Theodore Illion: Darkness Over Tibet

[Benjamin]

I don't know how interesting this is but I had a look at something Igor said right at the very beginning of his article and I just followed it a bit.

In M.I. Vasilchikova's Berlin Diary, many readers will surely remember a completely episodic but vivid character:

“We have a strange man working at the DD [radio broadcasting service]. His name is Ilion. He walks around in rags, wears thick glasses, has an American passport, was born in Finland, but spent most of his life in Tibet, where he was close to the Dalai Lama and, as he boasts, never washed. Although his salary is quite decent, he still doesn't wash, which is not very pleasant for us around him. From time to time he teaches Katya Kleinmichel and me short phrases in Tibetan.”

Theodor Illion, which was actually the name of Vasilchikova's coworker, had become famous a few years earlier for his stories and books about his journey to Tibet, the mysterious underground city he visited there, and other mystical experiences. Illion's name can be found today in a variety of contexts, from scholarly editions of the correspondence of German Tibetologists with whom he was in contact to exuberant fantasies about Tibetan soldiers defending besieged Berlin in 1945.

M.I. Vasilchikova is Marie Illarionovna Vassiltchikov (daughter of Prince Illarionevich Vasilchikov), a Russia princess who wrote the book Berlin Diaries 1940-1945, from which the quote comes from. You can find the quote from a Russian digital copy of the book, under Saturday, 4 May in the 1940 timeline.

Katya Kleinmichel is a bit of mystery, but it's written that the surname Kleinmichel is a Russian Count family. The best known is Count Pyotr Andreevich Kleinmichel. So, Katya appears to come from Russian aristocracy.

"DD" means Drahtloser Dienst AG (Dradag), which was a wireless public service provider for radio. If I read from the link correctly, on Oct 1, 1932 it became a department of the RRG (Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft) which was the national network of German regional public radio and television broadcasting companies. Linking the two together enabled one to broadcast a unified message to all the stations in Germany, which is what the Nazis did when they took power on Jan. 30, 1933: “The leader of the National Socialists, Adolf Hitler, has just been appointed Chancellor by the President of the Reich, due to a longer discussion that the President of the Reich had this morning with Mr. Hitler and Mr. von Papen.”

So, in Berlin on Saturday, May 4, 1940, the DD was still under the control of the Nazis and Illion was working there doing... what? I'm not sure but reading a few sections, Maria writes that her friend and co-worker, Katja Kleinmichel, worked in the English department of the DD and that she might be able to get her (Marie) a job there. In other selections, Marie writes:

Monday, 22 January

Today I went to Katja Kleinmichel's bureau in Friedrichstrasse and typed all morning in English at dictation; it was my first test, and it could not have been easier. The test was a speed test; I was told I would be called back later.

Friday, March 22nd

Today is our Good Friday, but I still had to work like a curse. I've been typing for nine hours without a break. When my boss, Herr E., sees that I'm about to collapse, he takes out schnapps, which is a kind of brandy; it's a little refreshing, but it tastes awful. Herr E. is always bickering with his wife. When I see and hear them I come to the firm conviction that husband and wife should not work together. I can't stand him, and when he sticks his head out of the window for some air after another bickering, I want to shove him out. Katya Kleinmichel is in the same mood. I see her a lot now, since she works with me in the same shift, and often, when I can't stand this couple any longer, she replaces me at the typewriter. Our office has moved to another building on Charlottenstrasse. This way our superiors will be less exposed to Goebbels' constant nagging. In the past, when our offices were adjacent to each other, “Herr Minister” called them to him almost every hour. Now he'll only have to shout at them over the phone.

Tuesday, 26 March

Had lunch with Katya Kleinmichel. She can be very witty; it's good that we work together. On the street and in restaurants we usually speak English, but no one minds.

Wednesday, 3 April

Today was the first time I was assigned to translate on my own, probably because my boss is on vacation. The topic was economic. The morning shift consists of Katja Kleinmichel, me and one young man from AA. He is nice, but he doesn't speak English very well, so he is completely dependent on us. ...

Marie and Katya's job seems to be translating whatever into English. If Illion is working there in the same department, that might be his job too. It seems logical since their office was focused on English and translation and seems to pair well with Illion's first appearance in Salzburg at the end of 1945:

Nov. 3, 1945 - (this is the first time he shows up in the SN)

USA=Writer in Salzburg
The well-known Canadian writer Theodor Eke Illion is currently staying in Salzburg. His books "Darkness over Tibet" and "Secret Tibet" have been a resounding success in America, England, France and various other countries. He now works in the translation office at Alter Markt. Frederic L. Dunbar, another well-known writer, works with him there. His works "Three Thousand Years of Roman History" and "A Book of Facts for Everyone" made him famous throughout the world. Both writers currently translate legal, economic, commercial, technical and medical works in this office. They vouch with their reputation for the quality of the translations that the interpreting office at the Alter Markt accepts.

Dec. 24, 1945

Lessons
English courses for young and old, for beginners and advanced learners, led by experienced language teachers, will be held from January 46 by the public interpreting and translation office, Salzburg, Alter Markt 11, Tel. 1825. The Canadian writer Mr. Theodore Eke Illion will lead the lessons for advanced learners.

The above ad for English courses continues in the Dec. 27, 29 & 31 of 1945 and Jan. 4 & 7, 1946 papers.

Now, here are some selections that stood out from Marie Illarionovna Vassiltchikov's wiki:

Her family fled Russia in 1919, following the Bolshevik October Revolution by joining members of the Romanov family evacuated by the British fleet.

Marie Vassiltchikov lived as a refugee, initially in the French Third Republic, then Weimar Republic Germany, and then Lithuania until just before the start of World War II.

