DAVID BOWIE & THE JEWS

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DAVID BOWIE & THE JEWS

Expert: Jamie Soule - 6/11/2001

Question
Certain points of David Bowie have truly perplexed me.  As a Jewish Bowie fan, I was greatly disturbed by comments he made in the seventies in support of Hitler.  He even said that Britain would benefit from a fascist government.  On the other hand, he sang "Under the God" with Tin Machine which, I think, is an attack on the neo nazi movement.  He is married to an African American woman and has recently spoken out against racism.  He also performed in Israel in 1996.  How do you reconcile these points as an expert on David Bowie?  In addition, has Bowie mentioned in press releases how he felt about his concert in Tel Aviv, and whether or not he plans to return?

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Answer
Hi,

First of all may I ask you to do me a small favour after you have read and evaluated my response to your question?  Please take a moment of your time if you will to rate me as an expert. These ratings are the only way  I can  make sure that my answers are satisfactory and  it is extremely important to me that I am doing a proper job.

Well, here we go, and I can assure you that you may become more perplexed reading the explanation at first but things will become clearer for you as we progress. I hope so anyway.  I can certainly understand as a member of the Jewish community how such remarks could upset one terribly  considering the  brutal treatment of the Jewish race over  history, especially at the hands of the Nazi's.  Because of all the things Bowie said and did he looked to be a supporter of Hitler this is not the case. David Bowie never supported Hitler and this may shock you but Bowie's interest in the Nazi party  started as a  religious quest. Yes, it was religion that caused his fixation., along with a self induced flirtation with insanity.

All one has to do is study Bowie's lyrics and it  is  obvious that there were many periods when  he wrote about the spiritual realm. Not only did he write about it but on many occasions he immersed himself studying various teachings. Bowie was searching for a truth and this is especially evident  beginning with his very early work until 1987

Now, to fully understand this we have to go back to around 1967.  Many do not know that at this period in Bowie's life he was leaning heavily toward Buddhism. Bowie first became interested in Buddhism while still attending Bromley Technical High School. His initial interest was aroused while reading Keroac and furthered when he went on to read two additional books, one titled Zen Buddhism, and the other titled Buddhism. His interest in Buddhism was quite deep by the mid sixties. Bowie said that he was now studying Buddhism and reading about the history of Tibet. He also spoke of a desire to visit Tibet and the monasteries. Bowie also said that he was thinking of learning to speak Chinese. Bowie and Tony Visconti joined the Tibet society and spent quite a bit of time there with a monk named Chimi Youngdoong Rimpoche. This monk had escaped along with two others when the Chinese invaded Tibet. Bowie has said that in 1967 he went on pilgrimages to a monastery in Scotland..  Bowie apparently at one point was ready to take the step of shaving his head to become a novice monk. Lindsay Kemp has taken the credit for "saving" David  as he put it. Kemp apparently convinced Bowie that he could share himself with others and also pursue his beliefs. This was around the time of Pierrot In Turquoise and the colour Turquoise symbolized everlastingness in keeping with his Buddhist teachings. Later Bowie also named his multi media group Turquoise. Bowie has said that he was mostly studying Mayana Buddhism which is mostly oral and he was never involved with Buddhism linked to yoga. Even though Bowie was searching for happiness and inner peace he was still unhappy which also had a bearing on his decision not to become a novice. Some of his early work such as Karma Man and Silly Boy Blue contain references to his belief in Buddhism. It comes as no great surprise that with Bowie's thirst for knowledge and the desire to explore the hidden mysteries that his search would eventually lead him into the realm of Majik, Mysticism and the Occult. The Man Who Sold The World gives quite a good indication where Bowie's search was headed as there are many references to the mystic arts on that album.  In addition there emerges the "Death of man " concept seen later on Ziggy Stardust and Diamond Dogs.

Bowie's beliefs around this time were scrawled out eloquently in the follow up album to The Man Who Sold The World.  Hunky Dory spelled everything out and I have encountered very few long time Bowie listeners who do not have the most solemn reverence for the brilliance of the writing on that album.  Although many tracks have spiritual references on them the most revealing is Quicksand.  Most fans are aware of what the opening few lines mean.

