NOSTRADAMUS, ASTROLOGY AND THE BIBLE
SUBSTUDY "WORLD WAR II"
Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen 
(dr. A. Centgraf, Der Kurier #158, Berlin, July 10, 1949)
- T.W.M. van Berkel -

Index WORLD WAR II

General information
In the Sunday supplement of Der Kurier (Berlin), a page-size article on Nostradamus was published on July 10, 1949, written by the German historian/philologist dr. Alexander Max Centgraf (1893-1970). This article was divided in two parts: Nostradamus und Berlin and - und andere Weissagungen. In Nostradamus und Berlin, Centgraf discussed a number of quatrains which according to him dealt with the history of Germany and Berlin. In - und andere Weissagungen, he discussed a number of predictions in Century 09. 
Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen contained four illustrations: a portrait of Nostradamus as a pharmacist, the frontispiece of a 1568-B.Rigaud-edition of the Centuries; a picture which showed a lesson in astrology in the 16th century and a picture of a page from Century 09 in the prime edition of the Centuries, containing the quatrains 09-15 to 09-20.
At the beginning of his article, Centgraf wrote that his thorough study of the Centuries brought him to the conclusion that Nostradamus had compiled a great, prophetic concordance of world history, albeit chaotic. Centgraf had managed to decipher several quatrains which dealt with Berlin. He concluded that Nostradamus was like a meteor from higher spheres, who shed his light over those who searched and did research. With this remark, he joined Goethe, who spent similar words on Nostradamus in Faust, and the German Century-scholar dr. Max Philipp Albert Kemmerich, who characterized Nostradamus as one of the greatest geniuses of all times.

Discussed quatrains
In Nostradamus und Berlin, the first part of the article, five quatrains are discussed:

• 04-52: Napoleon marching into Berlin, October 27, 1806

• 03-11: destruction of the Berlin Tiergarten by air raids

• 06-65: the beginning of World War II; the burning of the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun

• 01-32: the end of the Second German Empire

• 05-94: occupation by Germany in 1940 of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, after the Blitzkrieg against France. With the rest of France, Hitler made a faked armistice. In 1945, Stalin approached the gates of Vienna and Berlin.

In - und weitere Weissagungen, the second part of the article, three quatrains are discussed:

• 09-16: Franco and Rivera

• 09-18: beheading general Montmorency in 1632

• 09-20: flight, arrest and death of Louis XVI

Correspondences of Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen with the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... (Arnhem, 1941)

In 1941, Hijman, Stenfert Kroese & Van de Zande NV publishers in Arnhem NL, run by the Dutch national-socialist J.H. van Ditmarsch, published a brochure of 102 pages. On the cover were two titles: Staat onze toekomst vast? and Voorspellingen van Nostradamus uit het jaar 1558 over het verloop van den huidige oorlog - door A. de Tombre. The title on the title page read: Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn  Michael Nostradamus spreekt in 1558 over het verloop en den uitslag van deze oorlog. On this website, the title Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... is maintained.
According to Piet Heil, who sent a letter on this topic to the Dutch newspaper Het Vrije Volk, De Tombre was a fascist astrologer.[1] For the moment, it is not possible to verify this information.
The German Century-scholar Ulrich Maichle, who a.o. occupies himself with national-socialist Nostradamus-propaganda in the period 1939-1942 by means of archive research, found out by means of a copy of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... which is part of the collection of the Berlin State Library, that this was a national-socialist brochure, written by Centgraf.[2] The title page of the German copy of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... contains a note, which reads that Centgraf is the author of this brochure. On the backside of the title page, it is noted that Centgraf gave this copy as a present to the Prussian State Library.[3]
In post-war comments on the Centuries, Centgraf used the pseudonym "dr. N. Alexander Centurio". A comparison of the contents of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... with Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte (Centurio, Berlin, 1955), Nostradamus -  Prophetische Weltgeschichte (Centurio, Bietigheim, 1977) and Die grossen Weissagungen des Nostradamus (Centurio, Munich, 1981) showed that parts of the text in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... return in later publications by Centgraf / Centurio.[4] There, he never dissociated himself from his comments in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... In public, he never apoligized for the national-socialist propaganda he wrote during the war.
As far as I know, Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen is the first post-war publication by Centgraf on Nostradamus. We note that he wrote this publication while using his own name instead of a pseudonym. For this article, the contents of Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen are compared with the contents of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... The results are as follows.

a. Quatrain texts
Between the German text in Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen of the quatrains 05-94 and 09-16 and the Dutch text of these quatrains in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... are that many correspondences and that few differences, that it can be said that Centgraf took the German texts of these quatrains from the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., as shown in the table (for the record, the French text of these quatrains, as printed in the appendix in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., is also listed).

