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Dr. phil.
Alexander
Max Centgraf
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Introduction
Ater World War II, the German historian/philologist dr. phil. Alexander Max
Centgraf alias dr. N. Alexander Centurio (1893-1970) wrote two
books about Nostradamus and the Centuries. These books carried
his author's pseudonym "dr. N.
Alexander Centurio"[1]
The first book, Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte, was
published in 1953 by Richard Schikowski publishers in Berlin; the second
book, Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, was published in
1968 by Turm publishers in Bietigheim.
Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte contained comments
and explanations, based upon Centgraf's translation of the Preface to
Cesar, the Epistle to Henry II and the ten centuries, using the
1940-Krafft-copy of a 1568-B.Rigaud edition of the Centuries as a
source text, further the centuries 11 (which in Nostradamus - Der Prophet der
Weltgeschichte contained the Sixains!), 12 (which in Nostradamus
- Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte consisted of 11 quatrains!) and the Présages. Schikowski
also published the second, enlarged edition of Nostradamus - Der Prophet der
Weltgeschichte (1955), the third edition and the fourth, revised
edition (1960). In Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte,
Centgraf discussed the predictions of Nostradamus while maintaining the
order in the Centuries, with a future perspective for the years
until 2200.
Nostradamus -
Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf's second book about
Nostradamus and the Centuries, contained a selection of
quatrains,
Présages en Sixains with a future perspective for the
years until 2050. In this book, Centgraf discussed the quatrains and
other predictions of Nostradamus in the order in which they according to
him were fulfilled or would be fulfilled. Many of the comments in Nostradamus -
Prophetische Weltgeschichte corresponded with the comments in Nostradamus
- Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte. The first edition of Nostradamus
- Prophetische Weltgeschichte (Turm Verlag, Bietigheim, 1968) was therefore
numbered as the fifth, revised and enlarged edition, coming next to the
fourth edition of Nostradamus - Der Prophet der
Weltgeschichte. The second and next editions of Nostradamus
- Prophetische Weltgeschichte were numbered as sixth and next
editions, in all cases with the remark "revised and enlarged".
Actually, they all were reprints of the first edition.
Today, Turm publishers still print Nostradamus - Prophetische
Weltgeschichte. Since 1981, a license-copy of Nostradamus -
Prophetische Weltgeschichte is circulating, entitled Die großen Weissagungen des Nostradamus:
prophetische Weltgeschichte bis zum Jahr 2050. The
publishing rights were acquired by Bertelsmann in Munich.
www.nostradamusresearch.org possesses four articles which Centgraf after World War II wrote about Nostradamus and
the Centuries. Three of them carried his own name. In the
article Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere
Weissagungen (in: Der Kurier, Berlin, July 10, 1949),
he linked a number of quatrains to the fortune of Germany in and after
World War II. In the articles
Eindrucksvolle Beweise für die Richtigkeit der
Nostradamus-Prophezeiungen (in: Die andere Welt,
Freiburg in Breisgau, October 1969) and Die siebziger Jahre in
der Sicht des Propheten Nostradamus (in: Esotera,
Freiburg in Breisgau, January 1970), he presented comments which
he had published in the 1968-edition of Nostradamus - Prophetische
Weltgeschichte. In Nostradamus und das jüngste Weltgeschehen,
published in the August-issue of volume 1995 of the Schweizer
Monatshefte - Zeitschrift für
Politik Wirtschaft Kultur (Zürich), Centgraf described the reason why he started
to study Nostradamus and the Centuries. He also described his
position as a Century-scholar in World War II and linked a number
of quatrains to events in World War II.
www.nostradamusresearch.org also possesses a copy of a letter from
Centgraf to the German author Hermann Hesse, dated on May 22, 1950 and
written under his own name. At that time, Hesse resided in Switzerland.
The subject of the letter was a manuscript by Centgraf about Nostradamus
and the Centuries. The publisher in Berlin with which Centgraf
had made a contract about publishing, was lacking financial means. As a
result, Centgraf asked Hesse if he could make a Swiss publisher
interested in the publishing of his manuscript. Centgraf's letter
contained an appendix with comments upon a number of quatrains of
century 09 and a part of the Centuries-concordance which Centgraf
had compiled.
