For some English speakers, the term "Germanic" has been a subject of general misconception; it is often confused with the noun "German". Despite the likeness, the two terms are by no means synonyms and they can not be used interchangeably. For the sake of this article, the difference has to be pointed out.
" German" means belonging or relating to the country named Germany, its language, people, or culture. However, "Germanic" refers to people or tribes who are originated from northern Europe, with their own distinguished and common genetics and culture. The Germanic people are the ancestors of what are known today as Germans, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Icelanders.
From the times of Romans and until the last wave of migration in 1066 when the Normans invaded England, the Germanic tribes had settled in almost every part of Europe, such as the Anglo-Saxons in Britain and Lombards in nowadays Italy to cite but a few. Over the course of time, they mixed with the natives of the lands they conquered. Therefore, it is no wonder that a considerable part of the European folklore is, in a way or another, related to the Nordic mythology.
One of the Nordic tales that spread across northern, western and central Europe is "the wild hunt". It is a folkloric myth of a ghostly leader passing in the night's sky, escorted by his group of supernatural hunters in a wild pursuit in the howling wind. Usually, the hunters are the resurrected souls of the dead, ghostly dogs, and mythical creatures such as elves, Valkyries and fairies. The wild hunt is considered as an omen of war, plague, natural disasters or at best the death of those who witness it. According to the legend, people who encounter the pursuit will be abducted by the hunters. Then, they will either be sucked into the underworld, or swept up into the frenzied ride themselves.
But what about the leader of this hunt? And who might it be?
When the Germanic tribes mixed with the natives of the regions they invaded, both of their cultures merged as well. As a result, the identity of the leading figure varies from one place to another. But generally, the leader of the hunting party is either a mythological, historical or legendary figure who belongs to the local culture of the region in discuss. For example, and to name a few, while the pursuit is usually led by the Germanic God Odin in northern Europe, it is the legendary king Arthur in England and France. Although in Ireland, the leader is Fionn Mac Cumhail (or Finn MacCool in English), a well known warrior and hunter in Irish mythology.
The legend of "the wild hunt" was a matter of artistic inspiration throughout the years, especially when it came to painting; during the 19th century in particular, several painters depicted on canvas their own visualisation of said legend. One of those was a symbolist artist from Germany named Franz von Stuck (1863-1928).
Von Stuck was not only a painter, but an architect, sculptor and printmaker too. Best known for his dark themed and "sensational" style of painting, some of his well known works are "Der Wächter des Paradieses" (The Guardian of Paradise), "Die Sünde" (The Sin) and "Verwundete Amazone" (Wounded Amazon) in 1904. However, one particular painting of his was, and actually still is, a matter of debate to this very day. We are talking here about "Die Wilde Jagd" or, as you might have guessed, The Wild Hunt.
Franz von Stuck was once again loyal to his sombre style of painting, and when mixed with the dark ambiance of the legend's theme, the result was a harrowing piece of art with horrifying details that would definitely unsettle the observant: the look of anguish on the face of the armless damned, the soulless eyes of the hunt's leader, holding his bloody sword as he ride his eerie horse. Not to mention the chaotic background with the tortured figures in the top left corner, and of course, the hellish wolves following their master. On the whole, and let us be sincere, this is not the kind of paintings you would want hang in your living room.
Franz painted "The Wild Hunt" towards the end of 1888 with Odin as the leader of the pursuit. Odin, as I have already mentioned above, is one of the main gods in Germanic mythology, and is associated with death, wind and war among many more. In German folklore, Odin would do just what is depicted in the painting: with the company of his two wolves Geri and Freki, he will ride his eight legged horse Sleipnir and lead a March of the dead through Germany.
Kind of a "deja vu", right?
I mean, give it a thought: this is a late 1888 painting made by a German artist, depicting a death march of an army lad by a war and death god in the forefront. Does this not ring any bell at all? In case you have not figure it out yet, I suggest you took a closer look at the face of Odin. Does he not seem awfully familiar? Does he not look exactly the same as... Adolf Hitler?
The speculations about the painting started after Hitler stamped his authority on Germany in mid-1930s. In 1936, when asked about his opinion of Nazi Germany, Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, said that Wotan (German for Odin) had awoken and resided not only in Hitler, but in the entire German nation as well. Needless to say, Jung linking Hitler to Odin was fuel to the already blazing fire of speculations and theories. Without a doubt, the Swiss psychologist had genuinely contributed to the fame of Von Stuck's "The Wild Hunt".
But where is Adolf Hitler from all of this? Did he even know about the painting?
Well, it is no secret that Hitler was very interested in art. During his Vienna years, he even attempted to pursue a career and make a living as a painter. However, he failed to pass the entrance exam for the academy of fine arts twice, and had little to no success on professional level. Ironically, most of those who bought young Hitler's paintings were actually Jewish. The führer was also a big fan of Franz von Stuck's art and one of his favourites was indeed "Die Wilde Jagd"; it was displayed on Hitler's private gallery among several other paintings.
The painting in discuss was made only a few months before Hitler was born on the 20th of April 1889, and the similarities between the Nazi leader and the Odin depicted on canvas are too striking to be ignored, starting from the facial features and haircut, to end with the lust for blood and wars. In between, their shared interest in wolves is not to be neglected either: Odin had wolves accompanying him in his chases, while Hitler self-given nickname was wolf. Furthermore, he ran his military operations from several bunkers, one of which was named "Wolfsschanze", German for "the Wolf's lair".
The historian Robert Waite went even further than that. In his book titled " The psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler", Waite claimed that Adolf was imitating the look of Wotan in von Stuck's painting, which explains the unfashionable hairstyle and unfamiliar toothbrush moustache the German leader adopted as his style.
But there is one question that floats on the surface now: did Franz Stuck predict the rise of Hitler? Or is it that the führer was actually projecting himself as Wotan?
In my opinion, it is definitely the latter. Hitler saw himself as some sort of a divine incarnation, playing God to build an eutopia where he would be the supreme leader of what he believed was the superior human race: the Aryan race. Fully convinced of being a god at this point, Adolf needed a scripture explaining his ideology to his followers. And what could be a better fit for the role than his own autobiographical manifesto titled "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle)? The German leader was creating a religion of his own, and "Mein Kampf" was its holy book. Back then, "Mein Kampf" was a must read and millions of copies were printed and distributed. I think it is enough to cite that the book was given to every newlywed couple as a wedding gift during Hitler's reign.
Still, there is one more point that needs to be clarified: why did Adolf Hitler see himself as an incarnation of Wotan in particular? Why not any other god?
In his twisted scripture Mein Kampf, and specifically in chapter 11 "nation and race", Hitler defined the superior type of humanity about which he obsessed. According to him, the purest stock of Aryans were the Nordic people of Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and England. If you think that is not specific enough, then there is a sequel to the definition: the Nazi ideology identified Nordics by their tall stature, long faces, narrow and straight noses, straight light hair, light eye color and fair skin. Note that I did not mention all of the criteria and there is much more to that. In other words, Hitler thought of the descendants of the Germanic tribes as his promised Aryan race. Compare that with his wish of ruling that race, and it is no wonder that he chose to project himself as Odin, the father of all gods in Germanic mythology.
I think this is a very good article, where you combine two or more themes.
There is no doubt that Hitler's Nazism was a religion with himself as a sort of German Messiah. It can never be properly understood as long as it is studied as pure politics.