Nostradamus, astrology and the Bible: Der Seher von Salon (brochure-38-DE, 1941)

Der Seher von Salon
Der Seher von Salon is volume 38 in the series Informations-Schriften, a series of leaflets, produced in 1940 and 1941 by the Deutsche Informationsstelle, a department of the Auswärtige Amt, the Foreign Office. These leaflets carried the publisher's name Europa-Verlag and the mentioning of branches in Berlin, London and Paris.[1]
Der Seher von Salon was printed by Rotadruck Wilhelm Meyer KG, Berlin SW68 and consists of 16 text pages. The text is divided in six chapters. In each chapter, one or more quatrains is discussed. Each quatrain has the serial number which is used in the Century-editions. The quatrain texts are given in German, not in French.
The name of the author of Der Seher von Salon is not given. Research by Ulrich Maichle has revealed that this leaflet was written by dr. H.-H. Kritzinger. Prior to publication, his text was edited by a certain mr. Wilhelm. In a letter to a dr. Simon, dated on January 28, 1941, a dr. Büttner emphasized that Der Seher von Salon was meant as an addendum to #18 in the series Informations-Schriften, entitled Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, and that especially the use in French camps of prisoners of war of the French version of Der Seher von Salon would be interesting.[2]
Der Seher von Salon does not contain illustrations, neither in the text pages, nor on the cover page.

**Der Seher von Salon**
Page	Chapter	Quatrains
1.	Der Seher von Salon	01-64
5.	Glück und Ende Napoleons I	01-60, 03-35, 04-26, 08-57, 01-88, 07-13
7.	Genf und die französische Republik	01-47, 01-61
9.	Der Siegeszug der "Philosophen"	03-67, 03-57
11.	Der Zusammenbruch des englischen Reiches	02-78, 01-64, 02-100, 10-100
14.	Hitlers Großdeutschland	05-94

The national-socialist word, brought by Der Seher von Salon, was that it was predicted in the 16th century that England's fall is at hand and that her leading part in the world will be taken over by Germany. In order to make this word acceptable, it was attributed to the Centuries that they contain fulfilled predictions regarding the actual circumstances in 1941, the past century (Napoleon I), the present century (the Interbellum) and the beginning of World War II.
The first chapter, entitled Der Seher von Salon, opens with the remark that quatrain 01-64 contains an allusion to the actual situation in 1941, i.e. the air raids on London. This chapter also contains some notes regarding the life and work of Nostradamus, who is described as an indefatigable fighter of the plague, who retired and at night, in solitary studies, went into trance by gazing into a water bowl in which light was reflected. As a result, Nostradamus came in touch with an entity which revealed him the secrets of the future. Regarding tot '40's, Europe's liberation of English pressure would have been shown in visions, as well as the struggle for a new order on the continent.
In the chapter Glück und Ende Napoleons I it is argued that Nostradamus was able to predict in detail. This is illustrated by the links between a couple of quatrains and Napoleon I, England's great adversary: his place of birth (quatrain 01-60), his origin (quatrain 03-35), his family arms (quatrain 04-26), his clothes and his attitude towards the Church (quatrain 08-57), his hair and his debacle in Moscow (quatrain 01-88) and the number of years of his reign (quatrain 07-13).
In the chapter Genf und die französischen Republik, the failure of the League of Nations is described (quatrain 01-47) and Germany's break of the Versailles Treaty, while France will have a king, whose reign will contribute to world peace (quatrain 01-61).
In the chapter Der Siegeszug der "Philosophen", it is explained that the "philosophers", i.e. fascists and national-socialists, will solve the European national and social problems. Quatrain 03-67 is linked to the main themes of the NSDAP-program. The German army is characterized as an army, whose soldiers wholeheartedly fight for their homeland. Quatrain 03-57 is linked to the German invasion in Poland. This quatrain, in which for England seven changes are predicted, has a time span from 1649 to 1939 and indicates that England will face its last crisis. Germany, indicated by the zodiacal sign of Aries, doubts the existence of her neighbour country Poland.
In the chapter Der Zusammenbruch des englischen Reiches, it is explained that in Napoleon's lifetime as well as in 1941, it is proved that England does not belong to France's friends, but in fact is France's mortal enemy. In connection with this, the Frenchman De Fontbrune is quoted, who before the invasion in Poland wrote that around that time, England would belong to the adversaries of France.[3] It is also argued that England's fall is caused by the underestimation of the strength of Germany (quatrain 02-78) and the German air raids (quatrains 01-64 and 02-100). The time span of quatrain 10-100, in which a period of supremacy for England is predicted which lasts more than 300 years, begins in 1603, the year in which the British queen Elisabeth died, and ends after 1903, i.e. somewhere in the '40's.
In the chapter Hitlers Großdeutschland, is emphasized that quatrain 05-94 not simply contains the word Allemagne (Germany), but Grand-Germanie (Great-Germany), an allusion to a big community which is united fraternally. Quatrain 05-94 is linked to Germany's taking back of the Saar region and Austria, the German victory over Poland and the capitulation of Belgium and Holland. This all has been accomplished by the leader of Armin's land (Germany), who broke the deceptive Versailles Treaty. In the closing words, it is described that August, the Roman emperor, desperately asked Varus, the leader of the three Roman legions which were defeated by Armin in 9 AD, to give back his legions, a question which also might have been asked to many generals in Poland, Dunkirk and France. It looks as if dr. Büttner, in his letter to dr. Simon from January 28, 1941 had this remark in mind, when he mentioned the impact which the French version of Der Seher von Salon might have on prisoners of war in France.
In 1940-'41, anti-British propaganda was, as shown by Z.A.B. Zeman in De propaganda van de nazi's (p.165), a permanent part of the national-socialist propaganda. Anti-British elements are also present in Der Seher von Salon. This means that in Der Seher von Salon, as in other national-socialist propaganda publications, linked to the Centuries, an attempt was made to isolate Great-Britain in favour of "the German cause" by exploiting superstitious feelings among the people.

