Two days with Himmler

Two days with Himmler

Interview with Léon Degrelle, leader of Belgian Rexism.

How did Himmler receive you?

Himmler was waiting for me at the foot of the carriage. He hugged me. It was surprising after

the long fight he had had with General Berger, his most important collaborator.

“My dear Degrelle…” he tells me smiling, “…everything is forgotten.”

I smile, clearly less than he does: “What is it that you have forgotten, Reichsführer?”

Rather bewildered, he explains: “Ah! That you were against us during

Belgian neutrality.”

It is up to me to explain: “I was neither against you nor for you. I

was neutral. My people's interest was to stay out of the war. I had no duties.

more than for him. Therefore, there is nothing to forget.”

“Good, good…” he nods, “All right; you’re joining the Waffen-SS.”

I feel like I'm going to explode: "Not at all, Reichsführer. We are not joining the

Waffen-SS. Where did that story come from? I had ten meetings with General Berger.

days of tense conversation. Look, there it is, ask him. The conversation failed

completely and even got angry. We cannot enter blindly into the

Waffen-SS. Such a decision must be weighed and balanced.”

Then, suddenly, I had a happy thought. I looked Himmler straight in the eyes:

“Reichsführer, you don't know my soldiers. Why don't you come and see them? They're

formidable guys.”

Himmler was surprised. “Well, yes; it is a good idea, after all. Berger, do I have

Free time this week? Tomorrow? You say yes? Understood. We'll split this

evening."

The positions had already changed completely. It was I who was taking Himmler to

the rump.

After these exchanges of impressions we went to lunch. They had been invited once

twenty generals, evidently to impress the poor Belgian visitor.

Himmler had even invited Bormann. That's how I met him. He wasn't at all

the super-important man who has been described to the masses after the war. More

He was the discreet assistant, with the appearance of a bartender. He was not at all the referee that

had the future of the world at his disposal.

How to position myself at the table? I immediately sat down on Himmler's right,

to make it clear to all those generals that I was a political leader, and

that it was more important to be the spokesperson for a country than to wear gold medals. The military

They must serve the politics of a people and not command it.

At six or seven in the evening we boarded the train.

How did that trip go?

Himmler's special train, like Hitler's, in which I was going to ride later

once across Europe, was a whole world: large conference hall,

dining room, bedrooms, secretarial room, radio room, stenography room,

telephones, kitchens, staff dormitories. You could call anywhere in the

Europe.

In this atmosphere I unexpectedly found myself face to face with Himmler, the number

two of the Third Reich. I would be with him for a good number of hours, since we had to

travel through East Prussia and all of Poland before reaching our camp.

We moved to the large conference table. The fight was about to begin. The man who

I had in front of me, I barely knew him, because it was the first time in my life that he saw me with

He had known Hitler personally since 1936, but Himmler, whom he truly knew

Our fate depended on him at that moment, he was, deep down, a stranger to me. And

an unknown of fearsome power, since the Waffen-SS of the front - which does not exist

to be confused with the thousands of SS police who guarded the camps

concentration -, these Waffen-SS, were acquiring gigantic proportions and

were to become the true driving force of the new Germany or, more exactly, of

the new Europe.

Himmler was a man who looked rather haggard. He had small eyes and

blinking, nearsighted. Thin cheeks. Pale nose. It wasn't exactly a

model of a strongman. One wondered what was going on behind his glasses. Accompanied

By the fat General Berger - mute as a frozen mammoth -, Himmler was there,

right in front of me, pleasant and fearsome.

I was going to play it to the fullest. Because in life you have to play it to the fullest. You have to know what

you want it; if not, it's not worth it. Now, what I wanted was, obviously,

contrary to what the Bergers and company wanted, who tried to get the thousands of

Belgian volunteers were to pass unconditionally under the orders of an SS commander,

like the other units of the European Waffen-SS, and just like the legion

Flemish, incorporated in August 1941.

Can you tell us more about the negotiations you had with Himmler?

The big discussion started immediately.

Both Hitler, who was kept up to date by telephone, and Himmler, who was planted

before me and all smiles, was going to immediately present our proposals, which in

reality were conditions.

For me one thing was clear: we, the Belgian fighters on the Eastern Front,

we considered ourselves representatives of our people. And in that I knew I was in the

exact line of Hitlerian doctrine. In Hitler's conception of political power, the

The basis of everything was the people. Not the parties. Not the banks. Not the small

combinations. But the great carnal reality that is the people. Consequently, when

I won the game, Hitler agreed with me to such an extent that he recognized me as

Volksführer, that is, leader of the people.

So, without any vain beating around the bush, I told Himmler what I would later say personally to him.

Hitler, and he would repeat to the Germans until the moment when everything was put in order:

"As long as our people are not integrated into the European community as a people

equal and free, we cannot make concessions, and we must close ranks without giving in

nothing of what we are.”

This was something tremendous. How did Himmler react?

Himmler began by saying that it was obviously necessary that, as in all

units of the Waffen-SS, we had a German command.

“Impossible, at least for the moment,” I replied. “When the people of my village exercise command duties in the large German military units, when two or three

Governors from my people lead German provinces that have been converted into

European, when ministers from my popular community have in their hands

one or two ministries of a united Europe, then we will be able to talk, and with the greatest

pleasure, of interdependence, of rapport, and not of domination. But as long as we do not

when we get there we cannot allow ourselves to be absorbed without formal guarantees and we must

preserve the personality of our people intact.”

“That we have an interest in protecting ourselves…”, I added, “…firmly maintaining certain

prerogatives, there is nothing hurtful about it. Politics is not sentimentality. Yours,

no more than ours. As politically the fate of our people is not yet

resolved, we can only consider a team action with the Waffen-SS if

We retain, first of all, our command, an indispensable condition, and, secondly,

place, that our language continues to be that of our unity, because language is the

number one element of self-defense of any people.”

Didn't you want the German language in your unit?

“You…” I said to Himmler, “…have imposed the German language on the units

Flemish. This is a mistake, since the Flemish language is part of the personality of the

Flemish people. For us, who are French-speaking Germans, our

characteristic is precisely that we are French speaking, and in this it is not possible

compromise. And I even say that I have gone so far as to allow anyone to compromise for now.

use of the German language in our unit.

After that, we'll see. All Europeans will undoubtedly one day know German,

second language has become a general bond of unity. Meanwhile, our own

Language is a defense. In the Europe that is about to be built, we must protect ourselves.