From time to time in his post-war books and articles about Nostradamus
and the Centuries, Centgraf described the way the
national-socialists used the Centuries for propaganda purposes,
who were involved in this and the impact of this propaganda. He also
described that at the outbreak of World War II, he tried to restrain
Germany by means of the Centuries from dangerous military
operations and that by the end of World War II, he tried to enhance
peace initiatives by writing a Nostradamusbrochure.
Centgraf systematically hided that in 1941, he wrote the text of a
national-socialist
Nostradamusbrochure. The Dutch translation of this brochure was
entitled Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn - Michael
Nostradamus spreekt in 1558 over het verloop en den uitslag van dezen
oorlog
(Arnhem, 1941, alternative titel: Staat onze toekomst vast?
Voorspellingen van Nostradamus uit het jaar 1558 over het verloop van
den huidigen oorlog). In January 1945, as a token of appreciation
for this brochure, Centgraf was decorated with the Kriegsverdienstkreuz
II. Klasse ohne Schwerter. In his post-war books and articles
about Nostradamus and the Centuries, Centgraf never dissociated
himself from this brochure; a number of post-war comments and
explanations can be traced back to it. Reason to approach his
communications critically and to compare them with the information from
other sources.
1938:
Goebbels and Krafft
In his post-war publications, Centgraf
linked the first two lines of quatrain 05-94 to the German invasion in
May 1940 in Belgium, France and the Netherlands and the last two lines
to events concerning Berlin after Germany's capitulation in May 1945.
In connection with these events, Centgraf stated that the words grand duc d'Armenie in
the third line of quatrain 05-94 were an allusion to the Russian
dictator Joseph Stalin.
According to Centgraf, the Swiss astrologer/statistician Karl Ernst
Krafft also thought that the words grand duc d'Armenie were an
allusion to Stalin. In Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte,
Centgraf described that Krafft approached Goebbels to warn him for a
Russian invasion. Goebbels was supposed to have persuaded Krafft to
explain the words grand
duc d'Armenie as an allusion to Hitler, also because at that time
it was inconceivable that Stalin would attack Vienna and Cologne,
mentioned in the fourth line of quatrain 05-94. Krafft immediately got
employment at the German propaganda offices. In Nostradamus - Der
Prophet der Weltgeschichte, this episode is not dated. In Die
siebziger Jahre in der Sicht des Propheten Nostradamus, this episode
is also not dated.[2]
According to Nostradamus und das jüngste Weltgeschehen and Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte,
this episode occurred in 1938.[3]
As far as Centgraf's information about Krafft and Goebbels is concerned,
this information can be refuted since the first contact between Krafft
and national-socialist offices did not take place in 1938, but in autumn
1939, when Krafft became a writer for Amt
VII-B1 of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, an office which
investigated occultism, freemasonry and cults in Germany. Krafft's task
was to write "columns" a mix of economic and political
comments and speculations, from time to time based upon planetary cycles.[4]
Moreover, notes of Martin H. Sommerfeldt about a secret daily propaganda
meeting in the Ministry of Propaganda in presumably December 1939,
published in Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt
bekannt... (Frankfurt am Main, 1952) show that in that meeting,
Goebbels linked the words grand duc d'Armenie
to Stalin.[5]
On page 268 of the seventh edition of Nostradamus - Prophetische
Weltgeschichte, Centgraf closed the chapter Bibliographische
Angaben with the remark that the imaginative dynamics of the Centuries
brought some powerful men to forge the Centuries in order to
raise their prestige. According to Centgraf, it would be a service to
science if this would be investigated carefully. As far as he was
concerned, it needed no further explanation that Goebbels, the minister
of Propaganda in the Third Reich, took the chance to manage luck with
the help of Nostradamus. Not only in the countries which were occupied
by the German Wehrmacht, but also in the neutral countries,
brochures were spread, according to Centgraf, in which the German
victory was announced. The aim of these brochures was to make this
victory plausible. Nothing in these lines points to the fact that in
1941, Centgraf himself wrote a national-socialist Nostradamusbrochure,
aimed against the British, the communists and the Jews, a brochure which
was translated into Dutch and spread in the Netherlands, at that time
occupied by Germany.