In 1940, Vassiltchikov and her sister, Princess Tatiana Vassiltchikova (Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg) (1915–2006), traveled to Berlin where, as stateless persons, they were able to obtain work permits. After brief employment with the Broadcasting Service, Vassiltchikov transferred to the Auswärtiges Amt (AA), the German Foreign Ministry's Information Office, where she worked as the assistant to Dr. Adam von Trott zu Solz, a key member of the anti-Nazi resistance, a former Rhodes scholar, and a descendant of American founding father, John Jay.

Marie fled the Bolsheviks, became a stateless person and found a job with the Nazis translating whatever into English. And there's Illion, working for the Nazis translating whatever into English... with an American passport??? Take a bath buddy! He's as stateless as Marie is, I'm betting! He just knows how to lie really well! He says he was "really close to the Dali Lama"? Don't forget to use soap!

Something I thought that was interesting was Marie's "strange man" description of Illion. It tells me that neither she nor Katya knew who he was even after four books of his had been published. I thought it was also a bit strange that Marie's "middle name", as well as her father's, was Ill-ar-ion-ovna.

 

[Benjamin]

Just a quick followup to the above.

In Igor's article, the newspaper Dagens Nyheter mentions this:

Mar. 11, 1933

“In the previous 8 weeks he had crossed Germany on foot, studying Nazism. He wanted to find out how a political refugee could get from Germany to Denmark.”

So, Illion claims he'd been studying Nazism in January and February of 1933 and, shown above, he was working in the Nazi controlled DD in 1940. Illion -> Herr E. -> Goebbels -> Hitler. Three degrees is pretty close. But, an idea came to me that he 'infiltrated' the Nazis just like he 'infiltrated' the underground city in Darkness. I thought it was also interesting that Illion's possible job was translation. He might be privy to classified info, maybe not high level info but he may have read things before others knew about them. Just like a spy would...which makes me think of Illion's claim of being Rudyard Kipling's Kim, who was trained in espionage. Idk, I just get this feeling that part of Illion's life is lived in a fantasy, like he's playing a character in someone else's story.

There was something else I thought of. I was going through the lists and read this SN news report.

1963

Oct. 11 - "Sex cult in Asia"
Oct. 14 - [Review] "Sexual cult in Asia" "Theodor Burang-Illion, a well-known publicist and author of books on Asian medicine, gave a critical, well-documented lecture on this interesting topic on Friday in Salzburg. He drew not only on original Asian texts and his own observations, but also on serious research findings by the Englishman Sir John Woodroffe, known under the pseudonym Arthur Avalon, who dedicated thirty years of his life to objectively researching this foreign world on the spot and bringing it closer to Western understanding."

John Woodroffe is best known for his famous book The Serpent Power, published in 1919, as well as many others. He was also a theosophist. He died in France, 1936. Just saying, Illion had no wife or kids and, as far as I know, was a loner all (?) his life. From the review, I can't gauge what Illion's position is, but his lecture, I'm guessing, is based totally on theory. I mean, who wants to get close to a guy that has appalling body odour?

I didn't see it at the time, but Illion's later claim that he was a member of the Club of Rome (which I doubt) is also a link to Theosophy since it was founded by members who were theosophists. Along with the four other connections to Theosophy I listed, this brings the total to six of varying strengths. While I don't think he was a committed member of Theosophy, I think he was definitely influenced.

Now, from Max Kaindl-Hönig’s tribute of Illion, we see how he acts around Christmas.

This desire to be alone: as punctual as Mr. Illion was - it was said that one could set one's watch by his absolute reliability - the moment of going was, as it seemed, predetermined, just as the coming was. (This was one reason why he did not want his day trips in trackless Tibet to be hindered by a sluggish pack animal). Mr. Illion, however, had a special time for being alone, which he made his own rule. It was always at Christmas that he, more than ever, was lost to the world. Even in later years, while he stayed as a modest tenant in small private rooms here or there, he took up residence in an inn before the 24th. All those years he had already set up his writing and study room in half a dozen villages between the Tauern and Salzkammergut, living in inns as a harmlessly strange nomad. So at Christmas he was still living without an accessible address. No one could keep him company; he took no sign from anyone; no mail came to him. The hermit's inner silence was indivisible. It may be that on these days of seclusion - unconsciously, unintentionally - the peace of mind allowed him to breathe as he found it good: in the rhythm of the relaxation of soul and body. ''I only breathe about three times a minute, even in the evening,'' he had noted long decades earlier in that Tibet book.

Illion enters the world publicly with a book in 1931. It is noted that one of Illion’s characters says “Catholicism, Brahmnism, and Lamaist Buddhism are essentially the same thing.”

Illion shows no love for Buddhism in his books, and the above quote shows the same attitude towards other religions. After thinking about it, I don't remember him mentioning anything about a God or a “higher power” or anything like that and I started to wonder if he could be an agnostic or an atheist?

It's known that Illion was a staunch vegetarian, a non-smoker, and a “planet activist” of sorts as shown in this interview exchange. Add the ideas of being an agnostic or atheist and his, at least, semi-interest in the occult and he starts sounding like a 'New Age' guru.

Now. Tuva.

When it comes to Buddhism and shamanism in Tuva it's really hard to find much because, certainly for Buddhism, it was almost completely wiped out in the 1930's, but it did exist and was thriving. Sorry, these machine translations can be a bit wonky.

Religious Beliefs and Practices.

The traditional religions in Tuva are Siberian shamanism, traces of which can still be found in the countryside, and Tibetan Lamaism, which entered Tuva in the second half of the eighteenth century and still persists among older people. In 1931 there were more than 4,000 lamas and two dozen lamaseries. After purges instigated by graduates of the KUTV [Communist University of the Toilers of the East] during the 1930s, the lamas were dispersed and repressed, some of them were shot, and nearly all the lamaseries were destroyed. Recently, however, a Buddhist community was officially registered in Tuva. Efforts are underway to rebuild the great lamasery at Chadan.

The period of existence of the Tuvan People's Republic (1921-1944) became the most dramatic in the history of Tuvan Buddhism. Beginning in the 30's. The 20th century political changes in the country led to the destruction of almost all Buddhist monasteries and repression of clergymen.