Without our language you would probably sink us.”

Practically, how did you expect to get a French-speaking unit into the

military device of the Third Reich, commanded in German?

It is a fact that I never admitted German officers in any command post in the

within our Walloon units, not even in the most modest positions. Never

We had German collaborators, except for technical functions and liaison services.

Not a single German ever commanded a single company among us. And even those

Germans who acted as specialists always had to speak to me in French and

call me Chef. It would be me who would receive promotions and medals when I arrived

division commander in chief. It was even a bit strange: Germans receiving stripes

and decorations from his country only if a Walloon awarded them to him.

To that extent did Hitler accept the idea of equality of all within a

Common Europe.

There was not the slightest bit of vanity on our part in that behavior:

We were excellent comrades to the German military who were on duty with

us; but it was quite clear that our legion was in all our fief, and in the

command we had to have prerogatives equal to those of any commander in chief

German.

I explained my point of view to Himmler for several hours, politely but with

firmness. I have always said everything firmly, because giving compliments is useless. You have to explain clearly and frankly what you think, and, from time to time,

when, with a wink, a kind word or a joke that makes you laugh, you calm and

resolve the matter.

How did Himmler react?

Calmly. And even kindly. As the discussion continued, I was

obtaining, stage by stage, three capital concessions: we would have our own

command, we would keep our language and continue with our national flags.

The flag was also a symbol for us. Giving in on the flag would have been

give in morally on many other things. We carried a flag to the Russian front

which dates back to the most remote part of our history: the splendid red banner and

white of the Cross of Burgundy - with the gnarled staffs of St. Andrew - that our

The great dukes of the West, from the Middle Ages onwards, had waved from

Friesland and Zeeland to Artois and Franche-Comté. Charles the Bold had brandished it

in his tragic battles against Louis XI, in Switzerland and in Alsace. Our flags of

Burgundians had led the peoples of the Greater Netherlands for centuries.

They had crossed the Pyrenees to be adopted by the Spain of Charles V. They had

crossed the oceans with it to fly in twenty countries in America and Asia. That

flag, for us, was sacred.

On the other hand, we had given it the colors - black, yellow and red - of Belgium

castrated in 1830, that which we wanted to at least save, and to the extent of all our

strength and our dreams, to magnify and glorify.

I got this too.

And then I said to Himmler: “Obviously, we will keep our chaplain.”

This must have traumatized him.

It was certainly shocking. A Catholic chaplain in the Waffen-SS would never have

imagined.

“Listen…” I say to the Reichsführer, “…we have had with us at the front

magnificent priests. They have been our companions and our moral support in the midst

of the worst battles. How could you pretend then, soldier and leader, that

Let's put such a brave comrade in the street, just when we are going to

“join the Waffen-SS?”

That argument was decisive. One soldier couldn't kick another soldier out. He had won.

the battle of the priests.

We couldn't give in on this point either. Not that I was clerical. I still

The bumps from the blows the Primate of Belgium gave me in 1937 hurt.

But our people were religious and did not want to suffer any pressure in that regard.

I convinced Himmler to such an extent that not only did we have our priests, but

Subsequently, other priests were Catholic chaplains in other units of the

Waffen-SS.

The most famous of them was Monsignor Mayol de Lupé, of the French division of the

Waffen-SS, a prelate who was both truculent and extremely courteous. With a complexion as scarlet as

of a canon of Burgundy, and the cheerful and exuberant face, would have decorated

splendidly the Book of Hours of a Flemish primitive. Reverse on its mount,

He roamed the steppe tirelessly. Like Peter the Hermit, he was ready to embrace the infidels, but also to smash their skulls with crucifixes if necessary. He was, in

the eastern front the most picturesque officer of the Charlemagne Division. If we had

cattle would have made a magnificent cardinal of Paris. Very different from the democrats

prelates of today, always ready to lean against the sun that warms the most, and to embrace

with the rabbi across the street.

I never asked our Walloon chaplains to be Rexist. On the contrary, I

He said: "Whether they are Rexist or not, it matters little; their work is in the souls and not in the

political opinions, voting ballots or union demands. I just want to

our ranks priests saints.”

It was thus, with Himmler's agreement, that the Holy Catholic, Apostolic and

Roman entered the baptismal waters of the Waffen-SS in 1943.

How did your evening interview end?

The matter of the priests was a piece of cake, like the others. Our debate lasted something like this.

about seven or eight hours. He had obtained the consent of Hitler and Himmler to everything

what I had been demanding for weeks in Berlin and was always denied. And all this in

presence of Berger himself, with his tongue stuck out as if he had swallowed a barrel

rubber. He didn't move his jaws all night. When he finished, Himmler was

enthusiastic. He ordered French champagne to be brought in. A toast was raised to the glory of our unity.

At three in the morning we said goodbye.

We separate, but not to sleep. At least not for me. I then head to the sleeper car.

Himmler's secretaries. There were some very pretty ones. I knock on the door. A woman appears.

young Gretchen, disheveled, very blonde and in a nightgown: “Miss, please get dressed,

"Let's go to work." From three to seven in the morning, helped by my translator, who also

He went to sleep, I dictated the full text of the interview in French and German.

Were you still suspicious?

A sparrow in the hand is worth ten inaccessible eagles. I remained cautious. The train

had been rolling for the rest of the night. At seven thirty we had breakfast. Greetings to

Himmler and I present my sheets to him: “I believe, Reichsführer, that the simplest thing, so that

everything is very clear, it is to see if what we talked about we have understood exactly

the same way. To that end, I have transcribed our conversation.”

“Haven’t you slept?”

“Night, dear Reichsführer, is also for work. Do you have the

"Would you be kind enough to read this text? Is that what we agreed on?"

He was nervous. He blurted out a “Yes, yes!” between his teeth. It was obviously not what he had expected.

ability had thought. He thought perhaps that after that conversation, and above all his

promises, would be diluted in the fog of the imprecise.

He put on his glasses and read my text, repeating his “Yes, yes, that’s it. It’s fine like that.”

“In that case…” I then whispered, “…since I had the text typed in double

copy, the most practical thing is that we sign it and keep a copy each.

"That way there won't be any arguments later." I coax him into handing him my fountain pen. He

He rather grumbles and accepts. Boom! And he writes twice, in his small paw print.

fly, the signature of “Himmler, Himmler.” I, in two seconds, place two large

“Léon Degrelle.”

