Hitler's Germany and Astrology

Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in January 1933 marked the beginning of the Third Reich, a regime that would attempt to control almost every aspect of daily life in Germany until its defeat in 1945. Astrology found itself caught in the middle of this system. It was sometimes tolerated, sometimes actively exploited, and at other points violently suppressed. The practice served as both a tool and a target in the regime's complex ideological landscape.

The relationship between the Nazi regime and astrology was never straightforward. Some astrologers found themselves arrested and imprisoned. Others were pressed into service by senior figures in the regime. A few openly supported Hitler. The shifting attitude towards astrology in Germany during this period reveals something about how totalitarian states attempt to control belief, prediction and knowledge itself.

Astrology in Germany before the crackdown

Before the Nazis consolidated power, astrology was thriving in Germany. The Weimar Republic years saw a boom in interest. Specialised journals circulated widely, conferences brought practitioners together, and astrology was discussed not just as fortune telling but as something with potential relevance to psychology and self-understanding.

Numerous books and pamphlets were published during this period. One notable example was the work of Dr Karl Gunther Heimsoth, who produced an astrological study examining homosexuality. This was unusual territory, combining astrology with human sexuality, a rare topic for discussion at the time.

Astrology conferences continued to take place into the early years of Nazi rule. For a brief window, it seemed the practice might coexist with the new regime. That changed in 1934.

The 1934 ban and its consequences

In 1934, the Nazi government officially banned fortune telling. This had direct consequences for astrologers. The publication of almanacs and astrological journals became illegal. Practitioners who had operated openly now found themselves at risk of arrest.

The ban was part of a broader pattern. The regime sought to control information and suppress anything that might compete with its own narratives. Fortune telling, in the eyes of the state, represented an alternative source of guidance and prediction. It could not be tolerated.

Dr Heimsoth's fate illustrates the dangers facing astrologers who had become visible. Despite having connections to Ernst Rohm, the head of the Sturmabteilung, Heimsoth was murdered in June 1934. He was killed during the Night of the Long Knives, the purge in which Rohm himself and many of his associates were eliminated. Heimsoth's astrological work and beliefs are thought to have contributed to his vulnerability.

The message seemed clear. Astrology might be tolerated in private or when it served the regime's purposes, but public practice and publication had become genuinely dangerous.

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Complicity and coercion among astrologers

Not all astrologers were persecuted. Some supported the Nazi government. Others were compelled to cooperate, whether through direct coercion or because refusal would have meant imprisonment or worse.

Wilhelm Theodor Heinrich Wulff was a German astrologer who ended up working for the regime, though not by choice. Wulff was required to provide astrological services for senior Nazi figures. He later wrote about his experiences, describing how he was effectively forced into this role.

Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, had a well-documented interest in the occult and esoteric matters. Astrology fell within this sphere. Wulff found himself drawn into Himmler's circle, expected to produce horoscopes and astrological analysis on demand. This was not a comfortable position. Wulff was aware that his usefulness was the only thing keeping him safe.

Other astrologers made more willing accommodations with the regime. Some produced work that aligned with Nazi ideology or simply kept quiet and avoided trouble. The degree of collaboration varied enormously from one individual to another.

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The Hess affair and further suppression

In May 1941, Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, flew solo to Scotland in an unauthorized mission purportedly aimed at negotiating peace with Britain. The mission failed completely. Hess was captured and would later be tried at the Nuremberg Trials, eventually receiving a life sentence at Spandau Prison.

The incident embarrassed the Nazi leadership. Rumours circulated that Hess had been influenced by astrologers and occultists. Whether or not this was true, the regime responded with a crackdown. Astrologers, occultists and others associated with esoteric practices were rounded up and arrested. Some historians refer to these raids as the Aktion Hess, though contemporary documentation of this specific term is limited.

This sweep affected hundreds of people. Some were sent to concentration camps. Others were imprisoned or placed under surveillance. The regime used the Hess affair as a pretext to eliminate remaining practitioners who had previously avoided attention.

After 1941, practising astrology in Germany became even more dangerous than before. The few astrologers who continued to work did so entirely in secret or under the direct protection of powerful figures within the regime.

Contradictions in control

The Nazi regime's approach to astrology was contradictory. On one hand, the state banned fortune telling and persecuted astrologers. On the other, senior figures like Himmler actively used astrological services for their own purposes. This inconsistency was typical of how the regime operated. Rules applied to ordinary people but could be bent or ignored by those with power.

Astrology was seen as a threat partly because it offered an alternative framework for understanding the world. The regime wanted a monopoly on truth. Anything that suggested the future could be read through methods outside state control was suspect.

At the same time, some within the leadership were drawn to mystical and esoteric ideas. This created pockets of tolerance, or at least exploitation, alongside the broader pattern of suppression.

The stories of individual astrologers from this period vary widely. Some died. Some survived by cooperating. Some went underground. A few escaped Germany altogether. There was no single experience, and the outcomes depended heavily on circumstances, connections and luck.

The suppression of astrology in Nazi Germany was not unique. Across wartime Europe, various states viewed esoteric practices with suspicion, though few pursued systematic persecution on this scale. The broader pattern suggests that regimes under pressure often move to eliminate alternative sources of meaning and prediction.

After the war, the legal position of astrology in Western Europe gradually normalised. In Britain and other countries, the practice returned to being a matter of personal choice rather than state concern. German astrologers who survived the Nazi period found themselves able to work openly again, though the community had been significantly diminished.

This history raises questions about how states respond to beliefs and practices they cannot control. Astrology was not banned because it posed any real political threat in itself. It was banned because it represented a form of knowledge and prediction that existed outside official channels. For a regime determined to control how people understood their world and their future, that was enough.

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