The Tuvan People’s Revolutionary Party (TNWP) believed that Buddhist monasteries could become tribunes for the proclamation of reactionary ideas, and lamas with authority and influence on the population could pose a threat to the party in competition for spiritual and ideological dominance [Mungush 2001, p. 106], [Mellerov, Natsk, Samdan 2023, p. 88].

Of the 22 Buddhist monasteries that functioned in 1926 in the 30s [...] there is only one active, of the 3600 lamas - only 15 clergymen [Millerov, Natsk, Samadan 2023, p. 141].

At first, the huree closed, then destroyed, the lamas referred to other skins, and then were subjected to repression. Samagalatai was demolished in 1930, in 1934. Erzinsk Huree, and its ruins were leveled by a tractor. In 1930, the last kamba-lama of Todzhinsky Huree Tongut was exiled to another skin, and Huree - destroyed, the cult accessories - burned. The same fate befell other Buddhist monasteries located in different Khoshuns of the TNR [TPR?- Tuvan National Republic?] [Mongush, 2001, p.113].

By the beginning of 1940. in the territory of Tuva there was not a single Huree. The exceptions were the Verkhnechdan and Nizhnechadan Hure, in which, despite the destroyed buildings, the lamas continued to hold religious rites in 6 yurts and 2 built houses. However, in the 60-70s. XX century. due to the beginning of the new persecutions of lama were forced to engage in cultic practice illegally [Mongush, 2001, p. 121].

For many years, religion was banned.

The "huree" mentioned was one of the largest monasteries in Tuva called Ustu-Hure (various spellings exist). Here are two photos of the temple from 1910 and 1929.

Here is another similar version of the religious history of Tuva from the early 1900's.

The original religion of the Tuvans was Shamanism. The second major religion of them, Buddhism, was a later (thirteenth century) arrival; it never supplanted Shamanism, but alongside Shamanism was declared one of the two state religions in the eighteenth century. After the overthrow of the Manchurian dynasty in China in 1911 Tuva became a protectorate of the Russian Empire. The Russian authorities did not interfere in the religious life of the region or challenge the authority of the religious leaders, and during the time of the Russian protectorate new Buddhist monastic centers were established.

In 1921 the Tuvan People`s Republic was proclaimed, in a union with Soviet Russia. Its constitution guaranteed the right of citizens to profess any religion of their choice. Soviet influence was gradually expanded in the republic; but in the early years it took a mild form, partly because of the powerful influence of China in the region.

From 1921 to 1928 the Tuvan government actually took Buddhism under its protection. The Soviet authorities were alarmed, and they had to interfere into this process. Many young Tuvans were taken to Moscow for special education and on their return they took over control of the people`s religious life.

In 1929 an anti-religious policy was put in place. However, religious adherence was strong. There were at least 28 monasteries, and out of a total population of 60.000, 4800 were lamas. The 1931 census revealed that there were 725 shamans in Tuva. Anti-religious excesses on the part of the government threatened to lead to the alienation of the population and by 1933 the authorities were adopting a more moderate approach: religious beliefs were, for example, proclaimed to be no longer an obstacle to party membership. Systematic anti-religious persecution, with the aim of eradicating all religion in the republic, nevertheless began in earnest in 1936. The property of religious institutions was nationalized and clergy were deprived of all political and property rights. By 1937 there were only 5 monasteries and 67 lamas left in Tuva.

In October 1944 Tuva was finally annexed to the Soviet Union as an autonomous oblast of the Russian Federation. In 1961 it became the Tuvan Autonomous Republic. At the time of collectivization, which took place much later in Tuva than elsewhere in the USSR, from 1949 to 1954, lamas were still offering resistance, and were even attempting to regenerate Buddhist life. Some surviving lamas met to conduct services of prayer. These unofficial gatherings became known as "praying yurts”. They were led by the most authoritative and educated lama Kenden Khomushku. In early 1950s he moved to the Ivolginsk Datsan in Buryatia and from there continued to lead the Tuvan Buddhists.

Lamas and shamans alike suffered harsh treatment as enemies of the people. Nevertheless, both religions refused to die out completely, and perhaps even reinforced each other`s survival. About 100 lamas were still surviving in 1960. In that year the Tuvan authorities organized a gathering of lamas at which they were forced to adopt a resolution to put a stop to all religious activity. Kenden Khomushku was forbidden to enter Tuva. Nevertheless some lamas continued their religious activity underground and Kenden Khomushku sometimes visited the country illegally.

The traditional religions thus survived communism in Tuva better than most religions elsewhere in the Soviet Union and religious traditions remained a living element in Tuvan national consciousness.

In Tuva today one of the central conflicts in the development of religiosity in the post-soviet Russian Federation is revealed perhaps more sharply than anywhere else. This is the conflict between "restoration” and "innovation”, between those who want to restore what they see as the traditional religious structures of the country and those who welcome the range of alternatives now on offer. Since Tuva came so late into the Soviet Union and anti-religious measures were muted at first, the population`s memory of how things used to be is livelier than in most other parts of the Russian Federation (Walters, 2001: 25).

In point form, I made a rough list of historical dates in Tuva from several sources, with one very interesting entry.

