NOSTRADAMUS, ASTROLOGY AND THE BIBLE
SUBSTUDY "WORLD WAR II"
Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas
(K.E. Krafft, Berlin, 1940)
- T.W.M. van Berkel -

Nederlandse versie

Index WORLD WAR II

• Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? (K.E. Krafft, Brussels, 1941 [1940])
• Nostradamus forudser Europas Fremtid (K.E. Krafft, Copenhagen, 1941 [1940])
• Nostradamus predice el porvenir de Europa (K.E. Krafft, Madrid, 1941 [1940])

Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, written in 1940 by order of the German Foreign Office, is a comment upon Nostradamus and the Centuries from a national-socialist point of view. In 1940, from time to time, its author Karl Ernst Krafft (Basel, May 10, 1900 - Buchenwald, January 8, 1945), astrologer, statistician and Century-scholar, was involved in the production of national-socialist propaganda writings, based upon the Centuries.
In 1941, Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was published in six languages: French (translated by Krafft himself), Danish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Rumanian and Spanish.
For the discussion in this article of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, a photocopy has been used of a typewritten, non-dated version which contains handwritten notes and in which paragraphs are erased, owned by the Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene e.V. (IGPP) in Freiburg, Germany, catalogue number 20/9 181. This version has been compared with the Danish, the French and the Spanish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas and the table of contents of the Rumanian translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas.

The origin of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas 

1. The beginning
In the days between May 6 and May 27, 1940, the Swiss astrologer Karl Ernst Krafft, working as a translator for the Deutsche Nachrichtenbüro in Berlin, had one or more conversations with dr. Werner Wilmanns, an employee, working at the department Information IV of the Foreign Office in Berlin. Krafft was invited by dr. Rahn, deputy chief of the Information department.[1] Information wanted to influence the people in neutral countries and in countries which were hostile to Germany by means of astrological and occult publications.[2] Dr. Gunter Altenburg, chief of Information, held Krafft to be able to do this. Altenburg got interested in Krafft because of propagandistic aspects in his correspondence with Viorel Virgil Tilea, the Rumanian ambassador in London, and his reply to an article in the Geneva newspaper La Suisse, in which Nostradamus was discussed. Krafft, according to Altenburg, consciously or unconsciously touched political matters which from a propagandistic point of view could be valuable. In his reply to the article in La Suisse, Krafft not only refuted the ideas of some Century-scholars, but also exploited them in favour of Germany.[3] 
On May 27, 1940, Wilmanns wrote to Rahn that he discussed with Krafft the division of the text of a Nostradamusbrochure and that he had taken care that Krafft the next day for about a week was exempted from his translation work. Wilmanns expected that Krafft would need about a week to write the brochure. 
Around the end of June 1940, in connection with propaganda, based upon Nostradamus, Wilmanns wrote that he owned a manuscript, written by a Swiss national, with who he meant Krafft, who had the Swiss nationality, and his Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas.[4] On page 63 in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, Krafft linked quatrain 05-94 to the French-German armistice in Compiègne on June 22, 1940. The precise date upon which Krafft finished his manuscript is unknown, but his comment on quatrain 05-94 and the remark by Wilmanns imply that he finished his manuscript between June 23, 1940 and the end of June 1940.
On this website, it is supposed that the contents of Krafft's manuscript Einführung zu den Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus were part of the conversation between Krafft and Wilmanns. Krafft, working at Amt VII of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt from October 1939 to April 1940, started the writing of the Einführung... around mid-January 1940 by order of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt. In 1969, the Geman Century-scholar Karl Drude wrote in his guidance word to the reprint of the 1668-J.Ribou-edition of the Centuries that in February 1940, Krafft had written that the German invasion of Belgium and the Netherlands was at hand, basing himself upon quatrain 05-94, and that the Führer would lead a great campaign in Europe. At the beginning of April 1940, the manuscript counted about 200 pages. However, a great number of his suppositions, such as the invasion of Belgium and the Netherlands, were deleted. In spring 1940, the Reichssicherheitshauptamt did not allow publication of the Einführung.... Perhaps Wilmanns thought that a revised version of the Einführung... or some of its elements could be used in the propaganda which the Foreign Office wanted to spread.[5]
 

2. Source material

a. Krafft's own material
In his censured letter to Tilea, dated on March 14, 1940, Krafft wrote that he occupied himself with Nostradamus for twenty years and since a number of years published on him. Two paragraphs in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas contain material which dates from the end '30's. 
On the pages 58 to 61 in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, Krafft linked quatrain 05-74 (De sang Troyen naistra coeur Germanique...) to Hitler and the Holocaust. He already discussed this link in August 1937 in the article Nostradamus et ses prophéties in the magazine Uranus - Revue de synthese - arts, religions, philosophie, sciences, edited by the Belgian astrologer Théodore Chapellier, a friend of Krafft.[6]  

The translation of quatrain 01-64 on the pages 30-31 in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas and its link to World War I resembles very much the contents of a so-called quatrain-card which Krafft under his own management published in 1940-41. The comment on this card is closed with the note KR 1938 (unveröffentl.), which means that this comment dates from 1938.[7]  
On page XXV of the Einführung..., Krafft wrote, without further specification, that by 1934 he pointed to the meaning of the words Grande Germanie and that by the end of 1939, basing himself upon quatrain 05-94 and the last line of quatrain 03-53, strikingly described important military developments which would happen in 1940. These two quatrains and this comment are part of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. 
Many explanation elements in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas also appear in the Einführung..., which might mean that Krafft lifted over material from the Einführung... to Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas.

