Karl Germer
- This article is about a Thelema personality/topic
Karl Johannes Germer (22 January 1885 – 25 October 1962), also known as Frater Saturnus, was a German and American businessman and occultist. He served as the United States representative of Ordo Templi Orientis, and on the death of Aleister Crowley, became his successor as the Outer Head of the Order (OHO) until he died in 1962. He founded the Thelema Publishing Company and published several of Crowley's books after his death. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany, and died in West Point, California. Germer was a German occultist who became one of Crowley’s closest associates and eventually succeeded him as the head of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an influential Thelemic organization.
Key Points About Karl Germer and Thelema:
Early Life and Connection to Thelema:
Germer became involved in occultism and Thelema in the early 20th century.
He met Aleister Crowley in the 1920s and became a dedicated follower of Thelema, adhering to its central tenet: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
Role in O.T.O.:
Germer played a significant role in managing the O.T.O. and Thelemic activities, particularly after Crowley died in 1947.
He was named Crowley’s successor and served as the Outer Head of the Order (O.H.O.), ensuring the continuation of Thelema's teachings and practices.
Challenges and Legacy:
Germer faced legal, financial, and organizational challenges while leading the O.T.O., especially during the mid-20th-century decline of Thelemic institutions.
He strictly adhered to Crowley’s teachings and preserved key texts and rituals of Thelema.
Personal Philosophy and Writings:
Germer did not produce as extensive a body of work as Crowley but was instrumental in preserving and distributing Thelemic literature, including The Book of the Law (Liber AL vel Legis).
His leadership style was characterized by a more reserved and administrative approach compared to Crowley’s flamboyant personality.
Significance in Thelemic History:
Under Germer’s leadership, Thelema transitioned through a critical period, ensuring its survival into the modern era.
His stewardship allowed subsequent leaders and practitioners to revitalize the movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
First visit to the United States: 1926–1935
In 1926, Germer married for the second time and traveled to the United States, his wife being an American citizen. By 1927, Germer and his wife Cora Eaton were living in New York, where Germer worked as a machinery merchant. There, in his capacity of Grand Treasurer General of O.T.O., Germer began raising funds for the Order. Money was always a problem, but Germer saw that Crowley must have it so that the work could go on and the books could be published. He raised funds for Crowley in one way or another, making donations of his own and contributing money from O.T.O members whom he could be interested in donating to O.T.O.
By 1930, Germer and his second wife traveled to Europe and stayed with Crowley for a short while to raise funds for the exhibition of Crowley's paintings in Germany. Germer wanted to help Crowley be published and promote Crowley's philosophy of Thelema via Crowley's artwork and by distributing Crowley's publications. Since Germer had business experience, he did well at this, even though he often had insufficient funds.
Holocaust and the aftermath: 1935–1940
Rise of Nazi Germany
Germer's US visa expired, and he had to return to Germany in 1935. When Adolf Hitler came to power, Germer came under suspicion because of his association with Crowley and teaching Thelema in Germany. Martha Kuntzel, who enjoyed a high reputation in Germany amongst aristocrats, presented Hitler (of whom she thought highly before he came to power) with a copy of Liber AL, the Holy Book of Thelema. Kuntzel had been working for some years on translating Crowley's works into German. Liber AL was known well enough in higher German circles after Kuntzel translated and introduced it to the German public. However, soon after the start of World War II, Hitler banned it in Germany, as well as many books on religion, qabalah, astrology, esoteric studies and gematria.
Since Hitler knew enough about Thelema to ban Liber AL in Germany, Germer became his enemy when his religious beliefs became known. On Hitler's orders, Germer was arrested by the Gestapo on 13 February 1935 in Leipzig and incarcerated. He was first held at the Columbia-Haus prison in Berlin. There, he was allowed to work a short time in an architect's office.
Esterwegen concentration camp
Having seen too much of Hitler's brutality at Columbia-Haus, Germer wrote to his wife, Cora, about it. Around the same time, Cora contacted the American Consulate in Berlin, which pleaded for Germer's return to the US as his wife was a US citizen. This was seen as a crime by the Nazis, and they punished Germer even further, deporting him to the Esterwegen concentration camp ↗ on the Dutch Frontier, where the Nazis deported thousands of Hitler's so-called political enemies. Germer remained there for seven months, witnessing cruelties of various sorts on the Nazi side. His wife Cora now did not know where he was and could do nothing but return to America, where she again began her appeal to various US authorities. When they helped her to discover his location, she sent Germer a cable. Germer wrote a reply to her, and it was read by the Nazis, which resulted in Germer being placed in solitary confinement. He was no longer allowed to read; for six weeks, he never saw the day nor was allowed in the open air.
