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00:00Since the dawn of civilization, the powerful have conspired to twist the course of history, to suit their own designs.
00:11Like puppeteers, a few shadowy figures could still be pulling their strings of destiny for billions.
00:18Those who cry conspiracy are usually mocked at, for sometimes the truth is so obvious it goes unnoticed.
00:25Are those merely paranoid fantasies cooked up to feed the appetite of paperback readers and web surfers, but which bear
00:34no relation to reality?
00:35Or are we living out some perfectly executed plan?
00:39Wars, revolutions, social movements, terrorist attacks.
00:45Everything is given an official explanation.
00:48But perhaps nothing is what it seems to be.
00:50Let's dare to unveil the incredible world of secret societies.
00:57Freemasonry, mother of all secret societies.
01:00Perhaps the most suspected and persecuted organization of all time.
01:04And this in spite of the fact that there are few, very few people who truly know what it's all
01:09about.
01:10Is it really, as its critics say, the hidden power behind the most important world events?
01:15Or is it, as we can see today, a slightly decadent social club with childish rituals?
01:20How did this antique secret society that still boasts more than 6 million brethren get started?
01:27What are its real objectives?
01:29How has it influenced world events for more than 12 centuries?
01:32And more important still, how is it influencing them today?
01:35How is it influencing them today?
02:05Freemasonry defines itself as an innocent fraternity, whose primary objectives is to seek the welfare of humanity through the spiritual
02:13elevation of its members.
02:15But for its critics, it's just a gigantic pyramid of manipulators, with the secret objective of world domination, with unwritten
02:22codes of silence and cooperation reminiscent of the Mafia.
02:26So who's right?
02:29A swift perusal of the history of Freemasonry brings to light certain disquieting characteristics.
02:36Its impenetrable secrecy, the severity of the penalties for those who break their oaths, the general public's ignorance of its
02:45true reach, influence and real purposes.
02:49And most disturbing of all, its obvious participation in many of the key events that have changed the course of
02:57history.
02:57Over the last few centuries.
03:00Secret rituals, obscure symbolism, mysterious objectives, qualities made an easy target, mainly by its arch enemy, the Roman Catholic Church.
03:10And one wonders, are these real reasons to fear Freemasonry?
03:14Or is it all just a matter of groundless accusations, mere incomprehension and prejudice against enlightenment?
03:20Why do the Freemasons still maintain such secrecy if they have nothing to hide?
03:25So how did it all begin?
03:29The origins of Freemasonry go back to the 7th century, when it was founded as a guild of builders, bricklayers
03:36and stonemasons.
03:38Who tried to keep secret their technical knowledge in order to protect their livelihoods.
03:44These Masons were not the construction workers we might picture today, but technical and artistic masters that could undertake the
03:52most prestigious constructions at a time when building technology was limited to a set square, a plumb line and little
03:59else.
03:59The original Masons built cathedrals and castles that endured for centuries, surviving wars, earthquakes, time.
04:08To the common people of those times, such technical accomplishments endowed the Masons with almost magical powers.
04:15Powers that had to be kept secret to outsiders.
04:20Thin columns that still hold graceful, ogival arches with narrow ribs.
04:27Towers of hitherto unimaginable heights that scrape the heavens and inspire God-fearing veneration.
04:34Chambers with perfect acoustics and overhanging gargoyles to scare away evil spirits.
04:41Ratios of strength, beauty and proportion that even today surprise engineers and mathematicians.
04:51The extraordinary knowledge and skills of these men constituted the best kept secret of all time.
05:01The development of projects would take generations to complete, and the accompanying know-how was passed down from father to
05:09son, from teacher to apprentice.
05:13The full preparation of an apprentice took seven years and began when he was only twelve.
05:21After the first three years, there was an initiation ritual, and certain codes and symbols were revealed to him.
05:31Upon completing the seventh year, he would graduate as a fellow of the craft.
05:37Only years later would he qualify as a master mason.
05:45Freemasonry soon acquired a spiritual and ideological dimension that clashed with the value system of its time.
05:51This made it the perfect organization to host ideas considered dangerous, ideas that needed to be kept secret at all
05:58costs.
06:01This earliest manifestation of masonry is known as operative masonry, since its members were active builders.
