The Thule-Gesellschaft (Thule Society) was founded August 17, 1918, by Rudolf von Sebottendorff. Its original name was Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum (Study Group for German Antiquity), but it soon started to disseminate anti-republican and anti-Semitic propaganda. It was instrumental in the foundation of the Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei (German Workers' Party) which later became the NSDAP (Nazi Party). It had members from the top echelons of the party, including Rudolf Hess and Alfred Rosenberg, though not Adolf Hitler. Its press organ was the Münchener Beobachter (Munich Observer) which later became the Völkischer Beobachter (People's Observer).
The symbol associated with the Thule group was a dagger.
