The Thule Society (German: Thule-Gesellschaft) was an occult organization founded in Munich in 1918. It was an early supporter of the German Workers' Party and several members went on become prominent Nazis. The remaining members renounced fascism and organized themselves into the Loyalists of Thule.
Overview
The Thule Society was originally organized as a cover for a far-right völkisch organization: a kind of racist, anti-Semitic populism that posited the existence of an Aryan "Master Race" to which Germans were heirs. However, the Society's orientation towards the occult soon became a legitimate interest that was pursued in parallel to their noxious politics.
Thule, in Classical mythology, was a land in the extreme north of the world, inhabited by giants; it has variously been identified with Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland. The Thule Society, on the other hand, linked Thule to Atlantis and (in keeping with their völkisch political beliefs) the origins of the Aryan race. If any of these members actually discovered one of the tombs of the Rmoahals, they were likely in for a nasty shock.
Decline and Rededication
In 1920 Adolf Hitler officially severed the links between the Thule Society and the German Workers' party, and in 1933 the Nazi regime moved to suppress esoteric organizations of all kinds. Still, many members of the Thule Society felt intense guilt over their racist beliefs and their role in bringing the Nazis to power. These members reorganized themselves as the Loyalists of Thule, a compact of hunters dedicated to fighting the twin threats of Nazism and the supernatural wherever they are found.
Members
Historians disagree as to how many prominent Nazis started out as members of the Thule Society, though at minimum Rudolph Hess and Hans Frank were active members.
The Three Old Men who lead the Loyalists of Thule were members of the Society circa 1933.
A number of vampires of the Geheim bloodline were involved in the Society due to a shared interest in alchemy and the occult. While they disclaim any association with its racist politics, their reputation remains tainted by association.
References
- Thule Society
- HTV: Compacts and Conspiracies, p. 22-27