06:10Though the society was born in the Middle Ages, masons were inspired by much older secret societies, some dating from
06:17pre-Christian times.
06:20Secret societies have existed since the dawn of civilization.
06:24They were formed in order to preserve and defend knowledge that afforded power.
06:29And to transmit and maintain ideas that offended the powers that be.
06:34Ideas whose free and open expression might have brought down a death sentence upon a person who simply dared to
06:41utter them.
06:43A good example was the Pythagoreans, who were organized like a secret society.
06:50Pythagoras was a philosopher who lived in Greece in the 6th century BC, and his discoveries had immense influence on
06:57Masonic thought.
07:01Centuries later, Pythagoras' theorem was of great importance to the operative masons,
07:06as it allowed them, for example, to execute perfectly straight angles.
07:14Pythagoras was pursued and murdered by his enemies, but his knowledge persisted,
07:20and the set square became the emblematic symbol of Freemasonry, that is still used to this day.
07:28Operative masons clearly despised what the clergy had become, just a few centuries after the death of Christ.
07:34A decadent bunch of sinners, too busy looking after their worldly possessions to take time to shepherd the souls of
07:40their flock.
07:41The same feelings were felt for the oppressing nobility, who owned land and life.
07:47The irony was that the Masons, ideological antagonists to the persecutory dogmatism of Rome,
07:53had in the Catholic Church and in nobility their main client.
07:58The old bas-reliefs and ornamentations of Europe's most famous cathedrals,
08:06still bear witness to the sharp humour through which the Masons left evidence of their disagreement with,
08:12and distrust of that omnipresent power.
08:17In the Church of St. Sibald in Nuremberg, there is a tomb showing a monk and a nun, in a
08:24pretty compromising position.
08:26In the Cathedral of Würzburg, replicas are found of the famous Joachim and Boaz columns,
08:34that stood at the entrance of King Solomon's Temple.
08:38They are fundamental symbols of Masonry, together with Hiram Abed, the mythological builder of King Solomon's Temple,
08:46who was murdered because of his refusal to reveal the secret of his art.
08:52A genuine, coded Masonic signature.
08:58But the belief that Freemasonry is an atheistic movement solely because of its hatred of the Catholic Church is completely
09:04misguided.
09:05The Masons simply wanted to have the liberty to worship God in the way they chose,
09:10not in the way dictated to them by Rome.
09:14To be accepted into the Brotherhood, every Mason must believe in a unique supreme being, no matter who it is.
09:23To accommodate for different beliefs, and in line with their origins as builders,
09:28Masons have come to call this being Gau, or Gautu, great architect of the universe.
09:35Its symbol, the all-seeing eye, is inspired by the Egyptian eye of Horus.
09:43The Regius manuscript on display at the British Museum is an anonymous poem on the subject of moral duties,
09:50and is dated around 1390.
09:53It is the oldest known Masonic document, written in poetry,
09:57and lists fifteen commandments, among which can be read,
10:01to be honest and speak true,
10:04not to steal or protect thieves or murderers,
10:08to be wise and strong,
10:11and to be able to do all jobs,
10:13not to speak evil of the work of other masters,
10:16to teach the apprentices that their art is always worthy,
10:20to conceal neither falsehoods nor others in sin.
10:26The feudal age came to a close,
10:28and the Catholic Church stopped being the Mason's major client.
10:32It was then that this original guild of spiritually free bricklayers
10:35turned into a powerful and influential secret society,
10:39open to all men who wanted to accept its rules,
10:42and would take an oath to keep its secrets.
10:44It was called Freemasonry, or Free and Accepted Masons.
10:48Soon it would be the key protagonist in some of the most important events in history.
11:22The DSM is in the context of the
11:24masons were upholders of ideals of liberty that naturally brought them into conflict with those
11:29who were both their best clients and their oppressors, the Catholic Church and the European
11:34monarchies. Over time they evolved into a powerful secret society that attracted some of the most
11:39influential figures in history and came to be known as the Freemasonry or free and accepted
11:45masons, a secret society that still operates today. The name free and accepted masons was born when
11:55the original operative masonry transformed itself into a wider secret society in a period that lasted
12:02from the end of the middle ages to the renaissance. Free makes reference to the fact that no slave
12:08or bondsman could join and accepted implies that the member is accepted despite not being a builder.
