The Hollow Earth theory

The idea that the earth might be hollow was first put forward in the 17th century. It soon fell out of favour among mainstream scientists but on the fringes of pseudo-science it continued to find followers. Many Vril Society members believed in it. What makes the theory important is that Peter Bender, a German prisoner of war, discovered the theory during his time as a POW and converted Goering to it. With the powerful patronage of Goering behind him, the theory was allowed to be taught and even given State resources to fund it. Senior German naval officers also believed in the theory and between 1933 and 1942 it was as acceptable as orthodox science. Then it fell out of favour after an expensive operation in the middle of the war designed to prove its truth failed spectacularly. Bender was thrown into a concentration camp and the theory banned.

Michael FitzGerald is a historian of the Third Reich. He is also the author of ‘Adolf Hitler: A Portrait’ which won an award for historical biography, and ‘The Making of Modern Streatham’, written jointly with his Janet. In 2008 he was the principal contributor to the Discovery Channel programme, ‘Dark Fellowships: The Vril Society’, a topic which features in the present book. He has also given numerous talks to a variety of organizations over the years. ‘The Nazi Occult War’ was published by Arcturus in 2013 , he is also the author of ‘Hitler’s Secret Weapons,’ ‘Unsolved Mysteries of World War Two’ and ‘Hitler’s War Beneath The Waves’ published by them over the last four years.