The Soul of Germany - A Unique History of Germans, from
Earliest Times to Present

What a delight it was for me to receive in the mail a handsome purple
hard-cover, gold embossed copy of Richard Odorfer's book. It delighted but
also warned me of the old adage not to judge a book by its cover!

Now after reading the book I must confess that it passes the test of
balance - form and content are pleasingly presented, and so I can
categorically state that this retired cop from New York has intellectual
depth, passion, and above all, a sense of justice and love of truth.

Within the 483 pages of his book Richard Odorfer manages to present his
subject matter as objectively as possible, especially as outlined in his
Book I: Legendary Times, Prologue: The Spiritual World, where he retells the
Genesis of it all, i.e. "In the beginning, God was alone."

Chapter One, The Aryans, quickly warms to the topic, and he begins with a
quote from Gordon Childe's The Aryans, 1987: "The first great world
religions which addressed their appeal to all men irrespective of race or
nationality, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism, were the works of Aryans,
propagated in Aryan speech."

From the Aryans it's on to The Indo-Europeans, then to The Celts, and from
there to The Germans, then to The Fall Of The Roman Empire.

In Book II, we are taken on a tour of The Middle Ages, to The German
Kingdoms of Europe, Charlemagne/Karl der Grosse, The First Reich, then The
Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, The Crusades, and the Summit of the
Middle Ages.

Book III aptly titled Modern Times, begins at page 157 with a small
illustration of the Johann Gutenberg printing press, and thus opens the 14th
century.  The first paragraph of Chapter 13 is headed The Renaissance, and
it captures the mood out of which a blossoming of human endeavour emerges:
"Since the fifth century, Europe's common man had lived a life centred
around death. Instead of actively partaking in the joys of humanity, as had
his ancient forefathers, medieval man dwelled upon the salvation of his
soul. The Church hierarchy, however, did not always practice what they
preached, and bathed themselves in luxury. The errant clergy protected its
position by terrorizing the citizens with charges of heresy if anyone
complained of, or strayed from church guidelines. Living in such an
atmosphere intimidated scientists and artists, stifling the advance of
civilization." P.157.

It is not difficult to extrapolate this situation and make linkages with
what is confronting our world today.

From the Renaissance it is a quick journey through to The Reformation, The
Thirty Years War, The Rise of Prussia, The Fall of the Holy Roman Empire of
the German Nation, and then the emergence of Unity and Justice and Freedom,
which leads to Chapter 19  The Second Reich, introduced by an 1870 quotation
from Chancellor von Bismarck: "The Germans ... were a peaceful people who
had been invaded by France on thirty occasions during the past two
centuries - fourteen times between 1785 and 1813. Now all that was over."

Book III ends with Chapter 20 headed Germany's Golden Age of Achievement,
and Ralph Waldo Emerson's quotation: "I am of the opinion that the Germans
possess an honesty of intellect which places their science above all
others."

Book IV introduces us to the 20th century, Chapter 21, The Great War,
Chapter 22, The Treaty of Versailles,  Chapter 23: Weimar Republic, then
Chapter 24, The Third Reich, is introduced by a little known Winston
Churchill quotation:

"What manner of man is this grim figure
who has performed these superb toils
and loosed these frightful evils? ...
Those who have met Hitler ... have found
a highly competent, cool, well-informed
functionary with an agreeable manner, a
discerning smile, a few have been
unaffected by a subtle personal magnetism.

If our country were defeated I hope we
should find a champion as admirable to
restore our courage and lead us back to
our place among the nations."

Chapter 25 is headed World War II, where Odorfer quotes Adolf Hitler: "First
he [Franklin D Roosevelt] incites war, then falsifies the causes, then
odiously wraps himself in a cloak of Christian hypocrisy and slowly but
surely leads mankind to war ... I had plans and work for my people for fifty
years to come, and didn't need a war to stay in office like [Herr
Roosevelt]. This war against America is a tragedy!"
The parallels with the US and its coalition of the willing invasion of Iraq
is all too striking!

