Nazi ideology redefining deviants: Witches, himmler’s witch‐trial survey, and the case of the bishopric of bamberg

Abstract

Nazi ideology redefined the witches persecuted during the 16th and 17th centuries as followers of Celto‐Germanic Nature Religion. SS‐Reichsfuhrer Himmler formed a Hexen‐Sonderkommando to carry out an archival survey of witch trials, resulting in the Kartoteka, a file system comprising over 30, 000 cases. This paper examines the ideological background, the structure and method of survey, the quality of the file by going back to original sources in the bishopric of Bamberg, and provides a statistical summary. © 1989 by Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.