If you are a frequent consumer of alternative media and history you’ve no doubt come across the infamous 3 World Wars letter allegedly sent by Confederate military officer Albert Pike to Italian Freemason and revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini in the late 1800s. This alleged letter is quoted ad-nauseam on websites, in forums, by conspiracy researchers like David Icke, in books aiming to expose Freemasonry, and by those with an interest in geopolitics and conspiracy theories.

It is commonly used as evidence to support the idea that major wars are simply a tool of a secret elite society called the Illuminati, who are out to destroy Christianity and usher in a Satanic New World Order. Not all proponents of the letter’s authenticity are Christian or adherents of the Satanic New World Order theory, but the common thread that unifies them is the belief that wars and events on the geopolitical chessboard are pre-planned in order to carry out secret agendas.

This article and video is not here to debunk that notion, in fact there is ample evidence to support the contrived and deceitful nature of warfare, but in the quest for truth every piece of evidence should be held up to scrutiny.

Below is the often cited text from the so called Three World Wars letter…

The First World War must be brought about in order to permit the Illuminati to overthrow the power of the Czars in Russia and of making that country a fortress of atheistic Communism. The divergences caused by the “agentur” (agents) of the Illuminati between the British and Germanic Empires will be used to foment this war. At the end of the war, Communism will be built and used in order to destroy the other governments and in order to weaken the religions. The Second World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences between the Fascists and the political Zionists. This war must be brought about so that Nazism is destroyed and that the political Zionism be strong enough to institute a sovereign state of Israel in Palestine. During the Second World War, International Communism must become strong enough in order to balance Christendom, which would be then restrained and held in check until the time when we would need it for the final social cataclysm. The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the “agentur” of the “Illuminati” between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion… We shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time.

Did Albert Pike Invent Nazism and Zionism?

Those with a critical eye will recognize that if this letter is true, Albert Pike had an uncanny ability to use phrases long before they ever made it in to the public vernacular. In fact he’s so prophetic, it immediately sheds doubt on the authenticity of the letter, which was supposed to have been written in 1871. Pike himself was born on December 29, 1809, and died on April 2, 1891. He was a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

According to the text he claims that the first world war “must be brought about in order to permit the Illuminati to overthrow the power of the Czars in Russia and of making that country a fortress of atheistic Communism…”

While theoretically the term communism could have been used by Pike, as it was popularized by Marx and Engels in the 1840s ahead of the publication of the Communist Manifesto, the roots of the Russian Revolution did not form until the 1890s, some 20 years after the letter was allegedly written and when Pike was on his last legs. The reader must question whether he could have been privy to the outcome of the Russian workers’ movement before those workers themselves had ever heard of Marx or formed the movement to oppose their masters? And if he was, how could he have such foresight to suggest a World War could simply be brought about and that it could be controlled in such a manner to accomplish his goals? It’s not only highly unlikely but there is nothing of substance to suggest it actually happened. No testimony from anybody else associated with Pike, no other correspondence or writings from Pike himself – literally nothing other than this alleged letter.

It should also be noted that other than the general enlightenment movement the only “Illuminati” organization documented within decades of the time-frame of the letter was the “Bavarian Illuminati” which officially disbanded in 1785. Though conspiracy theories flourish to this day and the term is used in the abstract, serious accusations of the group’s secret continuation had died out at least 50 years before the letter was allegedly written. Out of all the verified Pike literature, only Morals & Dogma makes a fleeting and abstract use of the term Illuminati and this certainly ins’t in he context of some all powerful secret society. So if Pike believed a war must take place for the Illuminati, who are they and what evidence is there to support that they existed and he was a member? Of course some irrational proponents of the “letter” will say they’re a secret…but if they are such a well kept secret, how do YOU know they are/were real? It’s unfounded speculation at best.

The rest of the “letter” is also extremely dubious. Terms like Fascism, Nazism and Zionism were never used in Pike’s lifetime. Zionism as a word was coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum and would not take root for several more years. There is no record of Pike knowing or meeting Birnbaum or having any connection to the Zionist movement. The ideological roots of Fascism were only in their infancy during Pike’s final years, and the term was not used publicly until Mussolini took his position in the 1920s. The term Nazism did not emerge until the 1930s with the rise of Germany’s National Socialist party.

Unless Albert Pike can predict the future or was the hidden hand of God himself, it would seem this “letter” is nothing more than a modern forgery.

Origins of the Letter

To get to the bottom of where the alleged 3 World Wars letter comes from we need to retrace the sources. ThreeWorldWars.com is the originator of the text as printed above. This is the quote that circulates most prominently around the Internet. Although the website does actually state that “no conclusive proof exists to show that this letter was ever written,” it does suggest extracts are found in the book Satan: Prince of This World by William Guy Carr.

