-Caveat Lector-
an excerpt from:
Emerald Cup-Ark of Gold
Col. Howard Buechner(C)1991
Thunderbird Press, Inc.
300 Cuddihy Drive
Metairie, LA 70005
-----
A very interesting Book. Talk about your long running tales/conspiracy theory.
A dash of Indy Jones & the Nazis with magic thrown in for a good measure. As
always Caveat Lector.
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CHAPTER VIII
The Treasure of the Cathars
"The Cathars were the guardians of the Treasure of the Visigoths and in their
secret caverns, was the Treasure of the Ages, consisting of many holy relics,
not the least of which was the Cup of God and of Abraham and of Christ
together with The Ark of the Covenant and all of its associated items."
Quote from the text
The Cathars or Cathari were members of a religious sect which appeared in
Western Europe in about 1050 A.D. They were also known as the Albigensians or
men of Albi. This name derives from the city of Albi in the south of France
which was one of the chief centers of the Cathars. The movement began in
Germany and spread rapidly to Flanders, France and Italy. The fact that
Catharism began in Germany accounts for Heinrich Himmler's later intense
interest in this group. The Cathars called themselves the "Pure Ones" or
"Perfect Ones" or "Virtuous Ones", terms which come from the Greek word for
pure, and they were indeed a people of great virtue. They were originally
Christians but had so modified Christian doctrine that they eventually became
labeled as heretics. In truth, their religious beliefs and customs have never
been fully understood, but one thing is certain, they were so fiercely loyal
to their doctrines that they would willingly die rather than denounce their
beliefs. And so they did.
The Cathars were divided into two groups. The "Perfects" and the "Believers".
The Perfects were set apart from the mass of Believers by a ceremony of
initiation. They devoted themselves to contemplation and study and were
expected to maintain the highest standards of moral behavior, including
chastity and the total abstinence from meat and diary products. In other words
they renounced all worldly things. Suicide was an accepted way of escaping the
evils of the world and was a common mode of death, usually by starvation. The
Perfects were the elite, the priests and the leaders, and more importantly,
they were those who had attained the highest knowledge which was believed to
be the key to salvation.
In general, the Cathars espoused the ancient doctrine of dualism which
maintained that there are two principles, one good and the other evil and that
the material world is evil. Man is a sojourner in this evil world and his aim
should be to free his spirit (which is good) and restore it to communion with
God in a variety of ways as indicated above.
So far, there was nothing in the religious beliefs of the Cathars that
represented true heresy, but in about 1149, after a period of very rapid
growth, the sect became an organized church. A hierarchy, a liturgy and a
system of doctrine were created and, at the same time, the first Cathar Bishop
established himself in the north of France. Within a few years there were 10
more Bishoprics in Albi, Lombardy, southern France and Italy.
Perhaps as many as 2,000,000 people belonged to the movement by that time and
Catharism was beginning to become a serious rival of the Church of Rome as it
spread like an epidemic throughout Europe.
In addition, the Cathar Church had rewritten the Biblical story of Creation,
rejected much of the Old Testament and disclaimed the divinity of Christ and
the Christian principle of incarnation. To the Cathars, Jesus was no more than
a prophet, or perhaps an angel whose human suffering and death were an
illusion.
This Cathar doctrine struck at the very roots and foundations of orthodox
Christianity and represented true heresy, which was a totally unforgivable
sin. The Cathars had sealed their own doom in this departure from the
teachings of the Church of Rome and it was only a matter of time before the
Church would move against them.
However, other factors were involved in precipitating the fate which would
soon befall the "Perfect Ones". They had allied themselves with the Knights
Templar who had adopted beliefs not unlike those of the Cathars. Notably, they
too, came to deny the divinity of Christ in spite of their orthodox Christian
beginnings. For this reason the Templars had also fallen into disfavor with
the Church. In addition to becoming good friends of the Templars, many Cathar
soldiers became members of the Templar Order and served with distinction in
its ranks. Notwithstanding their peaceful disposition, the Cathar warriors
could be fierce foes when the need arose, as they were to prove in the brutal
crusade which was soon to be launched against them. The Templars were to meet
a similar fate in 1312 as has already been described in Chapter VII.
Another piece of evidence, which supports the fact that the Cathars and the
Templars were close associates, is to be found in their mutual use of certain
grottoes in the Pyrenees as common hiding places for their treasures.
