NOSTRADAMUS, ASTROLOGY AND THE BIBLE
SUBSTUDY "WORLD WAR II"
Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus 
(dr. E. Noelle, Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Berlin, June 16, 1940)
- T.W.M. van Berkel -

 Index WORLD WAR II

On June 16, 1940, an article was published in the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, without the name of its author. The article was entitled: Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus. It was written in the spring of 1940 by Elisabeth Noelle, 23 years old, who worked for the DAZ as a journalist-in-education from mid-April 1940, after she became doctor in philosophy, until September 1940.[1] 
It is described in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus what, according to the Centuries, will happen to France in 1940. In France, the Centuries lead to such a low moral, that Georges Mandel, the French Secretary of State for Home Affairs, concluded that in his country a Nostradamus-Column was risen, which should be considered as one of France's most grim enemies. Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus ends with a quote from Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit, an article, written by Walsing and published in the DAZ of November 12, 1925. In this quote, it is mentioned that, according to the predictions of Nostradamus, Germany will end the "Great Contract" (the Versailles Treaty) about seventy years after the foundation of the French Republic.[2] Nostradamus blames France, his homeland, that it went too far and should have been communicative. With irresistible audaciousness, the Germans will wage a surprisingly quick and strong campaign and will conquer Paris. 
In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, Nostradamus is presented as a political prophet. In turbulent eras, again and again his predictions surprisingly turn out to be true, in contrast to the predictions by his colleagues. About his life and work, it is written that he was a formidable fighter of the plague, that he devoted himself to research and writing because of discords with his fellow-physicians, that he was consulted by Cathérine de' Medici, the wife of the French king Henry II, and that the French king Charles IX paid him a visit. In his house in Salon, Nostradamus furnished a room to observe the sky. During observing, he sat on a bronze chair. In front of him was a basin, filled with water, in which the stars were reflected.
About the Centuries, Noelle wrote that they were published between 1555 and 1558 and contain one thousand quatrains, in which political events are described up to 3797 AD. The first time their value became evident, was when the French king Henry II died in 1559. From that moment, about 300 quatrains were fulfilled, among which quatrains with predictions about the Thirty Year War, the beheading of the British king Charles I, Cromwell, Louis XIV, the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III and World War I. Correspondences are discussed between seven quatrains and the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. The key to the quatrains will be found 500 years after 1555.
In quiet periods (according to Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus) the Centuries are a future novel, filled with fantasy, suited for all kinds of imaginations. In troubled times however, the Centuries again and again have a drastic impact. The quote from Ein Zukunftsroman der Menschheit shows that things which in 1925 looked like a future novel, became reality in 1940. According to

Bibliography, source texts
At the end of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, five consulted publications are mentioned:

• 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).

• Walsing: Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit (DAZ. 12.11.1925, Nr. 534).
  In this article a copy is used of the version, published in the DAZ-Reichsausgabe # 534/535, November 13, 1925, entitled Ein Zukunftsroman der Menschheit.

• Winkler, dr. B.: Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert. Görlitz, 1939.

• Winkler, dr. B.: Englands Aufstieg und Niedergang nach den Prophezeiungen des großen französischen Sehers Michel Nostradamus aus den Jahren 1555 und 1558. Leipzig, 1940.

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

In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus there is only a reference to Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit in the DAZ-edition of November 12, 1925. There are no page references to the books by Loog, Wöllner and Winkler.
During the study upon which this article is based, it became clear that the German quatrain texts, given in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, are borrowed from Winkler's Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert. The discussion of the correspondences between about seven quatrain texts and the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, is also borrowed from this book.[3] There are no texts which are borrowed from Loog-1921, Wöllner-1926 and Winkler-1940.

