Paneuropa Rejects Co-option by Freemasons

On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Freemasons, the “Kurier” published a double-page interview with the Austrian Grand Master Georg Semler on 21 June 2017. When asked what has driven Freemasonry since 1717, Semler stated, among other things: “… the Paneuropa movement is profoundly Masonic.”

In a letter (see below) to the Kurier’s Editor-in-Chief, Dr Helmut Brandstätter, the Paneuropa Movement clearly refutes this co-option by Freemasonry.

It is true that the founder of the Paneuropean Union, Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, joined a Masonic lodge in his youth. Convinced of his Paneuropean idea, he sought contact with a number of influential organisations in order to help the Paneuropean concept achieve a breakthrough. After a short time, he withdrew from the lodge. In his autobiography, “A Life for Europe”, he describes the contact:

“For a time, I thought of winning over the Masonic Order to the Paneuropean idea. Through it, I could have mobilised a powerful and wealthy international organisation for our cause at a single stroke. Soon, however, after discussions with leading Freemasons in Europe and America, I had to realise that while the Freemasons showed great sympathy for the Paneuropean idea, they—just like all leading and responsible figures—regarded it as a utopia. This led me to sever my relations with the Masonic Order in all friendship as early as 1926, as its merely platonic interest in Paneuropa would have burdened the movement more than it would have helped it.”

In a conversation with Rainhard Kloucek (Secretary General of the Paneuropa Movement Austria) and Stephan Baier (former parliamentary assistant and press spokesperson for Otto von Habsburg, co-author with Eva Demmerle of the authorised biography of Otto von Habsburg) in October 2008, Dr Otto von Habsburg said: “Coudenhove explained his relations with Freemasonry to me more than once: he saw in Freemasonry, as in other organisations, something that could do something for Europe. With Freemasonry, he very soon came to the realisation: it cannot, because it does not want to, but pursues its own goals. He subsequently resigned, which the Freemasons took very badly. Thus, even at the beginning of my contacts with him, his contacts with the Freemasons had fallen pretty much to zero.”

The wording of the letter to Kurier Editor-in-Chief Brandstätter:

Kurier

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher

Dr Helmut Brandstätter

By email

Vienna, 22 June 2017

Re: “Kurier”, Wednesday, 21 June 2017, pages 20 and 21, interview with Georg Semler on Freemasonry.

Dear Editor-in-Chief,

In the interview on the occasion of the Masonic anniversary, Grand Master Georg Semler says, “the Paneuropa movement is profoundly Masonic.” This is a statement that must be decisively refuted, and one which was already contradicted by Paneuropa founder Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi in the 1920s. The claim does not become truer through repetition almost 100 years later. Although Coudenhove-Kalergi became a member of a lodge as a young man, he resigned soon after. This is documented in his autobiography and by other facts.

We request a correction and publication as a letter to the editor.

Kind regards, Rainhard Kloucek, Secretary General