I had my letter. A letter I would use until the end.

Thus we entered the Waffen-SS with well-established rights, in writing and

signed by Himmler himself, which guaranteed us a position of strength to

always.

Later, this precaution was revealed to be necessary.

I received from Himmler, as a supplement, other considerable favors. Our

regulation would immediately be transformed into a motorized assault brigade.

We were thus to become a powerful shock unit within the Waffen-SS.

I also got our commanding officer, Lucien Lippert, number one in the school

Belgian military man, a perfect tactician and a splendid hero, remained our leader and

rose to the next higher rank, that is, to that of SS-Sturmbannführer of the SS.

As an additional precautionary measure, and given that the telephones on the special train

They allowed me to call anyone, anywhere, during the night I talked on the phone

with Lucien Lippert. I said in a low voice: "I'm going with Himmler. Be on the platform at the

Meseritz station. We'll arrive there around eleven in the morning. I'd like to introduce you to

personally to the Reichsführer before he goes to inspect our soldiers.”

On the other hand, at breakfast I said to Himmler, as if it were something very natural:

“Our commander-in-chief will go to the station to wait for us. Wouldn't it be simpler

that we eat together on the train? We'll go to the camp right away. That way you'll have

opportunity to see Lippert calmly and judge him. Lippert is from Arlon, therefore, from

German language, and you will really like it.”

And did your little plan work?

At eleven o'clock Lippert was on the platform, impeccable, strong and blond like a hero.

Germanic. At the end of lunch I had Himmler personally appoint him

SS-Sturmbannführer and confirmed him as head of our new brigade. Once

Once all this was sorted and secured, we set off for camp. All of our

The boys were magnificently lined up. Our officers shone like

mirrors.

But I wanted to have ultimate success with our chaplain. Not because he was a priest, but because

It was a symbolic matter, since it had forced Himmler to do what he had never

would have liked to do. Himmler passed by, greeted and shook hands

ceremoniously the officers one after another. Arriving before a good-natured commander,

quite thick, I presented it to him in a stentorian voice: “The Catholic chaplain of the

SS-Sturmbrigade Wallonia!” Himmler greeted him with a resounding “Mr. Priest!” In the

same moment, click!, two shots from one photographer.

Himmler turns away, stunned. “But, my dear Degrelle, what are these photos for?”

And I answer him, with the kindest of smiles: "Well, for L'Osservatore

Roman. Reichsführer!”

A burst of general laughter. That little girl had also won with good humor.

battle.

And what did Himmler say about his political projects?

During all those hours of night conversation I was able to comfortably explain my

political projects to the great supreme commander of the Waffen-SS. Having Himmler during

Hours spent a meter away from me allowed me to get a precise idea of the character. Everything I explained to him about my grand plan for the West, Himmler listened to at first rather with surprise, then with interest, and finally gave his consent. On the other hand, the myth

Burgundian dated back to the depths of Germanic legends.

My plan didn't harm France in any way. At that moment, what mattered was that

Someone from the West would establish a firm foothold on that European lever. That it would be a

Gascon, one from Touraine, or like me, a Walloon of French blood, was exactly what

same. The essential thing was that someone from the West achieved a position of strength.

I reached this political position to such an extent that Himmler gave his

written assent, agreeing with everything I explained to him. Himmler

- in agreement with Hitler - recognized that, after the war, a great State would be created

called Burgundy, which would have its own army, its own finances, its own

diplomacy and even its currency and postal services, and of which I would be the first

Chancellor. It even established, something I never thought of, that we would have a

wide corridor to the Mediterranean.

That text did not fall into a vacuum. It was published. One of the former assistants of

Himmler, Dr. Kersten, revealed it in his book I was Himmler's confidant, in his

exact content, two years after the hostilities. The Figaro of Paris reproduced the

text, as far as I am concerned, on May 21, 1947, on the first and third pages,

commented by Ambassador André Francois-Poncet, the first French specialist in the

Third Reich. The Figaro, with these texts by Himmler and Francois Poncet, also included the

corresponding map.

“The world…”, Himmler declared, “…will see the rebirth of old Burgundy, that

country that was the center of science and the arts." And he specified: "It will be a State

model, whose form will be admired and copied by all countries.”

Francois Poncet analyzed these important references in the same Figaro,

As he says, to that “Burgundy State, pampered and erected as a model State.”

The diplomat and academic concludes regarding such statements: “They are of a

certain authenticity.”

Himmler's forecast, provided by Kersten, is also authentic: "I think that

Degrelle, the leader of the Belgian Rexists, will be the first chancellor of Burgundy.”

And what did France mean in all this?

I will add in all honesty that this struggle to reconstitute the old Burgundian bastion

It was, above all, on my part, a demonstration of strength. I had provided proof

that he could make the Germans accept a plan that completely changed their

old projects or prejudices. Beyond, and above, Burgundy, which was a stage

Above all, the morale of my offensive, I wanted the entire West to straighten out,

restored in its unity, its power and its millennial personality.

It was not about diminishing France, but about getting out, all together, from the quagmire of 1940.

and to reach, by putting their shoulders to the wheel, greater splendor. From Marseille to

Antwerp, from Seville to Nijmegen, whether we liked it or not, we all had to show solidarity.

We would only count within a united Europe if we became a united Europe again.

Everything. Hitler and Himmler's decision to accept my Burgundian plan was the pedestal

upon which the magnificent statue of the West could be raised again, whole and

renewed, and hard as Roman marble.

Without that full resurrection, French or not, we would have been just scattered.

subordinates at the mercy of the decisions of a dominant giant.

For us, Burgundians meant: Westerners opening the first breach.

And I acted as a pickaxe, opening the way.

"Since the political fate of our people is still unresolved, we can only consider team action with the Waffen-SS if we retain, first, our command, which is an indispensable condition, and, second, that our language remains the language of our unity, because language is the number one element of self-defense for any people.

(Léon Degrelle)

HITLERIAN (RAC) From USA

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Julius Evola - Occultism and Esotericism

Occultism and Esotericism

By 1920, Evola's interests led him to spiritual, transcendental, and "suprarational" studies. He began to read several esoteric texts and gradually delved into occultism, alchemy, magic and oriental studies, especially Tibetan tantric yoga. A mountaineering enthusiast, Evola described this experience as a source of revelatory spiritual experiences. After his return from the war, Evola experimented with hallucinogens and magic.

