Heinrich Himmler

Q: It’s nice to meet you again. Congratulations on your new book!
The new book, The Eye of Ra, also features Otto Rahn. I know every new book is always a breakthrough for a real writer. What was your main finding?

A: My most important discovery while writing my second book, ‘The Eye of Ra’, is the incredible experience of having lots of questions and finding out as soon as I started writing, that I had the answers already within me. Writing activates something in the brain that helps you understand certain things that are normally difficult to understand. Writing ‘The Eye of Ra’ took me back to ancient Egypt, where I set myself the quest of discovering the identity of the Biblical divination stones known as the Urim and Thummim, and to understand the psyche behind the heretical Pharaoh Akhenaten.

“The nightmare was complete when I couldn’t even prove I was a pure blood Aryan, because when I researched my genealogy, I realised my mother and maternal grandfather were Jewish. And I must admit, I was a trouble-maker, I got into fights a lot when I saw SS soldiers misbehave and I wanted to make a career, to move further up the ladder. I was attracted by the power of my superiors, like many others, and in this process I gained a few political enemies. This is how my reputation attracted Hitler’s attention. He demanded my presence at the Berghof, Hitler’s base near Bergtesgaden on the German-Austrian border. I can still remember him, sitting behind his desk, wearing his reading glasses while reading my file. I had never seen him with reading glasses before. While Hitler was reading my file I waited for his reaction. My legs nearly gave way. Then he gave me my new orders, which said that I was drafted to be trained as a soldier, “to make a man out of me”, he said, so I took the journey to Buchenwald…”

Otto started to tremble again.

Берлин между мировыми войнами был городом, известным по всей Европе своей богемной субкультурой молодых интеллектуалов. Среди лиц, которые горячо обсуждали много модернистских "измов", которые ломали старые идеологические определения, что склеивали 19-ое столетие, немногие были более колоритными, чем этот темноволосый, зеленоглазый молодой человек по имени Отто Вильгельм Ран. Его худая фигура, одетая в характерный черный плащ и фетровую шляпу, бросает длинную тень из тех сумеречных лет, ‘великий силуэт’, вокруг которого вращались самые невероятные мифы. Он, как говорили, был Масоном, Розенкрейцером, Люциферианцем, посланцем Общества Туле, посвященным Катаром и даже руководителем некоего неизвестного международного тайного общества.

Hi, Jeanne! 
I congratulate you on the release of your book White Lie. This is a great event for all who are familiar with the work, searching and life of Otto Wilhelm Rahn. When did you first hear of him?

Jeanne:
The first time I heard of Otto Rahn was probably during my research of the history of Montségur and the Cathars in connection with Grail lore. I never studied the man himself and only knew what most people know; that he researched Grail lore, visited Montségur and was working for Himmler as a relic hunter in a pre-war Germany. It wasn't until 2008 that a friend sent me "Crusade against the Grail" in English, followed by "Lucifer's Court" and Nigel Graddon's "Otto Rahn, Quest for the Holy Grail". I was thinking of writing a thriller book at that time about the 1st century, and the mysteries of the Languedoc. I had already done a lot of research for the book, but didn't get around to actually writing it, because the financial crisis had made me and my husband work 7 days a week to make a living. In 2011 I first had the chance to sit down properly and started writing in January. I would write almost 18 to 20 hours a day for several months and Otto slowly became one of the key players in the book.