This simply isn’t the case. Only one section of the text appears in the book on page 29 and that is the final paragraph where it says:

“We shall unleash the Nihilists and Atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations (people of different nationalities), the effects of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil…” etc.

What we do find in Guy Carr’s other book Pawns In The Game from 1956, is a series of paragraphs that do for the most part mirror the often cited text from the website. This however isn’t a direct quote itself, rather Carr’s own interpretation of the “letter” which he gleaned from another source. Carr never actually claimed that what he wrote was an extract. Thus whenever somebody claims that the above text is what Albert Pike wrote in a letter, they are either mistaken or lying. It is what Carr wrote in a book in the 50s!

This is how Carr begins his paragraph on the first World War. “Pike’s plan was as simple as it has proved effective. He required that Communism, Naziism, Political Zionism, and other International movements be organized and used to foment the three global wars and three major revolutions. The first world war was to be fought to enable the Illuminati to overthrow the powers of the Tzars in Russia“

This does not appear in quotations, it is not copied from the “letter”, it’s clearly Carr’s own interpretation.

Initially Carr had claimed the mythical letter was catalogued at the British Museum. He later backtracked writing in Satan: Prince of This World… “The Keeper of Manuscripts recently informed the author that this letter is NOT catalogued in the British Museum Library. It seems strange that a man of Cardinal Rodriguez’s knowledge should have said that it WAS in 1925”.

What this tells us is that Carr had no first hand knowledge of the “letter” or its validity, and everything he writes about it is hearsay. Thus the often cited Three World Wars text is just hearsay!

How exactly can he describe or summarize it if he hasn’t seen it?

He shifts the blame on to Cardinal Rodriguez of Chile, whose The Mystery of Freemasonry Unveiled was published in 1925.

However like Carr this book also has no direct quotes from the alleged letter. Rodriguez writes on pages 115-6…

The other indication of the participation of Masonry in the Revolution and the present upheaval in Russia is a letter in Le Diable au XIXème Siècle (1896), attributed to Albert Pike, “Sovereign Pontiff of Universal Masonry”, assisted by ten Ancients of the Grand Lodge of the Supreme Orient of Charleston to the very illustrious Joseph Mazzini, dated August 15, 1871. What I have said of the document previously mentioned, The Protocols, I say of this one: Authentic or not, the letter had been published long enough before the events, not to be an invention accommodated post factum. Its publication is catalogued in the British Museum of London and the plan attributed to Pike is also in part in Le Palladisme Of Margiotta, p. 186 published in 1895.

So Rodriguez also does not know if the “letter” is real… “Authentic or not”. He also clearly hasn’t seen it because like Carr he doesn’t actually quote from it.

Furthermore his claim that “its publication is catalogued in the British Museum,” is completely unsubstantiated. As mentioned, William Guy Carr admitted that it wasn’t there in his book. So where did Rodriguez get his information from? Let’s go to the books his cites.

Le Palladisme, Domenico Margiotta, 1895, p186 onwards.

If we scan this book for Albert Pike we come to a section from page 127 of the PDF that we can put through Google Translate. Here is Google’s rough translation, referring to a “pamphlet” allegedly written by Pike…

In a pamphlet designed with impeccable logic, Albert Pike clearly traces the outline of his dogmatic but above the general level of its sectarian politics. A masterful introduction, as through a portal strange the Luciferian Grand Pontiff led us within mysterious darkness of the Temple, the vision of the True Light, with meditate on terrifying predictions as oracles of ancient Pythia, and suggestions power hell and he loves it invokes. By sacrilegious mouth The Genius of Evil reveals his projects universal destruction and gives us the reason for the infernal sect. Then, we are counting the followers of all religions of the world: he intentionally assigns to religion Catholic secondary rank, and book groups fanciful. For the purpose of the cause and treacherous deductions place it in the rays of the True Light all those who are not in the lap of Roman Church, He enlisted and mobilizes face to the enemy under the banner of God-Good. Here in the camp Lucifer deployed in line of battle Buddhists already enlightened by the True Light, the Mohammedans and Jews steeped in its dark huge, Protestants are marching boldly. On the other side, here is, Dust men, these Catholic cursed, doomed to darkness. He also cites the hoi polloi 130 million idolaters, and fetish worshipers various idols, keeping to themselves, forming formidable challenge the two fighters, the price of victory, the anima vili about which hold the universal Masonic power! Here again the outcasts, the damned, a few million freethinkers deists, and two million atheists, dedicated by Luciferian great Pontiff to the disapproval of the sect, threatened a complete extermination or conversion to mass the religion of the True Light. These are the two enemies present. I give you thanks, dear readers, the description he gives us the fray epic and universal ensuing, the prodigious impact of these various harsh elements against each other. The great Luciferian Pontiff predicted the defeat of Catholicism And continuing its dark prophecy, he describes wandering in search of a throne and altar Pope Adonai. But as it is written in the book of heaven, Orthodox and schismatics being prey promised to God-Bad is the among them the Pope wandering under the auspices of the autocrat of North to restore his power adonaïte worship until predicted its eventual collapse. The final destruction of the Papacy, lead inevitably a general stampede, and dissolution of its components: Clergy, deprived of its leader, happen gradually to the enemy, which would leave the field open to the infernal band. In anticipation of this event, the crafty Gossip provides advice and exhortations, he traces the ably its attack and defense politico-sectarian plan and the means to carry it out. This is the pamphlet, by satire, mockery, that wants to demolish Catholicism, he ridicules more noble Christian sentiments, Charity, It blows doubt, suspicion and contempt on all actions inspired talk purest love of neighbor, and with evident bad faith, he attributed to the spirit of domination of the priest! Better than harpies the fable, it not only pollutes it touches, but it touches, and God knows he was embarrassed to be in the field inviolable conscience, faith and reason, incursions sacrilegious, reckless attacks. He launched his followers to attack the political powers and legislative, they stand in all avenues to Catholic; advises the insolent domination of instruction, on schools, to complete the corruption youth and deliver, helpless, the hands of sectarian,

