Mel Gordon - Voluptuous Panic - The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin

The Ikosaeder (or Space-Crystal) was the Grand Master’s strangest invention. Unveiled in 1924, it graphically defined the space around the dancer’s body at twelve points in a magical configuration. Although a compelling image and a centerpiece of the Laban’s occult beliefs in the primacy of Body Wisdom, his published descriptions of the Ikosaeder’s use in dance training were cryptic and contradictory.

One contemporary account (Theatre Arts, April 1928) referred to the Ikosaeder as a “machine” that, when combined with the proper set of 24 movements (Eukinetics), brought the naked participant into a state of spiritual ecstasy—“a cage made of wire in the form of a polyhedron, in which the pupil is enclosed, to enter into affinity with space and so to be galvanized into contact with the fourth dimension.”

Laban’s gifts for spectacle and pictorial displays of racial vitality made him an ideal candidate to organize the Nazi festivals in the Thirties. Laban’s difficult personality and the German war on modernist art in 1936, however, drove the movement guru into exile in England, where he assisted the Allied war effort and continued his teachings on muscular alignment and dance notation.

More typical of how the Asconian free-love message migrated to Berlin was the curious saga of Louis Haeusser. A German conman and convicted champagne swindler, Haeusser moved to Switzerland in 1913 in order to circumvent French justice. He studied Taoist philosophy in Ascona and by 1918 began to proclaim himself as “the Naked Truth,” as Germany’s “future Superman.” A bald, middle-aged businessman, the frequently unclad Haeusser gathered huge flocks of enthralled disciples, mostly women, to his side as he toured German cities. The female acolytes, who dressed as men, were referred to as the “Greatest Occult Harem in the land.” Haeusser manipulated their “sexual dependencies,” claiming they all dreamed of “being God’s mother,” his divine protectors. According to the “People’s King,” his childish and S&M-like activities only increased their earthly devotion.

In 1922, Haeusser founded the Christian National Party (later renamed the League of National Communists) and ran for President of the Reichstag as “Zarathustra-Haeusser,” “Christ-Haeusser,” “Anti-Christ-Haeusser,” “Dionysus-Haeusser,” and “Laotse-Haeusser.” In a flag-bedecked limousine (provided by a love-struck aristocrat), he motored around Germany, calling for “ultimate” erotic freedom and rule by hirsute supermen. The “Guillotine-Dictator” had been briefly paired with Hitler by journalists since both rallied for the abolition of the Weimar Constitution. Unfortunately Haeusser’s anarchistic coalition splintered into competing “Jesus-Worker Parties,” led by younger “top-hatted messiahs.” The dispirited prophet died in a Berlin hospital in 1927 (possibly murdered in his room by a League rival) but his organization, still numbering in the tens of thousands, continued to promulgate Haeusser’s apocalyptic missives for another five years.

At the time of the Inflation, another erotic cult appeared in the city of Görlitz. Established in 1923 by Fedor Mühle, a 44-year-old merchant, the Gottesbund Tanatra borrowed heavily from Spiritualist and Buddhist precepts: all souls survived physical death and were reincarnated into new bodies; therefore, all males and females were truly brothers and sisters. Despite God’s love, the world was quickly approaching its endtimes. What differentiated Mühle’s trance preaching from run-of-the-mill New Ageism was its sexual message: not only was traditional marriage to be avoided but the role of homosexual men was greatly elevated. These sexual outcasts brought moral and spiritual refinement to humanity. In fact, only gay men—with their unalloyed male and female components—could serve as mediums and healers.

The Master of Ceremonies steps into the circle and seizes the dagger. He stands behind the copulating couple and grabs a black rooster (or hen). He holds the agitated animal over them and cuts off the head in a single stroke. He pours the blood over the copulating Priests.

The Congregation chants “Jiyallah!” in an ever-growing frenzy.

Before he climaxes, the Master of the Chair removes his penis from the Priestess’ vagina. She holds his member and splashes blood on it. Then she puts her left hand on the base of his chakra and, with her right hand, she vigorously strokes his penis until he nearly ejaculates. The Priestess ecstatically cries out and thrusts her finger deep into his anus. The Master of the Chair manipulates her clitoris, so the couple orgasms simultaneously.

The Congregation shrieks in ecstasy, which concludes the ceremony.

The Master of Ceremonies breaks the fraternal chain, takes a white silk cloth and spreads it over the Priestess. He envisions the magical symbols of the Pentalphic Grade. (If his imagination is weak, he can draw the symbols in the air with a dagger in an eastward direction.)

Then the Master of Ceremonies hangs a red robe around the Master of the Chair. The Master of Ceremonies steps to the back of the altar and the Brothers and Sisters return to their places in silence.

The Master of Ceremonies picks up the censer and waves it in the four directions. He summons the Spirit-Invocation of the Lodge: “Gotos! Euraseh zed achna Emzke ho! Hareb Kaloo emtah kreas kaa elam! Noab tezwah mehischeh ula elm tree elegob maha! Erechthon kale almaia jaschbarak Hed gog Mehengog Maguth ebze Carago hed abernach, obeah, durach elego kale almaino edach. Amno wimero Amom! Makalo hem! Gotoas! Makabo! Hetan hem! Gotoy! Hur Ro close Gotoy! Gotoy! Gotoy, Ave ebze Karon.”

The Master of the Chair says: “Stand, my Brothers and Sisters, and repeat after me, ‘We swear to keep silent! Our Brothers and Sisters are our witnesses!’ Receive now the benediction! May the Eternal One bless you! He shall increase your powers! He shall deepen your wisdom and inflame your love because Love is the Law! Love under Will! Go in peace, my Brothers and Sisters, and seal your mouths and guard your tongues.”

The Congregation: “Death to the Traitor! Om!”

All except the Priestess and the Master of the Chair exit from the room.

According to the Tanatra philosophy, heterosexual intercourse prevented mankind from conversing with unattached souls and curing lethal infirmities. On the other hand, homosexual anal contact, or “Occult Marriage,” joined “true, pure, untainted souls” into a blessed relationship. The Tanatra elect claimed that they were only following their Lord Jesus, who—their Gnostic texts revealed—engaged in such activities with a boy named Johannes.

The Gottesbund Tanatra soon expanded its operations. By 1929, Mühle’s sect had over 60 lodges in Germany, including several in Berlin, with a reported membership of some two thousand supporters. Their Sunday observances included outdoor services with trance-sermons, choral songs, and long-winded homilies interspersed with floral parades. (Presumably the Tanatra Occult Marriages took place inside their converted churches and walled sanctuaries.)

In 1936, after scrutinizing its unusual priestly exegesis and fervent Aryan declarations, the Gestapo closed down the Gottesbund Tanatra and rounded up its leaders.