Savitri Devi - National Socialism and Christianity

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David Pringle

Savitri Devi - National Socialism and Christianity

Post by David Pringle » Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:04 pm

Following a meeting and conversation with an elderly German saleswoman who asked Savitri whether she would be fair to Germans and National Socialism in her book Savitri was invited to return to the shop after it closed for a more frank conversion about National Socialism in private.

From Gold in the Furnace Ch.9 - The Elite of the World (Centennial Edition) p 159-162

"I admired the woman's fearlessness -- for she did not know me yet. She had only seen my British-Indian passport when I had shown it to an inspector in the train.

"'Are you a National Socialist?' I asked her. And she is the only person in Germany to whom I ever put that question in such a pointblank form. Her courageous talk had authorized me to do so. Her answer was no less bold. 'Yes, I am,' she said.

"'And so am I.' I relied. 'Don't fear that I might be impressed by lies against the Fuhrer or against us; I have heard heaps, up till now, and spit them at those who tell them. My book shall be the impeachment of our enemies.' I was moved beyond words as I spoke.

"'Can I really believe you?' said Fraulein E, amazed and stopping and looking at me once more. 'You, a foreigner, now -- when all the world is against us!'

"'I have no time for that world of monkeys and its supposed 'opinion,'' I replied. 'I know my words are difficult to believe. But you might believe my writing.'

"And pulling one of my leaflets out of a roll, I took her to a lonely corner of the ruins (we were in a town where there are plenty such corners) and showed it to her, 'I wrote it,' I said.

"She believed me at last, and was visibly moved as she took my hands and told me: 'I am happy to have met you, happier than I can say. But, my poor dear child, how dare you go about with all that dangerous stuff?'

"'No German has betrayed me yet.'

"No true German ever will,' she answered. 'But still, be careful. 'They" might find you out all the same. 'They' are probably watching you all the time. Anyhow, it is no use thinking of it beforehand. Come now, and I shall take you to some good friends of mine. They will be glad to make your acquaintance.'

"'Tell me something about the great days,' said I, as we walked along a half-destroyed avenue. 'I wish I had come then.'

"'You would have been happy in Germany, then. You cannot imagine how lovely it was. Now, look at what 'they' have done -- our Christian-like enemies; those who came to 'reform' us, to 're-educate' us as they say.' And she pointed to one of the streets in which (as in more than one other street form the same town) not a single house is left erect. 'Look at that!' said she. 'But revenge will come, one day. And then Germany will rise once more out of her ruins and the great days will come back!'

"Once more, for the millionth time, I admired the invincible Nazi spirit.

"The woman showed me the ruins of what had once been her shop, at the corner or a main avenue opposite a church. The sight of the church reminded her of a man and an incident. But before telling me about it, she asked me whether I were a Christian.

"'I? Goodness no! I know there is nothing so opposed to ours as the Christian philosophy, and I look upon the church as our greatest enemy.' [Emphasis added by me]

"'How right you are! I have always said that too, although many disagree with me. Then I shall tell you of my friend W, who was a clergyman, but a peculiar one -- a clergyman, and a fighter for the Movement at the same time, if you can picture such a combination of opposites; a man who would throw a priest's robe over his brown uniform (jack boots and pistol and all) and run to church just in time to deliver a short address. The address was always thoroughly National Socialist in spirit, the word 'amen' at the end being practically the only thing that indicated that it was delivered from a pulpit. One day, what happened? Another preacher, who was a real Christian, not just someone trying to prepare the church-going crowds for the new times, started making certain hints against the regime. My friend W took out a writing pad and a fountain pen which he always kept at hand, and noted carefully whatever the man said. Then, he waited for him at the church door, and stopped him on his way out.'

"'You made such and such a statement?' said he.
"'Jawohl, I did.'
"'You implied that the policy of our Government is 'nefarious?' See, I took down such and such words that you uttered.'
"'I admit I did. But...'
"'There is no 'but.' Did you, or not?'
"'I did.'
"'And the 'undesirable people' to whom you alluded to without daring to be clear, were, I suppose, the Fuhrer and his collaborators?'
"'Jawohl, they were, if you must know!'
"Good! . . . So that's what you are -- you swine!'

"'And my friend W gave the fellow a slap that could be heard from the other side of the street. And then another. And another -- 'paff! puff!' -- and several more until finally he sent him rolling in the dust with a kick in the pants: 'That will teach you, saying things against the Fuhrer, you good for nothing rascal!'

"I burst out laughing, unable to stop for a minute or two. I had not laughed so wholeheartedly for a very long time. 'Splendid!' I exclaimed; 'Could not be more splendid! Gosh, I wish I had seen that! In what year was it?'

"'In 1942, if I remember well.'

"'I was in Calcutta, I know I missed a lot. But that! That alone would have been worth the voyage. I would have enjoyed myself! How did the people take it?'

"'The people coming out of the church you mean? Why, they enjoyed themselves too. Half of them were laughing as boisterously as you are now after all these years. I stepped in from the street, and went and congratulated my old friend: 'Well done Herr W!' said I. 'That will teach him a lesson. One can't let those treacherous fellows go about quacking whatever nonsense they please, especially while we are fighting a war,' said I. They all agreed.

"'And where is Herr W now? Could I see him?' I asked. 'I would love to meet him.'

"''They' took him off to a concentration camp in 1945. Since then nobody knows where he is.'

"A shadow passed over my face, I thought of that frank advocate of violence in the service of our ideals, spending four years in one of those chambers of hell of which I have tried to give a glimpse in a previous chapter. Four years! And for what? For being what he is -- what we all are -- a man who had the courage to repudiate once and for all the false values that have been forced upon the nobler races of Europe as their 'standards of morality' for nearly 1,500 years, and to speak and to act according to the standards of the strong; for being a Heathen in a Christian world. And once more I felt how powerful are the forces against us. And once more I was aware how bitterly I hate them.

"I know the story of Herr W is not one that will endear us to our enemies. Most of these will find the incident of the clergyman 'horrible' -- and find me no less 'horrible' for enjoying it. But who cares what they think? As in the first, so in the second phase of the struggle also, we are not fighting to win their approval, but to reduce them, one day, to submission. I have told the story only in order to show what an abyss gapes between us and the Christian world; to illustrate the clean, brutal frankness of our attitude compared with that of the 'decent' people. [emphasis added by me] None of these would have chastised an opponent in broad daylight, before everybody, as Herr W did. No. They would have remained content with being 'shocked,' and would have kept silent -- even if in power. They would have made the opponent's life a misery and then, at the first opportunity, handed him over to hostile authorities, for far worse treatment than a few slaps and a kick in the pants. That is, in fact, the very way they have behaved towards Herr W himself. I recalled the words of Friedrich Nietzsche on a different subject: 'Christianity has not killed Eros' -- the god of physical love -- 'it has only given him poison' -- defiled love. (Beyond Good and Evil) One could also say about violence: Christianity has not killed physical violence; it has only defiled it -- made it indirect, and cowardly, and shameful.

"And what powerful, elemental instinct has it not defiled, I would like to know?"

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Jim Mathias
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Re: Savitri Devi - National Socialism and Christianity

Post by Jim Mathias » Tue Oct 31, 2017 10:48 pm

A thoroughly enjoyable read. Although the "nazi" spirit should be "National Socialist" spirit, the pejorative is unnecessary.
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