Both groups are known to have been very rich. The Templars had accumulated
vast wealth during their years of almost unbridled power and it was widely
rumored that the Cathar strongholds were loaded with treasure. It was not true
that individual Cathar citadels contained great amounts of riches, but the
Cathars were the guardians of the Treasure of the Visigoths, and in their
secret caverns was the Treasure of the Ages consisting of many Holy Relics,
not the least of which was the Cup of God and of Abraham and of Christ,
together with the Ark of the Covenant and all of its associated items.
Although the Cathars did not worship Christ as a divine savior they were well
aware of the importance of the Holy Relics which they were to guard until they
took their last breath.
Some modern scholars now consider the "Pure Ones" to have been the most
scholarly, well read and cultured group in all of Europe during the time frame
in which they flourished. They have been described as an oasis of light in the
darkness of the Middle Ages. An orthodox Christian churchman who visited with
the Cathars of the Languedoc in 1145 studied their way of life and listened to
their beliefs. He later declared that "No sermons are more Christian and their
morals are pure." This was more than could be said of other clergymen of that
time.
Nonethless, the Cathars were heretics in the eyes of the Church and finally
their death warrant was issued. Perhaps it was the smell of gold and visions
of the Treasure of Solomon which brought about specific action, but more
likely it was the growing success and popularity of the Cathar movement, which
caused the Church of Rome to move against them and bring the wrath of all
Christendom down upon their heads.
In 1207, Pope Innocent III tried to force Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, to
join him in putting down the heretics, but the Papal Emissary was murdered in
January 1208, and the Count was charged as having been an accessory to the
crime. A military strike was then ordered against Count Raymond and the
Cathars. This action came to be known as the Albigensian Crusade. It lasted
for 35 years and ended in genocide.
With the approval of King Louis IX a massive army was mustered in the north of
France under the command of a group of powerful barons, the Abbot of Citeaux
and a French nobleman named Simon de Montfort. With 30,000 knights and foot
soldiers this force swept down from the north in 1209. Toulouse was ravaged
and its inhabitants were slaughtered, both Cathar and Christian alike. The
crusaders then turned south. The great cities of the Cathars were smashed one
by one. Carcassonne, Beziers, Perpignan and Narbonne fell in succession and in
each case the entire population of men, women and children was put to the
sword. Fifteen thousand were slaughtered at Beziers and it has been reported
that as many as 60,000 people were killed in a single day.
The killing frenzy and bloodlust of the crusade is perhaps best typified by
the chilling remarks of the Abbot of Citeaux at Beziers. During the fanatical
bloodletting an officer asked the half-mad Abbot how he might distinguish the
heretics from the true Christians. To this question the Papal Representative
replied: "Kill them all. God will recognize his own." The Abbot also informed
Pope Innocent III that "neither age nor sex nor status was spared." In other
words the invader slaughtered one and all ("Massacre at Montsegur" and "Holy
Blood, Holy Grail").
No one knows how many Cathars lived in the area at the beginning or how many
lay dead at the end but the witch hunt went on for 35 years with the
cooperation of the infamous Holy Inquisition. Some scholars estimate that one
million Cathars died in the crusade. It was a true attempt at genocide.
Amazingly some Cathars survived and the sect is said to still exist in France,
Italy and some other countries. A bitter disappointment to the invaders was
their failure to find a significant amount of treasure at any of the fallen
fortresses. They assumed that all of the legendary riches had been taken to
the last stronghold of the Cathars at Montsegur, and they were right.
When the crusaders finally reached the last bastion of the Cathars in the wild
mountains of Languedoc, in 1243, 34 years had slipped away. It still required
an army of 10,000 men and a siege of 10 months to force a handful of Cathar
defenders to surrender.
There was nothing of value in the castle. However, there was evidence that
something of immense importance, either monetary or religious, had recently
been located there. Perhaps it was the Cup of Christ? All of the defenders
accepted death rather than divulge any information about the nature or
location of their legendary treasure which now consisted of the combined
wealth of Solomon, Rome, Alaric, the Knights Templar and the Cathars
themselves. It had already been the key to the success of Titus, Dragobert II
and the Poor Knights of the Temple.
What had happed to this vast treasure? The answer was simple. It had been
carted off to the caves and grottoes of the surrounding mountains during the
34 years which elapsed before the marauding forces of the crusade arrived at
Montsegur. Even during the 10 month siege of the castle, certain items were
lowered by rope down a sheer precipice on one side of the mountain on which
the fortress stood, and which was not guarded by the enemy. These last
precious pieces had also been carried off into the forests and the hills. The
remnants of the defenders were all put to death by fire in a place which is
now known as the "Field of the Stake."