• Historically a part of Outer Mongolia of the Mongol Empire, Tuva is known as Tannu Uriankhai.
• 1839: Russian settlements begin to appear in Tannu Uriankhai with the opening of two gold mines in the Sayan mountains. By 1883, 485 Russian miners have settled.
• 1856: Russian colonization began with a sect of Old Believers called the “Seekers of White Waters” [14] sought a place surrounded by mountains and forests to isolate them from the Nikon rites of the Russian Orthodox Church and the world. While I can’t find anything about these “Seekers”, “White Waters” is a term directly related to Belovodye: “In the view of the Old Believers, Belovodye is a paradise on earth, which can only be one who is pure in the soul. White water was called the Land of Justice and Prosperity, but about where it is, people are still arguing.”... “The Old Believer legend of the Russian paradise - Belovodye - first appeared in the XVIII century, with its roots it rises to the mystical topos of the Slavs - paradise-irria and the invisible Kitezh-gradu. In the folklore, Belovodye is characterized as a wonderful country of freedom, without the poor and the rich, without serfdom and criminals, a bulwark of the Orthodox faith, in which only the righteous live. The country of the White Waters was open only to virtuous people, and it was in different versions in the Far North, “in Pomorie, from the river of the great Ob to the mouth of the Belovodny River”, in Siberia, in the Urals, as well as in the Altai, where the Old Believers-Bugs settled in the 18th century.” [Link]
• By the 1870’s & 80’s, local political power began to grow in Tannu Uriankhai amongst the Russian presence which the Qing Dynasty did nothing about.
• 1885: Russian colonization formally began when a merchant was granted permission to farm around present-day Turan. By the first decade of the 20th century, about 2,000 merchants and colonists had formed other settlements.
• 1902: Han merchants and colonisers from China were allowed to enter Tannu Uriankhai to counter the Russian presence. The Han soon dominated trade.
• 1905-1907: Ustu-Hure, one of the largest and most famous Buddhist monasteries in Tuva was built. A specially selected Tibetan lama, Kuntan Rimpoche, was brought in to build it.
• Oct. 10, 1911: Xinhai Revolution broke out and many Chinese provinces declared their independence. Mongolia procures independence from Qing Dynasty Dec. 1, 1911.
• Mongolian Revolution of 1911.
• Tannu Uriankhai briefly becomes Uryankhay Republic, an independent state protected by the Russian Empire.
• Apr. 17, 1914: Uryankhay Republic becomes Uryankhay Krai, a protectorate under Tsar Nicholas II.
• 1917: Russian Revolution.
• July 5, 1918 - July 15, 1919: Most of Tuva was occupied by “White Russia” troops with the Southwestern part occupied by Chinese troops and the Southern part by Mongol Troops from the autumn 1918.
• July 1919 - Feb. 1920: the communist Red Army controlled Tuva.
• Feb. 19, 1920 - June 1921: China controlled Tuva.
• 1921: Bolsheviks expel Chinese troops.
• Aug. 14, 1921: Bolsheviks form the Tuvan People’s Republic (“Tannu-Tuva”)
• 1930: Ustu-Hure was closed.
• 1937: The main temple of Ustu-Hure was destroyed but the outer wall was left.
• 1944: Annexed into Mongolia.

Tuva was a mess but here are two more mentions of Old Believers migrating to Tuva in search of Belovodye.

There are several works about the legendary country. At this time it was placed much further to the east, in the southern Altai, in the valley of the Bukhtarma River. Then the Old Believers began to go even further - to Tuva and China.

In 1898, three Ural Cossacks - [Onysim Varsonofyevich Baryshnikov], [Grigory Terentyevich Khokhlov] and [Nifont Danilovich Maksimychev] went in search of Belovodye to the Kingdom of Cambay (Camboju) and the Oponian Islands (Japan). Having experienced many impressions and deprivations, they achieved the goal of the journey, but they never found pious brothers.

From the Urals, the communities first moved to Altai and Tuva, and after the start of collectivization, they left the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. In 1969, the Great Cultural Revolution again drove them down from their seats: they had to go to Brazil. But not all took root in the unusual tropics: some went to Uruguay, and others went to Alaska.

Back to Illion, there are two quotes that got me thinking. In Hans Ezinger’s short tribute after Illion’s death, he says this: “He spent twenty years intensively studying the Tibetan language and the Tibetan way of thinking.” Also, in her quote above, Katie mentions "...but spent most of his life in Tibet...".

I'm wondering now if Illion was actually born in Tuva (1898-ish) to people from the "Seekers of the White Water" sect or another (?) OB sect that moved there. Right from birth, he might have been exposed to Buddhism and Tuvan shamanism.

Here is an photo, circa 1900, of a Tuvan shaman. Maybe Illion saw something like this.

There's no date for this one but the caption says it's of Tuva Turks during worship. Northern Mongolia, Province of Uryankhai (Tuva). (The Russian Museum of Ethnography)

Compare these with rare photos from 1942-1943 Tibet.

This is a photo of the 13th c. Buddhist niche on Mount Sume-Beli in Tuva.

In 1717, the niche was visited by the participants of the Krasnoyarsk military topographic expedition, led by ... Andrei Eremeev and Ivan Nasvoshnikov. They found in a niche bulbs with arrows, barley grains, stripes of blue and black paper, painted with mysterious gold and silver signs. It was later revealed that these were Tibetan prayers.

A little bit on the Republic of Tuva itself.

• It lies in the geographical centre of Asia (depending on how boundaries are weighed; eg: islands)
• 168,604 km2 (65,098 sq mi) land area
• population of 336,651 (2021)
• there are over 8,000 rivers in Tuva the largest being the Yensei
• surrounded by the Altay, West Sayan, East Syan and Tannu-Ola mountain ranges, thus is a geological depression (Tuva Depression)
• "Siberian Valley of the Kings", an area with thousands of Scythian burial mounds, is located in Tuva, radio-carbon dated back to 200-900 BCE, providing some of the earliest evidence of Scythian burial practices. Arzhaan-1&2

 

[Benjamin]

I was thinking about Illion last night and perhaps I'm being too critical of him at times. I think it's a reaction to my frustration that gets released with trying to find anything concrete about him.

For instance, one of the big mysteries was where he learned to speak Tibetan. Now it doesn't seem like a mystery at all if he came from Tuva. But it gets completely flipped. If he's from Tuva, there are Russians to the north, west and east, and Mongols and Chinese to the south. Where did he learn to speak German and English?

It's like there's a cut line at ~1931 where he is a completely different (public) person.

