I recently read "The Master Plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust" by Heather Pringle and I think it gave an excellent overview of the Ahnenerbe, its strange view of history and its actions (both prior to and during the war). It was interesting to read about the expeditions to Tibet, Sweden, Finland etc as well as its involvement in war crimes during the war.
/Marcus
The Master Plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust"
Re: The Master Plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust"
I agree with Marcus...I too found this book very interesting. Ms. Pringle is also a good writer and makes the book exciting. Unfortunately, we don't have much in English on the Ahnenerbe. The Ahnenerbe was an organization that proved the old adage that "truth is stranger than fiction". The SS is often viewed as a "state within a state" and one could view the Ahnenerbe as a "cult within a cult". I can't help but think of the Indiana Jones movies when reading about some of the more ambitious projects of this group. Himmler was a pseudo-intellectual and dilletante on varous subjects.
I really wish someone would translate Michael Kater's book "Das Ahnenerbe" into English. I've heard his book is good in that it is scholarly and gives an overview of some of the research papers and projects it worked on.
I really wish someone would translate Michael Kater's book "Das Ahnenerbe" into English. I've heard his book is good in that it is scholarly and gives an overview of some of the research papers and projects it worked on.