NOSTRADAMUS, ASTROLOGY AND THE BIBLE
SUBSTUDY "WORLD WAR II"
Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? een belangwekkende en actueele beschouwing op grond der voorspellingen van Michel Nostradamus gegeven in "Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties"; samengesteld uit de nagelaten geschriften van Jean François Pasteur (+) (The Hague, 1940)
- T.W.M. van Berkel -

In connection with April 24, 1940, dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels, from 1933 to 1945 minister of Propaganda in Nazi-Germany, wrote that the " Nostradamus-brochure" was published in the Netherlands and Switzerland and was quite sensational.[1] On this website, it is assumed that with the mentioning of the brochure in the Netherlands, Goebbels meant the Dutch version of a national-socialist text, written in November - December 1939 by Hans-Wolfgang Herwarth von Bittenfeld, prof. dr. Karl Bömer and Leopold Gutterer, managers at the Ministry of Propaganda. In this Dutch version, entitled Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? een belangwekkende en actueele beschouwing op grond der voorspellingen van Michel Nostradamus gegeven in "Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties"; samengesteld uit de nagelaten geschriften van Jean François Pasteur (+), the year 1940 is mentioned as the year of publishing.[2] On this website, this version is entitled Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?; the word "Pasteur" is a reference to this brochure.
On April 12, 1940, the Swiss astrologer Karl Ernst Krafft, who from January 1940 would start to produce national-socialist propaganda, based upon the Centuries, ordered four copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. On April 29, these were sent to him from the Netherlands.[3] From copy figure data of the VGB (Vereenigde Grafische Bedrijven), where Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was produced, it can be derived that the printing of this brochure was achieved on April 18, 1940.
According to a report about the activities of the Ausland section of the Ministry of Propaganda in the period January 1 - August 31 1940, written by dr. Ernst Brauweiler, head of this section, 5.000 copies were printed of a Dutch edition of a Nostradamus-writing which was translated in eight languages with a total of 83.000 circulating copies.[4] On this website, it is assumed that Brauweiler’s report contained a.o. the copy figure of the first edition of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, which was spread in April 1940. From copy figure data of the VGB, it can be derived that 5.175 copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? were printed. After the capitulation of the Netherlands on May 15, 1940, the Ausland section of the Ministry of Propaganda ordered the production of another 3.000 copies.[5] 
The title of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? contains a reference to Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties. This is, as can be derived from a remark on page 41, a reference to the photocopy of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, made by the Frenchman P.V. Piobb in 1927. Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. included a number of French quatrain texts from this photocopy in the text they wrote in November - December 1939, in order to raise the impression that they translated these quatrain texts and studied them..

Willem Johan Ort, publisher of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Arie Meijer Schwencke, owner of the Vereenigde Grafische Bedrijven and printer of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?
Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was published by Willem Johan Ort. In 1940, his company was seated in the Prins Hendrikstraat 84 in The Hague.[6] In 1918, Ort, born on October 20, 1881 in Delft as a son of a tailor and deceased in The Hague on June 24, 1951, opened a bookstore in The Hague, together with P. van Straaten. This bookstore, named "Ort, Van Straaten", was a continuation of the bookstore of M. van der Beek (The Hague) en Van Straaten's bookstore (Rotterdam). In 1925, the bookstore "Ort, Van Straaten" was continued as "W.J. Ort, The Hague", a one-man business. On July 15, 1936, he celebrated his 40-year jubilee as a bookseller.
Ort's bookstore and publishing company existed until the first years of World War II. In 1946, the company was handed over to his son Johannes Jan Coenraad, who continued the company until 1964 but, as far as known, did not publish any books.[7] 
In 1928, Arie Meijer Schwencke (Arie Meijer, born in The Hague on July 26, 1906, who named himself Arie Meijer Schwencke, Schwencke was his mother's family name) founded two press agencies, which in the beginning of the thirties were fused under the company name NV Vereenigde Pers Bureaux (VPB). After Hitler came into power in 1933, Meijer Schwencke got in contact with Otto Dietrich, Reichspressechef. This contact resulted in print orders, articles, propaganda material and financial support of a.o. the Propaganda section of the Wehrmacht and the Auslandspressebüro, led by Geheimrat dr. Walther Heide, an office which was part of Abteilung IVb (Auslandspresse) of the Ministry of Propaganda, led by Bömer, where Herwarth von Bittenfeld worked.
Meijer Schwencke, who meanwhile had also founded the VGB (Vereenigde Grafische Bedrijven, a printer's company) started to look for a "sleeping" publishing company that could serve to spread the propaganda brochures, produced by the VGB. In the summer of 1939, one of his employees, A. Storm van Leeuwen, contacted Ort, whose company had become almost completely inactive. Ort refused to sell his company to the VGB, but gave permission to use his company's name for the publishing of about ten pro-German propaganda brochures, with a recompensation of f 100,- for each title. These brochures were printed by the VGB. On December 28, 1939, the printing of 10.000 copies of De waarheid marcheert..., the first brochure, was achieved. This brochure was a translation of Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt...: Wahrheit und Lüge über die September-Feldzug 1939; auf Grund amtliches Material zusammengestellt (dr. Werner Robert Valentin Picht, Berlin, 1939). On January 27, 1940, the printing of 5.000 copies of the brochure Kan Engeland den oorlog winnen? - De Zeeoorlog en de neutralen was achieved. This brochure was a translation of one of the four volumes in the series Vår neutralität, written by baron dr. Lage Fabian Wilhelm Staël von Holstein (Stockholm, 1939), who in the first quarter of 1940 would translate the brochure, written by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s., into Swedish; in the second quarter of 1940, he would translate this brochure into English. Staël von Holstein had contacted Meijer Schwencke with the request to have his brochure about England translated and spread. On March 3, 1940, the printing of 5.000 copies of Tsjecho-Slowakije, slachtoffer der westersche mogendheden, written by the Czech colonel Emanuel Moravec, was achieved. On April 18, 1940, the printing of 5.175 copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was achieved. 
After the capitulation of the Netherlands on May 15, 1940, the publication of this kind national-socialist propaganda was continued with e.g. the brochure De ondergang van een imperium - over de "teloorgang" van het Engelse wereldrijk, a translation of Decline and fall of the British Empire (Robert Stephen Briffault, Prague, 1940), with an introduction by Tobie Goedewaagen, chairman of the Board of Enlightenment of the Dutch Press and later secretary-general of the Ministry of People's Enlightenment and Arts, the Dutch pendant of the German Ministry of Propaganda.[8]
On May 5, 1945, the liberation of the Netherlands was achieved. On May 17, 1945, Ort was suspended as a book trader and publisher because of, as it was phrased, unworthy behaviour during the years in which the Netherlands were occupied. In 1946, the Council for Press Purification banned Ort as a publisher for six months. The articles in the Dutch Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel about Ort's banning do not contain information about a membership of the NSB, the Dutch national-socialist movement, or another national-socialist organization. Meier Schwencke was arrested in June 1946. In 1942, due to malversations, he fell into disgrace with the Germans. His companies were confiscated. In 1943, he started to work for Het Parool, an illegal resistance newspaper. After the war, he worked for some time for the Dutch National Security Office. In May 1951, Meijer Schwencke was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months imprisonment to begin from the time of arrest, of which 2 years and 2 months on probation (which meant that he would be released in October 1951). Further, he was banned for 20 years as director of press agencies and publishing companies and an amount of f 25.000 of his private capital was confiscated.
According to the Goebbels diaries, Brauweiler, the head of the Ausland section of the Ministry of Propaganda, was responsible for "bringing" the Nostradamus-brochure to the neutral countries.[9] The word "bringing" means: looking abroad for translators and for printers and publishers who were willing to print and to spread the translations of these brochures. Neither the Goebbels diaries, nor the minutes of the secret daily propaganda conferences on Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda, show which employee of the Ministry of Propaganda contacted Meijer Schwencke in order to have the brochure, written by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s., translated into Dutch and spread in The Netherlands.