I'm closer to the Golden Dawn
Immersed in Crowley's uniform
Of imagery

Aliester Crowley was a practitioner of the occult arts and was a member of The Hermetic Order  Of The Golden Dawn for a period of two years in which time he rose to be the second highest ranking member. After leaving The Order and while travelling Crowley received a revelation that is known as The Book Of The law. It was then when Crowley became a prophet and preached his doctrine which was titled The Law Of Thelma. Thema means free will and to find one's "true will" was to find one's soul. In 1910 Crowley joined an order called the OTO and rose quickly to be its leader. He used the OTO to further promote his beliefs. Crowley was a practitioner of Majick and he had declared Christianity dead.

The following lines in Quicksand are:

I'm living in a silent film
Portraying Himmler's sacred realm
Of dream reality

These lines are over looked  by almost every Bowie fan I have spoken with.  All of them know the verse, but few know the meaning,  and it is here that a very important key lies to understanding Bowie. It is unfortunate that more people do not pursue the obvious question, "Why is Himmler mentioned here?" There is a reason, and we will get to that reason a little later. Now it all unfolds.

It is March  of 1975 and David Bowie moves into the house of his manager Michael Lippman in Los Angeles. At this time he is going through rather delicate negotiations to end his association with his former manager Tony Defries and his marriage to Angela seems to be headed for divorce.  Young Americans can't be released as Defries has been successful at obtaining a restraining order until his case with Bowie is settled. Time at Cherokee Studios has been booked  between September and December for the recording of a new album and he is preparing for a tour to commence in February. This will require booking the engagements, hiring a band and rehearsing. He is also preparing for his role in his first feature film, The Man Who Fell To Earth, which begins shooting in June in New Mexico.  

There are two other very important things that must be mentioned at this time. Bowie has found his truth and he is not exactly sane. Bowie is practising his own brand of Majick and he is using massive amounts of a magic powder which the authorities refer to as Cocaine. Mr.Lippmans house had been turned into a spiritual fortress as Bowie is convinced that there are those out to destroy him with the evil forces of Black Majick. To protect himself he makes sure that anyone out to hurt him will not gain access to anything which may be used to cast a spell.  He is now storing his hair and nail clippings inside the fridge because since they are part of him, they could be used by these forces. In addition to this Bowie was also saving his urine in bottles which were also placed in the fridge.  Bowie constructed an alter in the living room and he graced the walls with various "majick" symbols which were hand painted. Candles burnt around the clock and he protected his friends by drawing Majick symbols on their hands. One of his sculptures he created during this period was a male sex organ with Mickey Mouse on top of it. Hopefully this gives you an idea of his mental condition.  He had been using coke since 1973 .  I have video from that period and he sniffs every two minutes.

Here I may embarrass myself.  Being Jewish you probably know  something, if not more, than I about this topic.   I leave nothing to chance however so forgive me if it seems that I am talking down to you.. I just want to make sure I convey everything. Spiritually Bowie was deeply into the Kaballah and Crowley's teachings and  this is where the Nazi Party makes it's connection. As you probably know The Kabala stems from Jewish mysticism and is centred around The Tree Of Life ( ANYBODY SEE THAT NEW FILM "AVATAR"? -- THE CSR) . The Tree is a diagram consisting of ten spheres called Sephiroth linked by paths. In various Majickal teachings we travel these paths through the various Sephiroth and along the way gaining a greater understanding.  This understanding will allow us to travel from the Malkuth, which is the lower Sephiroth representing Earth to the top Sephiroth which is Kether the Attainment. As Bowie said in Station To Station, "Here are we, one magical movement from Kether to Malkuth.

In the late sixties and early seventies while studying the occult Bowie learned of the fact that the  top Nazi's were either practitioners of the occult or believers. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, established the Ahnenerbe, which operated out of Wewelsburg, an SS headquarters. The Ahnenerbe was the Ancestral Heritage Research and Teaching Society. Its functions included research into Germanic prehistory, archaeology and occult mysticism. Below the castle's great dining hall was a special circular room with a shallow depression which could be reached by climbing three stone steps. These steps symbolized the three Reiches. Inside the castle Himmler and his inner circle would perform various occult rituals, which included trying to contact dead Teuton heroes.  This explains the reference in Quicksand to Himmler .

