quite explicit in stating
that there was so much distortion and transformation of
Theosophical ideas that by the time you reach Hitler's occult
doctrines there is very little left of the original influence.
Thus it would be completely unfair to hold HPB responsible for
Hitlerian occultism.  Godwin's Arktos has some interesting
material on all this as it relates to Polar themes.

Paul