12:17Though the structure and ceremonial rites of the original masons has remained shrouded in secrecy
12:23it is known that they were based on the Egyptian liturgy of sacrodotal initiation,
12:28the death and resurrection of Osiris, the renunciation of the indifference to a previous life.
12:34Above all Freemasonry expects its brethren to die spiritually and be reborn as new superior men.
12:40Even today these original rituals are repeated in an almost identical fashion.
12:47First, the profane is led to the chamber of reflection, a room painted black with a table,
12:56a stool and a desk. Upon the table there is a jug of water, some bread and two cups.
13:02One filled with sulfur, the other with salt. On the walls are the symbols, the sickle,
13:11the sand cone, the rooster and the letters V-I-T-R-I-O-L, which is an acronym for
13:23the Latin alchemical phrase.
13:25Visita interiora, terai rectificando in Viennes occultum latina.
13:34Visit the interior parts of the earth. By rectification, thou shalt find the hidden stone.
13:43An invitation to an inner search of the depths of the human soul, in silence and meditation.
13:52The profane answers the questions. What does man owe to God?
13:58What does man owe to himself? What does man owe to others? And he draws his last will.
14:10Blindfolded, the candidate is divested of all metallic substances,
14:16since metal represents civilization, and stands neither naked nor clothed,
14:25and similarly with his right leg uncovered, as a sign of humility.
14:31His left shoe is removed, also a sign of humility.
14:38And a cable toe is placed round his neck, as a symbol of what binds him to the profane in
14:43the world.
14:48After overcoming the tests, the blindfold is removed, and he receives the light.
14:55Finally, he takes an oath to the great architect of the universe, over the book of constitutions.
15:01A bible with a set square, and a compass on top of it, are also used.
15:07Because Freemasons do not deny the existence of God, they simply reject ecclesiastical institutions.
15:14The oath is written on a paper, that is later burned.
15:20When he receives the light, the candidate is initiated, and the brethren point at him,
15:26with swords, to invest him with positive energies.
15:32In some rites, initiate also receives a sword, to symbolically defend himself,
15:39to protect the lodge, to attack his enemies,
15:43and curiously enough, to avenge the murder of the last great master of the Night's Temple,
15:51Jacques de Molay.
15:54Freemasonry is organised into smaller groups known as lodges.
15:57We have all heard this word a thousand times over, shrouded in mystery and distrust.
16:02The origin of the first lodge is the most intriguing, since it opens the possibility that
16:07Freemasonry might be the continuation of the Order of the Night's Templar,
16:11and its rituals the means to hide a thousand-year-old secret,
16:15the content and destiny of the Night's mythical treasure.
16:20The first recognised Masonic lodge in the world
16:23was the Kill Winning Lodge, Lodge Number Zero, or Mother Lodge of Scotland,
16:30and its origin dates back to the year 1140, when the Masons, who were building the neighbouring
16:36abbey of Kill Winning, organised themselves into a guild.
16:41Scotland has been the epicentre of many events that seem to connect Freemasonry,
16:46with the Order of the Night's Temple.
16:49To understand how, we will need to go back to the First Crusade,
16:54when two young noblemen fought side by side to free Jerusalem from the Turks.
17:01One, Hugh de Payen, would become the founder of the Night's Temple,
17:06the other, Henry Sinclair. A Scottish knight of Norman descent would sire a dynasty that centuries
17:15later would be of vital importance for the birth of Freemasonry.
17:19The Order of the Night's Temple was founded in Jerusalem as a monastic and military order
17:25by Hugh de Payens and seven other knights after obtaining papal blessing.
17:31The Templars excavated the ruins of King Solomon's Temple,
17:35and legend has it that they unearthed a fabulous treasure.
17:42Whether or not there is any truth in this legend, the fact is that soon after,
17:47they became immensely rich and powerful.
17:51Some speculate that they had recovered documents that demonstrated Jesus had left descendants,
17:56thus putting the Church of Rome on the rack, who, prompted by extortion or otherwise,
18:03granted the Templars enormous benefits.