b. Century-editions and Century-comments
The IGPP-copy of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas does not contain a bibliography, neither do the Danish and Spanish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. The text contains a couple of references to Century-comments.
The pages 199-200 of Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?, Kraffts French translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, contain the addendum Notes bibliographiques. There, Krafft listed a number of Century-editions and Century-comments which he, as is supposed on this website, used while writing the text of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. This list also contains some general publications

• Bareste, E.: Nostradamus (Paris, 1840)

• Chavigny, J.A. de: La premiere face du Ianus François (Lyon, 1594)

• Foreman, H.J.: The story of prophecy (New York, 1936)

• Jaubert, E.: Eclaircissement des veritables Quatrains de Maistre Michel Nostradamus (Amsterdam?, 1656) [8]

• Loog, C.: Die Weissagungen des Nostradamus: erstmalige Auffindung des Chiffreschlüssels und Enthüllung der Prophezeiungen über Europas Zukunft und Frankreichs Glück und Niedergang, 1555-2200 (Pfullingen in Württemberg, 1921 [1920]) [9]

• Kemmerich, dr. M.: Prophezeiungen. Alter Aberglaube oder neue Wahrheit? (Munich,1911)

• Moura, J.; Louvet, P.: La vie de Nostradamus (Paris, 1930)

• N.N.: La vie et le testament de Michel Nostradamus (Paris, 1789)

• Nicoullaud, C.: Nostradamus - ses prophéties (Paris, 1914)

• Pelletier, A. le: Les Oracles de Michel Nostradamus (Paris, 1867, twee delen)

• Torné-Chavigny, A.: L'Histoire prédite et jugée par Nostradamus (Bordeaux, 1860)

• Ward, C.A.: The oracles of Nostradamus (London, 1889)

• Wöllner, dr. Chr.: Das Mysterium des Nostradamus (Leipzig, 1926)

3. The final text
Around the end of June, 1940, Wilmanns wrote that Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was suited for propaganda. As far as he was concerned, it should be published in a way which would not show that his department was involved in it.
A letter to Rahn, dated on July 23, 1940, shows that a certain envoy, named Berber, agreed with the deal between Wilmanns and a certain mr. Wilhelm that Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas would be spread in foreign bookstores.[10] Berber preferred spreading in Switzerland. He had two recommendations. First, he thought it wise that the explanation of the line "German heart out of Troyan blood" was discussed once more with Krafft. Berber thought it more logical to link the word Troyen to Greece and by doing so creating a parallel with Hitler's birth in Austria in relation with the former German Empire.[11] Second, the impact of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas might be improved by adding the quatrains 06-20, 01-47 and 06-90. At the end of his letter, Berber wrote that Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas would be used while compiling a Nostradamus-brochure in the national-socialist propaganda series Informations-Schriften.[12] 
On August 20, 1940, a certain mr. Simon sent 15 copies of the manuscript Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, meant to be spread abroad.[13] From this, it can be concluded that at most lately August 19, 1940, the final text of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was finished. Simon also wrote that the Ministry of Propaganda opposed a spread in Germany.

The translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas
In his letter of August 20, 1940, Simon wrote that for quality reasons it would be wise to have Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas translated abroad, in order to achieve better results. According to him, Krafft would take care of a French translation within short time.
In 1941, six translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas were published:

• (1941-DK) Nostradamus forudser Europas Fremtid. Copenhagen.

• (1941-ES) Nostradamus predice el porvenir de Europa. Madrid.

• (1941-FR) Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l’avenir de l’Europe? Brussels.

• (1941-HU) Nostradamus Europa jövendőjét látja. Budapest.

• (1941-PT) Nostradamus vê o futuro da Europa. Lisboa.

• (1941-RO) Nostradamus prezice viitorul Européi. Bucarest.

In a circular letter in 1941, Krafft announced the publishing of Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? He wrote that in the autumn of the preceding year, this study on Nostradamus was finished and that due to various reasons, publishing was delayed.[14] However, in Simon's letter, a version of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas which would serve as a source text for translations, was finished on most late August 19, 1940. The text division and the title of the Danish, the Rumanian and the Spanish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas match with the text division and the title of the IGPP-copy of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas which, as will be explained later, can be considered to contain the final text of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas by August 1940. The title Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? has the form of question. Compared with the Danish and the Spanish translation, the text division in Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe is different, a number of paragraphs have been changed, two quatrains were exchanged for two other quatrains and a number of addenda were added. In the addendum Notes bibliographiques, a photocopy has been mentioned of a 1568-Lyon-edition of the Centuries to which an alphabetic quatrain index was added, which was published in Frankfurt am Main and not meant for public sale. This is the 1940-Krafft-copy which in October-November 1940 was published as a limited edition of 299 copies. It is because of this that it is assumed in this article that, when he wrote that he finished his study on Nostradamus in autumn 1940, Krafft actually meant that he finished his French translation.