When he was about 23, Evola considered suicide. He claimed that he avoided suicide thanks to a revelation he had while reading an ancient Buddhist text that tried to detach himself from any form of identity other than absolute transcendence. Evola would later publish the text The Doctrine of Awakening, which he considered a payment of his debt to Buddhism for having saved him from suicide. 

Evola wrote about Eastern mysticism, tantra, hermeticism, the myth of the Holy Grail, and Western esotericism. The German Egyptologist and scholar of esotericism Florian Ebeling has pointed out that Evola's The Hermetic Tradition is considered an "extremely important work on Hermeticism" in the eyes of esotericists. Evola paid special attention to Cesare della Riviera's text Il Mondo Magico degli Heroi, which he later republished in modern Italian. He argued that Riviera's text was in line with the goals of "high magic," that is, the transformation of the earthly human being into a transcendental "god-man." According to Evola, the supposed "timeless" traditional science was able to reach a lucid expression through this text, despite the "coverings" that were added to it to avoid the accusations of the church. Although Evola rejected Carl Jung's interpretation of alchemy, Jung described Evola's Hermetic Tradition as a "masterful account of Hermetic philosophy." In Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition, the philosopher Glenn Alexander Magee favored Evola's interpretation over Jung's. 

In 1988, a magazine dedicated to Hermetic thought published a section of Evola's book and described it as "Luciferian." 

Evola later confessed that he was not a Buddhist, and that his text on Buddhism was intended to balance his earlier work on the Hindu tantras. Evola's interest in tantra was stimulated by correspondence with John Woodroffe.  Evola was drawn to the active aspect of tantra and its claim to provide a practical means for spiritual experience, as opposed to the more "passive" approaches of other forms of Eastern spirituality. In Tantric Buddhism in East Asia, Richard K. Payne, dean of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, argued that Evola manipulated tantra in the service of right-wing violence, and that the emphasis on "power" in The Yoga of Power made it possible to understand his mentality.

Evola advocated that "differentiated individuals" who followed the Left-Hand Way should use violent and dark sexual powers against the modern world. For Evola, these "virile heroes" are both generous and cruel, possessing the ability to rule, and committing "Dionysian" acts that might be conventionally considered immoral. For Evola, the Way of the Left Hand embraces violence as a means of transgression.

Magical idealism

Thomas Sheehan wrote that "Evola's early philosophical works of the 1920s were devoted to reshaping neo-idealism from a philosophy of Spirit and Absolute Mind to a philosophy of the 'absolute individual' and action." Consequently, Evola developed the doctrine of "magical idealism," which held that "the Ego must understand that everything that appears to have a reality independent of it is nothing more than an illusion, caused by its own deficiency." For Evola, this ever-increasing unity with the "absolute individual" was consistent with unlimited freedom and therefore with unconditional power. In his 1925 work Essays on Magical Idealism, Evola declared that "God does not exist. The Ego must create it by becoming divine." 

According to Sheehan, Evola discovered the power of metaphysical mythology while developing his theories. This led him to defend suprarational intellectual intuition against discursive knowledge. In Evola's opinion, discursive knowledge separates man from Being. Author Sheehan claimed that this position is a theme in certain interpretations of Western philosophers such as Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Heidegger that was exaggerated by Evola. Evola would later write:

Evola developed a doctrine of the "two natures": the natural world and the primordial "world of Being". He believed that these "two natures" impose form and quality on lower matter and create a hierarchical "great chain of Being." He understood "spiritual virility" to mean orientation toward this postulated transcendent principle. He argued that the State should reflect this "ordering from above" and the consequent hierarchical differentiation of individuals according to their "organic preformation". By "organic preformation" he meant that which "gathers, preserves and perfects the talents and qualifications of each one for certain functions". 

Ur Group

Evola was introduced to esotericism by Arturo Reghini, who was one of the first supporters of fascism. Reghini intended to promote a "cultured magic" opposed to Christianity and introduced Evola to the traditionalist René Guénon. In 1927, Reghini and Evola, along with other Italian esotericists, founded the Gruppo di your ("your Group"). The purpose of this group was to attempt to bring the individual identities of its members into a state of power and consciousness so superhuman that they could exert a magical influence on the world. The group employed techniques from Buddhist, Tantric, and Hermetic texts. Its aim was to provide a "soul" to the burgeoning fascist movement of the time by reviving the ancient Roman religion, and to influence the fascist regime through esotericism. 

Opinions on breed

Evola's dissent from standard biological concepts of race was rooted in his aristocratic elitism, as Nazi völkisch ideology did not adequately separate the aristocracy from the "commoners." According to European studies professor Paul Furlong, Evola developed "the law of caste regression" in Revolt Against the Modern World and other writings on racism in the 1930s and the World War II period. In Evola's opinion, "power and civilization have progressed from one to the other of the four castes – sacred leaders, warrior nobility, bourgeoisie (economy, 'merchants') and slaves." Furlong explains: "For Evola, the core of racial superiority lay in the spiritual qualities of the upper castes, which were expressed in both physical and cultural traits, but not determined by them. The law of caste regression places racism at the center of Evola's philosophy, as it sees a growing predominance of inferior races that is directly expressed through modern mass democracies." 

In 1941, Evola's book Synthesis of the Doctrine of Race (Italian: Sintesi di Dottrina della Razza) was published by the Hoepli publishing house. It provides an overview of his ideas on race and eugenics, introducing the concepts of "spiritual racism", and "esoteric-traditionalist racism". 

Before the end of the war, Evola had frequently used the term "Aryan" to refer to the nobility, which in his view was imbued with traditional spirituality. Wolff notes that Evola seems to have stopped writing about race in 1945, but adds that the intellectual themes of Evola's writings did not otherwise change. Evola went on to write about elitism and his contempt for the weak. His "doctrine of the Aryan-Roman 'superrace' was simply restated as a doctrine of the 'leaders of men'... no longer with reference to the SS, but to the medieval Teutonic Knights of the Knights Templar, already mentioned in Rivolta". 

Evola spoke of "inferior non-European races". Peter Merkl wrote that "Evola was never willing to completely dismiss the value of blood." Evola wrote, "a certain balanced consciousness and the dignity of the race can be considered healthy" in an age when "the exaltation of the Negro and everything else, anti-colonialist psychosis, and integrationist fanaticism [are] parallel phenomena in the decay of Europe and the West." Although he was not totally against race mixing, in 1957, Evola wrote an article in which he attributed the perceived acceleration of American decline to the influence of "blacks" and opposition to segregation. Furlong noted that this article is "one of the most extreme in phraseology of any he wrote, and it exhibits a degree of bigotry that leaves no doubt as to his deep prejudice against blacks." 