Contents
Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? consists of 46 pages. The text is divided in four parts. In the next listing, the contents of each part are summarized and the corresponding texts in in Sta nam donosi 1940? ("Belgrade"), Le profezie del Maestro Michele Nostradamus anno 1558 ("Genoa"), Nostradamus spådomar om kriget ("Norab"-1940a), What will happen in the near future? ("Norab"-1940b) and Que se passera-t-il entre le printemps 1940 et le printemps 1941 ("Rossier"- 1940b) are also mentioned.

Design and illustrations
Brauweiler's report on the copy figures of the Nostradamus brochure shows that these brochures were not printed in Germany and next exported, but printed abroad and spread abroad. 
Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? is the finest brochure of all brochures, discussed on this website, which contain a translation of the text, written by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. The design was bound. The backside of the title page contained the remark that 100 numbered copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? were printed on old-Dutch paper, bought at Van Gelder Zonen paper factories, seated in Wormer. The copy which I possess, is not numbered.
Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? has a dust jacket, made of full-bleached parchment, on which the title was printed  in red and black characters. The parchment was bought at G.H. Bührmannn factories, seated in Amsterdam. In the brochure, a multitude of character sizes has been used and a multitude of character profiles: normal, emphasized, italic, bold and small-caps characters.
The first character of the first line of the three chapters in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? is a miniature (decoration character). The miniature -I- in the preface is decorated with the twelve signs of the Zodiac; the other two chapters contain the miniature -H-, decorated with stems.
There are indications that Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. divided their text in eleven chapters. This division was not maintained in some of the translations. The text in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? is divided in two chapters. In the first chapter, entitled Verleden, heden en toekomst op wonderbaarlijke wijze voorspeld door den Franschman Michel Nostradamus in zijn "Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties", quatrains are linked to events which occurred in the past. In the second chapter, entitled Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? Een antwoord op de vele belangrijke vraagstukken, die ons bezighouden gegeven door "Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties de maistre Michel Nostradamus", quatrains are discussed which are linked to the actual situation and the future. Probably, this division is related to the message that Nostradamus' predictions about the future most likely will be fulfilled, since in the past so many of his predictions were fulfilled.
The preface and the appendix in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? do not occur in any other brochure. More than twenty footnotes refer to the appendix, which contains French quatrain texts and quotes from De Fontbrune's Les prophéties de maistre Michel Nostradamus - Expliquées et commentées. Most of the French quatrain texts can be found in the appendix, except for the texts of the quatrains  09-18, 10-100, 03-57, 08-37, 02-78, 03-32, 03-71, 08-97, 02-85, 03-58 and the first line of quatrain 10-31. In the other brochures, footnotes occur only once. The question is if these footnotes and an appendix with French quatrain texts and quotes from the book by De Fontbrune were part of the German source text, written by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. It is hard to believe that a translator would take the trouble to create footnotes and to compile an appendix; it is also hard to believe that the VGB, the printer, did something like this.   
Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? contains four illustrations. On the cover, the city crest of Paris is depicted. On page 2, this is motivated with the remark that it was the capital of France where Maistre Michel Nostradamus had his greatest achievements. 
On page 1, a cut-out is depicted of the title of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition; on page 3, the engraving is depicted of the cover of this edition. The cut-out is a copy of the picture on the cover of the photocopy of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition (on this website, this copy is entitled the "1938-Piobb-copy), made in 1938 by the French Century-scholar P.V. Piobb. The picture of the engraving is also taken from the 1938-Piobb-copy. On page 41 in the appendix was written that this copy was used as a source text. 
Op pagina 7, a portrait of Nostradamus is depicted, painted by his son Cesar. This portrait can also be found on page 3 in Nostradamus spådomar om kriget, the Swedish translation of the text, written by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. in November - December 1939. This portrait is taken from the 1938-Piobb-copy. Page 24 of that brochure contains a picture of the lower half of the engraving of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition.
The title page not only contains a picture of the title of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, but also the remark Naar een authentieke uitgave uit het jaar 1688 door JEAN FRANÇOIS PASTEUR (+) voorzien van een actueele verklaring mede op grond van een studie van den Franschen Nostradamus-kenner Dr. DE FONTBRUNE. Actually, the mentioned year 1688 should be 1668, in which J.J. van Waesberge published the 1668-Amsterdam-edition.
The picture of the first page of Century 01 in the Italian translation of the text by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. or a cut-out, depicted in the English and Swedish translation, does not occur in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?.

