The
Hanussen Connection
The Weimar Republic--that ill-fated period of German democracy that occurred between the departure of the Kaiser and the arrival of Hitler--produced a large and colorful collection of profets. Prominent among them was Erik Jan Hanussen, the first of a chain of politically oriented oracles that appeared in Germany at the time.
Hanussen claimed to be a Danish baron, but his real name was Herman Steinschneider, the son of a petit bourgeois family from Prossnitz, Bohemia. In the depression-ridden 1930s, Hanussen reached a peak of influence that no man of his calling has achieved in modern times.
Though he began as an above-average 
vaudeville entertainment,
he soon gained national fame as a "psychic detective" by unmasking
an embezzler for one of Berlin's largest banking corporations. There is
suspicion that the way he found the information had nothing to do with
psychic abilities, but the culprit broke down and confessed when Hanussen
accused him to his face.
Late in 1930, Hanussen switched completely to prophecy. He became the lodestar for thousands of Germans. His following included an array of Nazi officials. Among them was Karl Ernst, the commander of the Berlin Storm Troopers, and Edmund Heines, an S. A. Gruppenführer. There was also Count von Helldorf, one of the leaders of the local Brownshirts with Ernst. These Nazis, and dozens of others like them, mingled with Hanussen's elite patrons as well as with the film and theater starlets who provided additional entertainment.
There is evidence that Hanussen obtained the data for most of his prophetic coups from his guests. For this he kept his ears open and a few palms greased to get advance tips of what was afoot in Germany. Gradually, his prophecies took a distinct Nazi coloring, subtly pushing the cause of the National Socialists. It is known that, at the peak of his Nazi influence, he recommended the adoption of the swastika as an "Indian luck symbol," and indicated that its wearers would be blessed by good fortune. When forecasting election results, he invariably discovered that the planetary conjunction favored Hitler, thereby persuading the masses to "vote with the stars."
Hanussen was originally introduced to Hitler by Heinrich Hoffman, the Führer's private photographer, who was also to become the sponsor of Eva Braun. Some authors claim that Hanussen gave Hitler lessons in public speaking, and that Hanussen's coaching was responsible for Hitler's demonic oratory style. It is also said that Hanussen persuaded Hitler of adopting the swastika as the Nazi symbol.