Chapter 26 continues with World War II, followed by Hour Zero. Part One: The
Post War "War" Against Germany: "A horrifying war had ended for Germany in
May 1945, but the 'peace' that followed became more terrible in many ways
than the war had ever been. the German people had entered the darkest time
in their history - Hour Zero - a seemingly eternal period of affliction. The
Allied victors turned Germany into a huge concentration camp, her guards
millions of foreign troops whose commanders became the Reich's new
dictators. As feared, the Allied leaders began their rule harshly:
forbidding the Germans to send or receive mail, to use the telephone, to
travel abroad. Also, the Germans were subjected to a curfew, while male and
female alike could be searched at will by the occupiers at any time. The
penalty for a German striking a member of the occupation forces was death.
The Allied authorities could and seize Germans indiscriminately from
wherever they lived for interrogation or labor duty. When the Allies
arrested an alleged war criminal, they would often take his wife and
children into custody. All valuable property and possessions belonging to
the accused and his family were confiscated by the Allies, with little hope
of return, even if the tribunal found the accused not guilty. the war
victors even obstructed the German Red Cross from performing humanitarian
duties.
There was little left of the Old Germany in May 1945, for all the Reich's
beautiful metropolises had become cities of the dead - Aachen, Berlin,
Cologne, Frankfurt on the Main, Munich, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Kassel, Essen,
Bremen, Vienna, Leipzig, Dresden, Stuttgart, Mainz, Hamburg, Nuremberg, and
countless other ancient German towns - all literally and figuratively gone!"
P.372-3.

More graphic details are offered under sub-headings: 'The Potsdam
Conference'; '"Hour Zero" 1945; 'The "Death" cards';  "Soviet, French and
American Death Camps'; 'The Expulsion'; '"Hour Zero" 1946-1947'; 'The
Greatest Robbery In History'; 'To The Last Drop Of Blood';  'He Who Conceals
History Also Falsifies History'; 'Hour Zero. Part Two: Defending The Soul Of
Germany';  'The Hypocrites'; 'Forgery, Perjury, 'Confessions' Under
Torture...'; 'The Witch Hunters'; 'The Liberation Of The Concentration
Camps'; 'The Holocaust: Nazi Germany's Persecution Of The Jews'; 'The Just
War Doctrine'; 'The Final Solution'; 'The Auschwitz Controversy'; 'How High
Is The Number Of Jewish Victim'?'; 'The Case For Open Debate Of The
Holocaust'.

As is evident from these headings, Richard Odorfer has touched on all
relevant facts that matter, and that are important in order to understand
what Germans have gone through. In Chapter 27, Germania, Odorfer deals with
the essence of what it means to be German overseas who "try to live their
lives in the new country according to the customs and culture of their
ancient Fatherland...". P.400.

Chapter 28 is optimistically called A Giant Awakens, followed by the
concluding Chapter 29, Open Borders, Open Hearts, One People, One Nation
wherein is sketched the re-unification of East and West Germany occurred at
midnight on 3 October 1990 after 45 years of separation.

In the Epilogue Richard Odorfer mentions the dissolution of the 74-year-old
Soviet Union in December 1991, and he concludes, "But all is not well, for
the dark cloud of the Holocaust hovers over everything German. Dishonesty
and deception have unfairly branded the Germans as past criminals, and
outcasts on the world stage. Two thousand years of history, however,
confirms the noble character of Germans. genocide is an Old Testament crime;
it is not in the German psyche to commit so great an outrage against nature.
One day, the truth will emerge, as it always does, and Germany will be
decriminalized. Then the soul of Germany can once again lead mankind into a
golden age of science, art and discovery - under God." P. 457.

Richard Odorfer's grasp of the vast topic is evident because he managed to
distill all this material into a coherent whole that reflects his own German
heritage, that bristles with his typically German values. Walter Mueller,
thetruthisback@aol.com still has some copies left of  The Soul Of Germany,
or alternately you can email Richard Odorfer at odie@axs4u.net

Fredrick Töben
Adelaide
31 July 2004