City crest of Paris

Title page

Engraving 1668-Amsterdam-edition

Portrait Nostradamus

The preface and the identity of Jean François Pasteur
The preface in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? consists of two pages. At the end of the preface, it reads DE VERTALER (tr.: the translator). Not once in the preface or the text of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, the name of this translator is given.
The mentioning of a translator is part of the construction which has been used to introduce Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. In his preface, the translator wrote that a French friend left a number of writings, among which a study on the prophecies of Nostradamus, which he probably finished shortly before his death. The translator considered the contents of this study important enough to have it published as soon as possible. Therefore, the preface explains the remark samengesteld uit de nagelaten geschriften van Jean François Pasteur (+) (tr.: compiled from Jean François Pasteur's leftover writings) in the title of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. We notice that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? has a double French signature: the one of Pasteur's leftover writings and the one of De Fontbrune's Les prophéties de maistre Michel Nostradamus - Expliquées et commentées. It looks as if the translator is a Dutchman.
In an early phase of the study of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? , the French Century-scholar Robert Benazra, the compiler of Répertoire Chronologique Nostradamique (Paris, 1990), wrote that he never heard about a French Century-scholar named Jean François Pasteur and never read his Century-comment. Together with the national-socialist signature of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, the supposition in this early phase was that the name Jean François Pasteur was a fictitious name. This supposition was confirmed by the fact that research showed that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was a Dutch translation of a text, which originally was written in German and in which was quoted from the book by De Fontbrune, and the fact that in the other translations, discussed on this website, the name Jean François Pasteur does not occur.[10] The first chapter and the last two chapter in Nostradamus spådomar om kriget, the Swedish version, are written because of the spread of this brochure in Sweden. The first chapter in What will happen in the near future?, the English version, is not especially referring to the United States. The untitled epilogue in Que se passera-t-il entre le printemps 1940 et le printemps 1941, the French version, actually was an advertisement of Ant. Rossier, graphologist, who published this brochure. On this website, it is supposed that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and the other versions are translations of a German source text, which existence is linked to a couple of entries in the Goebbels diaries regarding Herwarth von Bittenfeld and a couple of minutes of the secret daily propaganda conferences in Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda, in which the names of Herwarth von Bittenfeld, Leopold Gutterer and professor Karl Bömer are mentioned. Therefore, the conclusion is that the name Jean François Pasteur is a fictitious name.

The propaganda message in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?
In fact, the propaganda message in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? is the same as the one in the German source text, written by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s.: England no longer would be a supreme power, she would lose her support and fall. Germany would become the new superpower. A long time ago, this was predicted by Nostradamus, whose predictions time after time turned out to be reliable. The neutral countries would witness this gigantic struggle.
About one month before the invasion, Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was published in the Netherlands. It is obvious that Goebbels wanted to demoralize the Dutch. It must be noted that in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, no specific attention was given to Dutch circumstances or history, in contrast with e.g. Que se passera-t-il entre le printemps 1940 et le printemps 1941?, in which one of the chapter titles indicated that France would not be harmed by the war.

A missing fragment
The second chapter of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, in which by means of the Centuries the imminent future of Europe is described, begins with the phrasing of the question what tomorrow will bring, a common question which because of the war which began in 1939, suddenly got an extraordinary importance.
The English, French, Italian and Swedish pendant of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? contain a fragment in which Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. discuss the omnipresent desire of man to see into the future. On this website, it is supposed that this fragment was part of the text which Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. wrote in November-December 1939. The fragment is not included in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. One can only guess why. In the post-war administration of justice, Meijer Schwencke told had he edited translations of German propaganda brochures in order to minimalize or neutralize their propaganda. It is questionable if omitting this fragment minimized or neutralized the propagandistic impact of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen. The message of Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s. that the downfall of Great-Britain was imminent, as was the leading role of Germany (together with the Soviet-Union), was integrally translated into Dutch. Further, the title and subtitle of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? contain two references which raise the impression that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was translated from the French. The first reference was the reference to a study of the deceased Frenchman Jean-François Pasteur. The second reference was a reference to De Fontbrune's Les Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus - Expliquées et commentées. These references were made in order to prevent readers from thinking that this brochure originally was a German one. To this, we add that the introduction of Jean-François Pasteur most likely is an invention of the Dutch translators, since this name does not occur in the other pendants of the German source text of Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s.
Que se passera-t-il entre le printemps 1940 et le printemps 1941, the French translation of the German source text of Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s., contains the most complete version of the fragment which in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? is missing. In Que se passera-t-il..., this fragment can be found on page 4 in the chapter Un coup d'oeil vers l'avenir. For the purpose of this article, this fragment has been translated into English. In its reproduction below, it is indicated where in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? it belongs.

The fortune of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?
A couple of times, material, originating from Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? has been used in other publications.

a. Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (serie Informations-Schriften, nr. 18, Berlijn, 1940)
On page 7 in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (Brochure-18-DE, volume 18 uit de serie Informations-Schriften), one can read:

Noch ausführlicher beschäftigt ihn die französische Revolution und die auf sie folgende Zeit Napoleons I, dem er rund ein Dutzend Strofen gewidmet hat.

Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? contains the following remark on page 18:

Daar wij ons nu toch bij Napoleon Bonaparte bevinden, verdient het wel de aandacht dat Nostradamus aan hem ongeveer een dozijn van zijn vierregelige verzen heeft gewijd. 

The German text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 on page 4 in Brochure-18-DE and the description of Nostradamus' study room in his house in Salon-de-Provence can also be found on page 13 in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. The reference to Tacitus on page 10 in Brochure-18-DE can be traced back to the reference on page 29 in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? This means that the compilers of Brochure-18-DE consulted Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? (or another translation of the source text, written in November - December 1939 by Herwarth von Bittenfeld c.s.).

b. Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... (De Tombre, Arnhem, 1941)
On page 8 in the first chapter of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., entitled Inleiding - waarheid en zekerheid, geboren helderziendheid [...], contains a reference to the Nostradamus-scholar Jean François Pasteur, deceased in 1940, who in a small brochure, entitled Hoe zal de oorlog eindigen? studied the predictions of Nostradamus about the present situation. Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... is the Dutch translation of a national-socialist text, written by the German historian/philologist dr. phil. Alexander Max Centgraf (1893-1970), who in his post-war publications on Nostradamus used the pseudonym dr. N. Alexander Centurio. The question is if the references to Pasteur in the first chapter in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... and to the air raids on Rotterdam were inserted for the Dutch readers. On the pages 7-8, one can read the remark Ik heb wel eens gehoord dat zij, die, zooals ik, in Maart geboren zijn, van de Voorzienigheid dit bijzonder charisma (= genadegift) ontvangen hebben (tr.: Once I heard that Providence gave this special charism (gift of grace) to those who, like me, were born in March). This remark was made in connection with a claim to possess the gift of clairvoyance. Centgraf was born in Thale (Harz) on March 8, 1893.

c. Oorlogsvoorspellingen... (dr. W.H.C. Tenhaeff, The Hague, 1948 [1947])
After the liberation in 1945, the Dutch parapsychologist dr. W.H.C. Tenhaeff did research on what PSI-gifted persons in the Netherlands had "seen" in connection with the beginning and the course of the war by means of proscopy (experiencing or observing future events by means of PSI). The results of this research were published in Oorlogsvoorspellingen... In this book, comments on the Centuries were also discussed as well as Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? According to Tenhaeff, who acknowledged the national-socialist nature of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, this brochure was published after May 1940.[11] Actually, this brochure was published on most lately April 12, 1940. It is quite possible that Tenhaeff had a copy of the second edition, which was produced after the capitulation of the Netherlands on May 15, 1940.

d. Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden (J. Vandervoort, Amsterdam, 1998)
Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden, published in 1998, was a modernized version of the Dutch translation of the Centuries, made in 1941 by mr. dr. H. Houwens Post, a translation which was a counter-reaction to Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. Jan Vandervoort, who revised Houwens Post's translation, added material such as a biography on Nostradamus, descriptions of predictions which were fulfilled, abused or sometimes interpreted in a hilarious way and prescriptions for pills, tonics and beauty devices. 
A comparison between Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden has shown that from the chapter Verleden, heden en toekomst op wonderbaarlijke wijze voorspeld door den Franschman Michel Nostradamus in zijn "Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties" (Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, p.9-23), Vandervoort copied the explanation of quatrains as well as their their translation in Dutch in his chapter Wonderbaarlijke interpretaties en 'uitgekomen' voorspellingen, i.e. the quatrains 01-01, 01-02, 01-35, 01-36, 01-47, 01-60, 02-68, 02-75, 02-100, 03-13, 03-35, 03-58, 05-28, 05-57, 06-20, 07-13, 08-60, 09-18 and 09-34.[12]

Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in daily's and newspapers in June - August 1940
In a number of Dutch regional daily's and newspapers in the period June - August 1940, one or more articles were published in which Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was discussed. These articles can be divided into three groups.

a. Articles, included in pages, delivered by a press agency
Back in the thirties, the major national and regional daily newspapers were most of the time well equipped. They disposed of a large editorial staff, a network of contributors and subscriptions to national and foreign press agencies. The small newspapers could not afford this. In order to keep their costs low, they often used prefabricated pages which some press agencies produced.[13] The pages in the editions of June 14, 1940 of De Soester Courant and Nieuws- en advertentieblad Frisia and the edition of June 15, 1940 of the Texelsche Courant which contained a discussion of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, are an example of this. In the edition of June 14, 1940 of De Soester Courant, on the upper right side of page 2, in the section De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week a discussion of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was printed, with at its right side in Het portret van de week a picture of the French general Maxime Weygand, with comment. The section De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week covered the upper half of page. The lower half of this page contained articles in the sections Deze week in Nederland and De wereld in kaart. All these sections were also present on page 4 of the edition of June 14, 1940 of Nieuws en advertentieblad Frisia, with the same layout and contents as in De Soester Courant. In the edition of June 15, 1940 of the Texelsche Courant, the section De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week, containing the discussion of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, was printed on the lower half of page 5. The articles in the section Deze week in Nederland and De wereld in kaart were printed on the upper half of this page. 
In my opinion, the page with the sections De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week, Deze week in Nederland and De wereld in kaart was a pre-fab page, delivered by a press agency. The production of this page dates from before the German invasion in the Netherlands in May 1940. The first time this page was published in De Soester Courant, was in the edition of October 6, 1936. The first time this page was published in Frisia, was in the edition of June 2, 1939. The first time this page was published in the Texelsche Courant, was in the edition of June 6, 1940. The question which now rises is if the article about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in De Soester Courant, Frisia and the Texelsche Courant was compiled by the press agency who produced the pre-fab page, or if this article was delivered to the press agency by an external source. The article about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in the edition of June 15, 1940 of De Drie Meren happens to be identical with the article in the editions of De Soester Courant and Frisia of June 14, 1940 and the edition of the Texelsche Courant of June 15, 1940, but was an independent article, not included in a pre-fab page with the sections De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week, Deze week in Nederland and De wereld in kaart.