For all practical purposes, the last of the Cathars died at Montsegur, but
their treasure was to see the light of another day, and contribute to yet
another success story. Catharism was still to make an abortive attempt to
resurface in the Third Reich.
CHAPTER IX
The Mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau and The Coming of Otto Rahn and Third Reich
"No one will ever know just what it was that Father Sauniere discovered during
his rock hunting expeditions, but the fact remains that suddenly, and without
explanation, he began to exhibit unmistakable signs of having acquired great
wealth. During the period 189?-1917 the once penniless priest spent an
estimated $120,000,000 by today's values.
Just fourteen years after the death of Father Sauniere, a slender young man in
a Boy Scout uniform made his first appearance in the Languedoc area of
southwestern France."
Quote from text
In 1885 a new priest named Berenger Sauniere was assigned to the remote
village of Rennes-le-Chateau in the Languedoc province of southwestern France.
The tiny village consisted of no more than 200 inhabitants.
Its clustered houses and its small church can be seen to-day from far across
the rolling country side, as it perches precariously atop a mountain in the
foothills of the Pyrenees (see Ill. 13).
Not far away is the famous Cathar fortress of Montseagur. The church of
Rennes-le-Chateau dates back to 1059, and under it are the foundations of a
much older Visigoth church which was built in the time of Alaric (C. 411
A.D.). The older church is the same one in which Dragobert It (651-679), of
the Merovingian Dynasty, married the Visigoth Princess Giselle de Razes in
671. It will be remembered that shortly after the wedding Dragobert suddenly
and mysteriously became extremely wealthy. He used his new fortune to regain
his throne and not long thereafter he was murdered.
It should also be recalled that it was somewhere in the general vicinity of
Rennes-le-Chateau or Montsegur that the Visigoth Chieftain, Alaric, hid his
booty after he had pillaged Rome.
After he had settled down in his new parish and started to adjust to its
isolation and poverty, Father Sauniere became interested in restoring his
church, which was in desperate need of repair. It took some time to raise the
necessary funds and the project did not get started until 1891.
Two carved pillars of obvious Visigothic design, which supported the altar,
were cracked and had to be replaced. During this process it was discovered
that one of the columns was hollow. Therein Father Sauniere found four
parchments which were sealed in wooden tubes. Inscribed on the parchments were
what appeared to be genealogies dating back to 1244 and Latin translations of
parts of the New Testament. However, because of certain incoherent words and
superfluous letters Sauniere suspected that some type of code was involved. He
was somewhat of an expert in this area because he was a student of local
history and was also fluent in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. 'When translated into
any or all of these languages most of the extra words came out as meaningless
jargon but surprisingly a few phrases stood out with great clarity. For
example, a part of the message spelled out the sentence, "To Dragobert II
belongs this treasure and he is there dead." There was also the date 681 (2
years after the untimely death of King Dragobert).
No one seems to know whether or not the full text of the message was ever
deciphered, but it seems reasonable to assume that it was. The evidence which
has been presented, and that which is to come, also seems to support the
premise, that the message contained the key to finding the Treasure of Alaric
and the Treasure of Dragobert.
Not too long after the discovery of the parchments, Father Sauniere exhibited
a sharp change in his recreational habits. He abandoned his literary pursuits
and his passion for fishing in nearby streams during his leisure hours, and
suddenly became an avid rock hunter. He began to make long trips into the
mountains, accompanied by his faithful housekeeper and confidante, a young
lady named Marie Denarnaud. He had hired Miss Denarnaud as his housekeeper
shortly after he came to Rennes-le-Chateau, when she was only 18 years old.
The rocks which he brought back did not seem to be unusual in any way. It
should be noted that Sauniere was not a stranger to the region or to mountain
climbing since he was born and grew up in a small village not far from Rennes-
le-Chateau.
Apparently it took some years for the good Father to discover that which he
sought, because it was not until 1896 that the fruits of his labor began to
appear. It must be pointed out that his income at this time was about the
equivalent of 30 dollars per year.
No one will ever know just what it was that Father Sauniere discovered during
his rock hunting expeditions but the fact remains that suddenly, and without
explanation, he began to exhibit unmistakable signs of having acquired great
wealth.