which will be the instrument of their present size and future. It banishes any scruple of conscience, if he is never existed in the soul of a sectarian; on how to implemented to achieve the desired goal, everything is good: the slander, lying, the flattery and proud contempt, hypocrisy, false, shameful capitulations, the insolent summons, poison, the dagger, the following cases or circumstances. He committed to the sectarian hatred missionaries

apostolic, these hardy pioneers of civilization, And generates for each propagandist follower of the devil, the blasphemer proselytizing. These valiant apostles, these cross modern faith are they, in fact, as the dam huge that opposes the corrupting tide of disbelief and impiety? He cites the great blasphemer Voltaire, And place under the patronage of this dishonorable man for whom everything was a pretext to banter, to sarcasm, and that nothing was religious, nor religion, or family, nor the people, neither the king, or God, nothing Except his thin person and his genius overrated. But here the attack Holy emerges with rigor, and the idea, dominant, the principles that should govern the work of destruction are condensed into thirteen sections suggestive, in which the great mage has distilled all his venom, has put all his Luciferian science, and given the extent of its liberalism, tolerance, and noble sentiments that empirical reraient his actions, if the sect could legislate without control. It is Italy after the breach of Porta Pia, that on instances of Mazzini, the Luciferian Pontiff, After a evil cabal which lasted seven days and which had taken from eleven of the highlights of the infernal sect had route that infamous indictment and bill aimed at for destroy Catholicism, Italy, and reduce the Pope and the Bishops provided to state employees. After this chimera, the Pontiff learned Lucifer pleased with himself, right in between considerations, while at least reckless in international politics, and the tone a false and pedantic doctrinaire, it gives the idea insidiously nationalize the clergy not only in Italy, but all Catholic countries, to remove any authority Pope and the clergy to deliver anarchy, which would allow him to annihilate in detail at his ease. But console ourselves, good Catholics, our enemies willing to give us a few centuries of existence, before devote ourselves to all the powers of Hell. They understand and admit, in spite of themselves, these unconscious barkers, the Papacy is not to thank you for fanatics that no other ambition to raise On the ruins of faith, the prostitute altar an infernal rite. It is easy, therefore, to see what masterpiece aberration and pride is the contemporary Satanism, and it is astonishing to thought that the skeptic in worldly delights, and powerful minds, men of high intellectual consent has cover their name, to illustrate, so to speak these rantings infernal. The f… Ernest Renan, author of the infamous novel “Life of Jesus “is one of those who have their name dragged in the mud. It rehabilitates Satan, and report it to the adoration of the crowd dumbfounded, the Great Milton is his bond, and he invokes to take on anathema twenty centuries old protégé sad. By specious arguments we make it, it was black, white as snow. We represents a revolutionary wretched (Sic), which therefore deserves all the respect due by demagogues to illustrious ancestor. Renan who saw in him the? Divine sparks? Excuse to be exclusive stops and you know why? while simply fear? wrapped in his condemnation some subdued beauty. Poor Renan! it would have been so easy reduce quia asking him to tell us the hidden meaning of this beautiful sentence! Eliphas Levi, us the secret of the magic in high prelude with an invocation or imprecation to shiver. It then explains the science and philosophy deny the existence the devil, and that the only religion says, for the religion devil is a fallen angel and occult philosophy accepts and explains this definition. It defines us as the devil “The Devil, by Black Magic, this is the great magical agent used for evil by a perverse desire.” This definitiontion therefore seems to reprimand goètes, that is to say the followers of black magic. Constant for Kadosh is the astral light is the great magical agent, but a refinement of malice it suggesting that this agent may be invoked only by reason, in penalty only have disordered and monstrous results if was invoked by madness. One wonders, after that, by which unconsciousness or How can deception and prostitution human reason to ramblings so disconcerting…

Once again there are no direct quotes from the alleged pamphlet or “letter” but the gist of the text suggests that Pike wanted to destroy all religions, including Catholicism, and convert everyone over to Luciferianism. In that sense the theme of the books that followed were at least similar.