1939:
the Centuries in the Reichskanzlei
On the pages
79 and 80 in Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte
(Berlin, 1953) Centgraf linked quatrain 03-58 to the birth of Hitler and
his mysterious death, as he characterized Hitler's suicide. In the
mentioned edition of Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte,
Centgraf's additional information to this quatrain (in his eyes, each
and every line referred to Hitler) read that Hitler probably has known
this quatrain. When Centgraf in 1939 in the Staatsbibliothek Berlin
laid his hands upon the only available original edition of the Centuries,
printed in 1568 by Pierre Rigaud, the librarian who at that moment was
present, told that the book a few moments ago had returned from the Reichskanzlei,
that there was a page marker between the pages 58 and 59 and that
quatrain 03-58 was marked.
In Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte (Bietigheim, 1968,
p.197-198) Centgraf linked quatrain 03-58 to Hitler's birth. According
to the additional information, the librarian said that a few moments
ago, the book had returned from the Reichskanzlei. Apparently, it
was Centgraf who saw that there was a bookmark between the pages 58 and
59. Quatrain 03-58 was marked with red.
On page 260 of Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte and
page 262 of Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf
wrote that meanwhile, the copy which he had seen in the Staatsbibliothek
Berlin (catalogue number Na 7590), got lost.
Centgraf's story can be refuted since in the copy which he refers to and
which nowadays, carrying the catalogue number Na 7590, is preserved in the Berliner Staatsbibliothek,
the
library which took over the collection of the (mentioned by Centgraf) Preussische
Staatsbibliothek, quatrain 03-58 was not marked.
June
1940: comments of Centgraf abused in national-socialist
Nostradamus-propaganda, aimed at France
According to Centgraf,
articles, published in American newspapers after the capitulation of
Paris in June 1940, showed that national-socialist propagandists used
his comments upon the quatrains 03-06 and 03-08 for psychological
warfare, without his knowledge. In Nostradamus - Der
Prophet der Weltgeschichte (Berlin, 1953, p.70-71), Centgraf
described that a kind gentleman, who introduced himself as a scientist,
asked him in the cold winter of 1939/'40 about the opinion of the Centuries
about a lightning action against France. According to Centgraf, the
quatrains 03-06, -08 and -09 contained allusions to such actions; German
troops would march until they reached the French-Spanish border.
Centgraf told that the word Cimbres in quatrain 03-08 was an
allusion to Germany, the word voisins was an allusion to Russia,
with which Germany reached a non-aggression treaty. Quatrain 03-09
showed, according to Centgraf, that on a certain moment the German
troops would be driven back to the Rhine by a British-French-Flemish
alliance (quatrain 03-09: Rouane =
Rhenanie = Rhine land), something which, as Centgraf emphasized in his
comment upon quatrain 03-09, actually happened. Further, Centgraf told
that the quatrains 01-08 and 03-50 indicated that Paris would
capitulate; he noted that he had discovered that the word Hadrie in
quatrain 01-08 was an encrypted allusion to Hitler. According to Nostradamus
und das jüngste Weltgeschehen and Nostradamus - Prophetische
Weltgeschichte (Bietigheim, 1968, p.206-207), in which Centgraf
dated this episode in December 1939, he told his visitor that the German
troops would march until they reached the French-Spanish border and
according to quatrain 03-09 would be driven back near Rouen (Rouane =
Rouen). He made it clear to his visitor that such lightning actions were
extremely dangerous. In the version of this episode in Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte,
Centgraf had not mentioned that he had discovered that the word Hadrie in
quatrain 01-08 was an encrypted allusion to Hitler.
After the capitulation of Paris in June 1940, articles were published in
American newspapers in which was described that France and most notably
Paris were too much interested in Centgraf's explanations and that the
French minister Mandel enacted severe punishments for whoever would
speak about the doom predictions of "the old fool", i.e.
Nostradamus. According to Centgraf, national-socialist propagandists -
i.e. the person who visited him in the winter of 1939/'40 - took
possession of his comments without his knowing, leaving aside the link
between quatrain 03-09 and the driving back of German troops by a
British-French-Flemish alliance. However, the propagandists would learn
what it feels like that the truth can not be trifled and that heaven
also in this case was sided with Nostradamus.