Annotations

a. Nostradamus as a political prophet
Nostradamus is presented as a political prophet and the Centuries are presented as a collection of about 1000 quatrains, in which the political course of events is described until 3797. On p.47 in Winklers Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen..., it reads: Aus den Prophezeiungen, deren Inhalt wir bis jetzt zu deuten versuchten, haben wir gesehen, daß die Vorschau des Sehers eine politische Schau ist. Noelle's remark about Nostradamus being a political prophet might be carried back to the remark, made by Winkler. However, many of the quatrains which are part of the Centuries, deal with e.g. earthquakes, epidemics, famine, floods and the approaching end of the world. Quite a number of predictions in Nostradamus' Almanachs and Pronostications also deal with these matters. The reader of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus is not informed about these aspects of the predictions of Nostradamus. In the case he/she has no knowledge of the nostradamian oeuvre, he/she is mislead.

b. Hitler, national-socialism and the circumstances in Europe from 1918
In Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert, Winkler discussed quatrains which, according to him, were fulfilled in the period 1559-1936. According to him, the impotence of the League of Nations was predicted in quatrain 01-47, and Hitler's birth in quatrain 03-58. Winkler wrote that Hitler's internal politics were predicted in the quatrains 04-15 and 05-79. In Englands Aufstieg und Niedergang..., he linked quatrain 03-57 to the German invasion in Poland in September 1939.[4]  
In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, a number of quatrains is discussed which are supposed to have been fulfilled between 1559 and 1918. Many of the comments are borrowed from Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert. A summing up is given of the 30-year war, the beheading of the British king Charles I, Cromwell, Louis XIV, the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon III and World War I. Not one word, however, is spent on the impotence of the League of Nations, Hitler's birth, his internal politics or the invasion in Poland. In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, the years from 1918 are wrapped in mystery. This also goes for the circumstances in Europe since 1939. In Englands Aufstieg und Niedergang..., Winkler, who mentioned World War I as der Weltkrieg, used the words den gegenwärtigen Krieg for the years from September 1939.[5] In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, World War I is also called der Weltkrieg. Regarding the circumstances since September 1939, the word "war" is not used. Instead, words or phrasings are used such as "the present time", "the shift of the political centre of gravity", eras which from a political point of view are "filled with events" or "turbulent", and (Walsing) "a campaign", which is focused on France. The contents of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus deal with France only. Nothing is written about what happens in other countries.

c. The Nostradamus-Column 
Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus is ended with the remark that it is understandable that people in France believe that it is necessary to fight not only the Fifth Column, but the Nostradamus-Column, which group, according to the French Secretary of State for Home Affairs, must be considered to be one of the worst enemies of France, as well. According to the article, the low moral in France was caused by the fact that in the Centuries, the future of France was not clearly unveiled. On p.56 of Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., it reads that a number of Frenchmen, basing themselves upon Nostradamus' Centuries, rose their voice against the war which France in 1940 unfortunately was going to lose. Mandel, the French Secretary of State for Home affairs, decided to persecute this "Nostradamus Column". Actually, the French defeatism was caused by the German psychological warfare, of which the Nostradamus-campaign was part. In a secret daily propaganda meeting in November/December 1939, Goebbels explained how the Centuries could be used for psychological warfare. He thought of them as a source which could be used for quite a long time and gave instructions regarding the production of a chain-letter which looked like an illegal flyer, in which Zenturie 33 had to be included, a prophetic verse. Verbally, the correspondence between this Zenturie and the year 1933 should be emphasized. The explanation should contain the elements: new order in Europe by Great-Germany, a temporary occupation of France, Great-Germany bringing the 1000-year empire and the 1000-year peace. This kind of - according to Goebbels - sheer nonsense also had to be broadcasted in France. The meaning of the words "great duke of Armenia" should be kept silent until Stalin from Georgia would declare war to Germany or vice versa.[6] In the propaganda meeting of May 17, 1940, the secret radio transmitter was ordered to raise panic among the French by all possible means, among which protests against negligence by the French government and the spread of ongoing French rumours, especially those which dealt with the deliberate flee of the Reynaud-government. The radio transmitter was also ordered to warn strongly against the dangers of the Fifth Column, a group to which all German emigrants belonged who lived in France, including the German Jews. Willi A. Boelcke, who in 1966 annotated the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meetings in the Ministry of Propaganda, noticed that especially in France, the Fifth Column campaign, run by the Ministry of Propaganda, was successful. In the French press, the danger of the Fifth Column was largely exposed. Due to a.o. this campaign, the nervousness in France increased.[7]
In the propaganda meeting of May 24, 1940, the secret radio transmitter was ordered to work very frequently with predictions. Goebbels suggests to use the predictions of a certain monk, whose name is not mentioned in the minutes, and to pay attention to myths about the Loretto Heights. He also advices to use the "Nostradamus brochure".[8]
In the propaganda meeting of May 26, 1940, the secret radio transmitter is instructed to spread the already good working Nostradamus prophecies more and more.[9] In his diary, Goebbels writes about May 26, 1940, that the panic campaign is very successful and that Nostradamus-adepts are called "the sixth column". For Goebbels, this is a sign that this propaganda is effective and a reason to increase it.[10] In the propaganda meeting of May 27, 1940, Hans Fritzsche, head of the German Press department in the Ministry of Propaganda, is ordered to instruct the German press not to publish anything about Nostradamus and related topics, in order not to disturb the campaigns abroad.[11]
The words "Nostradamus Column" in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus point towards the same phenomenon as the words "sixth column" in Goebbels' diary. The low moral which raised in France, was not caused by the fact that the Centuries did not point out clearly the future of France, as suggested in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, but by the national-socialist Nostradamus-campaign, which was a part of the German psychological warfare.