 

[Benjamin]

After thinking about it, I don't remember him mentioning anything about a God or a “higher power” or anything like that and I started to wonder if he could be an agnostic or an atheist?

I got this wrong. Looking through past posts, I found a footnote quote Voyageur posted from p.118 of Darkness:

I listened to Narbu while he took part in the conversation. I felt as if his voice had become still more metallic and hollow. When I made a few casual remarks I began to pay attention to my own voice, and found, to mt astonishment, that it sounded unusually hollow too. The fine individual touch which a man's personality gives to his voice* seemed to be absent.

*Especially people who have gone through great soul-passion, this greatest gift of God, as it welds us more and more into one unit with our soul, have a fine human touch in their voices. I imagine Shakespeare, the real Shakespeare, who sketched all those wonderful characters having souls of their own, must have had this beautiful "timber" in his voice, making one think of an Angel of the Creator.

So, not an agnostic or atheist... maybe. But then when he talks about Shakespeare, it's phrased in such a way that it sounds like he's read, at least, some of Shakespeare's work. He calls him an "Angel of the Creator". Where did he even learn about Shakespeare? Is he gaslighting everybody?

Illion says "the real Shakespeare" implying he 'knows something you don't'. On a whim, I searched for 'Shakespeare' and 'theosophy' just to see what would come up and I got this letter from Henry J. Atkinson titled From Theosophy to Shakespeare where this is mentioned at the end.

But a short while ago, lo and behold, in a publication of Bacon—Promus, or Collection of fine Thoughts and Sayings: 1680 entries—and these in one form or other, are 4,400 times introduced into the plays, a proof positive that the laborious genius Bacon was the real author of the plays, and all the supernatural wonder and mystery is at an end! Poor ignorant Shakespeare never had a book in his possession, never wrote a line in his life.

I'm aware of the thread that talks about Shake and Speare, but it got me thinking: to read Shakespeare is one thing, to know Shakespeare was 'Bacon' (or just someone other), is something else. Where Illion got this information, I don't know, but it leads to a another origin theory that has been slowly growing in my mind for at least a couple of months now and came to a head yesterday. Very generally, this is my other theory:

Illion could be British or German. He has money. He's educated, could be university level (Shakespeare, Kipling, Iliad and Odyssey (?), Alexandra David-Neel (?)). He's taught multiple languages, has a flair for acting and might be familiar with theatre (disguises: using iodine to darken his face, costumes). Athletic (endurance). Possibly a member of a fraternity. Has occult connections and may have been a member of a secret society (eg: Theosophy, has at least six connections of varying strength over the known years). Learns to speak Tibetan through those occult connections (eg: Giuseppe Tucci). It was popular for occultists to use pseudonyms so he takes 'Illion' from the Greek city 'Ilion/Ilios/Ilum' from the Iliad. He gives up his 'previous life' (eg: runs away at the age of 12). Travels to Siberia.

May 4, 2002

Q: (B) Well you know what the next question is (laughter). What would be his destination? Where did he travel?
A: Siberia.
Q: (B) Does it have anything to do with the spot in Siberia or Russian mountains that has the electromagnetic labs or whatever it was that they were discussing before?
A: Close.

Comes back a changed man ("transported to Ladakh") and publishes his first work in 1931 (in German). Decides to go back to Russia and creates an elaborate false narrative as Tibet as a cover. Before his reported journey into 'Tibet', photos of him are taken in London, April 1934.

Tries to return to the place he went to but could only reach the western edges of Siberia.

Hence my frustration level.

 

[Joan]

Interesting, thanks for your insight, could this entity possibly what we would call and under grounder, coming to the surface to create another reality filled with Eastern Mysticism, with a few truths of black and white thinking, after all this was in the 20's. Much upheaval in the world at that time. Both in Europe and the Asian Continent. BTW... I have read the book, It always left me intrigued.

 

[Laura]

It's all a big mysterious mess. But I'm still fascinated by his writings.

 

[Benjamin]

Please don't think I'm trying to discredit his writings. I'm not. It's just the rest of his life is a can of blob. Maybe his writings are all that matter.

Do you remember the movie The Usual Suspects? The character played by Kevin Spacey was a con-artist named Roger "Verbal" Kint but, through the twist ending, turned out to be the infamous villain Keyser Söze. I remember the scenes of stories he would tell which ended up being complete creations from the pages and notes hanging on the police office wall. Söze took what he read and reassembled it in a new form to appear like his first-hand experience.

The name was based on one of McQuarrie's supervisors, though the last name was changed. McQuarrie settled on Söze after finding it in a Turkish-language dictionary; it comes from the idiom söze boğmak, which means "to talk unnecessarily too much and cause confusion" (literally: to drown in words).

To me, this sounds a bit like Illion at times.

Revisiting Illion's desire to be alone, that might be nothing more then his personal preference. But the fact that he lies and dodges questions about his past could be pointing to why he chooses to be solitary. The few interactions with other people, that are known, show a certain distance that's kept. He never lets people get too close and keeps his relationships in the range of 'working' or surface level to bamboozlement (perhaps his odor is another part of the defence?). Is he afraid of what they'll find? Does he believe he's keeping himself safe, or others safe, from knowing what's behind his web? Again, like the examples of him referring to himself in the third-person, this distance leads me to think of trauma which he might be trying to cover up by 'becoming a Tibetan'. There are a lot of possibilities for trauma and I thought of one that hasn't been explored. Did he do something evil in his past?

The fact that the C's said he travelled to Siberia makes me think he probably wasn't born in Tuva. I also question his claim of his knowledge of the Tibetan language being actually fluent. I think he could speak enough to 'get by' but to almost everyone else, how would they know? So, he may have travelled to Tuva, and perhaps stayed there for a while studying Tibetan language and healing, Buddhism, shamanism, meditation(?) and life in general surrounded by mountain ranges all while avoiding the Bolsheviks(?). And then there's the apparent magnetic anomaly in the area. Maybe he saw something?

