Bund Deutscher Mädel

[kapitanprien]

This reminds me of what I was just reading yesterday I believe - I'm here trying to remember all of this...I came across the Aeon of Horus through a site: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeon_%28Thelema%29

The first of these was the Aeon of Isis, which Thelemites believed occurred during prehistory and which saw mankind worshipping a Great Goddess, symbolised by the ancient Egyptian deity Isis. In Thelemite beliefs, this was followed by the Aeon of Osiris, a period that took place in the classical and mediaeval centuries, when humanity worshipped a singular male god, symbolised by the Egyptian god Osiris, and was therefore dominated by patriarchal values. The Book also asserted that in 1904, humanity would enter into a third aeon, the Aeon of Horus, which was controlled by the child god, symbolised by Horus. In this new aeon, Thelemites believe that humanity will become devoted to individual liberty, following the Law of "Do What Thou Wilt".

Oh...I looked this stuff up after having read in Google Books, 'Shadow Magick Compendium' - I wanted to look up that Aeon of Horus thing.

More on Thelema: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelema

According to Crowley, every individual has a True Will, to be distinguished from the ordinary wants and desires of the ego. The True Will is essentially one's "calling" or "purpose" in life. Some later magicians have taken this to include the goal of attaining self-realization by one's own efforts, without the aid of God or other divine authority. This brings them close to the position that Crowley held just prior to 1904.[44] Others follow later works such as Liber II, saying that one's own will in pure form is nothing other than the divine will.[45] Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law for Crowley refers not to hedonism, fulfilling everyday desires, but to acting in response to that calling. The Thelemite is a mystic.[44] According to Lon Milo Duquette, a Thelemite is anyone who bases their actions on striving to discover and accomplish their true will,[46] when a person does their True Will, it is like an orbit, their niche in the universal order, and the universe assists them.[47] In order for the individual to be able to follow their True Will, the everyday self's socially-instilled inhibitions may have to be overcome via deconditioning.[48][49] Crowley believed that in order to discover the True Will, one had to free the desires of the subconscious mind from the control of the conscious mind, especially the restrictions placed on sexual expression, which he associated with the power of divine creation.[50] He identified the True Will of each individual with the Holy Guardian Angel, a daimon unique to each individual.[51] The spiritual quest to find what you are meant to do and do it is also known in Thelema as the Great Work.[52]

Sorry for going off topic - but that bit there was related to the discussion on society.

[gumby]

Thanks for the reading Gunther, it is interesting how religion has influenced culture over the millenia

[gumby]

BDM Day Trip to Westwall

In the year 1939 or thereabouts, as part of our JM training ( Jungmadelbund ), our group went on a day excursion to the Westwall, also called the Siegfried line. The Westwall was a line of underground concrete bunkers that Hitler had constructed between 1938 and 1940. This line, located in the western part of Germany, ran from the northern part of the country all the way down to the border of Switzerland. In my dream I am there with other girls, and we are with our group leader. One of the soldiers showed us around the area. There were at least three lines of bunkers that were terraced into the hillside, and the bunkers were partially underground, with the western facing side exposed, We were told that this fortification made Germany invincible to attack, and we were made to believe that we were completely secure from any enemy that might want to invade our land. The bunkers were all new when I was there, in perfect condition, just built. My group walked along row after row of bunker installations, as our soldier tour guide showed us around the site.

Why did I go to Westwall with JM? I am thinking it was probably part of the propaganda campaign of the Nazis, to show the population the fortifications, and give everyone a sense of pride and trust in the military prowess. Of course the Nazis wanted that. And part of the requirements of JM was to go on field trips, to learm about our great country. So I was there, at Westwall, before it was blown to bits in 1945, before thousands of soldiers died attacking and defending it.

[kapitanprien]

You're welcome

I'm amazed at how well you remember everything. Have you ever thought of compiling these memories into a blog?

[Miss Bothmann]

gumby: You are right about the age group..the younger girls in my dream looked to be about 10-12 years old. I am so happy for you that you are able to recall so much of this time...obviously it was very important to you. Most of what I recall revolves around Hans because he was my life..he meant everything to Anna. However, I will try to regress myself and try to get more of my experiences in the BDM.

When I was younger I was in the Girl Scouts starting at age 5, and I was in it until I was about 12 or so. I remember when we used to be awarded badges to put on our sashes, that I would feel this extreme pride. Also, the events that we got badges for were similar to BDM activities. Some had to do with athletics, there were 2 or 3 cooking bagdes, etc. I remember feeling many instances of deja vu when I was in the Girl Scouts...however, I had no idea at that age that it was past life related.