b. Illustrations
Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen contains a picture of the cover of a B.Rigaud-edition of the Centuries. In the note, it is written that an original copy of this edition is part of the collection of the Berlin State Library. A similar picture can also be found on page 9 in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... The picture of the page with quatrains from Century 09 is also taken from this B.Rigaud-edition. De afbeelding van de pagina met kwatrijnen uit Century 09 stamt ook uit deze editie-B.Rigaud. Centgraf qualifies this edition as the "source edition" of the Centuries. A copy of this edition could be found in the Berlin State Library, with the signature Na7590. This copy, however, is a copy of a 1649-P.Rigaud-edition of the Centuries.[5]
In Nostradamus -Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf wrote that his source text was a photocopy of a B.Rigaud-edition of the Centuries, made by Karl Ernst Krafft in 1940, with a circulation number of 300 copies, not meant for sale.[6] Page 2 contains a picture of the cover of this edition. Research by Wilhelm Zannoth on the origins of the French quatrains texts, depicted on pp.96-99 in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... showed that these texts were taken from the Krafft-copy. This leads me to the assumption that Centgraf used the 1940-Krafft-copy as a text source as well as an illustration source for both Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... and Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen.

c. The anagram Hadrie
In Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen, the German text of the fourth line of quatrain 03-11 reads: Wenn die Alleinherrschaft des "Hadrie" unterliegt. Discussing the meaning of the word Hadrie, which he qualifies as an anagram, Centgraf writes:

An der Hand einer Reihe anderer Vierzeiler, die sich mit unserem Schicksal im letzten Kriege beschäftigen, habe ich erkannt, daß Nostradamus das Wort "Hadrie" als Kryptogramm für Hitler gebraucht. Man lese einmal das Wort so, wie ich es jetzt trenne: H (Hitler) Ad (Adolf) Adrie = Adria, der südliche Schwerpunkt der Achsenpolitik des Diktators.

The other series of quatrains which contains the word Hadrie, consists of the quatrains 01-08, 02-55 and 10-38, all discussed in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... On p.47, one can read the following information about Hadrie:

Hier wil ik slechts dit zeggen, dat het woord "Hadrie" de beginletters van den voor- en achternaam van Adolf Hitler bevat en tevens het woord Adria. Dit laatste woord is echter een verwijzing naar de as tussen Duitschland en Italië, die zijn zuidelijke zwaartepunt heeft in de Adria (de Adriatische Zee).

In the discussion in 1949 of the meaning of the word Hadrie in Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen, Centgraf claimed he was the one who linked this word with (a) Hitler and (b) the Axis-powers. By referring to a series of other quatrains, dealing with the fate of Germany in World War II, which series only can be found in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., he indicated that he was the author of the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... It is clear that in Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen, Centgraf included material from the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn...  
In the list of anagrams in the chapter Die Sprache des Propheten in Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte (1953) on p.17, Hadrie is explained as follows: H(itler) Ad(olf), Adria als Schwerpunkt der Achsenpolitik. On page 70, he wrote in connection with the winter of 1939-1940 and the meaning of quatrain 01-08 that at that time, he interpreted Hadrie as an anagram for Hitler. On p.100, he wrote that a link between Hadrie and Hitler could also be laid by referring to the Roman emperor Hadrianus, who like Hitler fought destruction wars against the Jews. However, Hadrianus was not mentioned in the comments on the Hadrie-quatrains. In the list of anagrams in the chapter Die Sprache des Propheten in Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte (1977) on p.30, the link between Hadrie and Hitler was only made by the reference to Hadrianus; Centgraf no longer mentioned the possibility of an anagram which consisted of Hitler's initials and an allusion to the Axis-powers.

A continuous series of concealing and twists
In Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., Centgraf presented the following perspectives about the future of Europe:

• p.76, quatrain 08-96 (erroneously numbered as VII, XCVI): the Jews are expelled from Europe;

• p.86, quatrain 08-77 (erroneously numbered as VIII, LXXII): bolshevism will exist for only 27 years;

• p.90, quatrain 01-35: decline of England;

• p.91, quatrain 02-55 (erroneously numbered as II, V): a splendid German victory;

• p.92-93, quatrains 02-87 and 10-31: the Holy Empire comes to Germany;

• p.94-95, quatrain 10-89: national-socialism will rule for about 57 years;

• p.95, quatrain 10-42 (erroneously numbered as X, LII): the divine character of the strong leadership in Europe.

In Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen, Centgraf wrote nothing about the perspectives of his national-socialist brochure and he did not mention the fact that back in 1941 he wrote such a brochure, for which he was decorated in January 1945 with the Kriegsverdienstkreuzes II. Klasse ohne Schwerter, as can be read on Maichle's website.[7] Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen raises the impression to be written by a German who is convinced that Nostradamus described in detail the fate of Germany and Berlin. In Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte and later publications, Centgraf, using the pseudonym Centurio, raised the impression that back in 1949 he comforted his compatriots. Actually, by means of continuously twisting and concealing, he wanted his readers to believe that his interpretation of the Centuries was striking. He continuously incorporated material which originated from the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., in other words: material which originated from his national-socialist period.
Centgraf's comments on quatrain 05-94 are a good example of a continuous series of concealing and twists. In the Dutch text of quatrain 05-94 in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., the fourth line contains the word aanvallen (tr.: attack). In his comment, Centgraf used this word also:

Wie is nu de groote Vorst van Armenië, die na de geveinsde wapenstilstand Keulen en Weenen zal aanvallen? Om te beginnen zijn Keulen en Weenen als de beide grootste steden in het Westen en het Oosten van het Duitsche Rijk de vertegenwoordigers voor geheel Duitschland. De grootvorst van Armenië is echter niemand anders dan Stalin. [...] Het bewijs voor deze bewering, dat hier Stalin bedoeld is, wordt vooral geleverd door Nostradamus' toevoeging, dat de overval na den geveinsden wapenstilstand plaatsvindt, dus na het groote verdrag, dat Adolf Hitler voor het begin van dezen oorlog met Rusland sloot; Stalin heeft echter nooit het plan gehad dit verdrag na te komen.[8]

The translation of quatrain 05-94 in Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen (1949) contains the word angreifen (tr.: attack). Centgraf's comment contains the past tense griff [...] an:

Der erheuchelte Waffenstillstand ist das Abkommen Hitlers mit dem Rest Frankreichs nach dem Blitzkrieg. Dann griff der Diktator Rußland an, aber der "große Führer von Armenien " - das ist Stalin - stand 1945 vor Wien und Köln, allerdings nicht vor Köln am Rhein, sondern vor Kölln an der Spree. Denn zu Nostradamus' Zeiten war Berlin nur eine kleine Residenz, während ihre Schwesterstadt Kölln größere Bedeutung besaß.

In Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte (1955), Centgraf presented a different translation of the third and fourth line of quatrain 05-94, compared with his earlier publications: Im geheuchelten Waffenstillstand wird der große Herzog aus Armenien Wien und Cölln (Berlin!) berennen; the word angreifen no longer occurs in his translation. In his comment, Centgraf wrote that Nostradamus had predicted that Stalin's blockade of Berlin and Vienna would fail:

Die Konferenz von Potsdam brachte 1945 nicht den geringsten Ansatzpunkt für einen Friedensschluß. Tatsächlich bestand also nach Beendigung des Krieges nur ein Waffenstillstand. Wenn dieser nun "geheuchelt" genannt wird, so ist das als treffende Bezeichnung dieses seltsamen Zustandes anzusehen, der die einstigen Alliierten sich entzweien ließ un schließlich zur Blockade Berlins führte. Es gelang Stalin nicht, dieses Schaufenster westlicher Freiheit und Lebensart mitten im roten Meer zu Fall zu bringen und einzunehmen. Man hätte im Kreml den Nostradamus lesen müssen, um den Ausgang dieses Sturmes auf Berlin zu erfahren; man hätte kein Wort von Eroberung gefunden, nur von Berennen wurde dort gesprochen. Das Gleiche gilt fur Wien.[9]

In Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltegeschichte (1977), some lines deal with Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen. In these lines, Centgraf described his 1949-comment on quatrain 05-94 as follows:

Ich schrieb in dem erwähnten Beitrag [Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen, TvB]: "Es wird ihm [Stalin, TvB] nicht gelingen, Wien und Berlin in Besitz zu nehmen. Er wird beide Hauptstädte nur berennen." Niemand wird abstreiten, daß diese Deuting für die Berliner, die noch unter dem Eindruck der Blockade standen, ein großer Trost war, richtig war und sich erfüllt hat.[10]

It is clearly demonstrated that in 1977, Centgraf did not present the meaning of of his 1949-comment on quatrain 05-94. Actually, he presented a story which he made up in 1955, but which he had not written in 1949. Moreover, in 1941, his comment was entirely different.
In the course of the years, Centgraf's comment on quatrain 05-94 changed as follows:

• 1941: Coloigne = Cöln; Nostradamus had predicted that Stalin would violate the Molotov - Von Ribbentrop pact ;

• 1949: Coloigne = Berlin; Nostradamus had predicted that in 1945 the Russian Army would march to Berlin;

• 1955: Coloigne = Berlin; Nostradamus had predicted that Stalin's post-war blockade of Berlin and Vienna would fail;

• 1977: Coloigne = Berlin; Centgraf stated that back in 1949 he wrote that Nostradamus had predicted that Stalin's post-war blockade of Berlin would fail.