b. The Raad van Voorlichting der Nederlandsche Pers
In June 1940, the RvV (Raad van Voorlichting der Nederlandsche Pers - tevens orgaan tot voorbereiding eener Nederlandsche Perskamer) was founded in The Hague, NL, due to an initiative of Meijer Schwencke. This council aimed to get the Dutch press in line with the German press, as a part of the process of nazification. In the summer of 1940, the RvV encouraged the editor staffs of most notably the regional newspapers to co-operate in a positive way in the process of improving the relationship between the Netherlands and Germany. In order to realize this, the RvV sended free material to these newspapers.[14]
In the review of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in the edition of July 9, 1940 of the Heldersche Courant was quoted from the preface and the two chapters of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. This review was illustrated with a portrait of Nostradamus, which was copied from Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. In the Nijmegen edition of De Gelderlander of July 13, 1940, the first part of the second chapter of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was published word-by-word; in the edition of July 15, 1940, the second part of this chapter was published word-by-word. This might mean that the RvV had send copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? to the editors of the Heldersche Courant and De Gelderlander exemplaren van Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, whether or not on request. In announcement #18 of the RvV, it was written that copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? were send to the newspapers. In capitals, it was written that an extensive review would interest the readers and therefore was considered to be necessary. Announcement #23, dated on July 5, 1940, contained a reminder to this request. Editors who not yet had a copie of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, could order one at the editor, i.e. Ort. Also, the forthcoming publishing by Ort of the propaganda brochure Hongersnood in Engeland  (produced by the VGB) was announced. According to announcement #23, Ort had requested to review this brochure extensively, because of the actual circumstances, and to write, if possible, several articles about it. The RvV made no announcements about the other pro-German propaganda brochures by Meijer Schwencke / Ort which after the capitulation of the Netherlands were brought into circulation.

c. Reviews about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, published between June and August 1940
In order to keep the costs low, small newspapers not only bought pre-fab pages from press agencies, but also articles. Further, they frequently copied articles from other newspapers, sometimes while mentioning their source, sometimes not.[15]
A number of reviews of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? were published in several newspapers. The review of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in the edition of July 13, 1940 of Frisia is identical with the review in the edition of July 6, 1940 of the Zierikzeesche Nieuwsbode. The review of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in the edition of July 16, 1940 of the Zaltbommelsche Courant is identical with the discussion in the edition of July 13, 1940 of De Holevoet. The same goed for reviews of other brochures by Meijer Schwencke / Ort.
In none of these reviews, the author is mentioned. It is also not mentioned if they originated from a press agency or copied from another newspaper.

The survey below contains summaries of articles and reviews about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in a number of regional daily's and newspapers in the period June - August 1940.[16]