The road leading to the village was improved, running water was brought in,
the church was redecorated on a grandiose scale, a tower like structure, in
honor of St. Mary of Magdala, was erected to store Sauniere's growing, library
and an opulent new house was built for the priest and called the Villa
Bethania. Botanical and zoological gardens were installed, collections of fine
china, linens, fabrics and antique marble statues were purchased and the
parishioners were entertained at sumptuous banquets.
Sauniere made extended trips to Paris where he presumably bought his way into
high social circles, one of which was presided over by a leading opera star
and occultist named Emma Calve. He also purchased expensive reproductions of a
number of paintings which were represented in the Louvre.
Before long, the Pastor of Rennes-le-Chateau was receiving and entertaining a
stream of distinguished visitors from Paris and other countries in his remote
mountain top retreat.
Included in this group were Emma Calve and her associates, the French
Secretary of State for Culture, bankers from Paris and the Archduke Johann von
Hapsburg. The Archduke was a cousin of Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria, and
there is evidence that he was a business partner of Sauniere.
It is estimated, that during the period 1896-1917, the once penniless Father
Sauniere spent about ten million dollars. This was a staggering sum by turn of
the century prices and if the priest was primarily exchanging gold for
currency, his expenditures would have amounted to $120,000,000 by today's
values. In addition, the Pastor of Rennes-le-Chateau died at a relatively
early age (65). If he had lived a bit longer he might have divested himself of
an incredible amount of money. He certainly qualified for the title of "Multi-
millionaire"
.
As his lavish spending gradually snow-balled over the years. Father Sauniere
began to exhibit increasingly bizarre behavior. Only a few examples of which
will be mentioned here.
Above the entrance to his church he placed a Latin inscription which read
"This Place is Terrible" and the Stations of the Cross were decorated in a
garish manner, which was not in keeping with Christian symbols. Perhaps the
most jarring note of all is to be found in a half-man sized statue of a
horrible satanic figure, which stands today just inside the tiny vestibule of
the church, where it cannot possibly be overlooked. It is said to represent
the demon Asmondeus who is the custodian of dark secrets and the guardian of
treasures, including satanic interests in the Treasure of Solomon.
While the statue is not suitable for placement in a Christian church, the
themes which the demon represents were near and dear to the heart of Father
Sauniere.
The Bishop of the region had long been concerned over Sauniere's bizarre
behavior and increasing expenditures, and finally called him to account.
Sauniere flatly refused to reveal the source of his wealth and refused a
transfer to a different parish. He was relieved of his duties as a Catholic
priest.
However, the Vatican quickly reinstated him, perhaps in exchange for a
handsome donation to its coffers.
On January 17,1917 Father Sauniere was felled by a massive stroke, or so it
was said. Suicide or murder cannot be ruled out. He died five days later. The
most suspicious thing about his death is that his housekeeper had ordered his
casket on January 12, 1917 (six days before the stroke and 11 days before his
death), while he was still in a state of robust good health.
Another strange thing had occurred during the interim. As Father Sauniere lay
dying, a priest from a neighboring parish was called in to hear his final
confession and administer the last rites.
Shortly after entering the sickroom the priest emerged in a state of shock.
After hearing Sauniere's confession, he felt that he could not administer
Extreme Unction. And so Sauniere died unshriven.
The next morning his body appeared on the terrace of the Tower of Magdala. It
was sitting upright in a large chair and was dressed in an elaborate robe with
scarlet tassels. As a group of mourners passed in single file, they plucked
tassels of remembrance from the dead man's cloak. No one knows the identity of
most of the strange people who had come unsummoned to the unusual wake.
At the reading of Sauniere's will, some days later, it was disclosed that he
was penniless. He had previously transferred his entire estate to Marie
Denarnaud who had been his companion and confidante for 32 years.
Marie continued to live quietly in the Villa Bethania until 1946. At about
that time, France abandoned the currency which had been used before and during
World War II and issued new francs. When exchanging the old bills for new
ones, all citizens were required to divulge the source of the francs which
were presented for replacement. Miss Denamaud chose to burn her fortune in old
francs rather than disclose their source.
She was now penniless except for Villa Bethania and had to sell the house in
order to support herself. She promised the purchaser that before she died she
would tell him a secret that would bring him riches and power beyond his
wildest dreams, but this was not to be.
Marie Denarnaud waited too long to reveal her secret. On January 29, 1953, at
the ripe old age of 86, she suffered a massive stroke like her master before
her.
The stroke left her speechless. Her secret was now locked up in her damaged
brain, and when she departed this world a few days later, it was lost to the
world forever.