National mystique

For his spiritual interpretation of different racial psychologies, Evola found the work of the German race theorist Ludwig Ferdinand Clauss invaluable. Like Evola, Clauss believed that the physical race and the spiritual race could diverge as a result of miscegenation. Evola's racism included that of the body, the soul, and the spirit, giving primacy to the latter factor, writing that "the races only declined when their spirit failed." 

Like René Guénon, Evola believed that humanity is living in the Kali Yuga of the Hindu tradition, the Dark Ages of unleashed materialistic appetites. He argued that both Italian fascism and Nazism represented the hope that the "heavenly" Aryan race would be reconstituted. He drew on mythological accounts of superraces and their decline, particularly the Hyperboreans, and argued that traces of Hyperborean influence could be felt in Indo-European man. He considered that Indo-European men had evolved from these superior mythological races. 

Gregor noted that several contemporary critiques of Evola's theory were published: "In one of the most important theoretical journals of fascism, Evola's critic pointed out that many Nordic Aryans, not to mention Mediterranean Aryans, demonstrate no Hyperborean properties. Instead, they make evident their materialism, their sensuality, their disregard for loyalty and sacrifice, along with their consuming greed. How do they differ from the 'inferior' races, and why should anyone wish in any way to favor them?" 

Views on Jews

Evola endorsed Otto Weininger's views on the Jews. Although Evola regarded Jews as corrosive and anti-traditional, he described Adolf Hitler's most fanatical anti-Semitism as a paranoid idée fixe that damaged the reputation of the Third Reich. Evola's conception did not emphasize the Nazi racial conception of Jews as "representatives of a biological race"—in Evola's view Jews were "the bearers of a worldview... a spirit [that] corresponded to the 'worst' and 'most decadent' features of modernity: democracy, egalitarianism and materialism." 

Evola argued that the invented anti-Semitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion – whether or not it was a forgery – accurately reflected the conditions of modernity. He believed that the Protocols "contain the plan of a hidden war, the aim of which is the total destruction, among non-Jewish peoples, of all traditions, classes, aristocracy and hierarchy, and of all moral, religious and spiritual values." He wrote the foreword to the second Italian edition of the Protocols, which was published by the fascist Giovanni Preziosi in 1938. 

After the assassination of his friend Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, leader of the fascist Romanian Iron Guard, Evola expressed his prediction of a "Talmudic and Israelite tyranny". 

However, Evola believed that the Jews had this "power" only because of the European "decadence" in modernity.  He also believed that one could be "Aryan," but have a "Jewish" soul, just as one could be "Jewish," but have an "Aryan" soul. In Evola's view, Otto Weininger and Carlo Michelstaedter were Jews of character "sufficiently heroic, ascetic, and sacral" to fit into the latter category. 

Fascism

Evola developed a line of argument, closely related to the spiritual orientation of traditionalist writers such as René Guénon and the political concerns of the European authoritarian right. The first political work published by Evola was an anti-fascist article in 1925. In this work, Evola described the Italian fascist movement as a "laughable revolution", based on empty sentiment and materialistic concerns. He applauded Mussolini's anti-bourgeois orientation and his goal of turning Italian citizens into hardened warriors, but he criticized fascist populism, party politics, and the elements of leftism he saw in the fascist regime. Evola considered Mussolini's Fascist Party to have no cultural or spiritual foundation. He was passionate about infusing it with these elements in order to adapt it to his ideal conception of the Übermensch culture that, in Evola's opinion, characterized the imperial greatness of pre-Christian Europe. He expressed an anti-nationalist sentiment, stating that in order to become "truly human" it was necessary to "overcome fraternal contamination" and "purge" oneself of the feeling of being united to others "by blood, affections, homeland or human destiny." It was also opposed to the Futurism that Italian fascism aligned with, along with the "plebeian" nature of the movement.  Consequently, Evola launched the magazine La Torre, to express his concerns and advocate for a more elitist fascism. Evola's ideas were poorly received by the fascist current as it was at the time he wrote.

Mussolini

Scholars disagree on the reasons why Benito Mussolini adopted racist ideology in 1938: some scholars have written that Mussolini was motivated more by political considerations than by ideology when he introduced anti-Semitic legislation in Italy. Other scholars have rejected the argument that the racial ideology of Italian fascism could be attributed solely to Nazi influence. 

A more recent interpretation is that Mussolini was frustrated by the slow pace of fascist transformation and, by 1938, had adopted increasingly radical measures that included a racial ideology. Aaron Gillette has written that "racism would become the key driving force in the creation of the new fascist man, the fascist uomo." 

Mussolini read Evola's Synthesis of the Doctrine of Race in August 1941, and met with Evola to offer his praise. Evola later recounted that Mussolini had found in his work a uniquely Roman form of fascist racism, distinct from that of Nazi Germany. With Mussolini's support, Evola began preparing the launch of a minor magazine Sangue e Spirito (Blood and Spirit) that never appeared. Although he did not always agree with German racial theorists, Evola traveled to Germany in February 1942 and gained support for German collaboration in Sangue e Spirito from "key figures in the German racial hierarchy." The fascists appreciated the palingetic value of Evola's "proof" "that the true representatives of the state and culture of ancient Rome were people of the Nordic race." Evola eventually became Italy's leading racial philosopher. 

Evola mixed Sorelianism with Mussolini's eugenic program. Evola has written that "The theory of the Aryan-Roman race and its corresponding myth could integrate the Roman idea proposed, in general, by fascism, as well as give a foundation to Mussolini's plan to use his state as a means to elevate the average Italian and to enucleate in him a new man."

In May 1951, Evola was arrested and charged with promoting the resurgence of the Fascist Party and glorifying fascism. In defending himself at trial, Evola declared that his work belonged to a long tradition of anti-democratic writers who could certainly be linked to fascism – at least fascism interpreted according to certain Evolian criteria – but who certainly could not be identified with Mussolini's fascist regime. Evola then declared that he was not a fascist, but that he was "superfascisti" (lit. 'super-fascist'). He was acquitted. 

Third Reich

Finding Italian fascism too compromised, Evola began to seek recognition from Nazi Germany. Evola spent a lot of time in Germany in 1937 and 1938, and gave a series of lectures to the German-Italian Society in 1938. 