The purpose of the positive articles about the pro-German propaganda brochures of Meijer Schwencke / Ort
Before the German invasion in the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, four of the twelve pro-German propaganda brochures by Meijer Schwencke / Ort were published: De waarheid marcheert..., Kan Engeland den oorlog winnen?, the first and second edition of Tsjecho-Slowakije - slachtoffer der Westersche mogendheden and the first edition of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. Only in a couple of daily's and newspapers in which after the capitulation of the Netherlands on May 15, 1940, articles were published about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and the other brochures of Meijer Schwencke / Ort, articles were published before the German invasion in May 1940 about De waarheid marcheert... and Tsjecho-Slowakije - slachtoffer der Westersche mogendheden. In those articles, which were written independent of each other, these brochures, which were qualified as German (!) propaganda brochures, were heavily criticized. In this period, no articles were written about Kan Engeland den oorlog winnen? and Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?.
From the capitulation of the Netherlands on May 15, 1940 until February 1941, almost all daily's and newspapers, discussed in the previous paragraph, contained positive reviews of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and the other pro-German propaganda brochures of Meijer Schwencke / Ort which were published after the capitulation, among which reprints of De waarheid marcheert... and Tsjecho-Slowakije - slachtoffer der Westersche mogendheden. Often, these reviews were identical with each other. This leads to a number of questions, such as who wrote them, who ordered to write them, how they found their way to the daily's and the newspapers and what was the nature of their purpose..
The announcements #18 and #23 of the RvV show that the RvV wanted that the pro-German propaganda message of these brochures would be advocated in daily's and newspapers. According to announcement #18, copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was send to the newspapers and there was an urgent request to discuss this brochure. In announcement #23, dated in July 5, 1940, in the name of Ort was urged to discuss Hongersnood in Engeland; this announcement also contained a reminder of the request to discuss Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. The article about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? in the edition of July 9, 1940 of the Heldersche Courant contains many quotations from Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. In the editions of July 13 and 15, 1940 of the Nijmegen edition of De Gelderlander, the second chapter of this brochure was almost completely published. It is quite plausible that the editors of the Heldersche Courant and De Gelderlander were on the mailing list of newspapers to which the RvV sended a copy of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. Most likely, the announcements #18 and #23 came from Meijer Schwencke. In his capacity of owner/director of the VGB, he was involved in the production of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Hongersnood in Engeland and will have known the data on which they were or would be published. The question is if he brought these brochures to the attention of newspapers due to his own initiative or if he was ordered to do so by for example the Ausland section of the Ministry of Propaganda which on May 15, 1940, the day of the capitulation of the Netherlands, ordered to print 3.000 extra copies of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?.
About the pre-fab page with the sections De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week, Deze week in Nederland and De wereld in kaart, the questions rise which press agency produced this page and if the article about Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? which was published mid-June 1940 in De Soester Courant, Frisia and the Texelsche Courant on this page was written by a journalist of this press agency or if this article came from a source outside this agency.
In his professional life, Meijer Schwencke was active in many ways, not seldom behind the scenes. He wanted to make career, to handle big business and to get a lot of influence. In order to realize this, he founded enterprises and initiated co-operations and fusions. His political ideas, which in the course of World War II underwent changes, seems to be determined by the amount in which he could realize his commercial aims or the amount in which he felt himself threatened in his commercial interests. He was able to do business with friends as well as with enemies and could play people off against each other.[17] 
In the thirties, the VPB, owned by Meijer Schwencke, produced bulletins such as Dagelijksche Actuele Dienst, Opbouw and Nieuw Europa. These bulletins contained news and background articles. It was possible for newspapers to subscribe to these bulletins. Further, the VPB produced articles about foreign countries, culture, fashion, politics and sport. Especially the smaller daily's, newspapers and magazines who had no editors in these fields, bought these articles.[18] The question is if the VPB also produced the pre-fab page with the sections De internationale toestand in de afgeloopen week, Deze week in Nederland en De wereld in kaart and if the VPB, after the capitulation of the Netherlands, delivered the positive reviews of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and the other pro-German propaganda brochures of Meijer Schwencke / Ort to daily's and newspapers. It seems to be possible, since Meijer Schwencke worked in the branch of regional daily's and newspapers. In 1936, behind the scenes, he stimulated the foundation of the PP (Provinciale Pers), a union of newspaper publishers. This union had to compete with the existing unions of newspaper publishers. The members of the PP got articles from the VPB, which by doing so regained a part of the news spreading which she in the previous years had lost to the ANP (Algemeen Nederlandsch Persbureau), the GPD (Groote Provinciale Dagbladen) en de RP (Regionale Pers). With the foundation in June 1940 of ther RvV, Meijer Schwencke wanted to prevent that the same things would happen to the Dutch regional press i.c. the VPB as to the German regional press after Hitler's seize of power in 1933, since from that time, the German regional press was put aside by the Ministry of Propaganda and the DNB (Deutsche Nachrichtenbüro). The foundation in July 1940 of the PPP (Vakgroep Provinciale en Periodieke Pers), a fusion between the PP and the NPP  (Nederlandsche Periodieke Pers), was another initiative of Meijer Schwencke, who wanted to prevent that the PP would be dominated by the NPP, an organization with which the PP closely co-operated since 1937. By the end of August 1940, 272 publishers had joined the PPP, representing 201 newspapers, 237 professional papers and 250 magazines.[19] No doubt that the PPP sended articles to their members. Perhaps the positive reviews of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and the other pro-German propaganda brochures of Meijer Schwencke / Ort were among these articles.
In the post-war administration of justice, Meijer Schwencke defended himself by stating that he took care of undermining the spread of the pro-German propaganda brochures, with the result that their propagandistic impact was minimalized.[20] The articles about these brochures which were published in a number of daily's and newspapers, show the contrary. With the use of marketing strategies such as describing the care with which these brochures were produced and their importance for those who were interested in contemporary history and while trigging the intellect by referring to the ability of readers to read this publications with a critical sense, the propaganda message of these brochures was broadly exposed in these articles and the readers were confronted with it, without wanting so. Most of these brochures had a low circulation number (around 5.000 copies), which heavily limits their reach. By discussing their contents in daily's and newspapers, the reach increased substantially. In time, however, the reach of these articles was limited. Unlike a brochure, a daily or newspaper is not kept long. But a demoralizing rumour, resulting of these articles, would find its way.
The present information does not indicate that after May 15, 1940, the German authorities ordered that the contents of the pro-German propaganda brochures of Meijer Schwencke / Ort should be published by means of articles in regional newspapers. The fact that after May 15, 1940, the complete series of these brochures were discussed in regional newspapers, might have been the result of the wish of Meijer Schwencke to sell his stock. Whether or not financial motives were at stake, the propaganda message of these brochures was presented in daily's and newspapers, even in those newspapers in which some of these brochures were heavily criticized before the German invasion on May 10, 1940. 

Counter-weight
This paragraph contains reviews of publications in which the author openly or silently criticized rumours about the predictions of Nostradamus or Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?.

