Western historiography of the Second World War does not hide its preferential bias for typical subjects of the era: repression, resistance, aggression, economic decline and above all, the Holocaust. The preponderance of popular works and international literature persist in emphasizing these facets while ignoring others that clash with the established narrative. These biased optics perpetuate a selective ignorance which has made it nigh impossible to recover objective truth, as academia becomes inundated with material based upon this initial favoritism that forms its intellectual foundation. This flawed historiography has given rise to the systematic conditioning of a new Western morality rooted in guilt, enabled by an acutely superficial comprehension of historical events. We hope to remedy this one-sided interpretation of history by focusing on subjects deliberately eschewed by mainstream historiography, rather than attempting to debunk established fact. In furtherance of this effort, our exhibits are designed to an effort to accomplish this, our exhibits invite the reader to reconsider presuppositions that permeate our modern way of thinking in ways which at times may be uncomfortable. By promoting such dialogue, our goal is to retrieve these topics from the realm of the taboo and into the light of public consciousness in the pursuit of truth.

Our logo juxtaposes the Black Sun of Wewelsburg Castle and the Imperial Seal of Japan, the two culturally disparate yet equally sacred symbols forming an icon of ethnopluralist harmony as embodied by the Axis and highlights our transnational focus. At the core of all revolutionary nationalist ideologies lies an esoteric ideal that reveals a radical departure from the prevailing norms of liberal-capitalist materialism. This idiosyncratic spiritualism is an oft overlooked facet of politico-historical research, yet without which our understanding of the Second World War and its causes cannot be fully satisfied. Meanwhile, the dualism of our logo represents how nationalism seeks to maintain ethnic boundaries with the understanding that each culture represents particular aspects of a divine whole rooted in a primordial truth.

The Black Sun is a Sonnenrad (sunwheel) found in the German castle of Wewelsburg, former spiritual bastion of the Schutztsaffel (SS) and their research institute for Teutonic history and mythology. Despite its appropriation and misuse by certain political groups, Imperium Gallery’s use of the Schwarze Sonne is not politically motivated. Our intention is to reclaim the symbol’s genuine religious significance within Fascist eschatology next to the Imperial Chrysanthemum of Japan. The castle within which it was found shared captivating parallels to the legend of Camelot and the mystical Court of King Arthur. Esoteric pagan rituals and occult rites were said to have been performed by the SS within the secretive confines of this castle. The twelve bolts radiating from the center of the Black Sun represent the twelve SS officers who were inaugurated at Wewelsburg as the new Knights of the Round Table.

Situated on the rolling hills of Paderborn, Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler saw Wewelsburg as the Grail castle from Arthurian legend, believing that the artifacts he amassed there would emanate magical power. Inspired by this legend and to carry on this mystical tradition, we are currently renovating a medieval castle for it to serve as our physical museum for a truly immersive viewing experience that will assist with our exploration of this occult mystique. 

“In this castle, may the spirit of the most ancient past be the spirit of the future.” — Heinrich Himmler (1935)