Hitler was  also involved in occult practices and he never made a military move without first consulting his astrologers. Inside the Nazi regime was an order known as The Vril. This order was a descendent of The Thule Society . The Thule Society was greatly responsible for the shaping of Nazi philosophy. One of the most significant Orders in Germany was the German Order. From this sprang the Thule Society whose driving force was Rudolf von Serbottendorff. He had been schooled in occultism, Islamic mysticism, alchemy, Rosicrucianism among others as well. Thule served as the recruiting and political action front of the German Order. A movement to promote Thulian ideas among industrial workers and to offset Marxism, was formed in 1918 - the Workers' Political Circle and this became the NSDAP under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.  Thule members were the people to whom Hitler first turned and who first allied themselves with Hitler." The Thule society was active in efforts to overthrow the Barvarian Communist Government. Their propaganda effort was aided by a journalist, poet, and occult student Dietrich Eckart, who was the major intellectual influence on Hitler in the early years. The swastika flag adopted by the NSDAP was the brain-child of another Thulist, Dr Krohn. With the victory of the Nazi Party, the occult tradition was carried on in the Third Reich mainly by the SS, who Reichsfuhrer Himmler, was an avid student of the occult. An SS occult research department, the Ahnernerbe (Ancestral Heritage) was established in 1935 with SS Colonel Wolfram von Sievers at its head. Occult research took SS researchers as far afield as Tibet.

Members of The Tule Society believed that Thule was a legendary island in the far north, similar to Atlantis, supposedly the centre of a lost, high-level civilization. But not all secrets of that civilization had been completely wiped out. Those that remained were being guarded by ancient, highly intelligent beings similar to the "Masters" of Theosophy or the White Brotherhood. The truly initiated could establish contact with these beings by means of magic-mystical rituals. The "Masters" or "Ancients" allegedly would be able to endow the initiated with supernatural strength and energy. With the help of these energies the goal of the initiated was to create a race of Supermen of "Aryan" stock who would exterminate all "inferior" races.  This explains the meaning of The Supermen from The Man Who Sold The World and parts of Oh  You Pretty Things from Hunky Dory.

Within the Nazi organization was The Vril Society. whose object was to create a race of supermen and in doing so explored occult phenomenon that could be used by the Nazis. This super race was not to be created through genocide but by understanding and using the mystical arts. They believed in The Hollow Earth Theory which tells of a race of highly advanced people, similar to the inhabitants of Atlantis, who live within the earth. The entrances to this world are at the north and south poles.  They were trying to make a Vril Generator that would harness cosmic power. Hitler sent out archaeologists in search of The Holy Grail, The Ark Of The Covenant and The Spear Of Destiny. The spear was said to have phenomenal power having once been used at the Crucifixion to wound the side of Christ . According to legend, possession of the Spear would bring its owner the power to conquer the world, but losing it would bring immediate death.

There are definitely shared beliefs between Crowley and Hitler. It is known that Crowley even attempted to contact him.  It is now easy to see  Bowie's interest in the Nazis, it was strictly from an occult point of view.

"Did you see a body go by the window,' is the question Bowie asked during an interview from the 17th floor of a New York hotel. He started drawing "symbols" on the wall and lighting candles as he chanted some ritual unknown to the media representative. "Don't mind me. I have problems with the neighbours," Bowie explained.   In Los Angeles on May 30th 1976, Bowie stood in Michael Lippmans house and through salt in the air to purify the space and to absorb all negative  energy. Blue candles were lit to avert evil forces and the white candles symbolized purity and offered protection.  With the help of the thousand page Thesaurus   Exorcisonorum David Bowie performed an exorcism on the house. While this was taking place a friend of Bowie's in New York, along with the help of friends,  stepped into a pentagram to focus their energy to create a Cone Of Power to protect Bowie. There were bowls at the house which were never empty of cocaine.

The first session to record Station To Station was in September and Bowie showed up sixteen hours late. He had been up for four days and there were no signs he was slowing down. The title song was written in fifteen minutes. One listen to that album and it is quite apparent that Bowie is quite frantic in his search for some sort of "truth."  Out of this confusion of clashing religious doctrine,  unstable lifestyle and cocaine consumption arises an entity called The Thin White Duke. Who, or what, this creature was I'm afraid will remain a mystery.  However to anyone who saw a show in seventy six they will certainly tell you that it was like something that was unlike anything before, or since, to command a stage. I saw a show in 76 and it was the best concert I have ever see.  It was surreal. It was beyond description.

The album immediately opens with references to Crowley with, "Throwing darts in lovers eyes." This was reference to an incident in 1918, when a young couple who had flirted with his cult were lured to an island apartment off New York. Crowley's acolytes stripped and trussed them before killing both by hurling darts.  "White Stains," is the title of a book of poetry by Crowley. There are other majickal references such as "station" which could mean The Kabala or the Stations Of The Cross,  lost in my circle,  drive like a demon, sunbirds, magical movement and of course Kether and Malkuth.. Word On A Wing however pictures a different Bowie. Bowie seeking Christianity.  Bowie has said that this is a hymn.  It is rather revealing in the line "Sweet name you're born once again," as the New Testament says Jesus rose from the dead and that you must also be "born again."