No one will ever know what she wanted to say while on her deathbed, but it
seems almost certain, that she knew the location of the Treasure of Solomon
which included the Emerald Cup and the Ark of Gold.
The Coming of SS Lieutenant Otto Rahn
and the Third Reich
On an early summer's day in 1931, just 14 years after the death of Father
Berenger Sauniere, a slender young man in a Boy Scout uniform made his first
appearance in the Languedoc area of southwestern France.
His destination was the ancient Cathar fortress of Monsegur and the
surrounding mountains. After intensive periods of study of medieval
literature, the young intruder had come to the conclusion that it was here,
that he would find the Holy Cup of Christ and the Treasure of King Solomon.
All strangers were regarded with some suspicion by the natives of the isolated
villages in this wild mountainous region, but the young man received more than
his share of distrust because of his clothing, his conspicuous German accent
and his passion for privacy.
His name was Otto Rahn and he was no less than the personal emissary of
Heinrich Himmler and Alfred Rosenberg. Indirectly, he was the representative
of Adolf Hitler who would become absolute ruler of Germany, within a scant two
years and form that nation into the Third Reich. His specific mission was to
find the Treasure of Solomon and steal it for Germany, if at all possible.
Had the local villagers been in possession of the above information, it is
doubtful that Rahn would ever have emerged from the wilderness of the
Pyrenees.
Rahn spent 3 months in the mountains and either on this trip or a somewhat
shorter visit in 1937, he found something of great importance. He probably did
not discover the treasure itself, but a clue which convinced him, that he knew
its exact location. He planned to return for a third visit to complete his
mission in 1939, but was not able to do so, having died under very mysterious
circumstances in March of that year. In the meantime, he authored two books
about the Cathars which were well received by Himmler and his circle. As a
result of his new found fame, Rahn tried to revive Catharism in the Third
Reich, an act which probably led to his death.
During the occupation of France by German troops in World War II the results
of Rahn's "find" were removed to Germany by a special team of commandos,
headed by Colonel Otto Skorzeny. Himmler personally ordered the mission of
recovery and selected its commander.
We will return to this subject in subsequent chapters but for the moment we
have moved far ahead of our story. We must now return to the chronological
history of the Emerald Cup and explain how it rejoined the Treasure of
Solomon, after a separation of more than 1300 years.
pps36-79
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CHAPTER XVII
The Fall of Otto Rahn
�Whenever Rahn died or from whatever cause, his final curtain call attracted
less notice than might have been expected for the man who had discovered the
Treasure of the Ages."
Quote from text
When Otto Rahn returned from the Languedoc in the summer of 1937, things began
to go wrong and his star began to set in an inexplicable way.
He had been a member of the SS for about 13 months and had risen rapidly from
private to 2nd Lieutenant, but he had actually performed no military duty. It
was now time for him to do so. In early September of 1937 he was assigned to
four months of active military service with the SS-Death Head Division
"Oberbayern" at Dachau concentration camp, near Munich. His exact duties are
unknown.
The concentration camp at Dachau was established on March 22, 1933 at the
direction of Heinrich Himmler who was then Police Commissioner of Munich. It
was the first camp in what was to become a large network of prisons, intended
originally for the incarceration of "Communists and Social Democrats" and
other political dissidents.
In 1937, when Otto Rahn served a tour of duty at Dachau, conditions were quite
good compared to what was observed by the author when this installation was
liberated by his unit (the 157th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 45th,
Thunderbird Division, on April 29, 1945. See "Dachau�The Hour of the Avenger"
by Colonel Howard Buechner, Thunderbird Press, 1986.).
Nonetheless, the young intellectual, Otto Rahn, must have been profoundly
impressed with what he saw at the prison. In addition. Rahn must have come
into contact with inmates who were cle-gymen, politicians, intellectuals like
himself and other well-educated individuals who were there because of their
political beliefs.
Just what happened to Rahn at Dachau is not known, but lie was still enjoying
a position of favor with Himmler when his tour of duty at the camp ended in
early January, 1938. On June 9, 1938 he sought and was granted a leave of
absence from his SS duties for a period of one year with complete freedom to
devote himself to writing and research.
The text of his letter is as follows:
"From: Otto Rahn Muggenbrunn
SS Second Lieutenant by Todtnau/Black Forest
on
June 9, 1938
To: Reichsfuhrer- SS, Heinrich Himmler Through, Chief of the Personal Staff
Berlin SW II
l am presently working on the sequel to my latest book Lucifer's Courtiers".
