History | Page 31

Schauberger, son of Viktor Schauberger. Mr. Coats consequently learned a great deal of information concerning the ideas of Viktor Schauberger. Mr. Coats is a scientist and architect. Coats wrote Living Energies about the ideas of Schauberger and his saucer models (8). In the same category we find Michael X. Barton, who, through a translator, Carl F. Mayer, received information from an informant in German, Hermann Klaas, who claimed to have actually been involved with some of the German saucer projects. Klaas' peripheral knowledge (category three) also seems to have extended into other aspects of secret German research and technology. Barton wrote one of the earliest books on this topic, The German Saucer Story in 1968 (9). One unique source is Wilhelm Landig. Landig wrote three novels dealing with the Second World War. Following the title of each novel, Landig tells the reader that this is a "novel based on realities". The reader is given to understand that the technology described was based on hard fact. Landig's works contain more than cold facts, however. Landig deals with a large variety of topics in his books. Sometimes facts or opinions are stated or "stories behind the story" are told. He writes, unashamedly, from the National Socialist perspective. Landig was obviously a Nazi and an intellectual insider. His history always remained unclear, at least to this writer, until his recent death. Because of his unclear background and the fact that he wrote in novel form, there has been a reluctance to ascribe full creditability to the statements he makes regarding the technology of the Third Reich. This all changed in 1999 as a result of research done by Margret Chatwin with an organization called "Informations diesnst gegen Rechtsextremismus" (Information service against the extreme right) (10). Coming in from this perspective, they, certainly, would not be accused of aggrandizing Landig's career. Some details of Landig's biography are now filled in. In that article we learn that Landig, an Austrian, took part in the unsuccessful Vienna Putsch of 1934. Thereafter, he fled to Germany and was inducted into the SD, the SS and the Waffen SS. There he rose to the rank of "Oberschafuehrer". Eventually, Landig was detailed to oversee government security concerns and given a position in the Reichs Security Department. Landig, in this position, was assigned to cover the security for the development of "UFOs" (11). It turns out that Landig was not only a source but a great source concerning the development of German saucers. Returning to unnamed sources, they should never be given the weight as named sources are given. Many times writers use unnamed sources to advance a radically new and fantastic hypothesis in the UFO world. This type of source may sound convincing, given the "secret" nature of the message, but they should only be accepted if they yield new information which can be verified independently. This goes double for unnamed 31