Due to decision D IV 3628 of October 1, 1940, the Foreign Office sent a copy of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas to the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten niederländische Gebiete, together with illustrations and French quatrain texts, apparently to have it translated and published. On October 11, 1940, the Generalkommissar zur besonderen Verwendung - Sonderreferat Kulturaustausch answered that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, published by W.J. Ort in The Hague, dealt with the same theme as Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. For that reason, a translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, meant for the Netherlands, was out of the question. All the material which was sent by the Foreign Office was returned; a copy of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was added. The Foreign Office received this refusal on October 14, 1940. On October 17, 1940, Krafft argued in a report that the contents of on the one hand Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas and on the other hand Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and its French and Serbian pendant only overlapped each other to a very little extent. Only six of the twenty quatrains, quoted in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, were discussed in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, while only nine of the quatrains in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas appeared in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, three of them poorly translated. According to Krafft, these publications would not be in each other's way. He also wrote that his study had a better quality and that competition in the field of Nostradamus-propaganda would increase its impact.[15] As far as known, Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas has not been translated into Dutch. Apparently, it was not problematic for the production of the French and the Rumanian translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas that a French pendant of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was published as well as a Rumanian one.
In his report, Krafft also wrote that one safely could assume that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was produced by the Ministry of Propaganda.[16] On October 21, 1940, the Foreign Office asked mr. Bene, her representative in the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten niederländische Gebiete, to find out who had urged Ort to publish Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?. On November 21, 1940, this question was repeated. On December 12, 1940, the answer was that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen was produced by the Ministry of Propaganda.[17]  
Meanwhile, on October 25, 1940, it was proposed to translate Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas into Flemish. On December 7, 1940, this proposal was accorded, with the remark that the Flemish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas also had to be spread in the Netherlands, whereas the French translation not only was meant for Belgium, but also for France and the west part of Switzerland.[18]
Until today, a Flemish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas has not been found. A Swiss edition in German - the IGPP-copy of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas contains traces of such an edition, also has not been found.
In 1992, the Rumanian translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was re-edited by Atelier XX publishers in Craiova. This re-edition was printed at Oltenia printers.

The six translations of Krafft's Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas

Nostradamus forudser Europas Fremtid (1941-DK, Copenhagen)	Nostradamus predice el porvenir de Europa (1941-ES, Madrid)	Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? (1941-FR, Brussels)
Nostradamus Europa jövendőjét látja (1941-HU, Budapest)	Nostradamus vê o futuro da Europa (1941-PT, Lisboa)  (© SBB Berlin)	Nostradamus prezice viitorul Europei (1992-RU [1941], Craiova)

The IGPP-copy of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas
The version of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, owned by the Institut für Grenzgebiete (IGPP), is a non-dated typescript with here and there notes and erasures. The IGPP-copy consists of a page with a large picture of a portrait of Nostradamus, taken from Bareste's study on Nostradamus (Paris, 1840), 83 text pages, one of them numbered as 10/11; 13 pages with each one numbered illustration and letterpress, 2 pages with sampled illustrations and 6 pages with text fragments and quatrain texts, copied from an edition B.Rigaud-1568 of the Centuries.
In the upper right corner of the IGPP-copy is written: Herrn E. Hans Mahler, Zurich 1. In the '30's, Mahler was manager of the Globus store company. From 1929 to 1932, Krafft worked for him as a psychological counsellor. Mahler also owned the publishing company Globi. On the pages 6, 35, 50, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 63 and 65 in the IGPP-copy, a number of paragraphs are erased. This might mean that the IGPP-copy was edited in order to serve as a manuscript for a German edition in Switzerland. Underneath the title, it was written: Nicht-satzfertiges Manuskript, together with three notes. According to the first note, six or eight quatrains had to be added to the text. One or two of them would be directed "against" Germany and Italy. Another quatrain would be linked to Reynaud, the French prime-minister. The added quatrains and the comments upon them would require 8 to 10 pages extra. According to the second note, photocopies would be added of discussed Century-texts (quatrains and letter-paragraphs). The source of these copies was the "original-1568", i.e. the 1568-B.Rigaud-edition of the Centuries. According to the third note, it should be added to the biographic part that Nostradamus was half-Jewish. This would require about 1/3 page.
In the IGPP-copy, a number of text pages contain an illustration number in the left margin in order to indicate where a certain illustration had to be inserted.
Regarding Berber's recommendations in his letter from July 23, 1940, we observe that the quatrains 01-47 and 06-20, which Berber wanted to add because of publication in Switzerland, are discussed on the pages 14 and 77. These quatrains are also discussed in the Danish, the French and the Spanish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. Quatrain 06-90, which Berber also wanted to add, is not discussed in the IGPP-copy and neither in the Danish, the French and the Spanish translation. Apparently, Krafft ignored Berber's recommendations as well as his recommendation to link the word Troyen in quatrain 05-74 to the ancient Greece in order to create a parallel with Hitler's birth in Austria and the ancient German Empire.. On page 59 in the IGPP-copy and the corresponding pages in the Danish, French and Spanish translation, Krafft wrote without hesitance that linking the words de sang Troyen to Asia Minor or the French Troyes would be meaningless. According to him, Troyen had to be read as a transformation of tyrolien and therefore as an allusion to Tirol, the region where Hitler was born.[19]
In the literature study upon which this article is based, a comparison of the IGPP-copy with the Spanish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas showed that the Danish and the Spanish copy contain the complete text of the IGPP-copy, including the erased paragraphs. This means that the typewritten text in the IGPP-copy, including the erased paragraphs, has been the source text of the Danish, Hungarian, Portuguese, Rumanian and Spanish translations, and that Simon's recommendation to translate the source text abroad, has been followed. The French translation also contains the text of the erased paragraphs, but the contents and the text division of the French translation differ from the IGPP-copy and the Danish and Spanish translation. Simon wrote in his letter that Krafft would make a French translation. On this website, it is assumed that Krafft's translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas is not the result of a word-by-word translation of the typewritten text as given in the IGPP-copy; from time to time, Krafft changed his text. 

