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Strange Tale of Hitler's Jewish Psychic

JL;DR SUMMARY The remarkable life of Erik Jan Hanussen, born Hermann Steinschneider, is chronicled in Arthur Magida's book, exploring the Jewish psychic's rise to fame in prewar Germany and his association with Adolf Hitler. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HitlerNazi GermanyAustriaWeimar EraErik Jan HanussenHermann SteinschneiderJewish PsychicArthur MagidaMel GordonClairvoyance

Places mentioned

Vienna, Austria
"The bizarre and tragic story of Erik Jan Hanussen, the famed mentalist born as Hermann Steinschneider in Vienna, is truly stranger than fiction."
Berlin, Germany
"Again at the top of his game, Hanussen moved his operation to Weimars cultural center, Berlin, where he became a major draw during the late 1920s."
Baden-Württemberg, Germany
"The Nazi Sance: The Strange Story of the Jewish Psychic in Hitlers Circle By Arthur Magida Palgrave Macmillan, 288 pages, $26"
Germany
"To keep the army from discovering his disappearance, he did not perform under his real name; his manager cleverly invented the name under which he would perform, Erik Jan Hanussen. With it he became a Danish noble, achieving enormous popularity with his hypnotic performances and selling out large venues throughout Germany and Austria."
California, United States
"Gordon a Weimar culture expert who teaches theater at University of California, Berkeley produced a book that is far richer and far more engaging."

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Retrieved 2026-06-04 05:31:29 UTC
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