Promotional Information

Corinna Treitel's A Science for the Soul is perhaps the most daring and innovative study in modern German cultural history since David Blackbourn's Marpingen. Challenging entrenched myths about occultism's embeddedness in volkisch and anti-modern thought, Treitel shows that the occult sciences were, in fact, comfortably at home in the essentially liberal, consumerist Wilhelmine Empire and played an important role in Germans' adjustment to the modern world. This highly significant insight is supported by research that is both deep and wide-ranging, as the author moves from private seances to university laboratories, from the market for horoscopes to the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. -- Suzanne Marchand, Louisiana State University An original and substantial contribution to the field of modern German-and European-cultural and social history. Corinna Treitel's scholarship is sound, her sources extensive and appropriate, and her writing clear and concise. -- Geoffrey Cocks, Albion College

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Part I: The Occult in Context
Chapter 1. The Lure of the Psyche
Chapter 2. A Psychological Point of View
Chapter 3. The Occult Public
Part II: The Occult in Action
Chapter 4. Varieties of Theosophical Experience
Chapter 5. The Creative Unconscious
Chapter 6. Occult Sciences and Their Applied Doubles
Part III: Policing the Occult
Chapter 7. The Crime of Anna Rothe
Chapter 8. Between Church and State
Chapter 9. The Spectrum of Nazi Responses
Conclusion: A Voice from the Beyond?
Appendixes
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Names Index
Subject Index

About the Author

Corinna Treitel is an assistant professor of history at Wellesley College.

Reviews

An important addition to the growing historiography that affirms that terms like 'irrationalism' fall short of describing the complex of Nazi Culture during the 1930s and 40s. Times Literary Supplement Treitel offers a social history of the German occult, panoramic in scope, which seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of a variety of occult organizations and their relationship to Wilhelmine society at large. Choice A sophisticated and compelling contribution to the intellectual history of modern Germany. -- Kevin Cramer Canadian Journal of History Treitel does a wonderful job of demonstrating the breadth of Germans' interests in the occult and exposing the developing market for spiritualists and their work. -- H. Glenn Penny Central European History Treitel's detailed exploration... provides a valuable contribution to the literature on modern occultism. -- B. J. Gibbons Historian Treitel's book provides much valuable information. -- Leslie Price Journal of the Society for Psychical Research There is much to be admired in this thoroughly researched work. -- Alexander C T Geppert Medical History Skillfully researched, strongly argued, beautifully written, Treitel's book adds to our understanding of the spiritual as a vital presence in modern culture. -- Kevin Repp Journal of Modern History