Did Himmler always carry a copy of the Bhagavad Gita (a Hindu scripture) and call it his 'high Aryan canto'?

by Hanuwoman

I came across this page that claims "Himmler always carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita with him and read passages from it every night. He called the book his "high Aryan canto" and regularly quoted excerpts from it."

The page's "Further reading" section lists what appear to be sources for this and other statements. One of these is an interview with a Victor and Victoria Trimondi:

IB TIMES: Is it true that Himmler always kept a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in his pocket and read passages from it every night?

MR. & MRS. TRIMONDI: Yes, this is true. In fact, it has been well documented by Felix Kersten, his Finnish masseur, that Himmler liked to indulge in philosophical monologues in his presence. The Reichsführer SS called the Gita a high Aryan Canto.

The Trimondis do not appear to be terribly reliable sources of information. From another similarly questionable source:

Himmler had a keen interest in the Rigveda and the Bhagavad Gita. According to his personal massage therapist, Felix Kersten, Himmler carried a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in his pocket from 1941 until his death four years later. The book was a translation by the German theosophist, Dr. Franz Hartmann.

I have been unable to access the pages cited for the other sources. So I'd appreciate any assistance in verifying the claim that:

  1. Himmler carried the Gita with him at all times (possibly between '41 and '45)
  2. he called it his "high Aryan canto"
  3. he regularly quoted from the Gita

Any recommendations for reliable books (in English) that tackle the influence of Hindu scriptures on Himmler or the Nazis in general would also be great.

Thank you!

commiespaceinvader

Well, this is a bit difficult to answer since this - I believe - originates with Matthias Tietke's book "Yoga and Nationalsocialism", which is more pop-science than anything else.

What can count as confirmed bot by Karla O. Poewe in New Religions and the Nazis as well as Peter Padfield's Himmler biography is that Himmler was definitely reading Hindu scripture.. I don't have Padfield's book handy right now (archival research away from home) but he writes about Himmler's fascination with Hinduism and its influence and backs it up with primary stuff. He also notes, I believe, that Himmler defended his decisions during the Holocaust with quotes from Hinduist scripture (something about words spoken by Krishna to a warrior, I can't really recall right now).

Aside from Karla O. Poewe's book for more literature, you should probably look to literature about Jakob Wilhelm Hauer, a German Indologist wh influenced Himmler and other Nazis. Also Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke's book The Occult Roots of Nazism has information on what today would be called Esoterics on the Nazis. Seeing how Esoterics in the early 20th century were massively influenced by skewed interpretations of Hinduism, there might stuff in there too.