Neo-Paganism. He was the first person to find in ancient sources the swastika which was later to become the symbol of the Nazi party. The Ordo Novi Templi (Order of the New Temple), an organization founded by Lanz, devoted itself totally to the rebirth of paganism. Lanz freely proclaimed that he worshiped Wotan, the imaginary “War God” of the ancient German people. He thought that the worship of Wotan was the true religion of the German people and that Germans could be saved only by returning to this religion.
Nazi ideology developed on the road prepared for it by Lanz and other devotees of Neo-Paganism. One of the most important Nazi ideologues, Alfred Rosenberg, thought that Christianity could not provide the spiritual energy needed by the new Germany being established by Hitler, and declared openly that the German people must return to their ancient pagan religion. According to Rosenberg, when the Nazis came to power, religious symbols in churches should be removed and replaced by swastikas, a copy of Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle) and swords symbolizing German invincibility. Hitler adopted the views of Rosenberg but, thinking it would cause too much of a reaction among the people, he did not put this new theory of German religion into effect. [1]
Nazis were neo-pagans who sought to destroy the Judeo-Christian ethics and convert the German society to pagan barbarism.
Nevertheless, during the Nazi regime, some important practices of Neo-Paganism were instituted. Shortly after Hitler came to power, the holy days and feasts of Christianity began to be suppressed and replaced by the holy days of pagan religions. At weddings, oaths were sworn to such imaginary gods as “Mother Earth” and