Erik Jan Hanussen

Erik Jan Hanussen, born Hermann Steinschneider (2 June 1889, in Vienna – 25 March 1933, in Berlin), was an Austrian Jewish publicist, charlatan and clairvoyant performer. Acclaimed in his lifetime as a hypnotist, mentalist, occultist, and astrologer, Hanussen was active in Weimar Republic Germany and also at the beginning of Nazi Germany. He is said to have instructed Adolf Hitler in performance and the achievement of dramatic effect.

Although Hanussen claimed to be a Danish , he was in fact a Moravian Jew, born as Hermann (Herschel Chaim) Steinschneider. Hanussen's father, Siegfried Steinschneider (1858-1910), was an actor and caretaker of a synagogue who married Antonie Julie Kohn, a singer, in Vienna, Austria.

Hanussen's parents traveled constantly through Austria and Italy with acting and musical troupes, taking Hanussen with them."

After World War I, Hanussen performed a mind reading, muscle reading, and hypnosis act at La Scala in Berlin that catapulted him to stardom. At his height, he enjoyed the company of Germany's military and business elite, also becoming close with members of the SA. It is claimed he was a supporter of the Nazis despite his Jewish ancestry, which was an open secret.

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