De Reformatie, 19 juli 1940
The weekly De Reformatie - weekblad tot ontwikkeling van het gereformeerde leven was founded in 1920. Until the mid-eighties, it was issued once a week (at present, it is issued twice a week). From 1935 to 1952, prof. dr. Klaas Schilder, professor theology at the Theologische Hogeschool in Kampen, NL, was editor-in-chief.
Schilder strongly opposed national-socialism, which he qualified as gentile and anti-Christian. In 1936, due to his influence, the genral assembly of the Dutch Reformed Churches banned the NSB, the Dutch national-socialist movement. In August 1940, the Germans indefinitely prohibited further issuing of De Reformatie. Schilder was arrested. In December 1940, he was released, but he was no longer allowed to write or publish. From July 1942 to July 1944, he was in hiding.
In the issue of July 19, 1940, using the author's pseudonym "Adolphus Venator", Schilder's article Aan een jongeren tijdgenoot, no 7 (tr.: to a younger comtemporary, volume 7) was published. With this article, he obeyed the two calls of the RvV to discuss Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. A couple of times, Schilder quoted from Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, which implies that he owned a copy of this brochure. Aan een jongeren tijdgenoot, no 7 does not show if it was the RvV who sent a copy of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? to De Reformatie, as the first RvV announcement about this brochure suggests, or if De Reformatie asked for a copy, as the second announcement of the RvV suggests.
In Aan een jongeren tijdgenoot, no 7, Schilder, from an evangelical point of view, not only criticized Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? but also the RvV, mentioning Tobie Goedewaagen, her president, and mr. Meinoud Marinus Rost van Tonningen, one of its members, by name. Schilder further asked dr. Anton Adriaan Mussert, leader van de NSB, if he had enough time to become a true Nostradamus-expert. In the days prior to July 19, 1940, Mussert had said lots of things about the Jews. Schilder told his readers that those who in his days scolded the Jews, were unaware of the fact that Nostradamus was from Jewish origin, something which according to Schilder every Nostradamus-expert knew, and like that made a Jew to function as a herald of the German victory and made astrology to function as a means of religious preaching. In Aan een jongeren tijdgenoot, no 7, he criticized the presentation of Nostradamus in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? as a devoted Christian. From the Encyclopédie moderne ou dictionnaire abrégé des hommes et des choses (Brussels, 1830, vol. XVII, p.117), he quoted that in the eyes of his comtemporaries, Nostradamus was an imposter and that publications dealing with Nostradamus only enforced superstition, without any further practical utility.
In Aan een jongeren tijdgenoot, no 7, Schilder discussed the comment in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? upon quatrain 03-57. In this comment, it was suggested that in the period 1649-1939, there would be no fundamental changes in France, in contrast with England. According to Schilder, this suggestion ignored the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. This was reason for him to begin Aan een jongeren tijdgenoot, no 7 with the announcement that quite quickly, the Netherlands would face a new, adjusted Study Book of History, approved by Goedewaagen en Van Tonningen. 
Schilder closed his article with the remark that in the year in which Nostradamus died, the Dutch Calvinists started to practice their Confessional Words. In article 5 of the Dutch Confession, it was written that only the books of the Old and New Testament would be accepted as holy and canonical and without any doubt the Christians would believe its contents, since they experienced by themselves that all things which were predicted in the Old and New Testament, truly occurred. According to Schilder, the Dutch Calvinists were strictly obedient to their faith and as a result never spared tyranny and never restrained Jews who turned themselves from the writings of Nostradamus to the Holy Scriptures, from being baptized. He therefore expressed the wish that his younger contemporary would consider all this.

De Nieuwe Koerier, 5 augustus 1940
De Nieuwe Koerier - Maas en Roerbode, printed in Roermond, was a daily with a Roman-Catholic character, edited by the Provinciaal Limburgsch Dagblad. Before May 1940, the estimated number of subscribers was 11.920. By the end of 1940, the estimated number of subscribers was 12.800.
Page 5 of the edition of August 5, 1940 of De Nieuwe Koerier contained the article Men gelooft... (tr.: It is believed...), written by Henri de Greeve pr. This article was one of the articles in De Greeve's series Modern Panopticum, dating from 1939-1940, which probably also was published in other newspapers. 
De Greeve opened Men gelooft... with a list of all kinds of ecclesiastical publications, directed against philosophies and currents which in the course of the centuries turned themselves against religion and turned countless ordinary citizens and workers into non-believers. The time in which Men gelooft... was written, clearly showed, according to De Greeve, that the efforts of the Church to bring people back to religion, had been in vain. He concluded that believing was easy, that people in his lifetime believed in whatever thing and were willing to believe the most incredible things. From Men gelooft... can be derived that the rumour had been spread that the events in 1940 already were predicted in the 1937-edition of the Enkhuizer Almanak. De Greeve scrutinized this almanac and concluded that it contained no such predictions. But people nevertheless believed this rumour.
De Greeve wondered about what he called the tropical intensity of the beliefs of often the most hard non-believers. People believed in predictions which were contradictory to each other or excluded each other. Every day, he was interviewed about phenomena like Nostradamus, the predictions of the Lüneburg fields or the Odilia-source. He wondered why it was so difficult to believe in a catholic catechism, the words of Christ and the wisdom of the Gospel. Perhaps, he closed Men gelooft..., because they contain the truth.
De Greeve did not mention Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, but Men gelooft... illustrates that a certain value was given to the predictions of Nostradamus.[21]

The 1941-Vreede-translation
In the beginning of 1941, NV Servire publishers in The Hague (NL) published the book De Profetieën van Nostradamus - Nederlandsche vertaling, voorafgegaan door een levensschets en een inleiding, en van aantekeningen voorzien door Mr. Dr. W.L. Vreede. This book, which is discussed elsewhere on this website, contained a translation of the ten centuries in the 1938-Piobb-copy of the 1668-Asmterdam-edition, completed with a translation of the German translation by dr. Christian Wöllner of the Preface to Cesar and the Epistle to Henry II in Das Mysterium des Nostradamus (Leipzig, 1926). Further, this book contained a biography of Nostradamus and an introduction to the Centuries.[22]
The 1941-Vreede-translation vertaling-Vreede-1941 is a non-political book in the sense of not containing links between predictions in the Centuries and what happened in Europe from the beginning of the 20th century up to 1940. The introduction chapter, however, contains remarks in which Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was criticized between the lines. The name Mr. Dr. W.L. Vreede was the translator's pseudonym of the French teacher mr. dr. Hendrik Houwens Post (Surakarta, September18, 1904 - Utrecht, September 1, 1986).

