So last night I'm scrolling through some old documentaries, right? And this weird name pops up - Ahnenerbe. Sounded like some fantasy novel stuff. Figured I'll just do a quick search before bed. Big mistake. Got sucked right in.
First Impressions & Getting Annoyed
Typed "Ahnenerbe" into my search bar. Immediately, pages of cryptic stuff. Wikipedia called it a "think tank". Felt too clean, you know? Like they were scrubbing it. Dug deeper past the first page results. Found forums filled with wild theories. Weird. But also… boring? Needed facts.
Got stubborn. Went straight to my university library’s online archive database. Annoying sign-in. Forgotten password. Ugh. Reset it. Finally in. Searched academic journals filtered between 1935-1945. Felt like a detective. Sorta.
Hitting Paydirt & Feeling Uncomfortable
Stumbled on some scanned Nazi era documents someone had uploaded. Dry government reports. Skimmed through funding allocations. My eyes glazed over until I saw the words “Expedition to Tibet.” Huh? Nazi Germany sending people to mountains? What for? Kept digging.
Found a translated mission log. Apparently they were looking for evidence of "Aryan ancestors" in remote villages. Seriously? Also mentions trying to locate the "Center of the World". Felt like bad Indiana Jones script writing. Then I saw photos attached. Actual photos of SS officers measuring people’s heads. Cold shivers. Right down my back. This wasn’t just history buff nonsense.
Connecting the Dots & Feeling Creeped Out
All these random bits started clicking together. The Tibet thing? Part of Himmler's bigger, messed-up plan. This Ahnenerbe wasn't just studying runes or folklore like some fancy book club. I traced some research papers they funded:
- Weaponized archaeology: Using digs to claim German land rights
- "Race science" experiments: Horrifying stuff on prisoners
- Researching nerve gas… with anthrax?!
My coffee got cold. I forgot to drink it. They funded scientists trying to create "super soldiers" based on pseudo-mythology. It wasn't just eccentric; it was deadly science dressed up in fairy tales. Under Heinrich Himmler's thumb, they used pure fantasy to justify real war crimes. Sleepless night for sure. Kept imagining those head-measuring photos.
Started small last night. Ended big. Way bigger. Thought it was just some obscure historical footnote. Nope. Learned it was this disturbing mashup of obsession, junk science, and SS terror hidden behind academic journals and mountain expeditions. Makes you wonder what other "think tanks" we ignore today.
