Ordo Templi Orientis in Switzerland
Sonderausgabe "Oriflamme" 1963
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This Manifesto has been issued by order of the new M.I. Sovereign Grand Master General. IN MEMORIAMFra .·. Saturnus Karl Johannes Germer Do what thou wilt, shall he the whole of the Law X° O. T. O. O.H.O. - Rex Summus Sanctissimus of all that are in the Sanctuary of the Gnosis 22. Januar 1885 - 25. Oktober 1962 |  |
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We deeply regret to announce that the Most Illustrious Brother, Karl
Johannes Germer, Fra.·. Saturnus, X° O.T.O., O.H.O., Rex Summus
Sanktissimus, died on 25 October 1962 in Westpoint, California. Requiescat in Pace! His journey on this earth was not an ordinary one. After Karl Johannes Germer completed his studies in Germany, he went to Paris where he studied 6 semesters at the Sorbonne. After a period of time in England he subsequently travelled throughout Russia and was caught by surprise there at the age of 29 by the outbreak of World War I. He managed however to escape in time to Germany. For his special services he was awarded with the highest decorations and earned the Iron Cross, Ist and 2nd Class. At the beginning of the 1920's he was engaged in a leading position in the Barth publishing house in Munich. We have him to thank for the publication of the well-known "Pansophia" series. At that time there were various reprinting of rare and sought after esoteric and alchemist writings in connection with the Pansophist Movement. The most famous of these was this translation from the English original into German of Dr. Franz Hartmann's "Rosicrucian Lessons or Simple ABC Booklet for Young Pupils", in which he also assisted in the publication. Cooperating closely with [Heinrich] Tränker (Fra.·. Recnartus), he translated several works of Master Therion from English to German, as for example, "One Star in Sight" and extracts from "Liber Thisarb", the article describing Master Therion's Ordeal in Abyssus and various other popular works, resulting in the historic meeting in 1925 in Weida, Thuringia at the home of Tranker. He thereby made the acquaintance of Aleister Crowley. Various circumstances and conflicts had split the then-existing Pansophist German groups and the important leaders gathered about Master Therion. (There are extensive archives of authentic material concerning the struggles of this period). Since that time Fra.·. Saturnus never separated from Master Therion and, together with Martha Kuntzel (Sor.·. I.W.E.) and several others, his zealous work for Thelema resulted in 1929 in the establishment of the Thelema Publishing Company in Leipzig. Published were: "Book 4 Part I Mystics, Part II Magic", "A Report on the Great White Brotherhood", "Science and Buddhism", "The Message of Master Therion", "The Wake World", "Berashith", "A commentary on H.P. Blavatsky's 'Voice of Silence'", "The Three Schools of Magic". During the period 1925-1935 he lived and studied together with Master Therion, during which time the "Tunis-Working" also appeared. He returned to England with Master Therion and, during a visit to Germany in 1935, was arrested by the Gestapo because of his High Masonic Degree (33°). He was transported to the Alexanderplatz Prison in Berlin and he there experienced all the horrors of the Nazi inquisition. During 6 weeks of solitary confinement on bread and water he recited the Holy Books from beginning to end and from end to beginning. Such was his behavior during torment and torture, resulting in his "enlightenment". They tried by everey method to attack him and draw from him the secrets of the Order. Thanks to his enlightenment, he stood fast. He was then sent to the infamous Esterwegen concentration camp where the Moorish soldiers of Wolfgang Langhoff originated. There also, his "Holy Guardian Angel" appeared and told him how everything would be resolved. After 10 months he was suddenly released. It was then that his book, "I was a Prisoner", appeared. He fled to the Belgian border and lived in Brussels until he was once again on 10 may 1940 arrested by the Belgians and transported to France. There he was rearrested and spent 10 months in a concentration camp until June, 1941, when he emigrated to the United States. There, he assumed the office of General Grand Treasurer of the Order. He worked indefatiguably for the great work of Thelema, the liberation of mankind from tyranny and the enlightenment from superstition. Surely he was sometimes unfair, and there were many disagreements among the Brothers. But from his point of view there was nothing good enough for the work of Thelema. Superficially, one could chalk up mistakes to him which crystallized as a result of the struggles, but inwardly he had a fatherly understanding and was of the finest sensitivity. Certainly not an ordinary man, no sacrifice was too great for the Order. He did not wish to be invested with him, not even self-abnegation, for the work of titles. Titles of the Order and other