Notes

1. Richter, p.72. [text] 

2. Van Berkel: The German source text of a.o. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, Nostradamus spådomar om kriget and What will happen in the near future?. [text]

3. Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1939-1942. [text]

4. Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1939-1942; Boelcke-1966, p.304 and Boelcke-1989 (1967), p.28. The question is if after August 1940, these brochures were still in print. [text]

5. Nationaal Archief, The Hague, NL, file 37401-I. This might explain why Ort in the post-war administration of justice stated that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was produced and spread in July 1940 and why dr. W.H.C. Tenhaeff in his book Oorlogsvoorspellingen (The Hague, 1948, p.214) stated that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? dated from after the capitulation of the Netherlands in May 1940. [text]

6. "Pasteur", p.46. [text]

7. The company data are mentioned on www.bibliopolis.nl; the biographical data are mentioned on http://www.genealogieonline.nl/familieboek-ort. The portrait of Willem Johan Ort is a cut-out of a photograph, originally published on http://www.genealogieonline.nl/familieboek-ort and is published by courtesy of R.G. Ort, author and webmaster. [text]

8. Groeneveld, p.79 and 85; Rapport inzake Jan Campert, p.24-27 (http://www.denhaag.nl/pics/hga/pdf/251768_BW_inter.pdf).
   Thirteen titles of publications, published in 1939/'41 by the VGB / W.J. Ort, could be traced:
   * De ondergang van een imperium - over de "teloorgang" van het Engelse wereldrijk (R.S. Briffault, 1940)
   * De waarheid marcheert... (dr. W.R.V. Picht, 1939 [1st edition] and 1940 [2nd and 3rd edition])
   * Europa zonder Engeland – de noodzaak van een continentaal gevoel (C. Scarfoglio, 1940)
   * Grote verkondigers van het voortbestaan (K.H.E. de Jong, 1940)
   * Het voorspel tot den grooten strijd: de veldtocht in Noorwegen: wat onze vijanden meldden - en wat werkelijk gebeurde (dr. W.R.V. Picht, 1940)
   * Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?... ("J.F. Pasteur", 1940)
   * Hongersnood in Engeland / door Viscount Lymington; een samenvatting en een commentaar door Alan Sinclair Sidgwick (V. Lymington, pseudonym of Vernon Wallop Earl of Portsmouth, 1940)
   * Kan Engeland den oorlog winnen? De zeeoorlog en de neutralen (baron dr. L.F.W. Staël von Holstein, 1940) 
   * Mobilisatiedagboek 1939: dagboek van een soldaat uit de eerste mobilisatiedagen (J. van Eijk, around 1940)
   * Naar corporatieve bedrijfsorganisatie (J. Meijer Azn., Meijer Schwencke's father, 1941)
   * Oorlog in het Noorden (F. Lützow, 1940)
   * SOS Europa. Een bijdrage tot de schuldvraag van dezen oorlog (B.M. Roelli, 1940)
   * Tsjecho-Slowakije, slachtoffer der westersche mogendheden (E. Moravec, 1940, the third edition was entitled Wij zijn verraden - Tsjecho-Slowakije, slachtoffer der westersche mogendheden) [text]

9. Fröhlich, p.344. [text]

10. Van Berkel: The German source text of a.o. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, Nostradamus spådomar om kriget and What will happen in the near future?. [text]

11. Tenhaeff, p.214-215; Van Berkel: Oorlogsvoorspellingen - een onderzoek m.b.t. proscopie in verband met het wereldgebeuren (Den Haag, 1948 [1947]). [text]

12. Van Berkel: Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden (J. Vandervoort, Amsterdam, 1998). [text]

13. Vos, p.25-26. [text]

14. Vos, p.85-86. [text]

15. Vos, p.25 [text]

16. All these newspapers are published online on http://kranten-historisch.startpagina.nl. The logo's are taken from these online-publications. Clicking the underlined titles of the newspapers opens the web-pages on which can be looked for the original newspaper articles. The estimated numbers of subscribers of a number of daily's and newspapers are copied from table 9.1 of Niet voor publicatie - De legale Nederlandse pers tijdens de Duitse bezetting (Vos, p.324-327). [text]

17. De Jong, 4-II, p.643-644; Vos, p.80. In the thirties and the first years of World War II,, Meijer Schwencke was active in the national-socialist camp. It is not clear if he was a member of the NSB. In 1941, he joined the Dutch SS. In 1942, because of malversations, he no longer was on speaking terms with the Germans. In 1943, he worked for the illegal newspaper Het Parool. After the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945, he worked as an inspector of the Office of National Security (nowadays: the AIVD) until his arrest in 1946 (Groeneveld, p.85). [text]

18. Vos, p.80. [text]

19. De Jong, 4-II, p.642-644; Vos, p.81-89. [text]

20. Rapport inzake Jan Campert, p.25-26 (http://www.denhaag.nl/pics/hga/pdf/251768_BW_inter.pdf). [text]

21. Henri Theodorus Maria de Greeve SJ was born in Amsterdam on December 25, 1892 and died in Groesbeek on June 14, 1974. He was a renowned radio-speaker and publicist. In 1938, he founded the Bond Zonder Naam, an idealistic movement which promoted charity beyond the boundaries of religion or philosophy. The slogan of this movement was: improve the world by beginning to improve yourself. De Greeve explicitly turned himself against national-socialism and the NSB. From January 1941 until mid-1944, he was kept hostage in a.o. Haaren and St. Michielsgestel. During his captivity, he remained active. He held lectures for his companions in distress and wrote the theatre piece Het Vierde Beest, in which he exposed the ideology of national-socialism (see: GREEVE, Henri Theodorus Maria de (1892-1974)). [text]

22. Van Berkel: The Prophecies of Nostradamus and Information on prof. mr. dr. Hendrik Houwens Post alias mr. dr. W.L. Vreede [text]

© Politischen Archiv Auswärtigen Amt, Berlin
In connection with this article, photocopies have been studied of the brochures Que se passera-t-il entre le printemps 1940 et le printemps 1941? (Geneva, 1940, on this website indicated with "Rossier"-1940b) and its Serbian pendant (Sta nam donosi 1940?, Belgrade, 1940, on this website indicated with "Belgrade"). 
The original documents are owned by the Politischen Archiv Auswärtigen Amt (ref: PA AA R 66658). 
Every copy, print, multiplification or other use of parts of the contents of these brochures, published on www.nostradamusresearch.org, requires a written permission of the Politischen Archiv Auswärtigen Amt, D-11013 Berlin.