The title of the sequel is, ;;The Testament of Prometheus, A Journey to Hell
and Beyond". In addition, l am also working on a grand novel (Title:
"Sebastion"). After completion this novel will be a masterpiece. This novel
states the quintessence of my perception, realization and thesis, with
exclusive references and practical applications in connection with life as it
is viewed to-day. This will be my strongest, artistic and intellectual
achievement. Experts have assured me of this.
The novel, which occupied the majority of my time over the last several years
has been generally completed. However, it will require a vast amount of
detailing before it can be put in print.
l ask the Reichsfuhrer - SS' permission to complete the novel (approximately
2000 manuscript pages) at my cottage in the Black Forest (1000 meters
elevation and absolutely quiet).
Should this permission be granted, l would simultaneously work on my novel,
which requires my undivided concentration and devotion, and also improve my
health condition (bronchial catarrh). without interrupting my work.
Furthermore, this opportunity would allow me to fulfill my obligations toward
my official duties, which l was forced to neglect.
Heil Hitler!
(signed) Otto Rahn
SS-Untersturmfuhrer
As previously stated, Rahn not only received a favorable reply to his rather
remarkable request for a prolonged leave of absence but Himmler also promoted
him to the rank of SS-Obersturmfuhrer (1st Lieutenant) on September 11, 1938.
However, at this point something went wrong. Presumably Rahn began to talk too
much! Like the people he met at Dachau, he began to express his political
opinions to those who he considered to be friends.
First of all, he let it be known that he opposed the war for which Germany was
obviously preparing in 1938. In place of war, he believed that Germany and
then Europe, should be transformed into a community of "Pure Ones" or Cathars.
In other words, Rahn's long association with the history of the Cathars and
their unjust persecution by the church and the throne of France, had led to
his conversion to the Cathar faith. He was also proposing a "New Order" in
which the states of Europe, and perhaps all other nations, would adopt the
Cathar beliefs in the interest of world peace. There were certain aspects of
the Cathar religion which the leaders of the Third Reich found to be
appealing. For instance the "Pure or Perfect Ones" believed in 3 echelons of
society. The supreme leaders who had been fully initiated in the attainment of
salvation through knowledge, the elite who were partial initiates, and the
common masses who really knew very little about what was going on.
Heinrich Himmler visualized a society of this type in the Third Reich with
himself as one of the supreme leaders and his Black Order of the SS as the
elite but thereafter his ideas and those of the Cathars quickly took divergent
paths.
Otto Rahn might have been forgiven for his personal association with the
Cathar faith and even for his desire to turn Germany and the world into a land
of Cathars, but his expressed opposition to the war effort was nothing short
of treason. His doom was sealed.
On February 28, 1939 Rahn suddenly submitted a mysterious letter of
resignation from the SS to Gruppenfuhrer Karl Wolff, Chief of Himmler's
personal staff.
His letter read as follows:
"Unfortunately I have to ask you to support my request to the Reichsfuhrer for
immediate discharge from the Schutzstaffel (SS).
The circumstances which brought me to this decision are of extremely grave
nature, and only allow me to present them to you verbally.
I will come to Berlin in the next couple of days and will report to you.
(signed) Otto Rahn, SS-Obersturmfuhrer."
The circumstances of "extremely grave nature" to which Rahn refers, and which
could not be transmitted by letter, have an ominous ring. No one really knows
the full scope of the dilemma which Rahn was facing but it seems reasonable to
conclude that he was in a life or death situation of some kind or, even worse,
in a death versus death position which left only the method to be decided. The
famous "Desert Fox," Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, was to face a similar fate at
a somewhat later date. His choice was suicide with honor or execution with
disgrace.
The reason for Rahn's quandary leaves ample room for speculation. His shifting
political views and his vision of a New World Order, with Germany as its
leader, were certainly in unison with Himmler's ambition as expressed in his
words: "After the war, we shall really build up our Order, that Order to which
we imparted its most important principles ten years before the war. We shall
continue, we the veterans, for twenty years after the war, so that tradition
can be established, a tradition that will last for thirty, thirty-five or
forty years�a whole generation. Then our Order will be young and strong,
revolutionary and active, in its march into the future. It will be able to
fulfill its duty and provide the Germanic people with an elite. This elite
will unite this people and the whole of Europe."