Illustrations in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas
Krafft himself had chosen the illustrations which had to be included in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. Next, a list of letterpresses, as given in the IGPP-copy.

1. Titelblatt der deutschen Übersetzung zweier medizinischer Schriften von Nostradamus durch den Augsburger Arzt Jeremias Märzen (1589)

2. Titelbild der ältesten heute noch vorhandenen Teil-Ausgabe der "Propheties", von 1557

3. Titelblatt eines Lyoner Druckes der "Propheties", von 1568, - der ersten nachweislichen Gesamtausgabe, der auch sämtliche Zitate der vorliegenden Veröffentlichung entnommen sind

4. Titelseite der Leydener Ausgabe der "Propheties", von 1650. Die beiden als Unterlagen erwähnten usgaben von 1556 und 1558 beruhn auf freier Erfindung dse Druckers einer Ausgabe zu Rouen, vom Jahr 1649, der die Leydener Ausgabe nachgedruckt worden ist

5. Titelbild der Ausgabe zu Amsterdam, vom Jahr 1668. Das obere Bild veranschaulicht die Enthauptung Karls I von England (1649), das untere Bild den großen Brand von London (1666), - zwei Ereignisse, die von Nostradamus mit erstaunlicher Genauigkeit waren vorausgesagt worden und damit seinen Ruhm als Prophet begründeten

6. Titelbild der Kölner Ausgabe der "Propheties", von 1689

7. Übersicht über die vermutliche Fluchtroute (punktiert) der Königlichen Karosse: - von Paris durch den Wald von Beine bei Reims, nach St.Lenehould und von da nach den von den Flüssen Aire und Aisne umschlossenen Varennes

8. Verhaftung der Königlichen Familie auf der Flucht in Varennes am 22.Juni 1791 (Zeitgenössischer Holzschnitt). Die Unterschrift rechts besagt, daß der Gemeindesyndikus, Herr Sauce, den König eingeladen habe, mit seiner Familie bei ihm auszuruhen

9. Gestirnstand von 10.Mai 1940 von Nostradamus in zwei Vierzeilern bis in alle Einzelheiten beschrieben als Zeitpunkt des Beginns der großen Schlachten im Westen

10. Wiedergabe einer Seite aus einem astronomischen Ephemeridenwerk für den Monat Mai 1940 mit den von Nostradamus angeführten Gestirnstellungen

11. Geburtsbild des "Caudillo", der von Nostradamus einmal als "jevne enfant" - ein Jupiter-Kind, an andrer Stelle als "castel Franco"- ein Spanier namens Franco, angekündigt wird

12. [portrait Nostradamus] Nach E. Bareste - A. de Lémud

The portrait of Nostradamus is depicted on the cover of  the Portuguese, the Rumanian and the Spanish translation Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. In the Danish and French translation, this portrait is depicted a few pages after the title page. 
On the cover of the Danish translation, figure 8 is depicted, with above a cut-out of the title page of figure 3. The cover of the French translation does not contain illustrations at all.

The message of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas
Germany, which in 1936 remilitarised the Rhine land, annexed Austria in 1938 and Bohemia in 1939, which invaded Poland in 1939, extended her power in 1940 in the north and the west by invading Denmark and Norway in April 1940 and Belgium, France, Luxemburg and the Netherlands in May 1940. In Normandy they chased away the British expedition forces. In June 1940, Italy joined Germany and attacked the south-east of France. Franco had won the Spanish civil war. Germany, Italy and Spain, the totalitarian states in Central- and West-Europe, gave the tone in history. England was the only adversary which was left. From July to August 12, 1940, the Germans and British air forces heavily battled the air space above the Canal. 
Germany and Russia had a non-aggression-pact (the Molotov - Von Ribbentrop pact, dating from august 1939). Russia did not have anything to do with the Westfeldzug.
The first version of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was written between the end of May and the end of June 1940. The final text dates from mid-August 1940. In October - November 1940, Krafft finished the French translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. In 1941, the translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas were published. 
The message of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas is connected with the phase of the war in the last days of spring 1940 and the beginning of the summer of that year. Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas shows that according to Krafft, Nostradamus foresaw all succesful German political and military manoeuvres and developments (the rise of Hitler, expansion by means of the Rhineland, Austria and Bohemia, the invasions in Poland and Scandinavia and the beginning on May 10, 1940, of the Westfeldzug), as well as Italy joining Germany in the war. By linking the quatrains 09-83 and 10-67 to the beginning on May 10, 1940, of the Westfeldzug, Krafft argued that Nostradamus was able to predict in detail until the end of time. 
According to Krafft, the future perspective which he derived from the Centuries, certainly would become reality. England would suffer from famine and military losses; would have to hand over North-Ireland to the Irish and eventually would disappear from the world theatre. Germany would win the war and would become the leading power in Europe. Hitler would persecute the Jews, the alien race in Europe. According to Krafft's explanations, Nostradamus did nothing but describing the inescapable course of fate. He did not discuss the relation between Germany and Russia. In Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft, he did not link quatrains to a German invasion in Russia.
With the link of about ten quatrains to important persons from the past like Charles I, Cromwell and Napoleon, Krafft wanted to illustrate the credibility of the Centuries. The fact that in his eyes a number of quatrains were fulfilled already, meant that those quatrains, discussed in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, who dealt with the immediate future, also would be fulfilled. 
Krafft further enforced his arguments by describing Nostradamus' reputation at the French Court and by showing that Nostradamus, despite his French nationality, made predictions which were unfavourable for France.

