Eric Jan Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant

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Whatever his occult abilities, Hanussen was a clever, unscrupulous and venal character who insinuated himself into the confidence of important people in Germany, and elsewhere. He clearly had a talent, one way or another, for obtaining secret information. His currency as an informant only increased when he gained access to Hitler. All this made the phony Dane an asset that any intelligence agency would have been anxious to exploit. But by the end of the decade, “Europe’s greatest oracle Since Nostradamus” found himself under arrest for fraud in the Czech town of Leitmeritz, where the authorities were very much displeased with his divinations. They also accused him of hypnotizing young ladies in his hotel room and having his way with them. A consummate performer, Hanussen transformed the trial into a media circus, where he proved his psychic “powers” before the court and was set free. This is a dark comedy but is equally a deeply dramatic story, involving the mainly secular Jews of Berlin. Included is interaction between Breitbart, an attractive stage musician Marta, their boss Hanussen, who abuses her, and some very top level Nazis. Ultimately Breitbart becomes disgusted and dismayed.

John Toland, Adolf Hitler, p. 962, Anchor Books edition (1992), originally published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. (1976). But Hanussen wasn’t content with wealth and fame. Sensing the rising influence of the Nazi party, the mentalist ingratiated himself into the Reich by befriending storm troopers and eventually finding a seat as a confidant of Adolf Hitler himself. In a divided Berlin, Hanussen's powerful friends could assure his safety. His ego told him he could manipulate them as easily as he did the civilians who marveled at his stage presence.A more historically realistic version of Hanussen was depicted in the Werner Herzog film Invincible (2001) where Hanussen (as played by Tim Roth) is seen as nasty and bullying. Herzog’s film concerns the also true character of a Jewish-Polish strongman that is hired as part of Hanussen’s act but caused a sensation when he refused to deny his ethnicity. Gordon, Hanussen, 252. After the Nazis came to power, Cannon (and maybe Crowley) helped Thoma emigrate to Britain. Legends abound about meetings between Hanussen and Adolf Hitler, including a meeting between the two just before the German election, November 1932, during which Hanussen taught Hitler secret crowd control techniques with the utilization of gesture. Ultimately he was executed by the Gestapo and his body was dumped in a field north of Berlin. See generally John Toland, Adolf Hitler, p. 218, Anchor Books edition (1992), originally published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. (1976). Interestingly, another occultist making his home in Berlin during 1930-32 was the notorious Aleister Crowley. Crowley had a long connection to British intelligence, and part of his purpose in Germany was watching and reporting on certain individuals. 29 Given Hanussen’s prominence and his proclaimed expertise in hypnotism and tantric sex, there is no way the Great Beast would have ignored him. Oddly, there is no discernible mention in Crowley’s period diaries of Hanussen or anything relating to him . 30

Hanussen’s story is fascinating, improbable and perplexing and has been dissected in various biographies, perhaps most notably Mel Gordon’s Erik Jan Hanussen: Hitler’s Jewish Clairvoyant (2001) and Arthur J. Magida’s The Nazi Séance: The Strange Story of the Jewish Psychic in Hitler’s Circle (2011). 2If there is a sequel, expect to see Hanussen play a major role as the new Shepherd in the world of Kingsman. The Crowley-Hanussen connection may be at the root of René Guénon’s later assertion that the Beast infiltrated Hitler’s circle and made himself a “secret counsellor” of the Nazi leader. 35 There is no indication that Crowley got anywhere near the future Fuhrer, but Hanussen certainly did.