The fortune of Centgraf's oeuvre
The first publication of Centgraf which deals with the Centuries is only available in a Dutch translation: Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... (De Tombre, Arnhem, 1941). If this translation was part of a series of translations, spread in 1941/1942 in a way Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was spread with other translations of a text, written in November - December 1939 by a number of employees of Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda, is not known.
In 1949, Centgraf wrote the article Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen. In this article, he included material which originated from the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... 
Centgraf also gave lectures on Nostradamus. In Nostradamus - ein Leben in der bedeutendsten Zeitwende des Abendlandes und seine Auferstehung (Munich, 1963), the late Karl Drude, a German Century-scholar, wrote that on a Wednesday afternoon, one of his friends attended a lecture by Centgraf on Nostradamus, the third lecture he gave that day. This friend was very impressed by Centgraf's explanations of quatrains which were fulfilled in the 17th, 18th and 19th century and by his explanations of quatrains which dealt with the capitulation of Berlin. As for the Americans, they were highly esteemed. When the meeting was ended, one of the attendants, an astrologer, gave Centgraf a book on Nostradamus.[11] Drude did not give the date on which Centgraf gave this lecture, but it is striking that (a) his friend was impressed by explanations, dealing with the capitulation of Berlin and (b) Centgraf used his own name and not a pseudonym, as he did from at least 1953. 
In 1953, the first edition of Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte was published. Centgraf used the pseudonym dr. N. Centurio and discussed all Centuries. In this book also, material was included which originated from the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... After a number of revisions, Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte was replaced by Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, in which Centgraf, now using the pseudonym dr. N. Alexander Centurio, discussed a selection of quatrains and other nostradamic material for the years until 2050. In this book also, material was included which originated from the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... In this article, the seventh edition (1977) has been studied.
From 1981, Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte is entitled : Die grossen Weissagungen des Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte bis zum Jahr 2050. This book is part of the series "Arcana, the leading Body - Mind - Spirit program" of Random House publishers in Munich, ISBN: 978-3-442-11772-7.

A questionable Century-scholar
After World War II, Centgraf did not publicly admit that during the war, he was an esteemed national-socialist activist, who used the Centuries and/or comments for propaganda purposes by writing the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... In his post-war publications, he included material which originated from this source text. Neither in these publications, nor in public, he dissociated himself from his propaganda or apologized for what he wrote in the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn...: comments which were meant to demoralize and discourage people, which were directed against Jews and communists and in which he wrote that national-socialism would be the leading force in Europe for numerous decades. On the contrary, in Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, which nowadays is entitled Die grossen Weissagungen des Nostradamus, he presented himself as a Century-scholar who back in 1949 gave comfort to his Berlin readers, a qualification which completely can be contested.
For many years, my colleague Ulrich Maichle does research on the activities of Centgraf alias Centurio. His website Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis 1939 - 1942 contains numerous transcripted documents which show Centgraf's national-socialist activities. Now, Maichle is in discussion with Random House publishers, Munich, in order to put an end to the selling of Die grossen Weissagungen des Nostradamus. Because of the blameworthy political character of Centgraf's / Centurio's oeuvre, www.nostradamusresearch.org supports Maichle. 
I hereby invite you to read Centgraf / Centurio's oeuvre, Maichle's findings and the articles on Centgraf's / Centurio's oeuvre on www.nostradamusresearch.org. If you consider Centgraf's / Centurio's oeuvre as being blameworthy and if you have the opinion that his book Die grossen Weissagungen des Nostradamus no longer should be in circulation, I suggest you address yourself to Random House publishers by using the "Kontakt" link on their website and send them an e-mail, in order to enforce mr. Maichle in his discussion.[12] 

De Meern, the Netherlands, February 6, 2007
T.W.M. van Berkel

 .  

Notes

1. Het Vrije Volk, December 26, 1966. [text] 
2. Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis 1939-1942. [text]
3. Schöffel (Berlin State Library) to Van Berkel, December 5, 2005; in the note on the title page, the numbers 1 and 2 in the year figure 1941 are mixed. [text]
4. Van Berkel: Mysterie 14-18 De Eerste Wereldoorlog onverklaard (R. Heijster, Tielt, 2000 [1999]) [text]
5. Centurio-1955, p.11 and 260. [text]
6. Centurio-1977, p.266. [text]
7. Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis 1939-1942. [text]
8. De Tombre, p.28-29. [text]
9. Centurio-1955, p.128-129. [text]
10. Centurio-1977, p.216-217. [text]
11. Drude-1963, p.356-358. [text]
12. The URL of Random House publishers GmbH: www.randomhouse.de.
    Post address: 
    - VERLAGSGRUPPE RANDOM HOUSE GmbH
    - Neumarkter Strasse 28
    - 81673 München - Deutschland  [text]