honors were abhorrent to him. He wished to remain unrecognized and expressly forbade, wherever possible the use of his name. He was the one whom Master Therion first provided the means (1941 to 1947) to carry on the work, although often it was literally "by the sweat of his brow". In his Testament, Master Therion, Edward Alexander Crowley, named him as his successor and worldly and spiritual heir. Thus did Karl Johannes Germer inherit as O.H.O. of the Ordo Templi Orientis all of the publishing rights and other powers in connection therewith. In addition to his ring, Master Therion left him his ashes which were transferred to him under a 100 year old tree in the garden of what was then the "White House" at Hampton, New Jersey. Nothing is everlasting and Karl Johannes Germer moved to Jackson in 1956, presumably according to the ancient law so that the feet of man will carry him to the place where his head lies. There, after still further brotherly struggles with other members of the Order and other correspondents who were interested in the work of the Order and the literary testament of Master Therion, he left this world on 25 October 1962. When one understands what the work of Thelema as established by Master Therion can be, what it can say to the world and what it attempts to understand, what this signifies for a single human being to master this work and the importance of the Order, one can then appreciate that Fra.·. Saturnus fulfilled his duties to the best of his knowledge and ability, even when he did not always do that which was expected of him. That we may partake of his knowledge and be led in his ways, we do him honor and wish him the "honor of his ashes", so may his true will be done. He left his wife who was his comrade in the struggle and who, throughout his life, fought for the work of Thelema. To all Sovereign Sanctuaries in friendship with the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Ordo Templi Orientis.Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the Law. We, Grand Secretary General of the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Ordo Templi Orientis, hereby give due Notice to all Sovereign Sanctuaries and Bodies in friendship with the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Ordo Templi Orientis and to all Members of the said Rite, that the lamented Most Illustrious Frater Superior of the Ordo Templi Orientis, Frater Saturnus (Karl Johannes Germer) Outer Head of Order, departed this earthly life and was called to the Grand East on Oct. 25th, 1962, E.V., and that a convocation of Prince Patriarch Grand Conservators of the said Rite on Jan. 6th, 1963, E,V. held in the Abbey Thelema, Stein/App., unanimously elected the Very Illustrious + H. Josephus M.·., Fra.·. Paragranus, Grand Master X° of the Ordo Templi Orientis, Sovereign Grand Master General of Ordo Illuminatorum, Sovereign Grand Master General of Fraternitas Rosicruciana Antiqua, and Sovereign Patriarch of Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae henceforth to be Sovereign Grand Master General, Outer Head of Order of the Ordo Templi Orientis. We further hereby give due notice of the following appointments: Fra.·. Romanus - Grand Treasurer General Fra.·. Hilarius - Grand Administrator General Fra.·. Elieser - Grand Master General of Ceremonies Fra.·. Thaddäus - Grand Secretary General Fra.·. Nathan - Grand Chancellor General Love is the Law, Love under Will. Fra.·. Thaddäus Grand Secretary General IX° O.T.O. To all Sovereign Sanctuaries in friendship with the Ordo Templi Orientis and to all Members of the Order. Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the Law. As the succession and choice has fallen to us, We humbly accept the office in order to guarantee the sovereignty and integrity of the Order and the work of Thelema and to carry on the work of Thelema in Peace, Love and Light under the Law of Thelema. Our first wish to all Sovereign sanctuaries and Members of the Order is: Love ist the Law, Love under Will. + H. Josephus M.·. Fra.·. Paragranus X° O.T.O. More about Thelema in Stein The Psychosophische Gesellschaft Karl Germer: Never OHO of the O.T.O. Germer's letter to Jane Wolfe: April 14, 1941. Germer's Last Will and Testament. History of the O.T.O. in the U.S.A. Karl Germer and the FBI-files: The Templar's Reich Of Booksellers And Other Grand Masters of the O.T.O.: Detailed biographies on Heinrich Tränker, Karl Germer, Henri Birven, Spencer Lewis, C.H. Petersen, Eduard Munninger — and their relation with the O.T.O. under Reuss, Crowley and Metzger — containing Henri Birven's "Obituary on Karl Germer" with interesting details about Crowley in Berlin in 1930 Friedrich Mellinger played a role in Metzger's OHO-election To the main page of Photographs and Documents Minutes of the Special Ninth Degree Caliphate Election — Same procedure like above: the IX°s elect their chief Photographs of Karl Germer O.T.O. Phenomenon navigation page | main page | mail
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