Evola confronted Nazi populism and biological materialism. The SS authorities initially rejected Evola's ideas as supranationalist and aristocratic, although he was better received by members of the conservative revolutionary movement. The Nazi Ahnenerbe reported that many regarded his ideas as pure "fantasy" that ignored "historical facts." Evola admired Heinrich Himmler, whom he knew personally, but had reservations about Adolf Hitler due to Hitler's dependence on völkisch nationalism. 

Himmler's Schutzstaffel ("SS") maintained a dossier on Evola—document AR-126 described his plans for a "Roman-Germanic Empire" as "utopian" and called him a "reactionary Roman," whose goal was an "insurrection of the old aristocracy against the modern world." The document recommended that the SS "put an end to its effectiveness in Germany" and not lend it any support, especially because of its desire to create a "secret international order."

Despite this opposition, Evola was able to establish political connections with pan-European elements within the Reich Security Central Office. 

Evola later rose to the inner circles of Nazism when the influence of the defenders of pan-Europeanism surpassed that of the defenders of völkisch, due to military contingencies. 

Evola wrote the article Reich and Imperium as Elements of the New European Order for the Nazi-backed journal European Review. He spent World War II working for the Sicherheitsdienst. The office of the Sicherheitsdienst Amt VII, a research library of the Reich Security Central Office, helped Evola acquire arcane occult and Masonic texts. 

Italian fascism went into decline when, in 1943, Mussolini was deposed and imprisoned. At that time, Evola fled to Germany with the help of the Sicherheitsdienst. 

Although he was not a member of the National Fascist Partyand despite his apparent problems with the Fascist regime, Evola was one of the first people to greet Mussolini when he was taken out of prison by Otto Skorzeny in September 1943. Evola later helped welcome Mussolini to Adolf Hitler's Wolf Lair. 

Evola then became involved in Mussolini's Italian Social Republic. Evola had the habit of walking around the city of Vienna during the bombings to "reflect better on his fate". During one of these bombings, in 1945, a fragment of a shell damaged his spinal cord and he was paralyzed from the waist down, remaining so for the rest of his life. 

El Barón Rojo - Manfred von Richthofen

Manfred von Richthofen, the German flying ace, was born. Reckless and almost suicidal, he became the terror of aerial combat during the First World War and the target of enemy pilots, who sought to bring down that relentless red plane that was waging war across the entire front lines. His fascinating life and mysterious death. "Well, now you're going to fly solo," Professor Zeumer was surprised by. The young pilot's first impulse was to tell him he was very afraid, but he remained silent and settled, quite naturally, into the cockpit. While the instructor kept giving him instructions on how to operate the controls, Manfred Richthofen barely paid attention because he was convinced that, once in the air, he would forget half of the instructions. It was mid-1915, and thousands of Europeans were killing each other in trench warfare during the First World War. Von Richthofen was born in Wroclaw, present-day Poland, on May 2, 1892. He was the eldest of three children, and at a very young age, the family settled in Schweidmitz. A sports fanatic, intent on emulating his father's brilliant military career, Manfred enlisted in the Uhlans, a prestigious cavalry unit, where he excelled in equestrian competitions.

At the outbreak of World War I, he went to fight on the Russian front. Commanding his cavalry, he made several incursions into enemy territory and was later sent to Belgium and then France.

After a while, he transferred to the infantry, and as life in the trenches became unbearable, in May 1915 he requested a transfer to the air force. He had already received the Iron Cross, and a new world was about to open up. Air combat was completely unknown before the outbreak of the Great War, and the belligerent countries were eager for men who dared to fly like birds and fight like lions.

On his first solo flight in a fighter plane, he followed instructions. After passing almost level with the canopy of a tree, he activated the controls to land, but the aircraft didn't respond, and when he touched down, the plane, resembling a rearing horse, was damaged. Two days later, he successfully repeated the flight, and two weeks later, he took his final exam. He believed he had successfully completed all the prescribed maneuvers, but when he landed, he was informed that he had failed. A few days later, he would pass the exam with flying colors.

His air debut was on the Russian front, performing reconnaissance, fire-setting, and bombing flights. In August 1915, upon returning to the Western Front, he flew fighter planes, but as a passenger. A month later, he shot down his first enemy aircraft over Champagne, a Farman, which was not counted because it fell behind the French front.

He joined a fighter squadron. Flying over Verdun on April 26, he shot down a Nieuport, which was also not counted.

The then-flying ace Oswald von Boelcke included him in the Jadsstaffel, or Jasta II, squadron. His baptism of fire took place on July 17, 1916, over the skies of Cambrai, France, where he made his first kill.

It was in 1917 that he painted his plane red, perhaps to frighten his enemies or to make it recognizable. These were times when every pilot could choose the color of his aircraft. The Jasta II squadron became known as the "flying circus" for the colorfulness of its planes and for the way they set up and took down the tents, as they never stayed in one place for long.

He became known as the "Red Baron."

Richthofen's fame increased when he shot down the English ace Lande Hawker. By 1917, he had been awarded the Cross of Merit.

A severe blow for him was the death of his mentor and role model, Boelcke, in October 1916, when his plane grazed another of his own squadron while they were pursuing an English aircraft. Until then, Boelcke held the record for the most enemy aircraft shot down.

The young pilot's victories continued. The German high command needed another hero, and they found one in Richthofen. On January 24, 1917, the public would read his name for the first time when it was announced that the pilot had achieved his 24th victory.

His squadron was made up of true aviation aces, including his own brother Lothar, who, just after joining the force, shot down 20 enemy airplanes in one month, including the famous English pilot Albert Ball, who had 43 victories to his name.

The German ace was causing so much damage that the British formed a special squadron tasked with finishing him off.

On July 6 of that year, he was wounded in the head by a stray bullet. They suggested that during the long convalescence he had ahead of him, he write his memoirs. It would be excellent war propaganda. Richthofen refused; he didn't feel up to it, wanted to use his time differently, and also lacked the talent for writing. The high command ordered him to do so.

The manuscript was polished by journalist Erich von Salzman and, after passing through military censorship, was published under the title Exploits of Captain Baron von Richthofen, as told by himself. Consisting of 165 pages and 48 short chapters, it naturally recounted his aerial combats. The print run was large, and copies were often found in soldiers' pockets and in the trenches.

