The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, first published in 1985 by The Aquarian Press and based on his 1982 Ph.D. thesis, is a seminal scholarly work that examines the influence of occult and esoteric ideologies on the development of Nazi ideology in Germany and Austria from the late 19th century to the Third Reich. Goodrick-Clarke, a historian and professor of Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, traces the intellectual and cultural roots of Nazism to millenarian and occult sects, particularly the Ariosophists, who combined Germanic nationalism, Aryan racism, and esoteric mysticism in the decades before Hitler’s rise. The book is structured into two parts: “The Background,” which explores the broader context of Pan-Germanism and the German occult revival (1880–1910), and “The Ariosophists of Vienna,” which focuses on key figures like Guido von List, Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels, and Rudolf von Sebottendorff, who shaped the ideological precursors to Nazism. Goodrick-Clarke meticulously details how these groups, including the Thule Society and Germanenorden, promoted apocalyptic fantasies of Aryan supremacy, anti-Semitism, and German world-rule, influencing figures like Heinrich Himmler, whose SS adopted occult-inspired symbolism and rituals, largely through the influence of Karl Maria Wiligut, Himmler’s “magus.” The book carefully avoids sensationalism, debunking myths about Nazism’s occult connections—such as exaggerated claims about Hitler’s personal involvement, which Goodrick-Clarke notes was limited to a vague belief in “Providence”—while acknowledging the significant, though not exclusive, role of occultism in shaping Nazi ideology alongside nationalism, militarism, and anti-Semitism. Essays like H.T. Hakl’s “Nationalsozialismus und Okkultismus” in the German edition further contextualize these ideas, tracing speculative narratives back to the 1930s. Goodrick-Clarke emphasizes the limited reach of these occult groups, often marked by failing budgets and internal conflicts, yet shows how their ideas filtered into the Nazi Party, contributing to the ideological foundations of atrocities like Auschwitz and Treblinka. Praised for its rigorous scholarship and clarity, with a 4.4/5 rating on Amazon from over 200 reviews and endorsements from scholars like Roger Griffin, the book is a definitive study, though some critique its occasionally superficial treatment of complex figures and its scholarly density. Available in multiple formats and translated into 12 languages, it remains a critical resource for understanding the esoteric underpinnings of Nazism and their relevance to modern far-right movements