Even the charge of opposing the war effort could easily have been quashed by
Himmler if Rahn had agreed to cease and desist. Thus, one is left with the
uncomfortable and hard to shake feeling that something else was involved. The
final question seems to revolve around the discoveries which Rahn made during
his trips to the Languedoc. Was he a man who knew too much, or was he a man
who had disclosed too little about the results of his quest - for the
Treasures of Solomon and the Emerald Cup. No one will ever know the answer to
this question.
What we do know is that Rahn soon received a favorable reply to his request
for discharge from the SS. The cryptic and totally unrevealing message is
quoted in its entirety:
"To: SS - Obersturmfuhrer Rahn, Otto (SS - Nr. 276 208)
Based on your request of February 28, 1939, I hereby discharge you immediately
from the Schutzstaffel (Guard Detachment - SS).
The Reichsftihrer - SS by proxy SS - Gruppenfuhrer
There is fragmentary evidence that Rahn tried to save his life sometime during
this period by proposing that he be allowed to return to the Languedoc and
live out his days in the mountain seclusion of the Pyrenees. His request was
denied and he was left with the two remaining options, death by suicide or
death by execution.
On March 13, 1939 Otto Rahn disappeared.
On May 18, 1939 the following death notice appeared in the Berlin edition of
the "Volkischer Beobachter".
"SS - Obersturmfuhrer OTTO RAHN
Died tragically in a snow storm during March 1939. We mourn for this dead
comrade, decent SS-man and creator of outstanding historical-scholarly works.
WOLFF
SS - Gruppenfuhrer
Initially it was stated that the cause of Rahn's death was either "exposure"
or "pneumonia", notwithstanding the fact that he was young and vigorous and an
experienced mountain climber who had once spent an entire snowbound winter in
the Alps. A subsequent account of Rahn's demise related that he drank a bottle
of rum, fell asleep in the snow and froze to death while climbing a mountain
known as the "Wilde Kaiser". (Die Welt Newspaper, May 1:t, 1979) Later rumors
claimed that Rahn had cornmitted suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule while
on the mountain.
Another report by Gerard de Sede ("The Treasure of the Cathari", 1966)
postulates that Rahn did not die on a mountain top in 1439, but was arrested
and imprisoned in solitary confinement at the Dachau concentration camp. He
was beheaded in 1945 just before the compound was liberated by American
forces.
If this story is true, Rahn's body was probably among the pile of corpses
viewed by the author when he became the first American physician to enter the
camp on the day of liberation (April 29, 1945) (see footnote and "Dachau � The
Hour of the Avenger", by Col. Howard Buechner, Thunderbird Press,
1986).*Footnote Because of a lack of fuel the crematory ovens at Dachau had
been out of action for 7-10 days prior to the liberation . No corpses had been
disposed of during this period.*
One of the most interesting accounts of Rahn's fate appeared in the German
newspaper "Die Welt" (The World) on May 12, 1979. The article is entitled "The
Double Rahn and His Holy Grail" and is based on a previous article or book by
a French author named Christian Bernadacas. The French writer alleges that
Rahn did not die either in 1939 or 1945. He had established a "mysterious
order" with connections in Holland, France and Switzerland and as leader of
this movement he was irreplaceable to Germany. Presumably the "New Order" was
based on Cathar principles and Rahn was central to its success. For complex
and unexplained reasons Rahn's enemies planned to kill him. It became
necessary to fake his suicide in order to save his life.
His name was changed to Rudolf Rahn and his features were altered by extensive
plastic surgery. The new Rahn was then appointed to the diplomatic service and
sent to Iraq as an ambassador. Later he served as ambassador to Italy. He died
in 1975.
Thus, this always mysterious and puzzling man passed from the stage of world
history. In an overall assessment he seems to have been a person whose dreams
were lost in the Middle Ages and who wandered innocently into the dangerous
complexities of the twentieth century where he faced a world which he did not
understand and for which he was ill-prepared.
Whenever Rahn died, or from whatever cause, his final curtain call attracted
less notice than might have been expected for the man who had discovered the
Treasure of the Ages or who had, at least pointed others in its direction. He
was a man who knew too much about the earth and too little about its
inhabitants.
Some Other Unsolved Mysteries:
1. In 1882, the great composer, Richard Wagner (1813-1883), favorite of Adolf
Hitler, wrote an opera named Parsifal. It was performed at Bayreuth, Germany
on July 26, of the same year. The opera was based on the epic poem Parzival,
by Wolfram von Eschenbach which had been written in about 1200.