Source material
In Uranias Kinder..., Ellic Howe wrote that the contents of Der Seher von Salon (Kritzinger has given him a copy of this leaflet) are based on material, written by Krafft[4] The literature study upon which this article is based, showed that only the comment on quatrain 05-94 is based upon Krafft's ideas. A major part of Der Seher von Salon can be carried back to Kritzinger's Mysterien von Sonne und Seele (Berlin, 1922), among which some quatrain texts. Some passages in Der Seher von Salon can be carried back to or are inspired by a brochure, written in November - December 1939 by order of Goebbels and published in early 1940 in several languages, among which Dutch (Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?), English (What will happen in the near future?) and Swedish (Nostradamus spådomar om kriget).
The description in the chapter Der Seher von Salon of the way Nostradamus worked, can be carried back to its description in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele.[5]
The contents of the chapter Glück und Ende Napoleons I can also be carried back to Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, where Kritzinger linked the quatrains 03-35, 01-60, 01-76, 04-26, 08-57, 01-88 and 07-13 to Napoleon Bonaparte. In Der Seher von Salon, four of these quatrains (the quatrains 04-26, 08-57, 01-88 and 07-13) are treated in the same order as in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele; the comments are identical. A discussion of the links between the quatrains 03-35, 01-60, 01-88 and 07-13 to the life of Napoleon can also be found in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Nostradamus spådomar om kriget. Once in a while, the nickname the Corsican is used, like in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele and Der Seher von Salon.[6]
The comment on quatrain 01-61 in the chapter Genf und die französische Republik (Germany breaks the Versailles Treaty, France will have a king) is also present in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele.[7] The passage regarding quatrain 03-57 can also be carried back to Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, in which Kritzinger wrote that his compatriot Loog expected that in 1939 a crisis would occur in England, and at the same time also a crisis would occur in Poland. Quatrain 03-57 is also discussed in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Nostradamus spådomar om kriget.[8]
The mentioning of De Fontbrune can be carried back to or is inspired by Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? / Nostradamus spådomar om kriget, in which this Frenchman is quoted extensively in order to make it acceptable that England's role in the world will come to an end. The link between quatrain 10-100 and the year 1603, in which queen Elisabeth died, can be carried back to a quote from De Fontbrune's book in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? / Nostradamus spådomar om kriget.[9]
In the manuscript Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, which dates from the second half of 1940, the Swiss astrologer Karl Ernst Krafft, who in December 1939 became involved in the production of national-socialist propaganda, based upon the Centuries, extensively discussed quatrain 05-94. His comment contains expressions like a feigned armistice, closed in the Compiègne Forest on November 11, 1918, the re-occupation of the Rhineland in 1936, Austria's Anschluß in 1938 and the great Leader of Armin's land. Krafft linked Bologne to the French city of Boulogne. He did not discuss the German invasion in Poland.[10] In the summer of 1940, Kritzinger and Krafft had a discussion about the meaning of the words grand duc d'Armenie in the third line of quatrain 05-94. According to Kritzinger, these words were an allusion to Stalin, but back in 1940 it was not at all likely that Staling would attack Vienna and Cologne. Krafft's alternative was to link these words to Hitler (Armenie ► Arminie ► Arminius ► Hitler). In Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?, the final version of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, published in April 1941, the word Armenie is linked to Armin's land and the name Bologne to Poland (Boulogne ► Pologne [Polen]) instead of to the city of Boulogne. Kritzinger too linked Bologne to Poland. This implies that Krafft and Kritzinger until late 1940 had contact with each other about the production of propaganda material, based upon the Centuries.[11]
In Der Seher von Salon, the text of quatrain 07-13 matches exactly with the text of this quatrain in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele.[12] The text of the quatrains 01-60 and 03-35 in Der Seher von Salon is in many ways corresponding with the text of these quatrains in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele.[13]