The Goebbels diaries and the minutes of the secret daily propaganda
meetings in the Ministry of Propaganda shows that the Ministry of
Propaganda, prior to and during the invasion of France in May 1940,
carried out campaigns in order to undermine the French morale, in which
the Centuries were used.[6] In Die Kolonne des Nostradamus,
an article, published in the edition of May 27, 1940 of the Völkischer
Beobachter, the daily newspaper of the NSDAP, dr. Theodor Fr.
Böttiger, in connection with measures of Mandel to French citizens who
took the predictions of Nostradamus about the capitulation of Paris
seriously, quoted from the French newspaper Oeuvre: "Since
now Frenchmen in Artois, Picardia, the Ardennes and Lorraine give their
blood, it is not suited to talk about the ruin of Paris and other
twaddle of that old fool."[7] In
the article
Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, published in the edition of
June 16, 1940 of the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung,
Elisabeth Noelle wrote about the impact of the Centuries upon the
French citizens in the summer of 1940.[8] The
fact that Centgraf, in connection with the Nostradamus-campaigns which
were aimed at France, mentioned the quatrains 03-06 and -08, might be a
starting point for further research.
Centgraf presented himself as a Century-scholar whose knowledge
without his knowing was abused by national-socialist propagandists. His
story that in the winter of 1939/'40 he was visited by someone who was
curious about what the Centuries told about a lightning action
against France, must be taken at face value, as well as his story that
American newspapers in June 1940 contained articles about predictions of
Nostradamus about France and Paris. Centgraf however systematically kept
secret that in 1941, he himself wrote a national-socialist
Nostradamusbrochure, aimed against the British, the communists and the
Jews. In this brochure, Centgraf described that the word Hadrie
contained the initials of Adolf Hitler and the word Adrie, an
allusion to the Adriatic Sea, the southern point of the axis between
Germany and Italy. In quatrain 03-06 , the suffering of the French
citizens and the refugees who fled to Paris was strikingly described,
according to Centgraf. Quatrain 03-07 contained allusions to the German
air raids on fleeing French troops. In quatrain 01-08, the capitulation
of Paris was announced as well as Hitler's helping hand. Centgraf also
reported that prior to World War II, because of the Centuries, a
number of French citizens raised their voice. Their warnings resulted in
scorn: Mandel, the French minister of Home Affairs, ordered to pursue
this "column of Nostradamus".[9]
The question is if Centgraf's comment in Voorspellingen die
uitgekomen zijn... upon the quatrains 03-06 and 03-07 were also the
comments which he gave upon these quatrains in the winter of 1939/'40.
May
1941: the Aktion-Heß
In Nostradamus
- Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte (Berlin, 1953, p.55) Centgraf
linked quatrain 02-36 to the Aktion-Heß, the raid in
Germany among astrologers and occultist after the flight in May 1941 of Rudolf Heß,
Hitler's deputy, to England, and gave some information about the fortune
of Krafft. In his comment upon quatrain 02-36, Centgraf wrote that after
the flight of Heß to England on May 11, 1941, the Gestapo
confiscated all occult books, among which the books of Nostradamus.
The Swiss astrologer Krafft explained the predictions of Nostradamus,
for example quatrain 05-94, in favour of Hitler. As a result, Hitler
drew wrong conclusions.
In his comment upon quatrain 02-36 in Eindrucksvolle Beweise für die Richtigkeit der
Nostradamus-Prophezeiungen (in: Die andere Welt, #10, 1969,
Freiburg in Breisgau, p.874), Centgraf wrote that on the advice of dr.
Schmidt-Nabus, his astrological advisor, Heß flew to England on May
11, 1941, in order to persuade the British to make peace and to thwart
Hitler's plans to invade Russia. In reaction to this, Hitler ordered the
Gestapo to arrest all astrologers. Only one astrologer, Krafft,
managed to escape; he explained the predictions of Nostradamus in favour
of Hitler. Later, he also gave unfavourable explanations. This turned
out to be fatal; eventually, he died in a concentration camp.
In Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf wrote
about the fortune of Krafft in World War II that Krafft, as a son and
citizen of a proverbial free country like Switzerland, did not have
himself enslaved in Germany. With erroneous and sometimes deliberately
vague predictions, he tried to thwart Hitler's plans. In 1944, being
suspected of sabotage, Krafft was arrested together with his friend
Görner and was kept in prison in the Berliner Lützowstraße in mild
detention. In 1941, Centgraf managed to get the astrologer Bernd Unglaub
released from prison. In 1944, he tried to get Krafft released.
His efforts were too late. Suddenly, Krafft was led away from Berlin and
executed in a concentration camp.
In the sixties, Centgraf told Ellic Paul Howe, an Englishman who at that
time investigated the role of astrology in Nazi-Germany and who studied
the life and work of Krafft, that he visited Krafft and Görner in the Lützowstraße in
Berlin; in the beginning of February 1943, he had a conversation with
Fritz Hirsch, who guarded them. It was Unglaub who informed Centgraf that Krafft was interned in the Lützowstraße.[10]
To some extent, Centgraf''s communications can be refuted. Hitler was
not interested in astrology. The brochures which Krafft in World War II
wrote about Nostradamus, was not used for the planning of military
operations, but for psychological warfare outside Germany. On June 9,
1941, the raid in Germany among astrologers and occultists, in
reaction to the flight of Heß to England began. Krafft was arrested on
June 12, 1941. In the beginning, the Gestapo was unaware of the
fact that Krafft and his wife had moved to another address.[11]
From the moment of his arrest until his death on January 8, 1945 in the
Buchenwald concentration camp, Krafft remained imprisoned. His detention
in the Lützowstraße in Berlin lasted until February 1943. He then was
lead away to a house in the Lehrter
Straße. In November 1944, he was led away to Buchenwald. During his
imprisonment, he did not write national-socialist Nostradamusbrochures
and did not try to thwart Hitler's plans by producing erroneous or
deliberately vague predictions.
July
1944: Centgraf and Hadamovsky; a Nostradamusbrochure,
aimed at England
In the
Nachtrag to the fourth edition
(1960) of Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte, Centgraf
wrote that in July 1944, when
American and British troops crossed the Seine, he was summoned to Berlin
by Eugen Hadamovsky, the head of the Reichsrundfunk. In Berlin,
he was told that Goebbels wanted to conclude an agreement with the
Allies, especially the British. Hadamovsky asked Centgraf if the Centuries
contained something about such an agreement. Centgraf pointed to
quatrain 09-51. The first line of this quatrain reads as follows: contres les rouges secte se banderont.
This could be explained as an allusion to a German-Allied alliance
against Russia. On request of Hadamovsky, Centgraf wrote the English
text of a brochure, entitled Nostradamus and England. This
brochure was printed in Southern Germany. Goebbels' plans, however, were
not put into effect.[12]
In his comment upon Centgraf's story, Howe, who dated this episode in
June 1944, wrote that Nostradamus and England carried the
author's pseudonym "Nestor". He also wrote that Centgraf's
story contained a lot of absurdities. In June 1944, Hadamovsky was not
in charge of the Reichsrundfunk.
In 1942, after conflicts with Goebbels, he was kicked upstairs to the
staff of the Abteilung Propaganda of the NSDAP. In
November 1943, he joined the Wehrmacht. Op March 1, 1945, he was
killed in action near Rummelsburg (at present: Miastko, Poland). It is
therefore quite doubtful that Hadamovsky in his capacity of head of the Reichsrundfunk
summoned Centgraf to Berlin or was informed about Goebbels'
"extreme secret plans".
In Nostradamus und das jüngste Weltgeschehen, Centgraf described
this episode on page 401 without mentioning that on request of "his
superior", he wrote the brochure Nostradamus and England.
In Die siebziger Jahre in der Sicht des Propheten Nostradamus,
Centgraf wrote about these events that in Berlin, Hadamovsky informed
him about Goebbels' plans to contact the Allies by using Nostradamus.
