Savitri Devi
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Savitri Devi (September 30, 1905, Lyon, France — October 22, 1982, Essex, England) was the pseudonym of the French writer Maximiani Portaz.
She became enamoured with Hinduism and Nazism, trying to synthesise the two, and proclaiming Adolf Hitler an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Her writings have influenced neo-Nazism and Nazi mysticism. Although mystical in her conception of Nazism, Savitri Devi saw Nazism as a practical faith without the requirement of metaphysics. Among Savitri Devi's ideas was the classifications of "men above time", "men in time" and "men against time". She is credited with pioneering neo-Nazi interest in occultism, Deep Ecology, and the New Age movement. She influenced the Chilean diplomat Miguel Serrano. In 1982, Francisco Freda published a German translation of Gold in the Furnace; the fourth volume of his annual review, Risguardo (1980-), was devoted to Savitri Devi as the "missionary of Aryan Paganism".
Her works, in conjunction with those of Julius Evola, have been major influences on the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party and activist Bill White. Far-rightist Italian and self-described "Nazi Maoist" Claudio Mutti was influenced by reading Pilgrimage as an idealistic teenager. As a young bodyguard for Colin Jordan, David Myatt enthusiastically embraced the values expressed in The Lightning and the Sun. In the U.S., James Mason (whose Universal Order bears strong resemblance to the sentiments of Savitri Devi) paid tribute to her in Siege. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme of the Charles Manson gang has recommended The Lightning and the Sun. Revilo P. Oliver wrote that he saw the potentiality of a future religion venerating Adolf Hitler "in the works of a highly intelligent and learned lady of Greek ancestry, Dr. Savitri Devi."
She was also one of the founding members of the World Union of National Socialists.
