Monument to Rahn in Burg Waldeck (Hunsrück). Rahn and Wandervogel

V.: I have a question. Richard mentions the monument to Otto in the forest of the Hunsruck. Have anyone some pictures? Or the precise coordinates? I have not found any mentions about.
By the way - I don't like the inscription on it “Caution – these ways lead astray!”
It's not so simple)

Richard Stanley: Ave V. - You are right, mon frere. It is not so simple! The monument is a round stone bank in the courtyard of the seat of the Nerother Bund, a deeply conservative branch of the German youth movement known as the 'Wandervogel' whose headquarters can be found in Burg Waldeck in the forest of Hunsruck. As far as I know there are no photographs available on the web of this curious construction.

The fact of the monument's existence however turns out to be merely the tip of a genuinely esoteric iceberg. Work on the monument ( under the direction of chaplain Pater Martin Kuhn ) began in 1964. The monument was constructed entirely from stones removed from the castle of Montsegur by members of the Bund, personally supervised by their leader Karl Oelbermann ( otherwise known as 'King Oelb' ) who happens to have been a close friend of Otto's former landlady Madame Couquet.

In fact during their frequent visits to Montsegur they based themselves in Madame Couquet's auberge where Otto had lodged back in 1929. Karl Oelbermann's motives in building this memorial seem to have been, at last in part, to celebrate the memory of his twin brother, Robert, who died in Dachau in 1941 after the movement was driven underground by the Nazis. Robert Oelbermann was a known homosexual with a deep interest in the history of Montsegur. I suspect that Otto first became involved with the Wandervogel as a teenager in Giessen and that they may well have helped underwrite his travels. It is pure speculation, of course, but there is a good case to be made that Robert Oelbermann was the prisoner that Otto was accused of fraternizing with during his time at Dachau ( circa 1937 ). A further 46 kg of stones were removed from the castle and carried back to the forest of Hunsruck in 1995 by members of the Bund who continue to hold the summer solstice as their major festival.

The badge of the Nerother Bund - the conservative branch of the 'Wandervogel' referenced below. Could this be the explanation behind the mysterious lightning bolt/sieg rune logo that appears on the jumper knitted by Otto's mother?

Journalist Christian Bernadac speculates in 'The Secret Glory' that Otto Rahn must have come to Montsegur as an envoy of the Thule Society. How else, he reasons, can we we explain his knowledge of the runes? In point of fact the Thule Society (based in Munich) had little interest in rune lore. The Nerother Bund on the other hand plainly use runes such as the wolf's engel on their badges - hence presumably the reasons behind the symbol on Otto's jumper. Rather charmingly I note that one division of the bund are known as the 'Wolfen'. The 'wandervogel' were directly responsible for introducing the celebration of the main pagan dates ( ie Beltane, Lammas, Samhain, Yuletide, Imbolc etc ) into the scouting movement and hence into the modern new age/neopagan community...

On the upper photo: Otto as a teenager posing with what appear to be members of the Wandervogel (Giessen - circa 1919).

Here - Subdivisions of Wandervogel

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From our conversation with Richard Stenley