Wilhelm Wulff

Wilhelm Wulff was a German astrologer who became a personal astrologer to Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer-SS. He was ensnared in "Special Action Hess" (Sonderaktion Heß), the mass arrest of astrologers and other occult practitioners initiated by Adolf Hitler following Rudolf Hess's flight in 1941¹.

Wulff's postwar account, Zodiac and Swastika, provides insights into the Nazi regime's complex relationship with the occult. He noted that while the circulation of occult literature was forbidden and decrees were issued against predicting future events, astrology was considered "privilegium singulorum" - not for the broad masses¹.

Walter Schellenberg, the Nazi head of foreign intelligence, conveyed to Wulff that mystical belief systems could be a "suitable vehicle for the propagation of political concepts and for the political control of a nation"¹. This highlights the manipulative potential of such beliefs, which was also exploited by the Allies through figures like Louis de Wohl during World War II¹.

Wulff also detailed how counterfeit astrological magazines, designed by the Allies to look as if they were secretly published in Germany, were seized by the Gestapo in Stettin¹.

Publications

• Zodiac and Swastika