Ostara (magazine)

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The magazine Ostara or Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler, (in English: Ostara, newsletter of the blonde and masculinists) was founded in 1905 by the occultist Lanz von Liebenfels in Vienna.

"The Ostara pamphlets promoted an occult world view, based on a grotesque racial struggle, begun in a remote past."^[1]

Lanz named his magazine after the hypothetical goddess "Ostara"^[2] based on Bede's statement that the Old English tribes named Easter after a goddess named Eostre. Lanz claimed that this goddess was called Ostara by other tribes and that the Ostrogoths and the nation of Austria (German: Österreich) were matronymically named after this goddess.^[3] In his study of Lanz von Liebenfels, the Austrian psychologist Wilfried Daim states about the later claim: "Most likely this is even greater nonsense."

According to von Liebenfels, the magazine had a peak circulation of 100,000. The magazine appeared in 3 Series. The first series included 100 (or 89 ?) issues between 1905 and 1917. The 2nd series had only one issue. The 3rd series included 20 issues between 1927 and 1930.^[4]

It was said that this magazine was read by Adolf Hitler, though upon annexing Austria, he had von Liebenfels' work banned. Dietrich Eckart was a subscriber.^[5]

The ideals promoted by Ostara were influenced by theosophic ideas.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ History Channel documentary: Hitler and the Occult
^ Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism, p. 99
^ see: W. Daim: Der Mann, der Hitler die Ideen gab, 3.ed.1994, p. 123. Daim gives Ostara III, 1 (1927) as source.
^ see: W. Daim: Der Mann, der Hitler die Ideen gab, 3.ed.1994, p.322-328 for a complete list.
^ Informationsdienst gegen Rechtsextremismus, entry on Lanz von Liebenfels (German language). Retrieved on 2006-03-20.