[Extracted by Robert Hutwohl]1
In 1875, the Theosophical Society was founded by H.P. Blavatsky, H.S. Olcott, W.Q. Judge, John Yarker, and others. After Blavatsky died in 1891, the TS splintered and in 1900 consisted of three groups, one of which was led by Franz Hartmann, a busy Ariosophian.
Carl Kellner considered Hartmann a high rosicrucian and initiate and genius philosopher and treated him as a dear friend. He played a rather important role in the esoteric scene of Vienna: it was he who introduced the culturally influental polyhistorian Friedrich Eckstein (friend and part time collaborator of Sigmund Freud) and his wife, the writer “Sir Galahad,” into the Theosophical Society.
Hartmann didn’t only introduce Kellner and his wife into the Theosophical Society, but acquianted him with interesting Indians, e.g. in 1896 with “Mr. Bheema Sana Pratapa from Lahore,” mentioned in Kellner’s Yoga booklet dated 1896 and introduced by Kellner and Hartmann at the Psychological Congress in Munich, demonstrating Yoga practises. Kellner gave Hartmann an easy job, making him Director of the Sanatory Lahmann in Hallein where people with tuberculosis of the lung and whooping cough have been cured according Kellner’s Lignosulfit-inhalation treatment.
Memphis-Misraim in Germany was led by Theodor Reuss, Franz Hartmann and a certain Henry Klein (about whom nothing is known to this day). Carl Kellner was the man who paid everything but remained in the background of the leadership. Reuss and Kellner soon disagreed on the practical aspects of Hatha Yoga. Similarly, Franz Hartmann (director of the Leipzig Theosophists) thought that his friend Kellner was trapped by “false Yogis.” Hartmann also distanced himself from Reuss in 1904. This means that the difficult situation among the leaders of the Memphis-Misraim grew.
On 7 June 1905 “Honorary Grandmaster” Carl Kellner 33°, 90°, 96°, “director” of the “inner triangle’ or "occult circle" that practised Hatha Yoga consisting of Franz Hartmann, Reuss, Kellner, died. From now on Hartmann turned his back on Reuss, but because “legally” Hartmann still was co-leader of MM, Reuss had to use Hartmann's signature on the Order’s papers. Comparison of these papers shows that Reuss used a rubber stamp of Hartmann's signature.
Evidence of the quarrel between Reuss and Hartmann: 17 March 1906: In a letter from Theodor Reuss to Franz Hartmann, Reuss complained about Hartmann's assumption that Reuss has “nothing to do anymore with the signing of diplomas etc. etc …” and “From all this I concluded that you had withdrawn from my M.+M. F.M.Order.”
11 February 1910: Reuss informed Rudolf Steiner that Franz Hartmann “has not been inside a Masonic lodge room since he saw mine at Berlin in 1904, and in fact he is no authority on it anyhow.”
7 August 1912: Hartmann, the only potential barrier to Reuss’ MM-activities, died. Only now, Reuss made Hartmann a “co-founder of the O.T.O.” But like Carl Kellner or Rudolf Steiner: Franz Hartmann never had been member of any of the O.T.O. versions.
Note
[R.H.—This article is from an internet source, of which I failed to copy the url, as it was not intended for reuse. I am using it in case someone locates it, however the story sounds credible and eventually someone will determine where it came from.] There are spelling errors in this document, however I have not corrected them, because the errors may help to find the document at the Internet.