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Scientifictionist, v. 1, issue 6, August-October 1946

Page 1

AGHARTI -- An Overlooked Classic by Gerry de la Ree

Have you ever seen a volume of Shakespeare tucked away on a shelf amongst a group of contemporary novels?  Well if you have, you perhaps experienced a similar feeling to that which one gets upon reading Heinrich Hauzer's "Agharti", published in the June, 1946 issue of Amazing Stories.

Recent years -- those during which the war was fought -- saw very few "classics" produced in the scientifictional field.  Perhaps the most heralded of all war-time science fiction novels was "The World of A", A.E. van Vogt's tale of the distant future.  Written by the author of the extremely popular "Slan", slated for appearance in the elite of stf magazines, Astounding, and highly recommended by John Campbell, "The World of A" was anticipated and rend by the majority of fans throughout the country.  And the story proved a dud -- the most unexplosive sort of a dud.  A nightmare of loose ends and unconnected sequences, "The World of A" fell far short of "Slan", so far in fact, that only a few fans were able to muster the courage to say they liked it.  There were those, of course, who read the story, failed to understand it, and therefore imagined that it must truly be the "story of the century".
And so the highly-touted "World of A" was a failure.  And then, a few months ago an unheralded novel made its appearance -- made its appearance in the magazine most condemned by fandom, Amazing Stories.  Written by an author unfamiliar to fandom, but one far more familiar to the educated masses of the bookworld than Mr. van Vogt, "Agharti" exploded in the midst of fandom -- and went virtually unnoticed.
Why did I read the story? Sam Moskowitz had told me it was a pro-Nazi yarn and branded it as an insult to science fiction.  Interested, and a bit surprised, I picked up the story and read it.  Sam, I found, had never been further from the truth.
"Agharti" is the story of an underground Nazi-Reich -- located beneath the Harz mountains in Central Germany -- which began functioning soon after V-E day.  Mr. Hauser, who gained his name in the literary world with the "German Talks Back", utilizes in "Agharti" a none to subtle sarcasm which picks the Nazi myth full of holes.  The story does preach love of fellow man, whether that man be German, French of American, and perhaps that is why it struck Moskowitz as being pro-Nazi. 
But more than its political implications, "Agharti" is good literature, it is a story well woven in a style rarely found in  the pages of Amazing, Astounding, or any other science fiction publication.  Dr. Heinrich Stufa is the main character in the story.  Her personifies what Mr. Hauser evidentally wishes us to believe is an average German -- an intelligent man scorned during the days of the futile republic, but lifted to his feet by the helping hand of Adolph Hitler.  Stufu, while working to repay Hitler for this faith in him, has never completely lost his love for fellow men.  It takes, however, a young girl to entirely remove the Nazi stigma from Stufa's mind.
"Agharti" shows signs of having been cut; in fact, at one point you get the impression that a chapter or more may well have been deleted.  This occurs midway in the story when Heinrich and Francisca are ordered to report to Agharti Supreme, Following a rather confused stay in Agharti Supreme, Heinrich has an interview with Adolph Hitler.  It is at the conclusion of this interview that a chapter seems missing.  The story jumps from Agharti Supreme to an altogether different setting and no explanation is ever given as to how the characters departed from Hitler's headquarters.  This, however, detracts little from the story itself.  
This is a timely story, one which everyone should read.  How it found its way into the pages of Amazing Stories will probably remain one of the great mysteries of the twentieth century.  I am not hesitant about calling "Agharti" a science fiction classic; my one fear is that it shall lie unread on the bookshelf of some
(continued on bottom of page 12)
page 1

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AGHARTI -- An Overlooked Classic by Gerry de la Ree Have you ever seen a volume of Shakespeare tucked away on a shelf amongst a group of contemporary novels? Well if you have, you perhaps experienced a similar feeling to that which one gets upon reading Heinrich Hauzer's "Agharti", published in the June, 1946 issue of Amazing Stories. Recent years -- those during which the war was fought -- saw very few "classics" produced in the scientifictional field. Perhaps the most heralded of all war-time science fiction novels was "The World of A", A.E. van Vogt's tale of the distant future. Written by the author of the extremely popular "Slan", slated for appearance in the elite of stf magazines, Astounding, and highly recommended by John Campbell, "The World of A" was anticipated and rend by the majority of fans throughout the country. And the story proved a dud -- the most unexplosive sort of a dud. A nightmare of loose ends and unconnected sequences, "The World of A" fell far short of "Slan", so far in fact, that only a few fans were able to muster the courage to say they liked it. There were those, of course, who read the story, failed to understand it, and therefore imagined that it must truly be the "story of the century". And so the highly-touted "World of A" was a failure. And then, a few months ago an unheralded novel made its appearance -- made its appearance in the magazine most condemned by fandom, Amazing Stories. Written by an author unfamiliar to fandom, but one far more familiar to the educated masses of the bookworld than Mr. van Vogt, "Agharti" exploded in the midst of fandom -- and went virtually unnoticed. Why did I read the story? Sam Moskowitz had told me it was a pro-Nazi yarn and branded it as an insult to science fiction. Interested, and a bit surprised, I picked up the story and read it. Sam, I found, had never been further from the truth. "Agharti" is the story of an underground Nazi-Reich -- located beneath the Harz mountains in Central Germany -- which began functioning soon after V-E day. Mr. Hauser, who gained his name in the literary world with the "German Talks Back", utilizes in "Agharti" a none to subtle sarcasm which picks the Nazi myth full of holes. The story does preach love of fellow man, whether that man be German, French of American, and perhaps that is why it struck Moskowitz as being pro-Nazi. But more than its political implications, "Agharti" is good literature, it is a story well woven in a style rarely found in the pages of Amazing, Astounding, or any other science fiction publication. Dr. Heinrich Stufa is the main character in the story. Her personifies what Mr. Hauser evidentally wishes us to believe is an average German -- an intelligent man scorned during the days of the futile republic, but lifted to his feet by the helping hand of Adolph Hitler. Stufu, while working to repay Hitler for this faith in him, has never completely lost his love for fellow men. It takes, however, a young girl to entirely remove the Nazi stigma from Stufa's mind. "Agharti" shows signs of having been cut; in fact, at one point you get the impression that a chapter or more may well have been deleted. This occurs midway in the story when Heinrich and Francisca are ordered to report to Agharti Supreme, Following a rather confused stay in Agharti Supreme, Heinrich has an interview with Adolph Hitler. It is at the conclusion of this interview that a chapter seems missing. The story jumps from Agharti Supreme to an altogether different setting and no explanation is ever given as to how the characters departed from Hitler's headquarters. This, however, detracts little from the story itself. This is a timely story, one which everyone should read. How it found its way into the pages of Amazing Stories will probably remain one of the great mysteries of the twentieth century. I am not hesitant about calling "Agharti" a science fiction classic; my one fear is that it shall lie unread on the bookshelf of some (continued on bottom of page 12) page 1