18:06Whatever the case might be, history does tell us that on returning from Jerusalem,
18:12Hugh de Payens visited Scotland, where he established the first oratorium outside the Holy Land,
18:18of the Holy Land, on territory belonging to the Sinclair clan. One legend has it that the Sinclairs,
18:25Saint Clair in French, are Merovingian descendants of an alleged lineage stretching back to Jesus Christ.
18:34We have, then, a precursor of Scottish Freemasonry fighting side by side with the creator of the Knights Templar.
18:42This is the first fact in a sequence of coincidences that has given rise to a good deal of speculation.
18:48There are more curious facts.
18:51The Knights Templar became the financiers of monarchs all over Europe,
18:56a profitable but dangerous business that eventually sealed their fate.
19:01The persecution of the Knights Templar was unleashed in 1307,
19:06when Pope Clement VII, pressured by King Philip of France, who was enormously indebted to them,
19:14accused them of several heresies, including sodomy, adoration of the devil,
19:20Baphomet, and many other mortal sins.
19:24The Knights Templar were persecuted, tortured, and their order finally eliminated.
19:34Grand Master Jacques de Molay was imprisoned and tortured for seven years,
19:38after which he was convicted to life imprisonment.
19:41Faced with the verdict, de Molay, who was already 70 years old,
19:45together with his friend Geoffrey de Charnay, claimed that all their confessions had been obtained under torture,
19:50and that both they and their Knights were innocent.
19:53That act of bravery sealed their fate.
19:57On the night of March the 18th, 1314, both were carried to the banks of the River Seine,
20:05and burnt at the stake.
20:07De Molay died facing the Cathedral of Notre Dame,
20:11praying, proclaiming his innocence, and cursing both King and Pope.
20:17But the ambitious King of France could not seize the Temple's wealth.
20:21The few Knights that fled the massacre apparently carried their mythical treasure with them,
20:27and the rest was passed on to the Order of the Hospital, another religious group.
20:33One of the main havens for the surviving Knights Templar was remote Scotland,
20:38whose King Robert the Bruce had been excommunicated by the Pope.
20:42Scotland, the land of Henry Sinclair, fellow adventurer of the first Knight Templar.
20:46The saga continues.
20:49In the mid-15th century, a descendant of Henry Sinclair, the Crusader, called William Sinclair,
20:58started construction of a chapel in Rosslyn, to the south of Edinburgh.
21:02This chapel, mentioned in the bestseller, The Da Vinci Code,
21:07was supposedly built to hide the treasure of the Knights Templar in its vault.
21:12While this can't be proved, it is undeniable that the chapel is packed with Masonic and Templar symbols,
21:20therefore constituting the first ever site where both Masons and Templars left their imprint.
21:27Curiously enough, the tabernacle has the same distribution and dimensions of the third reconstruction of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem,
21:35the very same one that had been excavated by the Knights Temple.
21:41Finally, a direct descendant of the build of the Chapel of Rosslyn, also called William Sinclair,
21:48would become the first Grand Master of Scottish Freemasonry at Kilwinning Lodge.
21:54This mother lodge is erected on the same grounds that had been visited by Hugh de Payens 400 years before,
22:02that is, on Sinclair land.
22:14How much truth is there in the theory that Freemasonry was born to preserve the secret of the Knights Templar?
22:19How closely were these organisations really related?
22:23Aren't there Knights Templar names and rituals in the York Rite of Freemasonry?
22:27Why Knights Templar and not something else?
22:30Let's recall the Mason initiation formula.
22:32Visit the interior parts of the earth.
22:35By retification, thou shalt find the hidden stone.
22:38The Knights Templar dug for years seeking something hidden.
22:41Is it all just a peculiar coincidence?
22:45It is indeed possible that both Freemasonry and the Knights Templar
22:50were intimately related from the time of their origins.
22:54But it is also plausible that they became related somewhat later,
22:58due to a simple ideological affinity.
23:01Since both societies shared an anti-clerical and anti-monarchical ideology,
23:08and they both knew very well what it was like to be persecuted.
23:13Perhaps the mysterious bond between Masons and Knights Templar will never be proven,
23:18since those who know Masonic secrets are forbidden to reveal them,
23:22for fear of painful torture followed by death.
