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Erik Jan Hanussen

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Psychic/Fraud

The Resume

    (June 2, 1889-March 25, 1933)
    Born in Vienna, Austria
    Birth name was Hermann Steinschneider
    Clairvoyant, astrologer and hypnotist
    Published the tabloid 'Bunte Wochenschau'
    Consulted by Adolf Hitler about a dozen times (1932-33)
    Murdered, probably by members of the SA (Brownshirts)

Why he might be annoying:

    He claimed to be a Danish aristocrat, when his parents were actually members of an Austrian acting troupe.
    He reportedly taught Hitler how to use gestures and dramatic pauses to manipulate an audience.
    He predicted the Reichstag fire, although skeptics suspect this was less a feat of clairvoyance than the exploitation of inside information.
    He was rumored to have hypnotized Marinus van der Lubbe, either to get him to torch the Reichstag or to set him up as the fall guy for after the fire.
    He may have been murdered for knowing too much about the Reichstag fire.
    Frankly, you shouldn't need psychic powers to realize that the combination 'Jew' and 'friend of the Nazis' is not going to end well.

Why he might not be annoying:

    In March, 1932, he predicted in his tabloid that Hitler would become Chancellor withing a year.
    He was described as 'a very clever individual' in an OSS report on Hitler.
    He may have been murdered on the orders of Hermann Goering or Joseph Goebbels to eliminate a rival for Hitler's attention.
    His murderers were never identified or caught.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 21 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying