Heinrich Himmler’s Signed Copy of the Book “Priestermacht” (“Priestly Power”) by an SD Officer, and with SA Regiment Feldherrnhalle Connection

“Priestermacht” (“Priestly Power”), by Anton Holzner. The pen name of “Anton Holzner” was the pseudonym of SS-Sturmbanführer Albert Hartl, a former
Catholic priest who left the church and became an SS and then SD officer. Hardcover, with the coat of arms of the Pope on the cover. Copyright 1939, published 1941. Approximately 4-5/8 inches by 7-5/8 inches. 80 pages. The title page bears the ink signature of Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler.

On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed German Chancellor. In November of the same year, Albert Hartl (the author of this book under the name “Anton Holzner)) informed on a priest colleague who had criticized National Socialism . Hartl joined the NSDAP in the same year and, in January of 1934, he left his priestly ministry, resigned from the Catholic Church, and joined the Schutzstaffe, after which he was then publicly excommunicated . For a short time he worked for the SS-Hilfswerk in Dachau ; then, in November of 1935, he was called to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) in Berlin as head of Gruppe II 113 “Konfessionell politische Strömungen” in Zentralabteilung II  1 “Weltanschauliche Gegner” (which was headed by Franz Six ).

Hartl was then appointed head of Bureau IV B within the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), the Third Reich’s Ministry of Security and Intelligence. Hartl’s department dealt with the ideological opponents of National Socialism, which included political Catholicism and Zionism , among others . This unit had several defectors from the Catholic priesthood who worked to undermine the church and carry out intelligence analyzes of church affairs. It concerned itself with monitoring the church, relying on a network of confidential contact persons. “Our ultimate goal is to completely crush all of Christendom,” said Hartl in 1941. Albert Hartl was in charge of the dossier on the then recently elected new Pope Pius XII . They wanted to prepare themselves for a possible frontal clash with the Catholic Church.

Because of alleged sexual harassment against a female bookseller, a disciplinary case was opened against Hartl. The head of the RSHA’s personnel department, Bruno Streckenbach , ordered him in 1942 to Einsatzgruppe C , a mobile task force that murdered Jews, political commissars and other undesirables of the Third Reich. Hartl became chief of staff under Max Thomas . According to his own statement, Hartl was present at two mass executions. After a few months with Einsatzgruppe C, Hartl suffered a real or simulated nervous breakdown and he was hospitalized in Kiev . After several months of convalescence, he returned to the RSHA in Berlin, where he was assigned to the new Gruppe I “Kult” in Amtsgruppe VI (SD-Ausland). Shortly after the end of World War II, Hartl was captured by British forces. However, his activities within the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and the Einsatzgruppen were not discovered, although he himself testified at the Nuremberg Trial. In the post-war period, Hartl worked as a publicist and belonged to the Deutsche Unitarier Religionsgemeinschaft , a religious organization which, among other things, advocates pantheism and philosophical humanism. He died in 1982.

This book deals with the powers of a Catholic Priest. Heinrich Himmler was born and raised as a Catholic, and he often acknowledged that the SS had been patterned and based upon the Jesuits of the Catholic Church, even reflected in the adoption by Himmler of a black uniform for the SS. Himmler would certainly have been very interested in this book, written by an SD officer in his own “Black Order” who had actually once been a Catholic Priest.

Additionally, this volume bears a connection to the SA Regiment “Feldherrnhalle”. The frontispiece bears an applied label which suggests that this copy of the book may have been one of a group that was distributed to the members of the Regiment in November of 1942, on the anniversary of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. The label reads:”Die ersten sechzehn Blutzeugen der Bewegung sind uns Lebenden heiligstes Vermachtnis. In ihrem Geist machschiert die Standarte Feldherrnhalle un das Regiment Feldherrnhalle ungeachtet aller zu bringenden Opfer fur das ewige Deutschland bis zum Siege”, followed by the date of November of 1942 and the name of SA Brigadefuhrer and unit commander Erwin Kubler (“The first sixteen blood witnesses of the movement are the most sacred legacy for us who are living. In their spirit, the Standarte Feldherrnhalle and the Regiment Feldherrnhalle make all sacrifices for eternal Germany to achieve victory”).

The book is in very good condition. The covers show slight wear. The text was printed on wartime quality paper that shows typical toning.