Centgraf wanted to take advantage of this chance for peace. He pointed
towards quatrain 09-51, since this quatrain implied that the fighting
parties could unite themselves against Russia, and that some kind of
invention would prevent the beginning of a new war. Later, this would
turn out into the beginning of the Cold War. According to the story in Die siebziger Jahre
in der Sicht des Propheten Nostradamus, Hadamovsky ordered Centgraf
to write a brochure. This was the brochure Nostradamus
und England. Himmler, who in his madness believed that he could
conclude an agreement with Russia, opposed Goebbels' plans. Feeling
himself disappointed, Hadamovsky joined the battle field and was killed
in action in February 1945.[13]
In Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf dated this
episode in July 1944. In this book, his discussion of quatrain 09-51
follows his discussion of quatrain 03-09, in which he wrote that near
Rouen, the German troops would be driven back. The invention which
prevented the outbreak of a new war, was the atom bomb and its throwing
on Hiroshima. Also in
Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf wrote that
Goebbels' plans did not succeed due to the madness of Himmler, who
wanted to conclude an agreement with Russia. To the detail that
Hadamovsky, because of his disappointment, joined the battle field,
Centgraf added in Nostradamus -
Prophetische Weltgeschichte that Hadamovsky, when he was killed in
action in February 1945, led an infantry battalion and that, being
urged by Centgraf, he released some of Centgraf's friends who were
interned in a concentration camp. In Nostradamus -
Prophetische Weltgeschichte, Centgraf ended his story by writing
that this was a small opportunity which Nostradamus and the Centuries
offered to help in times of troubles.[14]
In his letter to Hesse, Centgraf wrote that after the war he was
arrested several times, but released since he could prove that several
times he managed to have prisoners of concentration camps released or
prevented execution by a fire-squad.
Op July 25, 1944, Goebbels wrote in his diary, discussing the
previous day, that a new Nostradamusbrochure was produced, meant for
England. Of course, the predictions of this French monk, as Goebbels
called Nostradamus in this diary note, could be used in favour or
unfavour for anyone, but these predictions also contained items which
might impress the superstitious British very much. Goebbels wanted to
take advantage of this.[15]
This is the only diary note in which Goebbels has written about this new
Nostradamusbrochure. He did not mention its title or the names of who
were involved in its production. The Goebbels diaries give no
information about the spread of this brochure. Howe never saw a
copy of Nostradamus and England.
From the story of Centgraf can be derived that Nostradamus and England
had a peaceful nature, since Goebbels wanted to conclude an agreement
between Germany and the Allies, most notably the British, and Centgraf
wanted to take advantage of this. Chances are that Goebbels, in his
diary note of July 25, 1944, wrote about Nostradamus and England.
From this note, it can be concluded that he wanted to take advantage of
the superstition among British people. In other words: the aim of this
brochure was to undermine the British morale. There is not the slightest
sign in this diary note that the aim of this brochure was to contribute
to peace between Germany and Great Britain.
Centgraf's story about his contact with Hadamovsky and the writing of Nostradamus and
England is not present in his comment upon quatrain 09-51 in the
first edition (1953) of Nostradamus -
Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte. In this book, Centgraf with reserves
linked quatrain 09-51 to the situation in Germany in the
beginning of the fifties.[16]
In Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere Weissagungen (1949), he
did not discuss this quatrain at all, despite the fact that the main
subject of this article was the Cold War. In his letter to Hesse (1950),
he wrote that quatrain 09-51 contained an allusion to the NATO (which
organization was opposed against Russia) and that this quatrain was a
gloomy oracle, from which nobody with certainty could derive which
superpower would be destroyed.
Discussion
In his post-war
books and articles, Centgraf frequently wrote about national-socialist
propaganda, based upon the Centuries and about who were involved
in the production of this propaganda. He
told his readers about
his position in World War II as a Century-scholar, that it was in
1939 when he started to study Nostradamus and the Centuries, that
at the outbreak of
World War II in 1939, he had derived from the Centuries that
German troops would tremendously march on and on a certain moment would
be driven back, with this knowledge he warned those who were curious
about what the Centuries would have in store for Germany's war
plans; that at the beginning of World War II, national-socialist
silently abused his comments upon the Centuries for propaganda
purposes; that in the
course of World War II, he used his influence to prevent that some of
his friends were executed by a fire-squad in concentration camps and to
get them free and that by the end of World War II he tried to change the
course of history by, writing a Nostradamusbrochure, enhancing German
peace initiatives.
