Wilhelm Teudt
Did the Germanic peoples already have their own advanced culture before coming into contact with the Romans and the West Franks? In his magnum opus Germanic Sanctuaries, first published in 1929, Wilhelm Teudt attempts to find archaeological evidence for an advanced Germanic civilization. Teudt’s research focuses on the area southwest of Detmold, known as the Osningmark. He hypothesized that the Externsteine found there were a Germanic place of worship or a so-called “solar observatory.” Teudt’s theories met with considerable resistance and were rejected by the academic community from the outset, yet they continue to influence esoteric and neo-pagan circles to this day. Richly illustrated with over 80 photographs, drawings, maps, and sketches. A completely revised new edition of the 1931 edition.
Since the mid-1920s, Teudt had conducted “folkish Germanic studies” with a particular interest in uncovering Germanic cult sites. After 1933, he joined the Reich League for Folklore and Homeland, an umbrella organization for folklore studies, local heritage preservation, nature conservation, and related fields. In 1936, Teudt effectively merged his Association of Friends of Germanic Prehistory and its journal Germanien into the Ahnenerbe, becoming head of a department there himself. Teudt received several state honors: in 1935 he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Detmold, in 1940 he was awarded the Goethe Medal for Art and Science, and after his death in 1942, he was honored in an official party funeral oration as follows:
“What is essential is that Teudt, through his enthusiastic appeal, created Germanic sanctuaries in the hearts of countless Germans. Therein lies Teudt’s enduring merit for German renewal. We certainly do not lack clever minds, but courageous hearts could be more common in science.”