Krafft's comment
The censored version of Krafft's letter to Tilea, dated on March 14, 1940, shows that from 1920, Krafft studied Nostradamus and the Centuries. His publications and lectures were quite divergent.
In Über ältere und älteste Ausgaben der "Prophéties", a two-volume bibliografphic study, published in his own management in November 1940 and Januari 1941 in the serise Nostra Damur, Krafft sytematically discussed the order of publishing of old Century-editions as well as their  features. These publications had a high degree of accuracy. 
In the Century-lectures which Krafft held in Berlin in 1941, once in a while, as far as Howe's descriptions in Uranias Kinder... show, he discussed the future, having no fear of being arrested by authorities like the Gestapo, who did not like such predictions.
Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas is written for propaganda purposes, as is shown in its origin history. By means of astrologic and occult publications, the German Foreign Office wanted to influence the people in neutral countries and in countries, hostile to Germany. In his report of October 17, 1940, Krafft wrote that competition in the field of Nostradamus-propaganda between the Ministry of Propaganda (in his eyes the institution which was responsible for Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and its French and Serbian pendant) and the Foreign Office (who ordered him to write Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas) would increase the impact. According to dr. Hans-Hermann Kritzinger, the author of Der Seher von Salon (volume 38 in the series Informations-Schriften), both he and Krafft thought that it would be against the spirit of Nostradamus if they, while compiling propaganda material, based upon the Centuries, would pervert quatrains. They only would use material which made sense and which was striking.[20] In the paragraph Krafft's own material in this article, is described that in the thirties, Krafft linked quatrains to developments in national-socialism. On July 5, 1940, Krafft wrote to Adolphe Ferrière, who had helped him with issuing Traité d'Astrobiologie (Brussels, 1939), that the pro-German attitude of Nostradamus became more and more clear to him.[21] In a certain sense, Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas is a propagandistic publication, written from the conviction that the Centuries contain predictions about national-socialism. However, the countless comments in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas do not show that the Centuries were the point of departure in the comparison of their contents with the course of history. On the contrary, the course of history was the point of departure and the Centuries were squeezed into it. Krafft's comment on quatrain 05-94 is a good example of his way of giving comment. 

In the third line, Krafft linked the words La traifue fainte (the faked armistice) to the Versailles Treaty. The word Armenie in this line was considered to be a transformation of Arminie, the land of Arminius (the Latin name of Herman the Cherusk, who in 9 AD in according to tradition the Teutoburger Woods defeated three Roman legions). Thus, the word Armenie became linked to Hitler, a link which according to Kritzinger also was made because one could hardly think in 1940 that Stalin, born in Georgia, close to Armenia, would plan to attack Vienna and Cöln.[22] Krafft linked the words Grand Germanie in the first line to Hitler's Großdeutschland, the second line to the Westfeldzug ad the fourth line to the remilitarization of the Rhine Land in 1936 and Austria's Anschluß in 1938. And so, Krafft wrote, did Nostradamus four hundred years ago foresee both factors, closely united with each other, which would turn out to be decisive for the new Europe: a faked armistice and the rise of a Führer, the creator of Great-Germany.[23] 
According to Krafft, astrology showed that in the quatrains 10-67 and 09-83, Nostradamus exactly predicted that the Westfeldzug would begin on May 10, 1940.

The comments on the quatrains 09-83 and 10-67 were accompanied by illustrations. Quatrain 09-83 was illustrated with a chart which contained the Sun on 20 Taurus and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. According to the letterpress, this figure contained the planetary positions for May 10, 1940, described by Nostradamus in two of his quatrains as the moment on which in the West the great battles would begin. Quatrain 10-67 was illustrated with an ephemeris page for May 1940 with "the configuration, mentioned by Nostradamus".
Quatrain 10-67 was the first of the two quatrains that Krafft linked to May 1940, the month in which the Westfeldzug began. The German text in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas of quatrain 10-67 is not the result of a word-by-word translation, but of Krafft's linking of this quatrain to on the one hand the planetary positions in May 1940 and on the other hand the battles in May 1940. The second and the third line in the German quatrain text are not the result of a translation of the corresponding French lines, but the result of a description of the zodiacal longitudes in the ephemeris of Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury in Taurus and Venus and Mars in Cancer in the period between May 10 and May 31, 1940.
In the first line of the German text of quatrain 10-67, Krafft inserted the word militärische. This is because of the linking of this quatrain to the Westfeldzug. The original French quatrain text does not contain such a word.
The word Caper in the second line in the French text does not mean "goat", but refers to the capriciousity of Uranus, which like Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury is in Taurus. According to Krafft, Nostradamus knew about Uranus and its orbit, while this planet was discovered in 1781, long after his death. Actually, the word Caper is short for Capricornus, the Latin name of the zodiacal sign of Capricorn and the second line indicates that Saturn is in Capricorn and Jupiter and Mercury in Taurus.
Krafft explained the words Venus aussi, Cancer in the third line as a reference to Venus in Cancer, ignoring the comma between aussi and Cancer, the comma which indicates that the words Venus aussi belong to the second line, in other words: Venus is positioned in Taurus. Krafft explains the word Nonnay as a transformation of the word nones, which would indicate the 25th to 30th degree of arc of a zodiacal sign and the 1st to 5th degree of arc of the next sign. On May 10, 1940, the zodiacal longitude of Mars was 25 Gemini, Krafft therefore considered Mars to be under the influence of Cancer. Actually, the word Nonnay is a rhymed transformation of the name of a village and the words Cancer, Mars mean that Mars is in Cancer. The word nones refers to the day on which it is First Quarter or Last Quarter; this word is not used in present-day astrology.
The configuration which is mentioned in quatrain 10-67, occurred on May 9, 1549. According to present-day software, Saturn was on 29 Capricorn retrograde, Jupiter on 9 Taurus, Mercury on 12 Taurus retrograde, Venus on 7 Taurus and Mars on 22 Cancer. Brind'Amour observed that in the Montélimar region there was a heavy earthquake on May 4, 1549, with shortly after heavy hail showers.[24] Moreover, there is not one proof for the supposition that Nostradamus knew about the existence and orbits of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, the transsaturnial planets which were discovered after his death.
According to Krafft, quatrain 09-83 was the fine-tuning of the prediction about May 1940 in quatrain 10-67. The first line of quatrain 09-83 contains a zodiacal longitude of the Sun: 20 Taurus. No year is mentioned. Krafft noted that on May 10 - 11 of each and every year, the zodiacal longitude of the Sun is about 20 Taurus. This is only valid for the Gregorian calendar; in the Julian calendar, which was used in the time in which the Centuries were compiled, this position occurred around May 2.
In his comment, Krafft admitted that a zodiacal longitude of the Sun on 20 Taurus says nothing about the year in which this position occurs, but, on May 10, 1940, the earth "trembled", the "filled theatre" was destroyed and the sky was darkened by airplanes and the smoke of burning cities. Regarding the fourth line, Krafft wrote that the free-thinker Reynaud attended a mass in the Notre-Dame and that the British begged the Maid of Orleans for a miracle. Therefore, inevitably, this quatrain could not but deal with May 10, 1940. Krafft also saw an allusion to Hitler in the words Le grand in the second French quatrain line, which he translated into Der Grosse, treating it as the subject of the line instead of an adjective (Le grand theatre rempli: the great, full theatre).