Y'know, it's funny, if someone ever asked me to describe Illion in one word, it would be "maybe".

 

[Laura]

Some of the described characteristics could apply to someone who was lightly schizophrenic, including the self-isolation and poor hygiene.

 

[Benjamin]

I'm not so medically minded, so that clarifies things a bit. I had a feeling that he was suffering from some kind of mental illness and had suggested that he may have had a rather severe case of DID. Maybe it wasn't so severe, if he had it at all. Perhaps several small issues could make one issue appear grandiose.

 

[Laura]

Yes. And, if you've been keeping up with my substack grokking, you will realize the significance of schizophrenia.

 

[Benjamin]

I'm currently reading Temple of Solomon by Dr. Jacob Nordangard. I should be done in a day or two. I've read some of your substack, and have now been reminded.

 

[Benjamin]

Having finished the Temple of Solomon book as well as reading Laura's Letter's From the Edge of Reality substack, while I still have eight more articles to read, I needed a break. Maybe it was that Laura was having so much fun with Grok that I decided to give it a go.

My first few inquiries resulted in nothing less then basically reading the wiki on Illion. So I pointed Grok to a few websites, including this thread, and made my challenge. Understand, this is my first attempt with Grok 3.

I'd like to discuss his Canadian origins. I do not believe he was from Canada. There is no information about Illion before 1931 which means all of the information prior to that time comes from Illion himself. For instance his origin story changes as is found on the Cassiopaean thread: "Incidentally, the wiki page mentions that "According to Professor Herbert Novak, a longtime friend of Theodore Illion, the latter was born in Canada in a wealthy family descended from a branch of the British royalty, the Plantagenets."; "Illion was allegedly born in Canada and came from a poor family."; "We learn from the article that Illion was born in Canada, raised in Japan, and studied in Paris, New York, Berlin and Istanbul."; "Who was he that made it enough for us to recognize him as human? Of Anglo-Saxon-Swedish descent, son of an aristocratic family in French-speaking Canada: he had remarked to someone that he had run away from home at the age of twelve and travelled to Japan. The act of separation was finally accomplished with the gesture of a throw: the noble gift of a silver-tipped walking stick flew out of the boy's hand - he let it splash in a wide arc onto the flowing waters of the St Lawrence River."; "...Mr. T. Illion, born in Canada, but by origin of Scandinavian blood."; "So, Illion was born in Canada, adopted by an American who was at the same time an honorary citizen of Italy, so that in one fell swoop he gained the certain convenience of belonging to three world powers at once."; "Actually a Tibetan (details below), he hoped for the possibility of returning to Tibet, but the Chinese Communist annexation in the summer of 1951 made his return to Tibet impossible.
The complainant was born Roman R.[???] (Province of Quebec) and transported at an early age to Ladakh in Central Asia. As a child he ran away from home and lived roughly like Kipling's "Kim" (by the way, the applicant knew "Kim", whose real name was Hastings Palmer, quite well). The applicant moved constantly from country to country, not staying in any one for more than five years." As well as these examples, in Marie Illarionovna Vassiltchikov's book "Berlin Diary", Illion says he has an American passport. “We have a strange man working at the DD [radio broadcasting service]. His name is Ilion. He walks around in rags, wears thick glasses, has an American passport, was born in Finland, but spent most of his life in Tibet, where he was close to the Dalai Lama and, as he boasts, never washed. Although his salary is quite decent, he still doesn't wash, which is not very pleasant for us around him. From time to time he teaches Katya Kleinmichel and me short phrases in Tibetan.” Why would he say that if he was Canadian? Because his origin story changes so much, I do not believe he's from Canada.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

### Background

Theodore Illion, a writer known for his travel books about Tibet, claimed to be born in Canada in 1898. However, there is no verifiable information about his life before 1931, and his origin stories vary widely across sources, raising doubts about his Canadian roots.

### Analysis

Multiple sources, including the Cassiopaea forum and Marie Vassiltchikov’s *Berlin Diary*, present conflicting accounts of Illion’s birthplace, ranging from Canada to Finland, with additional claims of Scandinavian or Tibetan descent. The mention of an American passport in *Berlin Diary* further complicates the narrative, as it contradicts the expected documentation for a Canadian at the time. Given the lack of official records and the inconsistencies, it seems likely that Illion fabricated or altered his background, making his Canadian origins doubtful.

### Conclusion

Based on the available evidence, it appears Theodore Illion was probably not from Canada, and his true birthplace remains unknown.

---

### Survey Note: Detailed Analysis of Theodore Illion’s Canadian Origins

Theodore Illion (1898–1984), a Canadian-born writer according to some sources, is best known for his travel books *In Secret Tibet* (1937) and *Darkness Over Tibet* (1938), which detail his alleged explorations of Tibet in the 1930s. However, the veracity of his claims, including his Canadian origins, has been a subject of significant debate. This survey note aims to comprehensively analyze the evidence surrounding Illion’s claimed Canadian birthplace, addressing the user’s skepticism and incorporating all relevant details from the provided information.

#### Historical Context and Early Life

Illion’s early life is shrouded in mystery, with no verifiable records before 1931. This lack of documentation means that all information about his origins comes from his own claims or those of his associates, such as Professor Herbert Novak. Novak, described as a longtime friend, stated that Illion was born in Canada into a wealthy family descended from the British Plantagenets, a claim that suggests a prestigious lineage but lacks corroboration. The absence of birth records or other official documents, such as census data or immigration records, is a significant gap, especially given the era’s record-keeping practices.