[gumby]

Miss Bothmann, I think those kind of memories do point towards your past life in BDM, your feelings of pride at the pinning ceremonies are reminiscent of BDM protocol.

I hope that you are able to retrieve more about this time, I think that you will. I have remembered what I have mostly from flashbacks and some dreams. I only have the flashbacks when I am in a resting state, with my eyes closed. I will not even be thinking about my past life experiences in BDM, then suddenly I will see it all in remarkable clarity, in vivid color imagry.

[gumby]

BDM Service and the War

Many of my views were formed at this time in the BDM service. I followed the demands of the training and achieved what was expected, yet somehow I was able to maintain an independant spirit with my sense of humor and desire to contribute to the more imaginative arts that were possible in such a rigid organization, like role play, crafts, and eventually puppetry. I always felt that I was doing my patriotic duty in JM and BDM, we all had a sense of pride in our Fatherland and a desire to work towards the goals of the state. I did experienced a great feeling of nationalistic pride. After all, were one again a prosperous nation, and the future looked bright. Yes, I was indoctrinated, and accepted the Nazi propaganda without question. I was young and impressionable, and there was not any other alternative.

When I was 16, I remember BDM members doing their part to help our soldiers on the front. We often went door to door, asking of contrubutions. We sent blankets, coats, and care packages to the front. This was probably one of the most important roles that we had in contrubution to the war effort. I also volunterred my time in a Stuttgart factory as part of my BDM service. I have many dreams of this factory, of doing assembly at long tables in a large room with glass windows. I had one dream where I was in the shipping room in the factory, and there was equipment in there that looked like conveyors, and there were gigantic doors that stood open, and beyond these doors you could look out and see a river. I think that there was a dock there, where ships could load freight. It was a very large factory and I also remember it being bombed. When I came out of the shelter, thick black smoke was rolling upwards to the sky, and flames were shooting out of the windows of some buildings. I was very frightened. By this time I knew that the war was going bad for us.

[kapitanprien]

I know of a photograph that shows some BDM girls giving my crew flowers after the Scapa Flow raid - I think it's in an article I have (can't find it online). I'll try to get a copy of the photo up at some point.

[Miss Bothmann]

Mar 26, 2011 20:34:17 GMT -5 gumby said:

Miss Bothmann, I think those kind of memories do point towards your past life in BDM, your feelings of pride at the pinning ceremonies are reminiscent of BDM protocol.

I hope that you are able to retrieve more about this time, I think that you will. I have remembered what I have mostly from flashbacks and some dreams. I only have the flashbacks when I am in a resting state, with my eyes closed. I will not even be thinking about my past life experiences in BDM, then suddenly I will see it all in remarkable clarity, in vivid color imagry.

I think that I will be able to recall more too, when I actually get around to regressing myself..haha. Yeah, even as a little girl in this life, the pride factor was definitly there. Any little badge would induce me to talk about it for days, until the point where my parents would tire of hearing it (though my mom was a troop leader..LOL)

Yes, that would certainly be frightening regarding the bombing at the factory. I have remembered bombings myself, and I cringe whenever I hear an air raid siren even today...it sends such shivers down my back.

[gumby]

Yes it is no wonder that we were frightened, Miss Bothman, have you seen the bombs that they were dropping on German cities? The bombs were enormous, can you imagine the blast, the ground shaking, the force of the explosion? I know that the A bomb and the H bomb were more terrible, but these bombs dropped in clusters were dreadful. See this link it shows the bombs, scroll down the page to see the bombs used in WWII by the allied powers. www.303rdbg.com/bombs.html

[kapitanprien]

As one who was in the military - I hold nothing against the allied soldiers, sailors, and airmen. In fact, they often did have sympathy for/towards us given what they were doing - 'War is Hell' as the saying goes.

Given the technology that was had then, it was impossible to not kill civilians...even now with the advanced technology that we have now, it is still impossible. People are going to die, and this is why we should be repulsed by war and should we have to fight...to go in and get the job done and get the ---- out.