3. Quatrain 03-57
In Die Weissagungen des Nostradamus (Pfullingen in Württemberg, 1921 [1920]), the German Century-scholar Carl Loog expected, basing himself upon quatrain 03-57, that in 1939, England would have the last crisis in a series of seven which had begun in 1649, and that at the same time there would be a crisis in the resurrected Poland. He did not know what crises would be at stake. After the German invasion in September 1939 in Poland, quatrain 03-57 was linked to that invasion.[25]
In Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, Krafft also discussed this quatrain. In his comment, he did not mention Loog's name, but referred to him with the words ein deutscher Nostradamusforscher. Krafft developed the comment of the French Century-scholar Charles Nicoullaud on quatrain 03-57, published in 1914 in Nostradamus - ses prophéties. He emphasized that in spring 1940, England had put the Charter aside and the government had full power. This he considered to be the seventh change in England. With this comment, he took quatrain 03-57 out of Loog's hands and fitted it into his own ideas, a kind of jalousie de métier, which in the Notes bibliographiques in Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? was even more visible in the remark that Loog presented one or two "fulfilments" of striking predictions, amidst a supposition which was absurd.[26]

Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas versus the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?
In his report of October 17, 1940, Krafft made a comparison between the contents of on the one hand Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas and on the other hand the brochure Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and its French and Serbian pendant. Krafft stated that the contents of his brochure had a better quality than the contents of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and that they scarcely overlapped each other. The reason for this comparison was the fact that the Reichskommissariat für die besetzten niederländische Gebiete did not want a Dutch translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, since in the Netherlands the brochure Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, which according to the Reichskommissariat dealt with the same theme as Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, circulated already.
On this website, it is argued that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and its French and Serbian pendant are translations of a German source text, written in November - December 1939 by order of Goebbels.[27] Given the findings about this brochure, published in other articles in this substudy, this article contains a new comparison between Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas and the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?.