23:25Such is the punishment for those brethren who reveal the secrets of the Lodge.
23:31The Oath of the Tenth Degree of the Scottish Rite is just one of the many examples of the brutality
23:38with which Freemasonry condemns its betrayers.
23:44And in failure of this my obligation,
23:47I consent to have my body opened,
23:50perpendicularly,
23:51and to be exposed for eight hours in the open air,
23:55that the venomous flies may eat my entrails,
23:58my head to be cut off and put on the highest pinnacle of the world and i will always be
24:05ready
24:06to inflict the same punishment on those who shall disclose this degree and break this obligation
24:14an oath that one would think twice about before breaking in the 17th century freemasonry acquired
24:20such importance that it began to make powerful enemies its inner circles became tighter and
24:25tighter its power to influence society grew in proportion to its expansion very soon they
24:31began to pull the strings of history strings that perhaps they still pull today
25:00anti-catholic libertarian conspirational all kinds of accusations have been laid at the
25:07door of freemasonry their particular method of organization and their lexicon packed with
25:12mystifying words such as right orient apprentice and master have surely contributed to their
25:19reputation freemasonry is an international organization that is subdivided into lodges
25:27or independent chapters without a global governing authority in the hierarchy of freemasonry there
25:35are three degrees which are taken in sequence apprentice fellow of the crowd and master mason
25:43freemasonry a lodge that confers all three degrees is called a blue lodge or great lodge which constitutes the
25:51foundation of freemasonry then there are the so-called appendages such as the york right and the
25:58scottish right to reach this hallowed level one must have first achieved the third degree that of master
26:06freemasonry the york and scottish rites offer 10 and 33 degrees respectively with their corresponding rituals
26:14and symbols another offshoot of freemasonry is the rose crucian order that does share a common origin
26:24but also incorporates mystical elements alchemy and other philosophical principles that set it apart
26:31from what we understand by freemasonry today an understanding of the symbols of freemasonry
26:38will surely help us shed some light on its true purpose and ambitions if we look carefully enough
26:44we will see their imprints in the most unlikely places reminders that they have been there too
26:49and still are freemason symbols convey ideas of spiritual growth and many of them are inspired
26:57on those of the original mason builders the plumb line suggests rectitude the spirit level equality
27:05the set square uprightness virtue and forthrightness it is identified with the worship for master
27:13the compass symbolizes the masonic ideals of friendship morality and fraternal love
27:21when drawing a circle the central point is the freemason and the circle is his world
27:27the freemason should live according to the principles of friendship morality and fraternal love
27:35the trowel symbolizes the mortar that cements the mason brethren
27:40the 24 inch ruler stands for the 24 hours of the day
27:45the hammer reminds the masons that they should work on shaping and improving their character
27:52the five-pointed star symbolizes the supreme being
27:55and also the five points of camaraderie
27:58a secret that cannot be revealed
28:00the white ram blanket represents purity
28:03the slipper reminds masons of their preparations for the degree
28:08to enter the temple they must remove their shoes
28:11and put on slippers
28:14the point inside the circle with the two lines running parallel along it
28:17and the book above it symbolize the earth
28:20the point the heavens the circle
28:23and the two solstices the parallel lines
28:27which are the two main festive days of the year for freemasons
28:31the letter g is god or gautu
28:34great architect of the universe
28:36and is an american edition
28:38it was first used in the usa together with the set square and the compass in around 1850
28:43a very particular way of shaking hands
28:46allows freemasons to recognize each other in secret
28:50from what we have learned so far
28:52the accusations and persecutions that freemasonry has suffered
28:56seem to be due more to the prejudice and dogmatic and dictatorial institutions
29:01than to its own wrongdoing
29:02so is freemasonry just an innocent brotherhood that merely seeks to advance the cause of human progress
29:08its critics have a very different opinion
29:14freemasonry has been accused of practically everything