d. The quote from Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit

In Ein Zukunftsroman der Menschheit, Walsing discussed a comment by some Swedish Century-scholars who, basing themselves upon the Epistle to Henry II, established a series of dates and events, starting from 1815. According to Walsing, these Century-scholars described that around 1940, there would be a war between Germany and France, without involvement of the other European countries. According to them, a large-scale war in Europe would not occur before 2000. 
From Ein Zukunftsroman der Menschheit, it can not be derived that according to the Swedish Century-scholars, the circumstances in Europe since September 1939 are predicted in the Epistle to Henry II.

In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, Noelle only partly incorporated the findings of the Swedish Century-scholars. She did not mention the fact that for 1940, these Century-scholars only described a war between Germany and France in which the other European countries would not be involved. Deliberately or not, she enabled her readers to relate the words Deutschlands Feldzug to the Westfeldzug, the German invasions in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and to their earlier invasions in Poland in September 1939 and in Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Deliberately or not, she raised the wrong impression that World War II was predicted in the Centuries in the way she described.

Noelle-Neumann was interviewed on March 25 and 26 and October 28, 1996, by the German media scientist Wolfgang Hagen. The interview was broadcasted on June 4, 1998, on Radio Bremen; its contents were published on Hagens website. The title of this report: Die Erschaffung der Demoskopie.[12] 
In this interview, which dealt with the origins of research on public opinion, Nostradamus was discussed sideways. Noelle-Neumann told that around April 30, 1940, when she worked as a journalist at the DAZ, her editor gave her a postcard, on which a cut-out was glued, taken from the 1925 vintage of the DAZ. Her editor instructed her to do some research. In the Prussian State Library in Berlin, Noelle-Neumann read in some Nostradamus comments that Hitler's birth was predicted in the Centuries, that there would be war between Russia and Germany, that Germany would lose the war and that Hitler would die. To the Germans, Nostradamus held out the outlook that the course of war would be so terrible, that he could only advice them to hide themselves in the woods.
In connection with her findings, Noelle-Neumann wrote an article, which was submitted to the Censorship department of the Ministry of Propaganda. The Censorship department permitted the publication of the article, but only in the DAZ-Auslandsausgabe and only as far as predictions were fulfilled. Noelle-Neumann wrote that the French government would flee to Bordeaux. Publication of this prediction was not allowed, everything else Noelle-Neumann had written, could be published.
In the interview, Noelle-Neumann twice referred to the German invasion in France. The first time, she said that the Germans invaded France at the time her article was printed. A few minutes later, she said that this invasion took place while she was writing her article.
Noelle-Neumann was not surprised by the German invasion in Russia in June 1941, but she was in a desperate mood, because of what she read in the Prussian State Library. She was not at all impressed by the propaganda which accompanied this invasion, because she know from Nostradamus in what way things would develop.

