The Ahnenerbe and the Mystical Expeditions: Pseudo-Science in Search of Aryan Origins
In July 1935, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, agricultural ideologue Richard Walther Darré, and prehistorian Herman Wirth established an organization that would become the institutional core of Nazi pseudo-science: the Forschungsgemeinschaft Deutsches Ahnenerbe (Ancestral Heritage Society). Officially founded to research the history and traditions of the Germanic heritage, the Ahnenerbe grew into an immense academic apparatus spanning more than fifty specialized research institutes. Its mission was clear: to rewrite world history, archaeology, and anthropology to prove that the mythical "Aryan race" was the progenitor of all civilization. +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ │ SS-AHNENERBE (Ancestral Heritage) │ │ Founded in 1935 by Himmler, Wirth, and Darré (50+ Institutes) │ +-----------------------------------+------------------------------------+ |...