1. Military, efficacious propaganda versus civil, outdated propaganda
The German source text of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? was written in November - December 1939, after the German invasion in Poland, in a period in which there were no campaigns. By using Nostradamuspropaganda, Goebbels wanted to trip the adversaries by taking advantage of the omnipresent superstition. In 1941, Herwarth von Bittenfeld, the principal author of the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, said that one of the features of the propaganda by the Propaganda Ministry was that it prepared the way for the army, which would give the last strike.[28] In February 1940, the Propaganda Ministry contacted publishers in a number of neutral countries in order to have the translations printed and published. Between March 27, 1940 and mid-July 1940, the translations were brought into circulation. The Dutch and French translation were published in the beginning of April 1940, about one month before the Westfeldzug. From Switzerland, the French translation should become spread in France and Wallonia. Perhaps the Dutch translation was also meant to circulate in Flanders. These translations raise the impression that they were addressed to the people in the countries in which they were spread. In the French translation for example, it was stated that France would not be harmed by the war, something which was not stated in any other translation. In the English translation, Italy's participation in the war was emphasized, which was not done in any other translation. The function of the English translation seems to have been to warn the USA to stay out of the conflicts in Europe.[29] The German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? can be considered to be a military piece of propaganda, produced in order to give prior support invasions by (a) demoralizing people and (b) withhold countries to intervene in the war. Goebbels' expectations of the impact of these translations were not that high. But by the end of May 1940, he concluded that its impact in France was quite sensational: in addition to the Fifth Column, people talked about a Nostradamus-Column.[30] In his diary, Goebbels wrote in connection with July 12, 1940, that he was very content with the impact of all translations of the "Nostradamusbrochure".[31] 
Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas is written between May 28 and June 23 - 30 1940, a period in which the war on the European continent slowly stopped; on June 22, 1940, Germany and France made an armistice. From that moment, England was Germany's only adversary, whose supremacy had to be broken in favour of a supremacy of the Third Reich.
The conversations between Wilmanns and Krafft were held between May 6 and May 27, 1940, the period in which Germany invaded Belgium, France, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. On May 28, 1940, when Krafft began to write a draft of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, Belgium capitulated. Luxemburg and the Netherlands already capitulated; it was in France where the campaigns were in full swing. In my opinion, it is quite thinkable that Krafft waited the course of events in France when he wrote the draft of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, whether or not ordered so by Wilmanns.
The final text of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was written between July 23 and August 19, 1940, the period in which the Battle of Britain was started. According to Maichle, it was scheduled to publish translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas by October 1940, starting in the Netherlands. For reasons yet unknown, there was a delayal; a Dutch translation was undesired. The translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas were published in 1941 (Krafft's French translation in April 1941), i.e. with a delay of almost one year, in a period in which there were no campaigns on the European continent. According to these translations, the battle on the northern front had resulted in a victory for Germany, which meant that only one front was left, the western front, where Germany inevitably would win the war. In 1941, however, Germany did not defeat England and by invading Russia in June 1941 opened a second front, the eastern front. This meant that the description of the war in the translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas became outdated, which might have had a negative impact on the propaganda in these brochures. Krafft had written nothing about Russia and had made not one allusion which could be explained as a prediction of Operation , as the German invasion in Russia is called.
The German Foreign Office wanted to influence the people in neutral countries and in countries, hostile to Germany, by means of publications like Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. The translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas were published at a time when Germany consolidated her position on the European continent. They occupied Denmark, France and Rumania. The question rises if in these countries the translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas could have impact, given a hostile attitude towards Germany. Hungary had a difficult time in maintaining her neutrality. This might have enabled an impact of the Hungarian translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas. Spain supported Hitler and Mussolini. The question is if the Spanish translation was meant to keep Spain aligned with Germany. The same question can be asked about Portugal, who did not participate in the war. It seems to me that the translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, could not profit from the German victories in the Westfeldzug (which might have been one of the important points in these brochures), despite the countless references to it. I consider these translations not as a form of military propaganda, but as civil propaganda, spread in a period in which Germany made no campaigns.
Both the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas describe that Nostradamus in detail predicted the beginning of the war. In the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, emphasis was laid on the German invasion in Poland in September 1939. In Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, emphasis was laid on May 10, 1940, on which the Westfeldzug began. These detailed, fulfilled predictions had to enforce the prediction that Germany would win the war and that England would disappear from the world theatre. The readers had to be convinced that Germany's final victory was inevitable, had to become demoralized and had to act as such.
In the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?, about 15 quatrains were used for anti-British propaganda. In Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, about 8 quatrains were used for that.

2. A non-German product
The translations of the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? and Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas were printed outside Germany, they were brought into circulation by non-German publishers. The Propaganda Ministry and the Foreign Office wanted to raise the impression that non-German books were at stake, written and produced in the countries in which they were spread. The translations of the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? were made in Germany. For quality reasons, the translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas were made outside Germany, except the French translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas; Krafft had enough knowledge of French to make his own translation.  
The Propaganda Ministry took care that the translations of the German source text of ao. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? carried either the pseudonym of the translator (Norab), the name of the editor (Rossier), a fictitious name (Pasteur) or no name at all. Like this, connections with Germany were covered. Despite this, Century-scholars could trace the German origin of quite a number of lines in the text. This might have affected the impact of these brochures.
All translations of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas carried the name Karl E. Krafft, a name which sounded German. Further, the ephemeris page in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas was a German ephemeris page. If one noticed this, connections with Germany easily could be traced. This might have affected the impact of these brochures.

3. The compilation of the text
The German source text of ao Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? is the result of a large-scale cut/paste activity. Regarding the course of the war, texts were copied from De Fontbrune's Les prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus - Expliquées et commentées (Sarlat, 1939 [1938]), whereas Krafft in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas gave his own comments upon the course of the war and also gave much information about old editions of the Centuries.

Discussed quatrains in Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas

De Meern, the Netherlands, June 7, 2007
T.W.M. van Berkel
actualized on October 13, 2007

Notes

1. Rahn to Krafft, May 6, 1940 (in: Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942). 
   On his website Prophéties pour temps de crise, the French Century-scholar Michel Chomarat wrote that Goebbels, shortly after the invasion of France, "borrowed" a copy of a 1557-Lyon-edition of the Centuries which enabled Krafft to announce that the Third Reich would last for a thousand years. In connection with this, Chomarat mentioned the publishing in Febryary 1941 of Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?. The documents, discussed in this article, do not show any involvement of Goebbels in the writing of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas and/or its translations. [text]

2. Von Dörnberg to Rahn, March 19, 1940 (in: Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942).
   Von Dörnberg: Alexander Freiherr von Dörnberg (1901-1983), German lawyer and member of the NSDAP. He was the chief of the secretary department in the Foreign Office. [text]    

3. Altenburg to baron Von Dörnberg, March 8, 1940 (in: Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942). [text]     

4. Wilmanns to Rahn, May 27, 1940; Wilmanns, end of June 1940 (in: Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942). [text]      