29:17ranging from constituting an atheist anti-catholic and treacherous mafia
29:22to fostering a global conspiracy to control the world
29:26through its secret power networks
29:29the catholic church
29:30did not hesitate to excommunicate freemasons
29:34most european monarchies decided to directly ban the order
29:38between 1738 and 1890
29:41the vatican passed 17 papal bulls
29:44condemning freemasonry and urging its proscription
29:47this did not deter many christian monarchs from joining their ranks
29:51while others fought them openly
29:54king james the third of scotland
29:56was the first monarch suspected of being a freemason
30:00the first european sovereign
30:02to officially support freemasonry
30:05was the holy roman emperor
30:07francis the first
30:08founder of the royal house of austria
30:10and curiously enough
30:12a catholic
30:13the monarchs of holland
30:15sweden
30:16geneva
30:17zurich
30:19berne
30:20bavaria
30:21austria
30:22russia
30:23and prussia
30:25altruid banned it
30:27one of the main accusations levied against freemasonry
30:31is that it works through machiavellian means
30:33even when its ends might be altruistic
30:36as if the end justifies the means
30:38but isn't this the trite self-justification used by every power group
30:43in what way is freemasonry different from any other powerful organization
30:48some authors believe that prior to the french revolution
30:51the duke of orleans
30:54himself grand orient of france
30:57bought all the wheat that he could get his hands on
30:59and either concealed it
31:01or sold it beyond the french borders
31:04in order to provoke the famine
31:06that led to the french revolution
31:10however
31:11the jacobins
31:12who at the time were also being accused of being masons
31:15and illuminati
31:18closed all the lodges two years after their rise to power
31:22perhaps they did so because they were worried about the great power
31:25the brotherhood seemed to have
31:28and at the time french freemasonry boasted around 630 lodges
31:33with some 75 000 followers
31:39nor did it help their public image
31:41when by the end of the 18th century
31:43the detested order of the illuminati of bavaria
31:46had infiltrated most of their lodges
31:48since then freemasonry has been suspected of conspiring to seize world power
31:54the order of the illuminati
31:56was created by a bavarian citizen
31:59adam weishaupt
32:01in 1776
32:03highly opinionated
32:05and a true megalomaniac
32:08weishaupt aspired to dissolve all forms of government
32:11ban religions
32:13abolish private property
32:15and create a new world order
32:18under his unified command
32:21he affected infiltration tactics in freemasonry
32:24and so managed to spread his organization
32:27across almost all of europe
32:30and some even believe north america too
32:32to stop the infection
32:34many monarchs decided to prescribe freemasonry altogether
32:39the order of the illuminati
32:41was officially banned in 1790
32:44but its participation in subsequent events
32:47is highly likely
32:49and many believe it is still operative today
32:53in spite of the illuminati episode
32:56freemasonry gained prestige
32:57and continued to expand its membership
33:00important historical figures
33:02would soon join its ranks
33:04learned men
33:06nobles
33:08bourgeoisie
33:09the military
33:12freemasonry has gained prestige
33:13and attracted freethinkers who lurked in the shadows
33:18their meetings were organized by means of hidden signs
33:22the identity of the masters was only known to those who had come up through the ranks
33:28the result of their actions left practically no traces in history
33:32but their presence was definitely real
33:36its influence was strongly felt in the americas
33:39infiltrating the highest circles of civilian and military power
33:45freemasons
33:46freemasons played crucial roles in the liberation
33:48of both the british and spanish american colonies
33:52the usa is perhaps freemasonry's most outstanding legacy
33:57its national symbols
33:59are loaded with masonic messages
34:01a partial list of the most famous freemasons in history
34:05will help us perceive
34:07the true importance of this secret society
34:10and how it has influenced history
34:12the banker
34:14nathan mayer rothschild
34:16the musician wolfgang amadeus mozart
34:20and the german poet get
34:22were all freemasons
34:24britain was particularly prolific in producing famous freemasons
34:29english kings george v
34:31william the fourth
34:33edward the seventh and eighth
34:36and george the sixth
34:38also english politicians
34:40george canning
34:42cecil rhodes
34:44and winston churchill
34:45the inventor of penicillin
34:47sir alexander fleming