Years in Belgium and France
At the end of August of that year, Germer was temporarily freed from detention at Esterwegen. His defense was that he had been a Major in World War I on the German side and was also of pure German blood and that the charges were too vague. Germer moved to Belgium, where he took an apartment and started working as an exporter of heavy farm machinery in Brussels, making frequent trips to England and Ireland. This was very difficult as the war and Hitler's movements made travel difficult. In Brussels, Germer had the means to store his personal belongings, his diaries, and other things at a friend's house. Between 1939 and 1940, he wrote 223 pages of his autobiographical book "Protective Prisoner No. 303" about his experiences in the concentration camp, which he wanted to publish. On 10 May 1940, when the Germans marched into Belgium, Germer was again incarcerated. As the Germans advanced, Germer was transferred to the French authorities, who held him in a French concentration camp of Internment camps in France (Lévitan). He was later sent to Saint-Cyprien camp in the Pyrénées-Orientales, where 90,000 Spanish refugees were interned in March 1939. It was officially closed on 19 December 1940 for "sanitary reasons." Its occupants, including Germer, were transferred to the Gurs internment camp where in October 1940 thousands of Jewish women, children, and the elderly, who had not gone to the Nazi concentration camps in Germany, were deported from the Baden region of Germany as per official Nazi policy which Adolf Eichmann oversaw.
Liberation and return to the United States
On 1 September 1941, Germer's American wife obtained a non-quota immigration visa. However, French authorities made it almost impossible for Germer to obtain the permit quickly despite all the urgent steps undertaken by his wife and the American Ambassador and Consul. French authorities only permitted him to go to Marseille to see the American Consul four months after the visa was granted. Upon release from the Nazi Party concentration camp in February 1941, Germer returned to the United States. Securing a job as a machinery merchant upon his return to New York, Germer continued his fundraising activities for Crowley, who appointed him his representative in the United States.
Holocaust and the aftermath: 1935 - 1940
Rise of Nazi Germany
Germer's US visa expired, and he had to return to Germany in 1935. When Adolf Hitler came to power, Germer came under suspicion because of his association with Crowley and teaching Thelema in Germany. Martha Kuntzel, who enjoyed a high reputation in Germany amongst aristocrats, presented Hitler (of whom she thought highly before he came to power) with a copy of Liber AL, the Holy Book of Thelema. Kuntzel had been working for some years on translating Crowley's works into German. Liber AL was known well enough in higher German circles after Kuntzel translated and introduced it to the German public. However, soon after the start of World War II, Hitler banned it in Germany, as well as many books on religion, qabalah, astrology, esoteric studies and gematria.
Since Hitler knew enough about Thelema to ban Liber AL in Germany, Germer became his enemy when his religious beliefs became known. On Hitler's orders, Germer was arrested by the Gestapo on 13 February 1935 in Leipzig and incarcerated. He was first held at the Columbia-Haus prison in Berlin. There, he was allowed to work for a short time in an architect's office.
Esterwegen concentration camp
Having seen too much of Hitler's brutality at Columbia-Haus, Germer wrote to his wife, Cora, about it. Around the same time, Cora contacted the American Consulate in Berlin, which pleaded for Germer's return to the US as his wife was a US citizen. This was seen as a crime by the Nazis, and they punished Germer even further, deporting him to the Esterwegen concentration camp on the Dutch Frontier, where the Nazis deported thousands of Hitler's so-called political enemies.
Germer remained there for seven months, witnessing cruelties of various sorts on the Nazi side. His wife Cora now did not know where he was and could do nothing but return to America, where she again began her appeal to various US authorities. When they helped her to discover his location, she sent Germer a cable. Germer wrote a reply to her, and it was read by the Nazis, which resulted in Germer being placed in solitary confinement. He was no longer allowed to read; for six weeks, he never saw the day nor was allowed in the open air.
Years in Belgium and France
At the end of August of that year, Germer was temporarily freed from detention at Esterwegen. His defense was that he had been a Major in World War I on the German side and was also of pure German blood and that the charges were too vague. Germer moved to Belgium, where he took an apartment and started working as an exporter of heavy farm machinery in Brussels, making frequent trips to England and Ireland. This was very difficult as the war and Hitler's movements made travel difficult. In Brussels, Germer had the means to store his personal belongings, diaries, and other things at a friend's house. Between 1939 and 1940, he wrote 223 pages of his autobiographical book "Protective Prisoner No. 303" about his experiences in the concentration camp, which he wanted to publish. On 10 May 1940, when the Germans marched into Belgium, Germer was again incarcerated. As the Germans advanced, Germer was transferred to the French authorities, who held him in a French concentration camp of Lévitan. He was later sent to Saint-Cyprien, Pyrénées-Orientales camp in the Pyrénées-Orientales, where 90,000 Spanish refugees were interned in March 1939. It was officially closed on 19 December 1940 for "sanitary reasons." Its occupants, including Germer, were transferred to the Gurs internment camp where in October 1940, thousands of Jewish women, children, and the elderly, who had not gone to the Nazi concentration camps in Germany, were deported from the Baden region of Germany as per official Nazi policy which Adolf Eichmann oversaw.
Liberation and return to the United States
On 1 September 1941, Germer's American wife obtained a non-quota immigration visa. However, French authorities made it almost impossible for Germer to obtain the permit quickly despite all the urgent steps undertaken by his wife and the American Ambassador and Consul. French authorities only permitted him to go to Marseille to see the American Consul four months after the visa was granted. Upon release from the Nazi concentration camp in February 1941, Germer returned to the United States. Securing a job as a machinery merchant upon his return to New York, Germer continued his fundraising activities for Crowley, who appointed him his representative in the United States.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Karl_Germer ]
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