The other book cited by Cardinal Rodriguez was Le Diable au XIXème Siècle, 1986, by Docteur Bataille. Terry Melanson of ConspiracyArchive.com tracked down the text to Volume 2, Chapter XXXV, pages 594-606.

“At the beginning of August 1871, that is to say less than a year after the establishment of Palladism (Supreme Rite), the “learned Luciferian Pontiff” Albert Pike received an important letter from Mazzini. The political action leader for Universal Freemasonry invited the supreme dogmatic leader of the sect to draw up a clear plan with a view toward the destruction of Roman Catholicism…” Full text @ ConspiracyArchive.com

Once again there are no grandiose predictions of 3 World Wars. The theme is the destruction of religions, with most focus on Catholicism, which was the power of the day.

At this point the trail of sources stop. In short there is no primary source for the “letter”. It does not exist and has not been directly quoted from or reproduced by any author. The earliest book that makes reference to a “letter” by Pike is Le Diable au XIXème Siècle by “Docteur Bataille”. This just so happens to be the pseudonym of self professed hoaxer from the 1890s called Léo Taxil. He feigned support for the Catholic church and wrote a series of outlandish anti-Freemasonry books to mock both the Church’s stance on Freemasonry and the Freemasons themselves. In many ways he was the Richard Dawkins of his time, a champion for scientific thinking over the irrationality and silliness of Catholicism and occult teachings.

Those peddling the 3 World Wars quote are literally falling for a hundred year old hoax. The concept that Freemasonry is Satanism, Luciferianism or Devil Worship, is the very kind of close-minded religious dogma that Taxil was mocking all those years ago, and ironically his self-professed hoaxes are fanning the flames to this very day.

“The public made me what I am; the arch-liar of the period,” confessed Taxil, “for when I first commenced to write against the Masons my object was amusement pure and simple. The crimes I laid at their door were so grotesque, so impossible, so widely exaggerated, I thought everybody would see the joke and give me credit for originating a new line of humor. But my readers wouldn’t have it so; they accepted my fables as gospel truth, and the more I lied for the purpose of showing that I lied, the more convinced became they that I was a paragon of veracity. “Then it dawned upon me that there was lots of money in being a Munchausen of the right kind, and for twelve years I gave it to them hot and strong, but never too hot. When inditing such slush as the story of the devil snake who wrote prophecies on Diana’s back with the end of his tail, I sometimes said to myself: ‘Hold on, you are going too far,’ but I didn’t. My readers even took kindly to the yarn of the devil who, in order to marry a Mason, transformed himself into a crocodile, and, despite the masquerade, played the piano wonderfully well. “One day when lecturing at Lille, I told my audience that I had just had an apparition of Nautilus, the most daring affront on human credulity I had so far risked. But my hearers never turned a hair. ‘Hear ye, the doctor has seen Nautulius,’ they said with admiring glances. Of course no one had a clear idea of who Nautilus was I didn’t myself but they assumed that he was a devil. Ah, the jolly evenings I spent with my fellow authors hatching out new plots, new, unheard of perversions of truth and logic, each trying to outdo the other in organized mystification. I thought I would kill myself laughing at some of the things proposed, but everything went; there is no limit to human stupidity.” – Leo Taxil, National Magazine, 1906.

Conclusion

As useful as the Three World Wars letter is for those with a conspiratorial world view, it simply does not stand up to scrutiny and makes anyone who uses it with a straight face look foolish and careless in their research.

War is most certainly contrived, manipulated and exploited by those with secret agendas. Lies about Saddam’s WMD capabilities, the elements of prior knowledge and complicity by the US and other Governments surrounding 9/11, and even the corporate beneficiaries of the World Wars, prove that war is about a lot more than our officials and the media tell us. And yes the conflict between the Arab World and the nuclear armed Zionists is a very real threat. However if we are to challenge the status quo and scale back these threats we need to drop the fantasies. World leaders and those in positions of power that foment conflict have names, titles and chains of command. They don’t hide behind a non-secret secret society called the Illuminati, and they certainly aren’t working at the behest of some long dead Satanic Confederate General.

Those who were duped who want to claim “well it doesn’t matter if it was fake, because it has all come true,” must understand that the text as they know it was not written until the 50s. That was after the Russian revolution, World Wars, and the formation of Israel. Thus the only “prediction” made is that Zionists would war with Arabs. It has never taken a rocket scientist to work that one out!