Himmler’s witches library

War History Online has an article about Himmler (photo, right) and his occult books:

The library of books about the occult accumulated by Heinrich Himmler, the Nazi SS chief, (photo, top) was discovered recently in the Czech Republic. He reportedly believed, like many other prominent Nazis, that the occult and mysticism were key to Aryan supremacy. Himmler believed that much could be understood about the Aryan race by studying the past, and especially by studying arcane rituals and beliefs. He had long had connections with mystics and occultists. He was not alone in the Nazi Party in his interest in the occult. Many historians have argued that the movement was influenced by the mystical German movement, the Volkisch and its philosophy. Himmler was only one of many Nazis who collected books on the occult. Though it is generally recognized that Himmler was influenced by mysticism and the occult, his beliefs influenced the way that he ran the SS, and may account for their extreme brutality during the war.
The thirteen-thousand-volume library was found in a depot of the National Library near Prague in the Czech Republic; it had not been accessed since the 1950s.
Bjørn Helge, a Norwegian Masonic researcher, told Verdens Gang (a Norwegian newspaper) that some of the books were seized from the Norwegian Order of Freemasons in Oslo during the Nazi occupation of the country. Himmler had many occult books taken from countries occupied by the Germans. He founded the H Sonderkommando in 1935; the ‘H’ stood for ‘Hexe’, the German word for ‘witch’. Their mission was to collect as much information as possible on sorcery, the occult, and the supernatural.
The majority of the collection was known as the ‘Witches Library.’ It focused on witches and their persecution in medieval Germany. Himmler believed that the Roman Catholic Church attempted to eliminate the Aryan race with witch hunts.
He learned that one of his ancestors had been burned as a witch. Adolf Hitler did not have the same interest in the occult, but he allowed Himmler to explore the subject freely, because he valued his abilities.
The books were to be kept in Wewelsburg Castle (photo, bottom) in Western Germany. The castle is considered the ‘Black Camelot’ of Nazism, and is where Himmler created a court of SS ‘knights,’ mimicking King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Many believe that Himmler was attempting to create a new Germanic religion, in rivalry to Christianity, which he detested.
The castle is a museum today. The ceiling, with its swastika design, is the centerpiece of the exhibition. It is a vivid reminder of some of the ideas that influenced the Nazis.
Historians plan to analyze the Witches Library, and a Norwegian television company plans to make a documentary about the discovery.

Rico says it's not the Night Witches, either...