Film Exposes Himmler's Masseur as Narcissist, Not Hero

A new feature film directed by Felix Randau is set to expose the complex and likely fabricated legacy of Felix Kersten, the personal masseur to Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Nazi SS. French producers initially approached Randau with the idea of a miniseries about Kersten, highlighting his purported role in saving numerous lives during the Holocaust. The project gained traction with the assertion that if Steven Spielberg had been aware of Kersten's story, he might have prioritized it over his acclaimed film "Schindler's List." Kersten, a Dutch masseur, served as Himmler's personal therapist from 1935 until the end of World War II, a position that granted him unusual access to one of the Third Reich's most powerful figures.

Kersten's post-war accounts detailed numerous instances where he allegedly intervened with Himmler to save Jewish individuals and other prisoners from concentration camps. He claimed to have used his influence to secure the release of hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people, portraying himself as a secret resistance operative working from within the Nazi hierarchy. These claims, widely circulated in biographies and historical accounts for decades, painted a picture of a courageous individual leveraging his unique position for humanitarian ends. However, Randau's film, drawing on extensive research and archival material, aims to challenge this heroic narrative, suggesting that Kersten was more of a narcissist prone to myth-making than a genuine savior.

The film's investigation delves into the psychological dynamics between Kersten and Himmler, exploring how Kersten might have manipulated Himmler's trust and anxieties to his own advantage, while simultaneously exaggerating his impact. Historians have long debated the veracity of Kersten's claims, with many pointing to a lack of corroborating evidence for many of his most significant interventions. The film posits that Kersten's desire for recognition and his self-perception as a pivotal, albeit clandestine, figure in the war against Nazism likely fueled his elaborate stories. The narrative questions whether Kersten's actions were driven by genuine altruism or a sophisticated form of self-preservation and ego inflation, particularly in the post-war period when he sought to solidify his reputation.

Randau's directorial approach seeks to peel back the layers of Kersten's carefully constructed persona, presenting a more nuanced and critical perspective on his life and alleged wartime heroics. The film explores the possibility that Kersten's "magic Buddha" persona, as he was sometimes referred to, was a carefully cultivated image designed to enhance his perceived influence and importance. By examining the available evidence and the context of post-war memory, the film aims to provide a more grounded understanding of Felix Kersten's role, suggesting that his claims of saving countless lives may be largely rooted in fantasy rather than fact, and exposing the self-serving nature of his enduring legend.