Wagner's opera begins with the words, "In a distant land, unreachable by your
strides, a castle by the name of Mont Salvat exists." The opera then follows
von Eschenbach's poem almost word for word. It goes on to describe a secret
fortress where a group of knights guard a Holy Cup or Holy Grail (a precious
luminous stone).
Wolfram von Eschenbach's poem and the "Grail Castle" which he describes are
considered to be mythical but it was once believed that the Grail Castle was
located atop the mountain Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain.
In spite of the above, Wagner seems to have reached the conclusion, as did
Otto Rahn at a later date, that the mythical Mont Salvat of Wolfram von
Eschenbach was actually the fortress-castle of the Cathars of Montsegur.
The evidence for Wagner's conclusion is to be found in the fact that he
decided to visit Montsegur in about 1881 while preparing to write the opera
Parsifal. He did this only two years before his death, at age 68, when
Montsegur was accessible only by foot or on horseback. It must have been a
very arduous journey and reflected the powerful determination of the renowned
composer.
The mystery is, how did Wagner come to the conclusion that the mythical Grail
Castle of Mont Salvat was actually the real Grail Castle of Montsegur?
2.
All known accounts of the explorations of Otto Rahn seem to imply that he
always traveled alone. However, this cannot be true, since numerous
photographs exist that show the young explorer deep in the grottoes of the
Sabarthez. Who was his photographer? Was he assisted by other companions?
3. Sometime prior to 1941 a Swiss researcher named Karl Rinderknecht explored
the mountains and the grottoes in the vicinity of Montsegur. This is known
from an article which appeared in a German periodical in the above year ("in
Quest of the Grail", Koralle Magazine, Number 42, Oct. 19, 1941, author
unknown). The text is brief but the unidentified journalist is presumably
quoting Rinderknecht without giving any further information about his source.
Random excerpts from the article are as follows: "About 40 years ago (approx.
1900) the location of the Grail Cult was pinpointed to the Pyrenees mountains.
The Swiss researcher Karl Rinderknecht later discovered notable evidence
through his research and excavations. The Grail Castle is located on Montsegur
within the Pyrenees Maladetta Mountain region, bordering the Republic of
Andorra. At this location, approximately 700 years ago, a fortress-like temple
existed, in which the Cathars paid homage to the Holy Grail. Also located here
are the now empty mountain retreats in which the Cathars fought the onslaught
of the church. The cult of the Cathars survived the attack and under the
protection of the Templar Knights, dwelled in seclusion within the underground
hiding places and catacombs of the mountain."
"The search for the Grail Castle began at the foot of the Pyrenees, however it
was found on its highest mountain. A step by step search for this, revealed
secret entrances bearing old runes and paintings and caves of tremendous
size."
"The steep slopes of Montsegur were very hard to ascend. The researcher Karl
Rinderknecht had to master many difficulties during his search for secret
hiding places and catacombs. Old grail symbols were found in the underground
corridors of the holy mountain. One fresco depicted a red disk, a lance and a
cross, all of which were emblems of the Holy Grail (see III. 10). A Templar
Knight's cross was found under the accumulated dust of seven hundred years. An
underground lake was discovered in a gigantic cave. During sacred initiations
the novices stood before a Druid-like altar which had been chiseled from the
rock."
"Thus, a forgotten secret world, an ancient cult, with its weathered symbols,
once tying believers of the purest heart to its teachings, was once again
discovered."
Seven photographs are included with the article. They are very similar to
those attributed to Otto Rahn (see Ill. 11) and indicate that at least 3
people were involved in the expedition.
On the basis of this article it is impossible to determine the dates on which
Karl Rinderknecht's explorations were carried out or his reason for interest
in Montsegur.
Thus, we come to a long list of mysteries or unanswered questions. Was
Rinderknecht in the Languedoc before, after or during the expeditions of Otto
Rahn (1931 and 1937)? An intriguing possibility is that he was a companion of
Otto Rahn (possibly his photographer)? Were the missions of the two explorers
carried out on an entirely independent basis? Why does the author of the
foregoing article use the term "once again discovered" which implies that the
area had been explored on some prior occasion?
Finally, we come to the matter of the date of the preceding article. It was
published on October 19, 1941, approximately 2 years and 7 months after the
official date of death of the German explorer, and 10 years after his first
visit to the caves of the Sabarthez, but Rahn's name is not mentioned. Why?
--cont--
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
Omnia Bona Bonis,
All My Relations.
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End
Kris
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