5. Howe, p.233-251. From a censored letter from Krafft to Tilea, dated on March 14, 1940, a typewritten version of a letter, dated on February 22, 1940, it has been derived that Krafft in mid-Januarry 1940 started to write the Einführung... 
   In March 1954, Anna Theresia van de Koppel, Krafft's widow, wrote a memorandum in which she e.g. described under what circumstances her husband was arrested in 1941. According to this memorandum, it was in the autumn of 1940 that Wilmanns contacted Krafft. Wilmanns would have ordered Krafft to rewrite a book on Nostradamus by a certain mr. X, since Wilmanns did not approve its contents. (Howe, p.251; Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1939-1942). According to his widow, Krafft's version, entitled Comment Nostradamus voit-il l'avenir de l'Europe?, was published after his arrest; publication in Germany was not allowed. The documents, published on Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1939-1942, show that the conversations between Krafft and Wilmanns took place in May 1940. Krafft wrote a German source text (Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas), which in 1941 was published in several languages. Krafft himself translated this text into French. This translation, entitled Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?, was completed in October - November 1940 and was printed by Ferd. Wellens-Pay in Brussels in April 1941 (Krafft-1941-FR [1940d], p.104). Krafft was arrested on June 12, 1941 (Howe, p.271).
   On this website, it is supposed that actually, the Nostradamusbook by a certain mr. X was Krafft's Einführung... No doubt that Krafft was displeased with the censoring by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt and their prohibition to have it published. Wilmanns might have proposed changes in order to have it published.
   By mid-August 1940, the Einführung... was completed (Krafft-1940b, p.XXVI). It was printed on October 12, 1940 and was added as an enclosure to the 1940-Krafft-copy. [text]

6. Halbronn-1995, p.98-99. In Uranus, Chapellier continuously published articles, written by Krafft (Howe, p.206). [text] 

7. Howe, p.290. [text]

8. In the bibliography of Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?, Jaubert is named Joubert and erroneously 1694 was given as the year of issue instead of 1656. [text] 

9. The bibliography in Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? contains the erroneous title Das Schicksalsbuch der Weltgeschichte, the title of a book on Nostradamus, written by dr. Wilhelm Faber, published in 1922 in Pfullingen in Württemberg. Krafft did not use Faber's book. [text] 

10. Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942. 
    Berber: professor Friedrich Berber, deputy chief of the Institut für auswärtige Politik in Hamburg and leader of the Deutschen Instituts für außenpolitische Forschung; from time to time involved in the production of national-socialist propaganda material, based upon the Centuries and/or Century-comments.
    Wilhelm: later, prior to publication, he would edit the text of Der Seher von Salon by dr. H.-H. Kritzinger, volume 38 in the series Informations-Schriften (Van Berkel: Der Seher von Salon [Informations-Schriften #38, dr. H.H. Kritzinger, Berlin, 1941 {1940}]). [text]

11. The subject is Krafft's comment upon quatrain 05-74. Berber's letter showed that in the version he read, the comment on this quatrain was at page 66. [text]

12. Van Berkel: Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (Informations-Schriften #18, Berlijn, 1940). [text]

13. Simon, August 20, 1940 (in: Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942). [text]

14. Howe, p.255. [text]

15. PAAA R66.726. [text]

16. In his diary, in connection with July 12, 1940, Goebbels wrote that nobody knew which office was responsible for the translations of the Nostradamusbrochure (Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? being one of them), not even the Foreign Office, with which he had a competency conflict about propaganda (Richter, p.218). [text]

17. PAAA R66.726; Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942). [text]  

18. Maichle: Die Nostradamus-Propaganda der Nazis, 1949-1942). [text] 

19. In her memorandum of March 1954, Anna Theresia van de Koppel wrote that Wilmanns urged Krafft to revise the formulation of the comment upon certain quatrains, in order to make these comments more favourable for Germany. This would have resulted in fierce discussions. Finally, Wilmanns agreed in dropping these comments (Howe, p.254). Given the numerous errors in this memorandum, the question rises if this communication is true, but due to a lack of sources it cannot yet be verified. [text]

20. Howe, p.246. [text]

21. Krafft to Ferrière, July 5, 1940, in: Howe, p.251. [text]

22. Kritzinger to Howe, October 24, 1962, in: Howe, p.246-247. [text]

23. Krafft-1940d, p.63. In Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?, he enforced his comment by considering the word Boulogne as a transformation of Pologne, Poland, thus implying that Nostradamus also foresaw the German invasion in 1939 in Poland (Krafft-1941-FR [1940d], p.146). [text]

24. Van Berkel: Quatrain 10-67. The listed zodiacal longitudes are rounded to degrees of arc. [text]

25. Van Berkel: Quatrain 03-57 and Die Weissagungen des Nostradamus. [text]

26. Krafft-1940d, p.47-49; Krafft-1941-FR (1940d), p.200. [text]

27. Van Berkel: The German source text of a.o. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? [text]

28. Van Berkel: Herwarth von Bittenfeld on war propaganda. [text]

29. Van Berkel:
    - Que se passera-t-il entre le printemps 1940 et le printemps 1941 (Genève, 1940)?
    - What will happen in the near future? (Norab, Stockholm, 1940)  [text]

30. Van Berkel: Die Kolonne des Nostradamus (dr. Th.Fr. Böttiger, Berlin, 1940). [text]

31. Richter, p.218. [text]

The cover and table of contents of Nostradamus vê o futuro da Europa are copied from the copy of this brochure, owned by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Abteilung Historische Drucke – Signature 23 A 13690 : R. [return]