During the last stage of the second World War, confronted with the possibility of defeat, Adolf Hitler launched numerous “Doomsday” projects aimed at bringing about a Nazi victory, through either scientific or occult means. The Ragna Rok (The Fatal Destiny) Project was one. During his meditations in Italy, Grigori Rasputin was approached by Heinrich Himmler to lead a group of Nazi occultists in building weapons of mass destruction. Eventually, after recognizing the potential in Haupstein, Kurtz, and Kroenen, Rasputin assembled them as part of his Ragna Rok project.

Rasputin promised Hitler a “miracle” which would turn the tide of the war. Secretly, Rasputin hoped to trigger an apocalyptic event that would begin a new Eden.

On December 23, 1944, on Tarmagant Island, (a small island off the Scottish coast) Project Ragna Rok entered into its final phase. Rasputin called forth the key to the apocalypse from Hell. Complications arose when the key did not appear on Tarmagant Island, but rather in a ruined church in East Bromwich, England. Even worse, the key, serving as the massive stone right hand of an infant demon, was recovered by the Allies. The demon would later become Hellboy, and his right hand would be much sought after. Von Krupt viewed the project as a failure, and the team officially disbanded. Rasputin headed to the Arctic Circle in pursuit of a long-lost temple to the Ogdru Jahad, while Haupstein, Kurtz, and Kroenen cryogenically froze themselves until Rasputin needed them once again.