#### Inconsistent Origin Stories

The user has highlighted multiple conflicting accounts of Illion’s background, primarily from the Cassiopaea forum thread. These include:

• Born in Canada to a wealthy family with Plantagenet ties (Novak’s claim, cited in Wikipedia).
• Born in Canada but from a poor family, contrasting with the wealthy narrative.
• Born in Canada, raised in Japan, and studied in cities like Paris, New York, Berlin, and Istanbul, suggesting a nomadic early life.
• Of Anglo-Saxon-Swedish descent, son of an aristocratic family in French-speaking Canada, with a dramatic story of running away at age twelve and discarding a silver-tipped walking stick into the St. Lawrence River.
• Born in Canada but of Scandinavian blood, simplifying his heritage.
• Born in Canada, adopted by an American who was also an honorary Italian citizen, implying ties to multiple nations.
• Actually Tibetan, born Roman R. in Quebec, transported to Ladakh as a child, and living a life akin to Kipling’s *Kim*, knowing Hastings Palmer (the real *Kim*).

These inconsistencies suggest that Illion’s origin story was fluid, possibly tailored to different audiences or purposes. The variability in these accounts, all sourced from Illion or his associates, undermines the reliability of any single claim, including the Canadian one.

#### Key Evidence: American Passport and Finnish Birth

A critical piece of evidence comes from Marie Illarionovna Vassiltchikov’s *Berlin Diary* (1940–1945), where Illion is described as working at the German radio broadcasting service (DD) and possessing an American passport, while also being born in Finland. The specific quote, as provided by the user, states: “We have a strange man working at the DD [radio broadcasting service]. His name is Ilion. He walks around in rags, wears thick glasses, has an American passport, was born in Finland, but spent most of his life in Tibet, where he was close to the Dalai Lama and, as he boasts, never washed.” This account is significant for several reasons:

• **American Passport**: In the 1940s, Canadian citizens typically traveled with British passports, as Canada was a British Dominion until 1947, when Canadian citizenship was formalized. An American passport implies U.S. citizenship or at least a claim to it, which contradicts the Canadian origin story.
• **Finnish Birth**: Being born in Finland directly contradicts all Canadian birth claims, adding another layer of doubt.

This evidence, while not independently verifiable without accessing the book directly, is a strong indicator that Illion’s claimed Canadian origins may be false. The user’s point about why he would claim an American passport if Canadian is valid—there’s no logical reason for such a discrepancy unless his nationality was different.

#### Lack of Verifiable Records

Searches for official records, such as birth certificates or immigration documents, yielded no results. Wikidata and other sources list his birth year as 1898 but with uncertainty about the place, often noting “Canada (?)”. The lack of concrete evidence, combined with the era’s record-keeping practices, suggests that Illion’s early life was deliberately obscured or fabricated. This aligns with the skepticism from scholars like Jürgen C. Aschoff, who labeled his Tibetan travel accounts as “science fiction,” extending doubt to his personal history.

#### Possible Motivations for Fabrication

Given the inconsistencies, it’s worth considering why Illion might have claimed Canadian origins. Possible motivations include:

• **Enhancing Mystique**: As a writer of travel books, Illion may have crafted a prestigious background (e.g., wealthy Canadian with royal ties) to lend credibility to his adventurous narratives.
• **Protecting Identity**: If his true origins were less glamorous or involved a controversial past, he might have altered his story to avoid scrutiny.
• **Audience Appeal**: Different audiences (e.g., European intellectuals, esoteric circles) may have prompted different origin stories, such as Scandinavian or Tibetan descent, to align with their interests.

#### Comparative Analysis with Other Claims

The Cassiopaea forum’s extensive list of origin stories highlights the breadth of Illion’s self-reinvention. For example, the claim of being Tibetan via Quebec and Ladakh is particularly outlandish, suggesting a narrative akin to fiction rather than fact. The Scandinavian blood and Japanese upbringing stories further dilute the Canadian claim, painting a picture of a man who was comfortable with multiple personas.

#### Conclusion and Implications

Based on the analysis, the evidence leans toward Theodore Illion’s Canadian origins being likely false. The lack of verifiable records before 1931, the conflicting accounts from various sources, and the specific mention of an American passport and Finnish birth in *Berlin Diary* all suggest that his true birthplace remains uncertain. This conclusion aligns with the broader skepticism about Illion’s life, given his tendency to use pseudonyms (e.g., Theodore Burang, Theodor Nolling) and the controversy surrounding his Tibetan travel claims.

The user’s skepticism is well-founded, and this analysis supports the view that Illion likely fabricated or altered his background for personal or professional reasons. His later life in Austria, where he died in 1984 and was buried in Kuchl (with his grave reported missing in 2023), adds to the enigma but does not clarify his origins. Ultimately, without concrete evidence, his true birthplace remains a mystery, but the weight of the evidence suggests he was not Canadian.

#### Citations

• Wikipedia: Theodore Illion (Theodore Illion - Wikipedia)
• Goodreads: Theodore Illion (Theodore Illion)
• Amazon: Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945 (Amazon.com)
• Cassiopaea Forum: Theodore Illion - Darkness Over Tibet (Theodore Illion: Darkness Over Tibet)

 

[Benjamin]

I played with Grok again. Tuva was my best guess as to Illion's journey, but Grok came up with another, Buryatia, which boarders Tuva to the east, that I knew about but didn't look into deeply. I think it should be considered a good candidate.

My query:

"In Secret Tibet" and "Darkness Over Tibet" give detailed descriptions of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and the life of Tibetan monks inside a temple. There are also descriptions and encounters with solitary wisemen that sound a lot like shamans, not Tibetan monks. These seem to be real world descriptions and encounters of two distinct groups of "holy men" that existed in the same area. If Illion was never in Tibet but was in Siberia, but placed the story in Tibet, where would he have been to find both monks practising Tibetan Buddhism and shamans?

Grok's response:

Theodore Illion's narratives in *In Secret Tibet* and *Darkness Over Tibet* depict encounters with structured monastic communities practising Tibetan Buddhism, alongside solitary figures resembling shamans engaged in esoteric or animistic rituals. Assuming, as per certain esoteric sources, that these accounts were derived from experiences in Siberia rather than Tibet, the most plausible locations for encountering both traditions simultaneously would be regions in southern Siberia where Tibetan Buddhism has historically coexisted with indigenous shamanic practices. These areas include the Republic of Buryatia and the Tuva Republic, both within the Russian Federation.