Although the British had bombs to go and destroy the U-Boat pens...they didn't do a very good job. (couldn't resist that one... ;D )

[gumby]

Yes I hold nothing against the allied soldiers, they fought bravely and did their patriotic duty, just as the German soldier did. When you look at the atrocities, there were many during the full course of the war on both sides. The strategy of obliterating cities was not new in WW II, as seen in Carthage and many other places throughout history. I am only speaking as a civilian whom has lived through the rain of fire from the heavens, that hell on earth as your city is pounded by bombs, and from this perspective the enemy is that, your enemy, whether they have sympathy for you or not, it makes no difference when your very existence is at stake, there was little mercy in any of this, only vengence.

[kapitanprien]

I can't even see the allied airmen as being vengeful.

Case in point - while not an airman, there is someone my friend knows that served aboard the Liberty Ships during WWII. When we were going to go to an event, he had seen me in my full leathers. Sometime later, my friend revealed to him that I am a U-Boat commander and he said of the U-Boat crews, "They had it so hard."

Maybe I'm just stupid and naieve though for not getting caught up in the cycle of hatred and vengance from either side.

[gumby]

No Gunther you are not naive or "stupid", you are speaking from the perspective of some valuable personal experience from you PL. I know what you are saying, that in many confrontations with the adversary, there was mutual respect, perhaps even sympathy for the crew of a U-Boat that had bee captured. That clearly demonstrates the humanity of the airmen. But I am speaking from the perspective of a civilian on the ground, a recipiant of all the very impersonal bombs being dropped. When you are a civilian, and you are in the midst of bombs raining down on your city, and you see the toll of human suffering, you do not experience humanitarian inclinations towards your enemy. It is human nature to paint your foes in the worst possible light. I might have felt sympathy for the airmen who crashed below my Grandparents house, it may have torn me apart emotionally, but the sight of my city burning to the ground was my greatest concern.

From My Past Life Experiences WW II :

Airplane Crash in Stuttgart

Dream:
It was a quiet, warm July evening, and I think it was 1944.
My sister and I were playing a game similar to bingo on the floor of the living room in our grandparent's house in Stuttgart, Germany. Mother and my grandparents were in the kitchen, talking.

Suddenly the lights went out. Then we heard several earth shattering explosions that shook the entire house. ( probably ground fire from battery positions that surrounded the city, shooting flak up into the sky to thwart the bombers )

Then air raid sirens sounded. My mother yelled for us to get to the cellar. We all ran out the back door and headed for the cellar stairs, which were on the east side of the house.

It was very dark outside. We heard more explosions down towards the central district, and the sky began to glow a brilliant orange in that direction. ( possible chem flares dropped by the planes above to mark the target, and to illuminate the ground)

Suddenly I heard something above me. I froze in my tracks and looked up. I saw immediately what it was - an enormous airplane was falling in a downwards direction from above. It was gliding just above the treetops, and smoke was billowing from its wings. It made a low hissing noise as it went right above me. I watched as it crashed down towards the east of our house.

Everything happened so fast that I could not even move for a moment. The flares lighting up the sky, the airplane crash. I stared in disbelief..... I probably did not stand there for more than 10 seconds when my mother realized that I was no longer by her side. She turned back and yelled out my name, motioning for me to come to the cellar. I ran towards her immediately, and we all ran down the steps into the darkness below.

Then the bombs hit. It seemed like forever before the explosions stopped rocking the house. By the time we were able to come out of the cellar, the city was in shambles. Many city buildings were obliterated, including the town Hall.

The flames continued into the night. I could not sleep well after this, and the nightmares would follow me even into my next life.

I believe that the plane that I saw crash below my Grandparent’s house was one of 17 Lancasters that were lost that night.

[kapitanprien]

Gumby - I'm reminded of something - an 'act' that was put on by the Allied unit/group that I 'hang out with' at the WWII event. In the 'act' they were portraying instead German civilians who were angry at the allied airmen for dropping bombs on their towns and cities.

I suppose it is a rather ironic thing...

The ones doing the actual fighting feel a sense of sympathy - and even perhaps empathy, but the civilians feel something totally different.

Seeing I'm the only one currently here that was in the Wehrmacht (Kriegsmarine/Navy branch) - I really have no one else to compare feelings and thoughts with as there are, or don't seem to be, any other service personnel here (and if there are...they sure as heck aren't posting).

I think another thing is...I didn't live that long into the '40's. I died in early March '41 so I am completely cut off to all that happened thereafter. On top of this, being in the Navy - being out at sea much of the time, and when on land, living on the coast...I was again cut off from much. That isn't to say that there weren't air raids going on when I was around...but I don't remember them.

Apparently - aside from boring patrols, the only other memories are that of getting drunk...

...but what else is to be expected from a U-Boat commander?