Annotations

a. The date of publication and the succeeding events
Noelle-Neumann told that she worked at the DAZ from about the middle of April, 1940. She did not mention the date on which her article about Nostradamus was published. Her references to the German invasion in France indicate that Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus was either written or printed on May 10, 1940. Actually, the article was published on June 16, 1940, the day on which Philippe Pétain, the French vice prime minister, asked a cease-fire to the Germans, who conquered Paris on June 14, 1940. 
Noelle-Neumann probably wrote her article after May 26, 1940, the date about which Goebbels wrote in his diary about the "sixth column", mentioned in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus as the "Nostradamus-Column".
Perhaps Noelle-Neumann did not have all details about her article in her conversation with Hagen. However, it is quite odd that in this conversation, she implied that her article was published on May 10, 1940, and that she referred to events which took place around that date.

b. The decisions of the Censorship department
In the interview with Hagen, Noelle-Neumann told about the relation between the German press and the Censorship department of the Ministry of Propaganda. According to her, the German press was not permanently censored. It was up to the editors to decide in first instance what in a coming publication was according to "national-socialism" and what needed extra examination. In other words: the censors were not seated next to the journalists, the editors took the initiative to consult the censors. It was the editing staff of the DAZ who submitted Noelle's article to the Censorship department.
According to Noelle-Neumann, the Censorship department decided that her article only should contain those predictions of Nostradamus which were already fulfilled. She told that she was allowed to publish everything she had written, except for the allusion to the flee of the French government to Bordeaux, because at that time the French government resided in Paris.
In Ein Zukunftsroman der Menschheit, it reads: Paris wird erobert, und die französische Hauptstadt muss nach dem Suden Frankreichs verlegt werden. In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, it reads: Paris wird erobert werden; the second part of the line is not included. This might have been due to the decision of the Censorship department. However, at the time the article was written (whether this was in May 1940 or June 1940), Paris was not conquered. Also at the time the article was submitted to the Censorship department (whether this was in May 1940 or June 1940), Paris was not conquered. The question is why in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus the prediction of the conquest of Paris was not deleted, in contradiction to the prediction of the flee of the French government to Bordeaux. Regarding the latter prediction, it must be noted that such a prediction does not occur in the publications of Loog, Winkler or Wöllner. According to Ein Zukunftsroman der Menschheit, the French capital must be moved to the south of France. Walsing did not mention the city of Bordeaux.
According to Noelle-Neumann, the Censorship department also decided that her article was only allowed to be published in the DAZ-Auslandsausgabe. The DAZ was settled in Berlin and was ruled by Karl Silex. In 1940, the DAZ was published daily, also on Sunday. For Berlin, a morning- and an evening-edition were produced. For West- and South-Germany, a Reichsausgabe was produced in Frankfurt am Main, being a compilation of the Berlin morning- and evening edition. It was possible to subscribe to the DAZ from abroad. However, as far as the Institut für Zeitungsforschung in Dortmund knows, a DAZ-Auslandsausgabe has not existed.[13] Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus was published in a normal DAZ-edition, contrary to the decision of the Censorship department and contrary to what Noelle-Neumann told in 1996. The question is why the Censorship department decided to allow publication in the DAZ-Auslandsausgabe, given the fact that no such edition existed.