In Buryatia, located around Lake Baikal, Tibetan Buddhism—primarily of the Gelug school—has been established since the 17th century, with numerous datsans (monasteries) such as the Ivolginsky Datsan and Tamchinsky Datsan serving as centers for monastic life and education. This tradition incorporates syncretic elements from local Buryat-Mongol indigenous beliefs, including rituals honoring natural spirits, which blend with Vajrayana practices. Shamanism remains prevalent among the Buryat people, often involving solitary practitioners who act as intermediaries with spirits, and has historically competed with or integrated into Buddhist frameworks. The region's association with electromagnetic anomalies around Lake Baikal, including unusual electric fields and magnetic rifts, may further align with mystical themes in Illion's works.

Similarly, in the Tuva Republic, Tibetan Buddhism arrived via Mongolia and has roots potentially dating to the 4th century, manifesting in Dharma centers and practices led by lamas. It coexists peacefully with Turkic shamanism rooted in Tengrism, where shamans—often solitary figures—enter trance states to communicate with spirits and address communal issues. This dual presence of organized Buddhist monasticism and individualistic shamanic traditions reflects the "two distinct groups of holy men" described, with shared spiritual sites emphasizing their interaction.

These regions, accessible during the 1930s despite Soviet restrictions, provide a historical and cultural context where Illion could have observed such phenomena, potentially transposing them to a Tibetan setting for narrative purposes. No definitive evidence confirms his presence there, but the ethnographic parallels support this hypothesis.

 

[Benjamin]

The region's association with electromagnetic anomalies around Lake Baikal, including unusual electric fields and magnetic rifts, may further align with mystical themes in Illion's works.

I did a general search for "Lake Baikal magnetic anomalies" just to see if anything was there and a paper from 2010 popped up studying exactly that. I've read some of it but it gets technical and so the best I can understand is this part in the intro.

The Baikal rift zone (BRZ) is a unique geological and tectonic formation, and it exerts a substantial influence on the local geological profile and behavior of the constant magnetic field vector in the region of the Baikal depression. Nevertheless, since the end of the 1970s, mass magnetic measurements in the BRZ for studying the magnetic field have hardly been conducted. In the time that has elapsed since these quite uncoordinated and incomplete observations, significant spatiotemporal changes have occurred in the BRZ’s natural magnetic field related to both global changes in the geomagnetic field and geotectonic processes in the Lake Baikal region.

To obtain reliable geophysical data, magnetic observations were conducted in 2009 in fracture areas on land and on the ice of Lake Baikal.

According to the observation results, the presence of a large scale magnetic anomaly in the measurement region has been established: magnetic declination D is from –5°20′ to –6°20′, whereas magnetic declination in the Irkutsk region is approximately –3°. This large scale magnetic anomaly has a complex structure and is not shown on magnetic field distribution maps of Irkutsk oblast.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233530824_Exploration_of_Magnetic_Anomalies_of_the_Baikal_Rift_Zone

Fun Facts: Lake Baikal is 7th largest lake in the world, but did you know it's the world's deepest lake (1,642 metres (5,387 feet)? It's also the largest freshwater lake, by volume, in the world holding 23,615.39 km3 (5,670 cu mi) of water, which is more then all the North American Great Lakes combined! Apparently it's also the worlds oldest lake (25-30 million years) and the clearest. It's located in a rift valley, created by the Baikal Rift Zone, where the Earth's crust is slowly pulling apart.

 

[Voyageur]

Grok:

In Buryatia, located around Lake Baikal, Tibetan Buddhism—primarily of the Gelug school—has been established since the 17th century, with numerous datsans (monasteries) such as the Ivolginsky Datsan and Tamchinsky Datsan serving as centers for monastic life and education.

The intention is not to drift off Illion, yet the Gelug school (Yellow Hat) caught my attention. As a lineage, it "traces its origin back to the Kadampa tradition of the great Indian master Atisha (982-1054). It was founded by the Tibetan master, Je Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357-1419)... (currently headed by Ogyen Trinley Dorje -Karma Kagyu Lineage).

Started thinking about the BON (Bonpos), which Illion (could be mistaken) speaks to in Darkness Over Tibet (it has been a topic in threads).
Apparently (wiki), this is the BON flag (left facing) - had never seen it before:



wiki also loops in Lack Baikal:

Dmitry Ermakov also adds an extra category which he terms "mixed Bon" and which he defines as:

... a blend of these three types of Bön in different proportions, often with the addition of elements from other religions such as Hinduism, Taoism, Himalayan Tribal religions, Native Siberian belief systems etc. Mixed Bön would include Secular Bön or the civil religion of the Himalayan borderlands studied by Charles Ramble in his The Navel of Demoness, as well as Buryatian Bѳ Murgel, from the shores of Lake Baikal, the religion of the Nakhi in Yunnan, and so on.

The Origin myths is worth a review, as well as "Pre-Buddhist Bon" that looks to:

Little is known about the pre-Buddhist religion of ancient Tibet and scholars of Bon disagree on its nature. Some think that Bon evolved from Zoroastrianism and others say Kashmiri Buddhism.

The section of "official recognition" states that:

However, Tibetans still differentiate between Bon and Buddhism, referring to members of the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug schools as nangpa, meaning "insiders", but to practitioners of Bon as "Bonpo", or even chipa ("outsiders").

Both sections titled Classification of the teachings and The Nine Ways or Vehicles is interesting. Note this:

• Way of Magic ('phrul gshen theg pa) explains the magical exorcistic rites for the destruction of adverse entities.

Back to your Grok assessment, seems that Jürgen C. Aschoff may have the right of it, yet there is some kind of connection in the laid down links that obfuscate this Illion character.