The assimilation of the source material
The text of Der Seher von Salon was written by Kritzinger and edited by Wilhelm. From the version which finally is printed, it cannot be derived if ( and if yes: to what extent) Wilhelm added or deleted passages, sharpened some passages or toned down some passages. Therefore, the question is, although this question has a rhetoric nature, if all propagandistic statements can be attributed to Kritzinger. In this article, it is assumed that at least the heart of these statements can be attributed to Kritzinger.
Kritzinger, born in 1887, became interested in the cosmos by the age of 8 and lost himself in the Centuries at the age of 14.[14] He wrote an anonymous leaflet, which contained quatrain 10-51. This leaflet was spread among German soldiers, encamped in France during World War I.[15]
Kritzinger played a prominent part in the occult and paranormal scene. As far as known, he was the first German astronomer who turned towards astrology. In 1911, Der Stern der Weisen was published, his first astrological writing. The preface was written by dr. Wilhelm Faber, whose revised version of Roesch's translation of the Centuries was published in 1922. In the 20's, Kritzinger was chief editor of the monthly magazine Psychische Studien, which especially dealt with the investigation of the lesser known phenomena in psychology.
In three books, Kritzinger discussed Nostradamus: Mysterien von Sonne und Seele (Berlin, 1922), Todesstrahlen und Wünschelrute – Beiträge zur Schicksalskunde Leipzig, 1929) and Magische Kräfte! Geheimnisse der menschlichen Seele (Dresden, 1930). As appears from Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, he had a close contact with Loog, with who he discussed his theories about the way the quatrains were ordered in the Centuries.[16] In Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, Kritzinger frequently reverted to Loog's Die Weissagungen des Nostradamus. In Todesstrahlen und Wünschelrute, theories of Loog are dropped in favour of those of dr. Christian Wöllner, the author of Das Mysterium des Nostradamus (Leipzig, 1926). According to Kritzinger, Loog and Le Pelletier achieved valuable results, but discredited Nostradamus by launching suppositions which were too daring. According to Kritzinger, Wöllner dealt with the Centuries in a disciplined, scientific way.[17]
In December 1939, Kritzinger became involved in the production of national-socialist propaganda, based upon the Centuries. In a conversation with Howe in 1961, in which Kritzinger described the way Krafft became involved, he told that they shared the opinion that a perversion of the quatrains for propaganda purposes would be a crime against Nostradamus, who would turn himself in his tomb in case something like that occurred. Therefore, Kritzinger and Krafft did their best to use but that material which was meaningful and striking.[18] In the documents which are at Maichle's disposal, Krafft is not mentioned as the author of Der Seher von Salon. The only comment which can be carried back to Krafft, is the comment on quatrain 05-94, a comment which Kritzinger in the summer of 1940 did not approve.[19]
The national-socialist wanted a new Europe, in which Germany would have the military supremacy and lead the non-German countries in the northern half of Europe. The new Europe should be able to fulfil completely its own economic needs, to sustain a blockade and to break England's international economic supremacy. In 1940-'41, the national-socialist propaganda was directed to these aims. The hostility against England and the exclusion of England from the European continent were fixed propaganda themes.[20] In Der Seher von Salon, these themes are elaborated profoundly: England will be confronted with a crisis which will have severe economic, military and political results: famine, damage because of air raids, isolation of the European continent. According to Der Seher von Salon, centuries ago, Nostradamus predicted these crises in full detail. Quatrains, linked to Napoleon, are the evidence of Nostradamus' skill. In Der Seher von Salon, no concrete date is given from which the German supremacy will be a given fact. However, it must be clear for the readers that all indications point towards one direction: back in the 16th century, both England's fall in or around 1941 and the rise of Great-Germany were described.
The comment in Der Seher von Salon on Napoleon can be carried back to Kritzinger's comment in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele. Many elements of this comment are borrowed from Loog's Die Weissagungen des Nostradamus. Loog based himself upon Le Pelletier's Les Oracles de Michel de Nostredame (Paris, 1867).[21] In Der Seher von Salon, Loog's comment on Napoleon is not perverted. However, there is the addition that Napoleon was England's great adversary. It looks as if Kritzinger and/or Wilhelm wanted to anticipate the comments on the events which took place from 1939. To this, we add that on p.29 in Winkler's Englands Aufstieg und Niedergang..., written in the first months of 1940, Napoleon's hostile attitude towards England is described.
In Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, Kritzinger, following Loog, explained quatrain 01-61 as a prediction of the breaking of the Versailles Treaty. In Der Seher von Salon, this comment occurs within the context of the events which took place during the Interbellum. In other words: quatrain 01-61 was fulfilled; Germany broke the Versailles Treaty.[22]
Loog's comment on quatrain 03-67 read that this quatrain predicted the rise in Germany of a philosophic movement, which would turn against chasing wealth and pleasure. In Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, this quatrain is not discussed. In Der Seher von Salon, a link has been made between this quatrain and the NSDAP-program, with a reference to the German soldiers who wholeheartedly fought for their homeland, without chasing wealth or pleasure.[23]
The comment in Der Seher von Salon on quatrain 03-57 can be carried back to Kritzinger's comment in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, though, according to Der Seher von Salon, by 1941, England will face the last crisis in a series of seven which began in 1649. The dating of the time span of quatrain 03-57 is borrowed from Loog. In Der Seher von Salon, it is not mentioned that Loog did not describe the nature of the crises he expected for 1939, and also did not describe a German part in these crises. In Der Seher von Salon, it is also not mentioned that according to Loog a new World War would begin around 2100, and that by that time Germany would be a superpower. Kritzinger's comment on quatrain 03-57 in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele indicates that back in 1921-'22, Kritzinger was very interested in the fate of England, as is shown in his introductory words Besonders wertvoll sind die Mitteilungen über das weltmächtige England and his assumption that the decline of England will be in either the second half of the 20th century or somewhere between 2010 and 2040.[24]
In Der Seher von Salon, whether or not as a result of the discussion between Krafft and Kritzinger in the summer of 1940, the text of the third line of quatrain 05-94 drastically has been changed, which becomes clear when this version of quatrain 05-94 is compared with the one by Loog (1921) and Noah (1928). Loog's translation is more in accordance with Le Pelletier's source text than Noah's translation (who in many ways followed Loog). Both of them translated the word fainte (modern-French: feinte = feigned) in the third line in the meaning of ending a fight. Noah did not translate the words Vienna and Coloigne . In Der Seher von Salon, following Krafft, the word fainte is translated in the meaning of feigned and quatrain 05-94 is linked to Germany's breaking of the Versailles Treaty, the re-occupation of the Rhineland in 1936, Austria's Anschluß in 1938, the invasion in Poland in 1939 and the Westfeldzug in 1940. Actually, the German text of quatrain 05-94 in Der Seher von Salon was fitted to the comment on it in Der Seher von Salon.[25]