The tour kicked off in Vancouver on Feb.3rd,1976 at the Pacific Coliseum where he also rehearsed. Some of the rehearsals were videotaped by RCA and it is quite evident after seeing them that Bowie is stoned. He remained this way throughout the tour. On many occasions he would start songs and after a few lines he would say that he doesn't feel like singing it and he would stop.  On the Cleveland bootleg he starts TVC15 three times and he was drunk according to people in the audience. A fan tossed a tour program on stage and Bowie sat down and read it. He took to giving speeches at certain shows. He told one audience that they had a very nice hospital here and he would return in ten days.. In Rotterdam he told the crowd he had bronchitis and asked them if they spoke English. He said he was rude and told them that he spoke english.  The Tree of Life had taken on a deep meaning for him as the picture on the front cover of the tour program shows him drawing it as well as another picture inside. On the back of the Station To Station cd he is seen drawing it on the floor.

The show opened with the black and white 1929 film Un Chien Andalou by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali. The film opens with a razor blade slicing through an eye. At the end of the film comes the start of Station To Station. Bowie descends a staircase wearing only black and white. The show incorporated white lights only, no colour. This adds meaning to," Flashing no colour." Bowie is the centre of attention.  The Thin White Duke does not smile, the hair is slicked back bright red and blond.  He looks menacing. The whole thing was reminiscent of Metropolis.

The press started it. They said he looked like, " An Aryan superman."

He gave very few interviews on the tour which I am sure made RCA very happy. He appeared on The Dinah Shore television show along with  actor Henry Winkler. He told Winkler he was a big fan of Fonzie the character Winkler played on the show Happy Days. He told Dinah he got his clothes from hanging around Puerto Ricans. He was stoned. On March 21 in Rochester New York Bowie was arrested along with Iggy Pop for marijuana possession. He had to post bail which amounted to two thousand dollars.  When he did give interviews the press found Bowie quite irritable and he would give mysterious answers to straight forward questions. During the interviews he played with a monkey doll he had. He called the doll Asshole.  At one press gathering he threatened to smash the photographer's cameras. He said he wanted to be Prime Minister He sometimes was sick to his stomach after shows and had to be cared for. Corrine Schawb his personal assistant was keeping him alive on milk. He showed up two hours late for the show because he didn't feel like leaving in Hamburg.

The trouble started in Stockholm on April 26 when Bowie explained to a reporter how Britain could benefit from a Fascist leader. Not a Nazi one, but a socialist one.. Then he went on to say he was writing a play about Goebbels, who was Hitler's propaganda minister.  It made the papers with nice big headlines in England and upset more than a few people. It caused a public backlash. Now first of all one has to stop for a minute and look at what he said. Could anyone really believe this. This is Bowie talking, the great media manipulator. Look at the circumstances as well. Some of the European shows played to audiences as small as three thousand and Bowie's next stop is England for a six  shows at Wembley. If you want to sell tickets you get in the press. This is not the first time he has pulled this.  After the release of Hunky Dory he was to embark on a fourteen date tour of Britain. The problem was the tickets were selling poorly and he needed press coverage.  This is when he lied to Melody Maker magazine by telling them he was gay. The headlines read, "Oh You Pretty Thing," accompanied by his picture on the cover. The tour sold out.  Bowie has played the media like a fiddle over the years and I am rather amused they still print his quotes before thinking. He has retired three times,  said he would never play his older hits after 1990,  said he married Melissa Hurley, was going back to experimental music, writing a book and so on. It defies all logic that Bowie would enter politics. He was lying. If you listen to the interview he is stoned.

Bowie never misses an opportunity and upon his arrival at Victoria Station in London he got into a convertible.  As he was leaving he stood up in the back of his car and gave a Nazi salute to the journalists and his fans. The result was more press coverage.  At the last concert at Wembley he gave four salutes flashed a peace sign and left the stage. The Station To Station tour came to a close.

