The Time is 1945. The Place is
This alternate scenario to history may sound far fetched but is actually accepted as fact by some proponents of the hollow Earth theory. And as incredible as it sounds, the genesis of this story lies in some actual facts that carry a fair amount of merit: some of Hitler's top advisors - and even Hitler himself - believed that the Earth was hollow; and there was at least one expedition sponsored by the Nazi military to exploit that belief for strategic advantage during the war.
As with all such stories, it's often difficult to sort out facts, exaggerations, and outright fabrications. But it's an intriguing tale, and one that requires a little background.
There are several hollow Earth theories. The most prevalent one holds that there are great but hidden openings at both the North and South poles, and that it is possible to enter those holes. Some - including the respected Admiral Byrd himself- claimed to have entered those holes. According to the legends, other civilizations live within the Earth on its inner surface, warmed and lit by an interior sun. The idea has inspired novels by Edgar Allen Poe (Message Found in a Bottle), Edgar Rice Borroughs (At the Earth's Core), and Jules Verne (A Journey to the Center of the Earth).
A second theory, call the "inverted Earth" theory, claims that we - our civilization - actually exists on the inside of the globe. We are held fast to the ground not by gravity, but by centrifugal force as the Earth rotates. The stars, so goes the theory, are twinkling chunks of ice suspended high in the air, and the illusion of day and night is caused by a rotating central sun that is half brilliant, half dark. Cyrus Teed, an alchemist from
The scenario told at the beginning of this post accepts one hollow Earth theory, while the facts seem to show that some Nazis actually believed in the other.
Hitler's Nazis were convinced that they were destined to rule the world, and they came to this warped conclusion through the acceptance of many occult beliefs and practices, including astrology, the prophecies of Nostradamus, and the hollow/inverted Earth theory... hohlweltlehre. Because they suspected that our surface is on the interior of a concave Earth, Hitler sent an expedition, including Dr. Heinz Fischer and powerful telescopic cameras, to the Baltic
Then there's the legend... that Hitler and many of his Nazi minions escaped
While the evidence for either hollow Earth theory is close to nil (although some folks claim to have proof in the form of photos), the story involving Nazis, war, and the romance of exploratory adventure sounds like the makings of a great Indiana Jones story. In fact, it is! In the novel Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth by Max McCoy, Indy comes into the possession of a mysterious journal hinting at the existence of an underground civilization that he and the Nazis race to find. The fate of the world - hollow or not - is in Indy's hands! Ahh, just another reason to keep on walking in this great wide world of ours.
I’m Average Joe
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