Hinduism and the Nazis

There's a new German book out, Yoga in National Socialism, a history of the Yoga/Nazi connection, such as it is. Great creepy cover here:



The author has actually published other books on yoga, and on no other topic that I've spotted.

Nonetheless, the Daily Mail, a Brit tabloid, refers to him as "a German historian":

A German historian has discovered how the SS in Nazi Germany recommended its members - including death camp guards - practice yoga to enrich their 'mind, bodies and spirits.'

From what I've read in the past, the death camp guards tended to get drunk a lot, trying to escape their own horrific guilt. But it's quite possible someone in the chain of command tried to get them to do yoga.

You can see where yoga might appeal to intellectual Nazis on a theoretical level - the Nazis were health nuts, and showed some interest in Indian mysticism. The swastika was adapted from a Hindu design. The term "Aryan" comes from the Sanskrit word for "noble". And Himmler, head of the S.S., was apparently a big fan of a certain Hindu scripture:

Although the Nazi leader was not known to practice the physical exercises associated with yoga, he was fascinated with the Bhagavad Gita, the 700-verse Hindu scripture that outlines the principles of yoga and karma, and had a German translation of the Sanskrit original always at his side.

The Gita is about a warrior who doesn't want to fight. He wishes everyone well. A god, Krishna, comes to him and explains it's his duty to fight, because he was born into the warrior caste - even if it means killing some relatives.

You could see where a Nazi could try to take solace in such a sermon. "I'm not a murderer! I was just doing my duty!" Of course, the worst Nazi atrocities had nothing to do with taking up arms on the battlefield. They were concerned with mass slaughter of unarmed civilians.

But that was one way he tried
to justify genocide.