When he returned to duty in September, he was no longer the same. He wore his head bandaged for a long time, and his comrades were alarmed by his almost suicidal behavior. He was already piloting a Fokker triplane, whose wings were held not by steel cables, but by vertical wooden struts. Fully loaded, he weighed 571 kilos.

He was 25 years old and had already fought in Russia and Belgium; he had fought at Verdun, the Somme, and on the English front. Enemies feared him, respected him, and everyone strove to shoot him down.

With a chivalrous demeanor according to some, or implacable, cold, and competitive according to others, he collected artifacts from each of his kills, which reached 80.

His end is shrouded in mystery and doubt. He met his death in the skies above Vaux-sur-Somme on April 21, 1918, on the English front. During an engagement, he saw an enemy plane trying to flee and recklessly pursued it over enemy territory. He was seen flying 50 meters above the ground before his plane crashed. The Canadian pilot Arthur Brown and Australian John Evans claimed credit for the shot down. Evans claimed he was killed by machine gun fire from the ground.

His body was riddled with bullets, one of which had pierced his heart. It is presumed he died in the air. It is unknown why, on that mission, he failed to observe any of the regulations he himself required of his pilots.

The funeral took place in a cemetery near Amiens on the afternoon of April 22. Half a dozen British airmen carried the black-painted pine coffin on their shoulders. On either side of him was an honor guard of 12 men, armed with funeral weapons. The procession included 50 British officers, soldiers, and French airmen.

Four wreaths in the colors of the German flag were placed on the coffin. It bore the inscription: "To Captain Von Richthofen, brave and worthy adversary."

At the entrance to the cemetery, a Protestant minister from the British Air Force recited a prayer service. As the coffin was lowered into the grave, three salutes were fired, and the British squadron flying overhead fired its machine guns. An aluminum plaque was hung on the cross, engraved in English and German: “Cavalry Captain Manfred, Baron von Richthofen. Twenty-five years old. Killed in aerial combat on April 21, 1918.”

Twenty days later, his brother died of a fractured skull when he was shot down over the Somme Valley.

Ten years after her sister's death, Baroness Reibnitz erected a monument in her honor in the town of Schweidnitz. It is an oak tree surrounded by large granite pillars.

It was in memory of Manfred, the one who flew the red fighter plane, the one who hid his fear of flying solo and who ended up becoming a legendary nightmare for his enemies.

HITLERIAN (USA)

HITLERIAN 

IS

All instruments by Terrance 

(Horned Metal Records) from Sacramento (California).

Vocals by Jake Laskey 

(Cuthean Productions & Killer Vril Distro) from Eugene (Oregon).

"Sawfish"

One of the best-known emblems of the many worn by the U-boats (and most used by modellers) is the "smiling sawfish" of the no less famous U96. Later this emblem would become the emblem of the 9th Flotilla and would be worn by the U-boats that made it up. We have also seen him in the movie "Das Boot". 

                          The U96

The U96 was one of the first Type VIIc u-boats built. It was launched on 1 August 1940 at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel. A few weeks later (on 14 September) he would be handed over (commissioned) to the Kriegsmarine.

U-96 would be in service until March 1945 when it was destroyed in a bombing raid on Wilhelmshaven by USAF aircraft.

U96 would sink 28 ships with a total of 190,094 tonnes and damage another 4 (33,043 tonnes) being the eleventh most successful U-boat of the Second World War. All these ships (except 4) were sunk under the command of Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. Willenbrock was the sixth U-boat commander with the most sinkings (or seventh according to sources). The U96 would have four other commanders besides Willenbrock, but none would match their successes. According to the book U-Boat Emblems Of World War II 1939 -1945 (Schiffer Military History, 1999) by Georg Högel, the first sawfish was painted by a friend of the commander named Kossatz. Högel also says that this happened at the end of U96's third patrol. This means that it was painted between February 28, 1941 and April 12, 1941 (start of the fourth patrol). At the end of the spring of 1941 an ordinance indicated the implementation in all U-boats belonging to the 7th Flotilla of the emblem of the "Puffing Bull". This was in honor of Günther Prien who would die aboard U47 (along with the entire crew) in March 1941. U96 being part of the 7th Flotilla was to follow this ordinance and paint the "Puffing Bull" emblem on both sides of the Willenbrock u-boat turret. The U96 sported at that time a pair of smiling sawfish on each side of the turret and therefore there was no room to paint two Toros. Only a "Puffing Bull" located in the center of the turret, right at the front of the turret, would be painted. On the right, Kossatz retouching the eye of the "Smiling Sawfish". Kossatz could not imagine how famous "his" fish would become.

U96 arrived entering St. Nazaire, after finishing its fourth patrol, on May 22, 1941. Although it is impossible to determine the colors from a black and white photograph, in this (and other photos) the color used on the sawfish is darker than the light gray (Hellgrau 50) used on the turret. The medium gray "Dunkelgrau 51" could be the most similar.

At the end of that same year a new ordinance forced the removal of the custom emblems from the turret. The result was that the sawfish that were Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock's personal emblem would disappear from the turret of the U96. However, as the order said nothing about the emblems of the flotillas in the turret of the U96, the "Bull Puffing" would remain. As after the disappearance of the sawfish there was more space in the turret, the "Puffing Bull" located on the front would also be erased and two would be painted, one on each side. Later the U96 would show off two larger snorting bulls. Surely the same template used to paint those of U567 would be used to paint them. Almost at the end of its operational career, the U96 would recover the medium-sized "Puffing Bull" as its emblem. On the turret, on its front part, it would show the sunken tonnage (247543) next to the initials BRT on the lower part. It was actually 190,094 tons. Adding 30% to the actual value of tons sunk was a common practice among U-boat commanders. On the right, between the end of spring and the beginning of summer of '41, the U96 would sport two "smiling sawfish" and a "Snorting Bull". The Bull was located at the front of the turret (with its head to the left). The "Puffing Bull" was the emblem of the flot illa and the fish that of the commander of the U96. 

                                       

Above left, this photo was taken by Buchheim on the seventh patrol of U96 (late 1941). By that time the fish had been erased leaving room to paint the two "Snorting Bulls". Above right we have an image of the turret of the U96 at the end of its operational career. Two normal-sized "Puffing Bulls" can be seen on either side of the figure indicating the sunken tonnage.

The U96 sporting a pair of large "Puffing Bulls" in the turret.

