Black Sun (Goodrick-Clarke book)

Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity is a book by the historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, in which the author examines post-war Nazi occultism and similar phenomena.

Black Sun

Author	Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
Language	English
Publisher	New York University Press
Publication date	August 2001
Publication place	United States
Pages	371
ISBN	978-0-8147-3237-3

It was published by New York University Press in August 2001 (ISBN 978-0-8147-3237-3) and reissued in paperback (ISBN 0-8147-3155-4).

Summary

The book uses the Nazi occultism covered in Goodrick-Clarke's 1985 book The Occult Roots of Nazism to trace similar phenomena in the post-war West. According to the author, movements with such interests are particularly prevalent in the English-speaking world. Because the occultism found in the SS can be traced to Ariosophy, which emerged from the völkisch movement, Goodrick-Clarke coins the term "neo-völkisch" for the groups he covers in the book. These groups are defined by "concerns with white identity and ethnicity" and in many cases take interest in "esoteric themes of Aryan origins, sacred knowledge and occult heritage".^[1] Subjects surveyed include American and British neo-Nazism, the writings of Julius Evola and Francis Parker Yockey, Savitri Devi's and Miguel Serrano's Esoteric Nazism, belief in Nazi UFOs, neo-Nazi Satanism, Christian Identity, the World Church of the Creator and Nordic Racial Paganism.

Reception

Publishers Weekly called the book a "comprehensive inquiry" which "adds to our knowledge of the broad, frightening tentacles of Nazi ideology".^[2]

References

1. Goodrick-Clarke 2002, p. 6.
2. Publishers Weekly 2001.

Works cited

• Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2002). Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-3124-4.
• Publishers Weekly (10 December 2001). "Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Fascism, and the Politics of Identity". Retrieved 10 June 2020.

Further reading

• Lee, Martin A. (Summer 2002). "From UFOs to Yoga: A new book explores the bizarre fringes of National Socialism, past and present". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on 2006-12-31.
• Szimhart, Joseph P. (2002). "Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity". Cultic Studies Review (book review). 1 (3). Archived from the original on 2006-05-03.