I am not endorsing even one theory from this hitherto unknown author in the 278 action-packed pages that follow when I say that the following makes a wonderful introductory paragraph to the first chapter of what is billed excitedly on the jacket as "the extraordinary story of the top secret Nazi technologies adopted and adapted by the Allies after the Second World War".

Before we look at the somewhat oxymoronic history of Germany's better-known 'secret societies' and their pivotal role in shaping German policy towards areas such as flying discs, there is one whose very existence has been debated since the war and which, according to some observers, directed the very early development of the same flying disc craft we shall later study. This is the Vril Society ... -- p7

If we take Vril then as our candidate "lesser-known German Secret Society" to play with, let's see what Wills has to offer on the subject in the following pages:

The source from which the society (and other individuals) took its inspiration can be traced to Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton. An established British novelist of the nineteenth century, whose work inspired men such as Cecil Rhodes to later from the International Round Table organisation, his most enduring legacy as far as we are concerned is a novel entitled Vril - The Power of the Coming Race. In the novel, a long-lost race of 'supermen' called the 'Vril-Ya' emerge from their subterranean domains in the bowels of the earth, through portals in Tibet and elsewhere, to claim sovereignty over the surface with the help of a mysterious force called 'Vril' ...

... [further explanation of 'Vril' idea, using both 'the force' of Star Wars and occult literature]

In reviewing material for this book, I have asked myself time and again if there might not be a grain of truth in what appears to be fanciful science fiction. On balance, I favour scepticism, but what is certain is that the first mention of such a society (also known as the Luminous Lodge or the Society of Truth) appeared in an American magazine article first published in 1947. Written by Dr Willy Ley, a prominent early rocket pioneer in Germany who escaped to the USA in 1933 after the Nazis took power, the article talks of a small group formed in Berlin during 1925, who were in touch with a shadowy race of 'supermen'. They were apparently working to create the conditions under which such 'supermen' might - with their Vril force - take over the wold (presumably also with the help of the Nazis). ... one immediate question [is that] 1925 ... was long after Lytton's work had appeared and its contents assimilated by others ... What Ley doesn't mention is that 1925 also saw the official dissolution of another group ('Thule'), from which members, such as the influential Karl Haushofer, could then have started Vril ... Both Thule and its own preceding group, the Germanenorden, were concentrating on acquiring knowledge of Aryan prehistory and its rituals, so to have them switch tack and examine mysterious Tibetan legends [the Vril-Ya stuff] ... would have been too much to ask of their membership ...

Before we draw a veil over the Vril myth, we should also examine [another Stray Fact] ... In the ruins of Berlin, as Soviet soldiers advanced towards Hilter's once-palatial Chancellory in the spring of 1945, they allegedly came across the bodies of a small colony of Tibetan monks dressed in their familar orange robes; the apparent victims of ritual suicide ... On the face of it their presence seems absurd, yet when one remembers the pivotal role that Tibet and its mysteries had to the myth of Vril .. [it] makes some sense. -- p8-10

This is fairly typical of the genre but it does have some strengths, which are worth pointing out. The article by "prominent early rocket pioneer Dr Willy Ley" in an American magazine in 1947 is central to the Wills narrative here, and can presumably be found and checked (for which purpose it would have been nice to know which magazine and issue). The Round Table Groups set up by followers of Cecil Rhodes certainly existed, as did Germanenorden and its offshoot the Thule Society. The academic Karl Haushofer was a key influence on Hess and big in the occult scene in Munich, even if he wasn't officially in Thule - his son later rebelled against Hitler and was executed. Haushofer's strange ideas on race and land influenced Mein Kampf by all accounts. Perhaps in some shape or form these groups still exist, and Wills is strong here in showing how a quick change of name or names - for instance from Germanenorden to Thule to Vril/Luminous Lodge/Society of Truth - is very much par for the course. His explanation for the (alleged) change in 1925, due to a radical switch in occultic lore to be focused on, is also amusingly plausible. And the man does thankfully admit to being unsure as to what he is dealing with in such a strange area. Being Realistic About Not Knowing is key to preserving sanity in such areas, as we've said many times. Perhaps Wills makes it in this regard.

However, there are weaknesses too. Just bringing in the greatest number of such shadowy names and faces into a couple of pages doesn't of course prove any real connections. Still, there are two reasonably useful bits of data to conjecture with. I was not particularly aware of the "official dissolution" of Thule taking place in 1925 but if so that might be a useful piece of circumstance to ponder, if the advanced Tibetan technology of Vril was really "powered up" at exactly that moment. The second Stray Fact, the Russian discovery of Tibetan monks in Berlin, is also presumably checkable, though again the lack of footnotes isn't helping the diligent seeker after truth very much here.

Perhaps the greatest weakness in the initial presentation for me is the idea that one novel by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton could be "the source" not just for all of Rhodes's ambitious plans but for the (perhaps significant) German forces that became Vril. Still, Wills wants to tell the story another way too, broadening the antecedants again. Let's summarize and select from the next section:

... our story proper should begin in Victorian England, with the foundation in 1867 of the English Rosicrucian Society ... with around 145 initiated members (most of whom already rumoured to be Freemasons) ... the first British branch of an organisation established in mainland Europe in the fifteenth century ... Its aim was the study and interpretation of arcane occultic lore, and this preoccupation dovetailed neatly with some of the more esoteric beliefs and ceremonials of the Masons. As with many societies, secret or otherwise, then as now, a core of leading members wished to forge links with similar groups abroad and Little's Rosicrucians .. [were] in touch with similar groups in Germany almost since its foundation. .. such contact ... would be essential if he group were to keep abreast of the evolving rituals and routines of its order; the very fabric of its existence. The need for secrecy grows when one considers the turbulence that had affected the very existence of many societies in Germany towards the end of the eighteenth century. King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia had them grouped together under the catchy title 'The Illuminati' before outlawing them amid fears they might forment revolution in his kingdom. -- p10-11

This paragraph does not of course provide anything resembling proof of continuity but I find here both an interesting way of telling a difficult story - especially the "very fabric of its existence" phrase - and great amusement in putting the onus on poor old Wilhelm for the simplistic lumping together of many societies under the "Illuminati" brand. I think that kind of thing came later. Fire In The Minds Of Men handles this area particularly well in the 1776-1848 timescale, though Billington offers no help with how to relate all this underground ferment with later groups, aside from the revolutionary socialist streams leading to Lenin and "comrades".

In the rest of the chapter Wills gives what appears to be a balanced and sane account of the various individuals and groups on the German side that led from Rosicrucianism and Theosophy to the Thule Society and the Nazis. From the following chapter we are into flying saucers of various kinds and, for this reader, all bets are off, because I simply can't be bothered to check out the detail. Vril though struck me as nicely placed as our example Secret Society. Maybe it existed, maybe it didn't. Maybe it was influential, even in a small way, maybe not. I Don't Know. But only one of the kind has to be influential on, say The Holocaust, for the whole area to become much more serious. The Thule Society provides the very unwanted existence proof in this case.