The "Smiling Sawfish" of the 9th Flotilla

When Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock assumed command of the 9th Flotilla, he would establish "his emblem" as the emblem of the 9th Flotilla. Because of the above, many of the U-boats assigned to the 9th flotilla will sport sawfish in their turrets.              Another example of a personal emblem that would become the emblem of a flotilla is also the "Puffing Bull" of the U47. This emblem was the personal emblem of Günther Prien and would be adopted (in a clear tribute) by the 7th Flotilla, the flotilla to which U47 belonged.    Some crews would also use small reproductions (pins) of the smiling fish emblem on their caps. This was common practice with the custom emblems of each u-boat, although it would also happen with the emblems of the fleets.

 On the right we see the smiling sawfish painted on the turret (with a camouflage scheme) of U407. The light-colored paint on the background should be Hellgrau 50 and the dark on the right Dunkelgrau 53.We can see that the color of the sawfish is lighter than the Dunkelgrau 53 paint. We can also see how it is lighter than the mouth of the fish (black or red) and the eye (black). According to Georg Högel's book, the following U-boats would carry the "smiling sawfish" of the 9th Flotilla in their turrets:

U90, U91, U211, U214, U217, U218, U230, U256, U309, U377, U407, U409, U443, U450, U456, U591, U595, U604, U606, U621, U659, U664, U739, U744, U755 and U954.

Some of them would only carry this emblem during their time in the 9th Flotilla, although U-230 would carry the smiling sawfish in the turret for the rest of its career. On the left we have the "sawfish" of U309. The turret paint is medium gray to dark. Again, the emblem is lighter than the turret color and much lighter than the muzzle color. The eye of the fish in this example is white. The color guide of Högel's book (U-Boat Emblems Of World War II 1939-1945) indicates the color blue as that used in the emblem of the 9th Flotilla, even the book cites a Canadian report that claims that the "fish" of the emblem of U659 was blue. However, there were differences in the colors used in this emblem. Blue, green, and red are cited as the colors used in the emblem. Some sources indicate blue, others green. Red appears less but we should not rule it out either.

"Das Boot"

During U96's seventh patrol (between 27/10/41 and 06/12/41) war correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim would be invited on board. During the patrol Buchheim would take a number of photographs of U-96, some of them are included in the book "U-Boat War". However, it is another of his books, the novel "Das Boot", for which Buchheim is known. The novel is a classic of its genre in which it describes in detail life aboard a "wolf" in the North Atlantic. One of the reasons that makes this novel so special is that Buchheim drew on his experiences aboard U96 (on the seventh patrol) to write it. In addition, the commander who appears in the novel is based on Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. The novel was made into a film under the same name (Das Boot). In the making of it, the director, Wolfgang Petersen, would continue with the great degree of detail of the novel. The film would also become a classic being well known all over the world. All of the mockups used in the film have a black sawfish. Everyone who has seen the movie has seen this fish in the turret. Because of this, the U96 emblem has become very popular and well-known, becoming the most famous of all the U-boats, even more so than the "Puffing Bull". Its simple design together with the irregular teeth and its ironic smile make this emblem one of the most aesthetic. For many modelers it is more beautiful than the "Puffing Bull". There are many much more beautiful emblems, such as the U94 (where an English bulldog appears being dragged by a small animal) but these details are lost in the size (scale) used in most u-boat models. The sawfish is perfect, even at 1/144 scale its details are perfectly visible. I've even seen people wearing the emblem tattooed on one arm! Seeing the association we make of sawfish with the film, it is strange and surprising that the U96 did not actually carry it when Buchheim was on board. By this time the sawfish had been replaced by a pair of "Puffing Bulls". If the film had been historically correct, considering that the patrol is set in late 1941, two Bulls should appear in the turret instead of the two sawfish. It was decided that the aesthetic qualities of the sawfish were better than the white silhouette of the "Puffing Bull" And then there's the color issue...

The eternal debate about the color of the "Smiling Sawfish"

 What was the color of the U96 sawfish? and What was the color of the sawfish of the 9th Flotilla? These two questions have generated a lot of headaches for modelers and historians for decades. Numerous debates have been initiated and numerous theories have circulated on this subject. Green, blue, red, and black appear in one or the other of these theories and debates. What is clear is that even today no one is clear about what color the U96's "smiling sawfish" was. The most widespread confusion is that the same color is attributed to the emblem of the U96 and the emblem of the 9th Flotilla. But in the photos the color, or colors, of the 9th flotilla's emblem is considerably lighter than the U96's sawfish. So, if the color of the fleet emblem is lighter than that of the U96, the colors are not the same or in other words, they are a different color. The Revell company chose the color blue for the sawfish of its model (type VIIc uboot in the scale 1/144) of the U96. They must have chosen the color blue as Georg Högel indicates that the sawfish of the 9th Flotilla was blue. However, due to the differences in tonality between the emblem of the U96 and that of the 9th Flotilla, both were not necessarily the same color. The creators of the movie "Das Boot" opted for the black color in the U96 emblem. They had to choose that color because of how dark the sawfish appears in the photos taken by Buchheim. We also know that Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock himself participated as a consultant in the film. There is a photograph from the shoot in which he appears next to the actor who plays his role (Jürgen Prochnow). Did they ask Willenbrock about the actual color of the emblem, did he tell them it was black, or did they never ask him anything about the emblem? On the right a view of the "sawfish" on the starboard side of the turret. In the photo you can see perfectly that the color of the mouth is different from the rest of the fish, possibly red. The white color of the eye is also appreciated. The color of the emblem is darker than the medium gray of the turret. If the fish is not black, it is certainly a very dark color. Questions, questions and more questions, but no answer clarifies the issue of the color of sawfish. Another interesting issue concerns the metal figure of the smiling sawfish that was placed on the mast of the commander's pennant in the turret of the U96. This figure is preserved today as it was kept by Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock himself until his death in 1982.  This emblem sports a lime green color. I don't think there was much difference between this emblem and the one used by the crew or on the turret itself. So, was the turret emblem lime green? Of course, the color could vary over the years and be painted in another color. Maybe when it came to repainting it they didn't want to paint it the same color or they didn't have the same paint. Therefore, this information may not be of much help to us.  It has been commented that the green color of the emblem photo is very light compared to the existing photos of the U96 emblem. We only have to remove the color from the photo to see that they are wrong. On the left, the emblem on the flagpole of the pennant in a period photo. On the left is the metal emblem used in the U96 as it is preserved today. Look at the colors used. On the right the same photograph without color. The dark parts are so dark that they can be confused and think they are black.