Himmler's Crusade: The Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race Hardcover - 2003

From the rear cover

It is a pilgrimage that thousands have taken in search of enlightenment, inner peace, or even sheer adventure. When five officers of the Nazi SS made the arduous journey to Tibet's forbidden city of Lhasa in the winter of 1938, however, the objects of their quest were mysterious, sinister, and, ultimately, deeply malevolent. Under orders from Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, these scientists were to find proof of a bizarre historical fantasy, lay the groundwork for a global political and military strategy, and pinpoint the origins and remnants of the Aryan "master race."

"Himmler's Crusade" tells the riveting tale of one of the most perverse, eccentric, and frightening scientific expeditions in history. Based on a wide range of previously unused sources, including journals, new interviews, and original research in German archives as well as in Tibet, this real-life drama combines the highest standards of narrative history with the high adventure and exotic locales of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Central to this chilling tale is the complex and problematic character of Ernst Schafer, the expedition's leader. A serious and extremely competent young zoologist, Schafer was so consumed by ambition that he was eager to become Himmler's protege and to do anything his patron commanded in return for opportunity, fame, and influence at the very highest levels of Nazi power. Though they had their own projects to pursue, Schafer's team spent most of its time in Tibet doing Himmler's bidding, which included sowing the seeds of rebellion, undermining Britain's relationship with the Tibetan ruling class, and confirming Himmler's grotesque theories about the origins of the Aryan race.

Part spy thriller, part detective yarn, and all real-life adventure, "Himmler's Crusade" takes you from Himmler's SS stronghold at Wewelsburg Castle, where he inculcated elite SS recruits with the appropriate racial thinking, to the dizzying Himalayan heights, where Schafer and his team examined Tibetan nobles for signs of Aryan ancestry. It asks penetrating questions about the relationship between science and politics and sheds new light on the occult theories that obsessed Himmler and his fellow Nazis. Supplemented with dozens of fascinating photos taken during the expedition, this engagingly told tale provides deep insight into one of the strangest episodes in the tumultuous months just prior to the outbreak of World War II.

From the jacket flap

It is a pilgrimage that thousands have taken in search of enlightenment, inner peace, or even sheer adventure. When five officers of the Nazi SS made the arduous journey to Tibet's forbidden city of Lhasa in the winter of 1938, however, the objects of their quest were mysterious, sinister, and, ultimately, deeply malevolent. Under orders from Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, these scientists were to find proof of a bizarre historical fantasy, lay the groundwork for a global political and military strategy, and pinpoint the origins and remnants of the Aryan "master race."

"Himmler's Crusade" tells the riveting tale of one of the most perverse, eccentric, and frightening scientific expeditions in history. Based on a wide range of previously unused sources, including journals, new interviews, and original research in German archives as well as in Tibet, this real-life drama combines the highest standards of narrative history with the high adventure and exotic locales of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Central to this chilling tale is the complex and problematic character of Ernst Schafer, the expedition's leader. A serious and extremely competent young zoologist, Schafer was so consumed by ambition that he was eager to become Himmler's protege and to do anything his patron commanded in return for opportunity, fame, and influence at the very highest levels of Nazi power. Though they had their own projects to pursue, Schafer's team spent most of its time in Tibet doing Himmler's bidding, which included sowing the seeds of rebellion, undermining Britain's relationship with the Tibetan ruling class, and confirming Himmler's grotesque theories about the origins of the Aryan race.

Part spy thriller, part detective yarn, and all real-life adventure, "Himmler's Crusade" takes you from Himmler's SS stronghold at Wewelsburg Castle, where he inculcated elite SS recruits with the appropriate racial thinking, to the dizzying Himalayan heights, where Schafer and his team examined Tibetan nobles for signs of Aryan ancestry. It asks penetrating questions about the relationship between science and politics and sheds new light on the occult theories that obsessed Himmler and his fellow Nazis. Supplemented with dozens of fascinating photos taken during the expedition, this engagingly told tale provides deep insight into one of the strangest episodes in the tumultuous months just prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Media reviews

Citations

• Choice, 06/01/2004, Page 1952