In the course of the years, Centgraf continuously added new facts to his
information and accentuated facts which he already described.
Frequently, his stories do not correspond with what happened according
to other sources, which in many cases can be regarded as primary
sources. The new facts and accents frequently do not match with what he
previously has written.
The reader is not informed about the the fact
that in 1941 and 1944, Centgraf wrote national-socialist, propagandistic Nostradamusbrochures
which had to undermine the morale of Germany's adversaries, for
which he was decorated in 1945. Without knowing, the reader is facing a
smoke screen which completely covers Centgraf's propagandistic activities
in World War II.
In his letter of May 22, 1950 to Hermann Hesse, Centgraf presented
himself as a historian and author who most notably had occupied himself
with the 16th century, first with Martin Luther, about whom he in 1940
wrote the widely acclaimed book Luther als Publizist, later with
Nostradamus. Centgraf also wrote Hesse that after the war, he was
arrested several times and only was released after his proving that he
had managed to get some of his friends released from concentration camps
and actually prevented that one of them would be executed. This
presentation is also a smoke screen which covers the fact that in 1941
and 1944, Centgraf wrote propagandistic Nostradamusbrochures, in 1941
the anti-Semitic brochure Martin Luther als Judenfeind, a
brochure which finally was not spread, and in 1943 the anti-Semitic
brochure Ein Jude treibt Philosophie.
A
questionable Century-scholar
On this website, it is assumed that after the German invasion in Poland in September 1939, Centgraf started
to study Nostradamus and the Centuries, i.e.Loog's Die
Weissagungen des Nostradamus and probably most notably his comment
upon quatrain 03-57, which at that time was quite sensational because of
being linked to the German invasion in Poland. The critical remarks of
the German philosopher dr. Max Dessoir in Vom Jenseits der Seele
about Nostradamus, the Centuries and the Century-comments
made him, as he wrote, to compare the predictions in the Centuries
with the course of history.
By the end of 1939, according to his information, Centgraf warned
compatriots against the risks of a lightning war against France. Perhaps
his study was focused upon fathoming the military and political
situation in Europe. In the summer of 1940, he was upset when he noticed
that national-socialists used his link of a couple of quatrains to such
a kind of war for propaganda purposes. In the summer of 1944, he wrote,
he tried to achieve peace in Europe by telling Hadamovsky, a prominent
national-socialist, that one of the quatrains in the Centuries
fitted to such an event. He also would have tried to improve the
circumstances of some of his friends who were interned in a
concentration camp. Centgraf's information on these points contains
incorrect facts and does not show that in World War II, Centgraf, who in
1933 became member of the SA, in 1937 member of the NSDAP,
was an esteemed national-socialist activist who wrote anti-Semitic
brochures and used the Centuries and Century-comments for
propagandistic purposes by writing the German source text of Voorspellingen
die uitgekomen zijn... and the brochure Nostradamus and England,
with which in the summer of 1944 the British had to become demoralized.
According to the future scenario in Voorspellingen die uitgekomen
zijn..., England would fall, Germany, lead by Hitler, would become
the leading power in Europe (the Holy Empire) and the world would be in
peace for 57 years. In Centgraf's post-war publications about
Nostradamus and the Centuries, Henry the Fortunate, president of
the United States of Europe, would give the world a peace period for 57
years in 2040, Germany will play a leading part (the Holy Empire) and
England would become a part of the United States of America, and as such
lose her leading position in the world. This raises the question if
Centgraf in 1940/'41 wrote a number of texts and a future scenario,
which in 1941 he changed for propaganda reasons and after war brought
back in its original state, or if the German source text of Voorspellingen
die uitgekomen zijn... was his first text about Nostradamus and the Centuries,
which he changed after the war. For the moment, I cannot answer this
question, which is an important one since it is hard to imagine that
someone who wants to hide his propagandistic activities in 1941/'44,
dates the beginning of his study in 1939. It is a matter of fact,
however, that in his post-war publications about Nostradamus and the Centuries,
beginning with the article Nostradamus und Berlin - und andere
Weissagungen, Centgraf included texts which can be traced back to
the German source text of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn...
