MASTER PLAN HIMMLERS SCHOLARS [Hardcover] Pringle Heather

Product Description What happens when science falls prey to a deadly political agenda? Pre-history, according to Heinrich Himmler, had to be rewritten. The chief of the SS and architect of the Nazi death camps was convinced that archaeologists had long ignored the accomplishments of a primeval race of blond-haired, blue-eyed conquerors—the Aryans. Himmler believed that Germany's ancestors had evolved in the icy barrens of the Arctic where they had ruled as an invincible master race. Now, he theorized, only in select parts of the world did some true Aryan blood remain. Himmler's history was pure fiction, but his conviction was unshakeable. In 1935 he founded the Ahnenerbe—a research institute to manufacture archaeological evidence for political purposes—and set about recruiting a bizarre mix of adventurers, mystics and reputable scholars to help rewrite all of human history. Researchers were sent on public expeditions and secretive missions to Iraq, Finland, Tibet and beyond, backed by the power of the Third Reich. Drawing on extensive original research, Heather Pringle paints a compelling and sinister portrait of the Ahnenerbe and its role in the Holocaust, and reveals the German scientists and scholars who allowed their research to be used to justify extermination. Combining the energy and storytelling skill of the best fiction with the chilling detail of history, The Master Plan is a groundbreaking story of delusion and excess, of scientific and political abuse on a global scale. About the Author Heather Pringle is a journalist and author who has written on archaeology and ancient cultures in numerous magazines, including Discover, National Geographic Traveler and New Scientist. In January 2002, she won the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for magazine journalism. She is the author of three books, including The Mummy Congress. She lives in Vancouver.