This collection of previously unpublished letters and documents deals with themes that are of tremendous significance for our time: the approaching new millennium; karma and reincarnation; life after death; the workings of evil; the destiny of Europe; and the hidden causes of the First World War. It also tells the story of the meeting of two great men: Rudolf Steiner and Helmuth von Moltke (1848-1916), Chief of the general staff of the German army during the outbreak of the First World War, who was dismissed from his post in 1914 following disagreements with the Kaiser.
Moltke first came into contact with Steiner through his wife Eliza, who was one of Steiner's esoteric pupils. Steiner's connection to Moltke included personal meetings, letters, and clairvoyant messages after the General's death. These communications are reproduced here in full, along with a key interview with Rudolf Steiner for Le Matin and commentaries and essays by Jürgen von Grone, Jens Heisterkamp, Johannes Tautz and T. H. Meyer.
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up (see right). As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe's scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.
Helmuth Johannes Ludwig Gra von Moltke (1848-1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a German general who served as the Chief of the German General Staff from 1906 to 1914. Moltke was also a follower of Theosophy.
T. H. Meyer was born in Switzerland in 1950. He is the founder of Perseus Verlag, Basel, and is editor of the monthly journal Der Europäer. He has written numerous articles and is the author of several books, including Reality, Truth, and Evil (2005) and major biographies of D.N. Dunlop and Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz. He also edited Light for the New Millennium (1997) describing Rudolf Steiner's association with Helmuth and Eliza von Moltke.