Neither in his post-war publications, nor in public, he dissociated
himself or apologized for what he had written in the German source text
of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn...: comments which had to
frighten people and to demoralize them, which were aimed against Jews
and communists and which demonstrated that for decades,
national-socialism would be the leading power in Europe. On the
contrary, he presented himself as a Century-scholar who comforts
his readers. In Nostradamus - Prophetische Weltgeschichte,
his second book about Nostradamus and the Centuries, which he
finished two years before his death and which until today is reprinted,
he added, compared with his first book about Nostradamus and the Centuries
(Nostradamus - Der Prophet der Weltgeschichte) new elements
which can be traced back to Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn...
For many years, my colleague Ulrich Maichle occupies himself with
research on the activities of Centgraf / Centurio. His website Die
Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis 1939 - 1942 contains
numerous transcripts of documents which shows Centgraf's involvement in
national-socialism. Maichle had a discussion with Random House
publishers in Munich in order to stop further selling of Die grossen
Weissagungen des Nostradamus, a license edition of Nostradamus -
Prophetische Weltgeschichte. I invite you to deepen yourself in the
oeuvre of Centgraf / Centurio, the articles about his books on www.nostradamusresearch.org
and Maichle's findings. If you think that the oeuvre of Centgraf /
Centurio is politically contaminated and that his book Die grossen
Weissagungen des Nostradamus has to be taken from the market, you
can address yourself to Random House
or to Turm publishers, the
company which up until today publishes Nostradamus - Prophetische
Weltgeschichte.
De
Meern, the Netherlands, March 21, 2010
T.W.M. van Berkel
updated on May 21, 2010
Expression
of thanks
The author
expresses his thanks to Versandantiquariat
Hans-Jürgen Lange in Wietze (D) for sending copies of the articles Eindrucksvolle Beweise für die Richtigkeit der
Nostradamus-Prophezeiungen and Die
siebziger Jahre in der Sicht des Propheten Nostradamus, and to
Ulrich Maichle for sending a copy of the letter which Centgraf in 1950
wrote to Hesse.
Notes
-
The
name "Centurio" was a latinization of the French word Centuries (Centgraf,
October 1969, p.871).
For information about Centgraf, see::
- Van Berkel: information
on dr. phil. A.M. Centgraf alias dr. N. Alexander Centurio
(1893-1970)
- Maichle: Die
Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1939-1942. [text]
-
Centurio-1953,
p.128; Centgraf, January 1970, p.45. [text]
-
Centurio-1959,
p.402; Centurio-1968,
p.216. [text]
-
Howe,
p.227. See also: Van Berkel: information
on Karl Ernst Krafft (1940-1945). [text]
-
"Der
großen Fürsten aus Armenien legen wir auf Eis, bis uns der Herr
Stalin aus Georgien den Kampf ansagt - oder wir ihm". (Goebbels
in a secret daily propagandameeting, in: Sommerfeldt,
p.56-57). See also: Van Berkel: Das
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt... (M.H.
Sommerfeldt, Frankfurt am Main, 1952).
[text]
-
Fröhlich,
p.272; Richter, p.136; Boelcke-1966, p.365. [text]
-
Van
Berkel: Die Kolonne
des Nostradamus (dr.
Th.Fr. Böttiger, Völkischer Beobachter, May 27, 1940). [text]
-
Van
Berkel: Die
Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus
(dr. E. Noelle, Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, June 16, 1940).
[text]
-
Centgraf-1941,
pp.46-47, 56, 59-60 and 63. [text]
-
Howe,
p.322. [text]
-
Howe,
p.271. [text]
-
Howe,
p.321-322. [text]
-
Centgraf-1970,
p.43-44. Probably, the year figure 1943 on page 44 is a printer's
error. [text]
-
Centurio-1968,
p.207-209. [text]
-
Goebbels
always upgraded his diary one day later. Therefore, his notes,
written on July 25, 1944, deal with July 24, 1944. [text]
-
Centurio-1953,
p.201-202. [text]
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