Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, also known as Abd-ru-shin or Abdruschin, is best known as the author of the . After a brief commercial training Oskar Ernst Bernhardt began his literary activity while still a young man. Some of his literary works included "The Bracelet", "Annita", "The Adventurer", and "Diamonds". Some of his works would later preview the ideas he would publish in the Grail Message. For example, "Diamonds" is a comedy featuring a bet in which the main character must tell the truth for twenty-four hours, in order to win one million dollars. The plot highlighted the hypocrisy of everyday social life. While traveling, he was often led to foreign countries. In 1915 he was interned in England. Released in 1919, he first went to Dresden, later to Bavaria and in 1923 began to write the first lectures of the Grail Message. In 1928 he settled in Vomperberg, Tyrol. There he wrote "In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message". In 1936, Abd-ru-shin was arrested unfairly "because of infractions of currency laws." Previously, he had been unfairly accused of similar crimes. Specifically, he was charged for fraud, or "cheating and falsification of documents." The settlement ended when the Nazis got angry at him. Many of his former members were also angry with him. His followers failed him by turning to the darkness. In 1938, Abd-ru-shin was arrested after Austria came under German occupation.
He claimed to be the Messiah or Son of Man. By his own admission, he was described in leading newspapers as the Messiah of the Tyrol and the Prophet of Vomperberg. Certain strands of the Grail Movement consider Abd-ru-shin’s wife Maria and her daughter divine as well.
Life, publishing, legacy
Bernhardt was born in Bischofswerda, Germany, trained in business, and successfully established himself in Dresden. He traveled and wrote travel books, stories, and plays. He resided in New York and London. He was in London when World War I broke out and in 1914 he was interned on the Isle of Man. This seclusion gave him time to reflect, question, and deepen his understanding. He was released in the Spring of 1919 and returned to Germany. He began to write In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message in 1923 and completed it in 1931 under the pen nameAbd-ru-shin. In 1928 he settled in Austria, Tyrol on a mountain plateau called Vomperberg. Here he continued writing The Grail Message. The Nazis came to power in 1938, ending his work there. He was arrested and exiled to Kipsdorf in the Erzgebirge. He was forbidden any further writing. He died while in Gestapo custody.