34:49writers
34:50alexander pope
34:51edward gibbon
34:52sir walter scott
34:54sir arthur conan doyle
34:56brodyard kipling
34:58trust dozens of the generals
35:00admirals
35:02and air marshals
35:03even actor peter sellars was a freemason
35:08the united states does not lag behind
35:10most of their founding fathers
35:13judges
35:14congressmen
35:15senators
35:16and generals were freemasons
35:18also american presidents
35:21theodore roosevelt
35:21franklin d roosevelt
35:23harry truman
35:25linden b johnson
35:27and gerald ford
35:28the director of the american nuclear program
35:31vannevar bush
35:32the director of the fbi
35:34j edgar hoover
35:35henry ford
35:37and also steve
35:38osnia
35:39co-founder of apple computers
35:41all were freemasons
35:42in south america
35:44figures like simon bolivar
35:46san martin
35:47and benito juarez
35:48were also freemasons
35:50and the list just goes on
35:52and on
35:54the importance and popularity
35:56that freemasonry acquired
35:58earned it more bloodthirsty enemies
36:00than the catholic church
36:02paradoxically
36:03the bloodiest and most effective persecution launched against freemasonry
36:08came from another excommunicated group
36:10the bolsheviks
36:14freemasonry actually survived the first stages of the russian revolution
36:17and was tolerated until 1922
36:20when the fourth international
36:22decreed that it was an ideology incompatible with communism
36:27at that point some lodges were disbanded
36:30and others went underground
36:32in 1926
36:34a strange request from mason boris astromov
36:37to joseph starlin
36:39to allow masonry to operate under official sanction
36:42resulted in the arrest
36:44torture
36:45and imprisonment of known masons
36:48freemasonry disappeared totally during the remaining years of soviet rule
36:53astromov himself was detained
36:56interrogated
36:56and died soon after his release
37:00freemasonry disappeared
37:01or survived in the shadows
37:04the first russian lodge to operate freely again
37:07was the harmony lodge
37:10and that did not happen
37:11until as recently
37:12as 1992
37:15in the 20th century
37:17freemasonry would suffer
37:18not only the persecution from the bolsheviks
37:20but also from the nazis
37:22it was in this century
37:23that the term jewish masonic was coined
37:26and the most daring conspiracy theories saw the light
37:28how much truth there is in all this
37:30how much is straightforward anti-semitism
37:33why has freemasonry attracted throughout the ages
37:36the wrath of established powers
37:37like a lightning rod
37:39and the fear of the lord
38:09isn't it
38:09which was evlad
38:10The 20th century was not kind to Freemasonry.
38:13During the communist era, it was banned in all of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
38:18Its lodges dissolved, its libraries destroyed, its members pursued and imprisoned.
38:23It fared no better in Nazi Germany.
38:28In Mein Kampf, Hitler proclaimed that Freemasonry had been infiltrated by the Jews,
38:34and that it was now their instrument.
38:36He wrote that the pacifist feelings and the paralysis of the nationalist instinct
38:43were the result of Masonic manipulations.
38:47He gave early impetus to what would soon become a long list of anti-Semitic accusations against Freemasonry.
38:56Hitler dissolved all the lodges in Germany and accused Freemasonry of conspiring with the Jews
39:02to establish a world republic.
39:06Similar to what the Illuminati had postulated more than a hundred years before.
39:13In 1935, Goebbels accused 300 members of the Jewish race and Masonic conspirators
39:21of having allowed the USSR to enter the League of Nations.
39:26Two years later, he opened an anti-Masonic exhibition that displayed incriminatory objects.
39:33In the Nazi concentration camps, Freemasons had to wear a distinctive red inverted triangle.
39:41It is estimated that in Nazi Germany and its occupied territories between 80 and 200,000 Freemasons were murdered.
39:52In 1924, in Italy, Mussolini decreed that fascists had to choose between being fascists or Freemasons.
40:01And the following year, he ordered the dissolution of Freemasonry.
40:06The supposed relationship between Judaism and Freemasonry that both Nazis and fascists decried was never proven,
40:14but served to stoke racial hatred.
40:16The fact remains that Freemasonry was born in the very heart of Christian societies,
40:21and only after a number of centuries had passed that it would accept Jews as well as Muslims or anyone
40:27who believed in a superior being.
40:29A detail that went unnoticed or was simply ignored by both Hitler and Mussolini.
40:37Franco Spain was also an important setting for anti-Masonic persecutions.