**Quatrain 05-94**
Le Pelletier 1969 (1867), #II, p.114	Loog-1921, p.91	Noah 2005 (1928), p.179	Krafft-1940 ms	Kritzinger-1941, p.15.
Translatera en la grand Germanie, Brabant & Flandres, Gand, Bruges, & Bolongne: La tresue fainte le grand duc d'Armenie, Assaillira Vienne & la Cologne.	Uebertragen wird er auf Großdeutschland, Brabant und Flandern, Gent, Brügge und Boulogne. Wenn der Waffenstilstand geschlossen ist, der Großherzog von Armenien. Er wird Wien und Köln bestürmen.	Brabant, Flandern, Gent, Brügge und Boulogne Werden mit dem großen Deutschland vereinigt. Wenn der Waffenkamp beendet ist, Wird der große Furst von Armenien Kampf ansagen.	Überfuhren wird er in den Bereich von Großdeutschland Brabant und Flandern, Gent, Brügge und Boulogne. Der Waffenstillstand ein Betrug; der große Führer von Arminien, d.h. des Landes der Arminius, wird überraschend besetzen Wien und Köln.	Hinübernehmen nach Großdeutschland wird, Brabant und Flandern, Gent und Brügge, Polen - Vertrag war Schwindel! - Der Arminien führt, Wird sich im Sprunge Wien und Cöllen holen.

