German Freemasonry's Attitude Toward The Nazi Regime

Germany's Grand Lodges Up To 1930

At the beginning of 1930, Germany comprised some 75,000 Masons and nine regular Grand Lodges, the numerical importance of which was very different.

Table 1- Masonic Membership In Germany 1930 -1932

Grand Lodges.............Founded........Lodges..............Membership

.....................................1930.....1932........1930......1932

'Old Prussian'

Three Globes...............1744.......177......183........21,300....21,300

Grand Land Lodge...........1770.......179......180........20,400....20,400

Royal York of Friendship...1798.......108......109........11,400....11,000

'Humanitarian'(Clandestine, not recognized as Freemasons by U.G.L.E. & U.S. G.L.'s - FW)

Hamburg....................1811.......54.......54.........5,000.....5,000

Bayreuth...................1811.......45.......42.........4,000.....3,800

Dresden....................1811.......45.......46.........7,300.....6,900

Franklurt..................1823.......26.......26.........3,200.....3,000

Darrnstadt.................1846.......10.......10.........900.......900

Leipzig....................1924...... 10.......10.........1,900.....1,900 Othcrs ............................... Rising Sun.................1907....... 2,000 Symbolic Grand Lodge.......1930.......8........13 800

About two-thirds of the brethren belonged to the three oldest, always Christian-oriented and at that time strongly nationalistic Grand Lodges founded in the 18th century which were called 'Old Prussian' because they were founded and had their seats in Berlin. They never initiated 'non christians', that is, Jews. Along the l9th century, five more German Grand Lodges were founded and a further one in 1924. They were called 'humanitarian' and initiated men of any religious denomination.

Table 2 - German Grand Lodge and 'non-Christians' (S)

Grand Lodges........Formal decision.........Visit of..........Initiation of ....................to initiate only........non-Christians....non-Christians .Christians:.............possible:.........possible:

'Old Prussian'

Three Globes.............1763................1849.............impossible

Grand Land Lodge.........1770................1857.............impossible

Royal York of Friendship.1815................1854.............impossible(*)

'Humanitarian'(Clandestine, not recognized as Freemasons by U.G.L.E. & U.S. G.L.'s - FW)

Hamburg..................never...............1811.............1841

Bayreuth.................1833................1847.............1847

Dresden..................1831................before 1845...... Frankfurt/Main...........1810................1838.............1844

Darrnstadt...............1846................1873.............1873

In 1922, the Old Prussian Grand Lodges decided to withdraw from the German Grand Lodges' Alliance founded in 1872, explaining: 'There is a border which strongly dfferentiates humanitarian from Old Prussian national Freemasonry. We, the three Old Prussian Grand Lodges refuse to take part in the general humanitarian fraternization movement between people in the world.' . (Steffens, p. 332)

Some brethren believe that there was only one type of German Freemasonry which was indifferently persecuted by Hitler. In fact, several masonic spiritual families existed side by side in Germany, which reacted and were treated differently by the Nazis.

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In the March 1933 issue, the last one to be printed in Germany, the Symbolic Grand Lodge (Clandestine, not recognized as Freemasons by U.G.L.E. & U.S. G.L.'s - FW) announced that on March 28th, it had resolved to become dormant. That issue also included the text of a resolution in support of Hitler, adopted toward the end of March by the National Mother-Lodge The Three Globes. It was followed by an article from the Nationale Zeitung, Essen, dated March 30, 1933, declaring The Grand Lodge of Saxony [at Dresden] sent a telegram expressing its faithful support to Dr. Goebbels The three [Berlin] Grand Lodges even sent a congratulatory address to the Reich chancellor Hitler.

German Freemasonry and Its Attitudes Toward The Nazi Regime Alain Bernbeim, MPS Philalethes Magazine February 1997