Bowie sometimes can't keep well enough alone. The September issue of Playboy magazine featured a very lengthy interview that was conducted by satellite Between America and England. The interviewer was the famous writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr.  This is my favourite interview with Bowie and if you want a copy ask me.. Bowie lies all the way through this making the most bizarre statements I have ever heard. Again it is obvious he is blasted on cocaine and in my assumption drunk as well. He would have to be to make some of these claims. It is in this interview he said that Britain needs a Fascist government and he would run for Prime Minister. Now, these statements on their own look to be pro Nazi but they are taken out of context. You see he then states that he is going to start his own country. He said he met Angela because they were dating the same man. He said his songs had no meaning, that he had nothing to say, He said Hitler was the first rock star because he staged a country with theatrics such as the torch light parades. In a sick way he was right.  Bowie found it fascinating how one man could gain such control. He said Hitler captured an audience better than Jagger.  He said all Japanese men were homosexual before their coming of age. Can you see Bowie's state of soberness? Vonnegut asks Bowie how is it that you retired and then came back and made other claims as well. Bowie answered, "I lie it's quite easy to do." He then explains he doesn't know what he'll be doing , where he is or what will happen. He then explains that insanity runs in the family. Vonnegut is wise to Bowie and asks him about drugs. and if he is on drugs. Bowie asks him what year it is. He then explains how he hates slow drugs but loves fast drugs. He tells Vonnegut he's been high for twelve years.  During the interview Franco the King of Spain died.  Spain requested the use of the satellite so his death could be reported to the world and Bowie said no.


Well, there you have it. Bowie in no way supported Hitler. If you listen to Scary Monsters he speaks out against racism and he has done so on many occasions.  It was mostly a media ploy and it is unfortunate he did not think before he spoke. On a personal note i can tell you that if Bowie gave one indication to me that he was racist I would speak out against him at every opportunity. You see, my children are half Chinese.

Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question. Please do not forget to rate me.

Jamie

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Externsteine

Between Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis these strange rock formations have a curious cult following, and a very strange history

Externsteine, translated variously as "stones of the Egge" or, less convincingly, the "Star Stones", is a series of pillar-like rock formations that jut up from the surrounding German forest. No mere geological curiousity, Externsteine is also reputed to be an ancient and sacred palaeolithic worshiping ground, an astronomical calendar, and the location of a sacred pagan pillar known as an "Irminsul". Externsteine is a current mecca for Neo-pagans, Neo-Nazis and neo-pagan-Nazis.

In actuality the pre-history of these rocks is largely unknown, and archaeological digs have turned up little to suggest they were of any great meaning to paleolithic peoples. The odd rock formations were probably used as an occasional shelter until the late 700's when Christian monks settled at Externsteine and carved stairs and reliefs into the great stones. The site would continue to change purpose, serving as a fortress, pleasure palace and prison before becoming something even stranger: a place famed for its history and spiritual significance despite the fact that the "history" is largely a fiction created by Nazi Occultists.

The lack of evidence as to the ancient importance of the Externsteine rocks didn't stop Heinrich Himmler from declaring otherwise. Himmler was the head of the Nazi's occult division "Ahnenerbe", a Nazi think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." In reality it was a psuedo-scientific organization devoted to finding, or fabricating, a glorious Germanic past. One of the sites the society identified as an important location of ancient Teutonic activitwas Externsteine and the "Externsteine Foundation" was set up to "investigate."

Pulled into the bizarre space where Nazism and Occult pseudo-history overlapped, the actual history of Externsteine was overshadowed by an entirely imagined ancient Teutonic history. Even the carvings of the monks were incorporated by Nazi pseudo-historian Himmler, with one in particular said to depict Christianity crushing a Teutonic pagan God-pillar known as an "Irminsul." So far invested into this pseudo-history was Nazi Germany that according to author Gary R. Varner the Nazi Youth gathered at Externsteine to sing pagan hymns during the solstice and on Hitler's birthday.

Today the site remains in much the same historical chaos, with devotees of both Neo-Paganism and Neo-Nazism making pilgrimage to the site. Of course, other folks visit as well, and the site is fascinating even without the fictive history and cultural importance imputed to it. Made of five limestone pillars, the tallest over 100 feet tall, the site does indeed contain a number of astronomical elements (when they were created is still unclear) including a 20 inch window that aligns with the sun on the summer solstice. In addition the stairs and relief carvings made by the monks add a real sense of meaning and awe to the place that have nothing to do with the crazed dreams of Nazi occultists.

There is a Woodstock-like festival at Externsteine every year on the summer solstice.

http://atlasobscura.com/place/externsteine