Der Seher von Salon contains a reference to expectations of the Frenchman De Fontbrune, written in 1938 in Les Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus expliquées et commentées, about a war which, according to De Fontbrune, would begin around 1947 and about England's position during that war: in the rows of the enemies of France. By writing about an independent French contemporary, Kritzinger and/or Wilhelm seemed to have tried to raise the impression that their own text was not due to propaganda. They did not mention that De Fontbrune had the fall of fascism and national-socialism in prospect.[26] A great number of parts of De Fontbrune's book were quoted on pp.32-38 of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? (The Hague, NL, April 1940), the Dutch translation of a national-socialist brochure, based upon Century-comments, with page references and the original texts, given in the appendix. In November 1940, shortly before the publication of Der Seher von Salon, the French Vichy-government no longer allowed the circulation of De Fontbrune's book, since it contained predictions which might stroke the Germans against their hair.[27]

Discussion
In this article, Der Seher von Salon is discussed, a small national-socialist propaganda leaflet, in which the readers is told, based upon the Centuries, that England's fall is at hand and that her role in the world will be taken over by Hitler's Germany. This theme was one of the main themes in the national-socialist propaganda in 1940-'41. Thanks to Maichle's research, it has been ascertained that this leaflet was written by dr. H.-H. Kritzinger, who from December 1939 was involved in the production of national-socialist propaganda material, based upon the Centuries, and edited by a certain mr. Wilhelm.
In this article, the source material is described which has been used during the compilation of the text of Der Seher von Salon. Large parts of this text can be carried back to Kritzingers Mysterien von Sonne und Seele. Only one comment, the comment on quatrain 05-94, can be carried back to Karl Ernst Krafft, i.e. to a discussion between Krafft and Kritzinger in the summer of 1940, described by Kritzinger in 1962.
In a conversation with Howe in 1961, Kritzinger told that Krafft and he did their best not to change quatrain texts for propaganda purposes, but to use that material which was meaningful and striking. In this article, it has been described in what way in Der Seher von Salon the source material was assimilated, the elements which were added, the elements which were excluded and a quatrain text which drastically had been edited.
All in all, this article gives insight in how in the case of Der Seher von Salon a propaganda leaflet has been produced.

The Centuries in Kritzinger's oeuvre
Over the years, Kritzinger's ideas about the Centuries varied. In World War I, he wrote a flyer for the German army, in which he discussed quatrain 10-51. In 1922, in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele, he followed the path which one year before was set by Loog in Die Weissagungen des Nostradamus and compared Loog's theories and time structures with his own time structures regarding the world's future in general and especially England's future. In 1929, in Todesstrahlen und Wünschelrute, Kritzinger was more reluctant regarding Loog's theories and took up various cycle theories, described in 1926 by Wöllner in Das Mysterium des Nostradamus, under a discussion of the meaning of the Great Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn, described in various books in the past. This discussion has no political purpose.
The national-socialist propaganda leaflet Der Seher von Salon contains passages which originate from Mysterien von Sonne und Seele. To these passages, elements are added which in one way or another plead in favour of "the German cause". The question is if Kritzinger adjusted his 1922-comment only because of propaganda reasons, or that he wrote his 1941-version as a result of the conviction that Nostradamus predicted Germany's breaking of the Versailles Treaty, the beginning and the course of World War II, the air raids on England and England's fall in 1941. Given his interest in 1922 in England's fate and speculations at that time about England's fall, it is possible that Kritzinger by 1941 really had the conviction that the course of events in the Interbellum and the beginning of World War II was predicted in the Centuries. However, propaganda elements like the characterization of Napoleon as England's great adversary and the twisting of the text of quatrain 05-94 are also present, which means that from an exegetic point of view Der Seher von Salon is a contaminated treatise.
As far as I know, Kritzinger did not publish anything about Nostradamus after World War II. It can be ascertained, however, that back in 1961-'62, as he had contact with Howe, Kritzinger did not give a correct description of his part in the production of national-socialist propaganda, based upon the Centuries.[28] Perhaps the 73-year old professor rather wanted this chapter in his life to remain closed.

Expression of thanks
I would like to express my thanks to mr. Ulrich Maichle, because of his sharing of some of his results in his research on the fortune of the Centuries during World War II. I also would like to thank dr. Elmar R. Gruber for sending a photocopy of Der Seher von Salon. The original copy contains a stamp of the Haupt-Archiv der NSDAP, München, a stamp with the number III/30/c and a stamp with the number 142.

De Meern, the Netherlands, March 11, 2006
T.W.M. van Berkel
actualized on September 11, 2006