40:43During the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Freemasons were tortured and executed without trial all over the country.
40:52Freemasonry, Freemasonry only became legal again after the death of the dictator in 1975.
41:00In more recent times, Saddam Hussein introduced the death penalty in Iraq
41:05for those who promote or support Zionist principles, including Freemasonry.
41:13What does this tell us about Freemasonry?
41:16Judging on the quality of its enemies, there's not much to add.
41:19But what about Freemasonry today?
41:23At present, it is estimated that there are still between 4 and 6 million active Masons
41:29distributed among some 100,000 lodges worldwide.
41:33Most lodges are now a sort of social club, where charity, ancestral rites, secrets, curious clothes,
41:41and even bingo competitions, and even bingo competitions, and theme parties co-exist.
41:47Masons no longer hide the membership to the Brotherhood,
41:50and even boast bumper stickers that clearly identify them.
41:54Most even have their own web pages.
41:57They also donate huge amounts of money to charity.
42:00Their main problem today is that the young have little or no interest in joining their ranks.
42:06Perhaps Freemasonry is being defeated by time.
42:10Its ancient liturgy, its moral principles,
42:15its opposition to religious authorities,
42:17who have become less and less important as time goes by,
42:21sits uneasily in a culture attuned to post-modernism and the Internet.
42:27Virtual games, individualistic cults,
42:30or the insatiable consumer society,
42:33where the advancement of a man and spirituality have little place.
42:38Perhaps their waning also has to do with their reluctance
42:41to accept women outside ancillary lodges for ladies.
42:46A stubborn archaism that still persists.
42:51Perhaps the last and greatest Masonic accomplishment of the 20th century
42:55has been the routing of Hitler and Nazism.
42:58Roosevelt, Truman, Churchill, King George VI,
43:02General Bradley, MacArthur and Marshall,
43:04all of them were Masons.
43:06Many years have passed since then.
43:08However, there are still some events that can be ascribed to Freemasonry,
43:12flickers of life that tell us that the giant may only be sleeping.
43:17In 1997, British Labour MP Chris Mullen
43:22launched a bitter attack on Freemasonry.
43:25Mullen was convinced that police Freemasons
43:27bestowed special privileges on criminal Freemasons.
43:31There was a lot of hysteria in the British press,
43:34but in the end, nothing was ever proven.
43:36In the National Assembly of Wales,
43:39it has been obligatory since 1999
43:42for parliamentary Freemasons to reveal their status.
43:47Judges and the police have been asked to do so voluntarily.
43:52So Freemasonry today is just a tawdry social club.
43:55Why did Saddam Hussein persecute them?
43:58While in the United Kingdom,
43:59they forced Freemason policemen and judges
44:01to reveal themselves as Masons.
44:03Two countries ideologically at loggerheads
44:07who've recently waged war once shared a common enemy.
44:10Is it simply because Freemasons are an easy target for politicians?
44:17Freemasonry has always been characterised
44:19by its shape-shifting abilities,
44:22for having a low profile
44:23and for going underground at the right time.
44:27This strategy has reaped them splendid rewards for centuries.
44:32New names, new ways, new members.
44:36It wouldn't be at all impossible
44:38that they could be applying those same tactics today.
44:43Can a society that has influenced the most important events
44:46and attracted key historical figures
44:48simply fade out of existence?
44:51Is it possible that this new silence,
44:53this apparent senility,
44:54is simply concealing a change of plans and strategies?
44:58Our daily life is often affected
45:00by decisions that are unknown to us
45:01and Freemasons might still be behind them
45:04without us even suspecting it.
45:06Not to mention the powerful manipulation
45:08exercised by the media,
45:09much of which is in the hands of Masonic brethren.
45:13Is it not right to wonder
45:14through which channels
45:15Freemasonry's subtle messages reach us?
45:51As for more an instant,
45:52you will find a relationship between 28 people,
45:52or not knowing whether you may be for it.
45:54A better life is a threat to the streets,
45:57a way of looking at multiracial,
45:57In the hands of Masonic brethren,
46:01or are the no-none
46:02or have the most important of your own
46:03because you might be able
46:04in the family can be able
46:05to travel over a place
46:06and the family can be found
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