c. The fortune of Hitler and the course of World War II
Noelle-Neumann told that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, she read in Nostradamus comments that Hitler's birth was predicted in the Centuries. She vividly remembered the last line of this quatrain (quatrain 03-58): Niemand wird wissen, wie er geendet hat. According to her, Hitler knew this prediction and frequently commanded a certain Sieburg and others to go to France to gather information about Nostradamus. In these Nostradamus comments, Noelle-Neumann also read that Germany and Russia would be at war, and that Hitler would die. All this was not discussed in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus.
During the study upon which this article is based, it has been verified which authors, mentioned in the bibliography of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, wrote such comments. In Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert (1939, Winkler wrote that Hitler's birth was predicted in quatrain 03-58. Neither Loog, nor Walsing, nor Wöllner  discussed this quatrain.[14]  
More than 50 years after writing her article, Noelle-Neumann links quatrain 03-58 to Hitler's birth and tells that Hitler knew this quatrain and that a certain Sieburg told her that Hitler again and again commanded him and others to gather information about Nostradamus.[15] However, the Goebbels diaries do not show that Hitler had such a strong interest in the Centuries. On November 22, 1939, in a conversation with Hitler, Goebbels talked about Nostradamus, probably because of his plans to involve Nostradamus in psychological warfare. Goebbels wrote that Hitler considered this topic to be interesting, but did not want to read anything about it.[16] Goebbels also talked about Nostradamus in a conversation with Hitler on March 30, 1940, probably because of the progress of the Nostradamus-campaigns which he started. Goebbels wrote that Hitler considered this to be very interesting, but the text in his diary does not contain an indication that Hitler had become very curious about the Centuries.[17] 
The war between Germany and Russia which Nostradamus, according to Noelle-Neumann, would have predicted, is not described by Loog, Walsing, Winkler or Wöllner. Links between certain quatrains and Hitler's fortune and the course of World War II are described, however, in a post-war comment, entitled Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte (Berlin, 1955 [1953]). In this book, the German Nostradamus Century-scholar dr. Alexander Centgraf, also known as dr. N. Centurio, linked quatrain 03-58 to Hitler's birth and quatrain 02-55 to the conquering of Berlin by the Russian Army and to Hitler's suicide.[18]  

Noelle-Neumann's article Nostradamus und ich, which has been published in Die Welt on April 24, 2003, can be divided in two parts and a framed part. In the first part, Noelle-Neumann writes about her encounter in 1940 with Nostradamus and the Centuries and about the course of events regarding Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus. This part opens with Noelle-Neumann's remark that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, she read that the war which would come next to the two world wars, would be a war with the Arabs. In the second part, she discusses the reputation of the Centuries and some predictions which are fulfilled. Noelle-Neumann closes this part with the remark that during the centuries, Nostradamus' reputation was maintained and that nowadays we see the war with the Arabs. In the framed part of the article, entitled Der Arzt als Hellseher, she describes the life and work of Nostradamus.[19]
Regarding the events at the DAZ in 1940, Noelle-Neumann writes that her chief, Hans Eberhard Friedrich, handed her a postcard, on which a cut-out was glued, taken from the DAZ of November 12, 1925. The author of the postcard wrote that according to Nostradamus, Germany would be at war with France by spring 1940 and would conquer Paris. Friedrich ordered her to do some research in the Prussian State Library. There, she read the original text of Nostradamus, upon which the author of the postcard founded his remarks. One might say: there, she read Walsings Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit.
Noelle-Neumann read Nostradamus and Nostradamus comments and wrote an article, which was submitted to the Censorship department of the Ministry of Propaganda because of its thorny character. The Censorship department allowed publication, but only in the DAZ-Auslandsausgabe and only as far as predictions were fulfilled. The article was published on June 16, 1940. A couple of days later, the Germans conquered Paris and the French government fled to Bordeaux, exactly as described by Nostradamus.
In Nostradamus und ich, Noelle-Neumann wrote that back in 1940, she also read about matters regarding World War I and the terrible way in which World War II would end: Nostradamus warned the fathers to hide themselves, with their daughters, in the woods.
Regarding her findings about Nostradamus, Noelle-Neumann also referred to one of her remarks in the television portrait, made by the German producer Guido Knopp in 1996, on the occasion of her 80th birthday. To his question, at what time in World War II it became clear to her that the result would be a loss, she slightly irritated answered: "I already have told you that back in 1940 I read this in Nostradamus in the Prussian State Library."[20] 

Annotations

a. Nostradamus as a political prophet
In 2003, Noelle-Neumann copied the text of the reputation of the Centuries, the fulfilled quatrains and Nostradamus' life and work almost literally from Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, with some adjustments. Noelle-Neumann again described Nostradamus as a political prophet and the Centuries as a collection of about 1000 quatrains, in which the political course of events is described until 3797, and that in the past, regarding e.g. the two world wars, more than 300 quatrains were fulfilled. 

b. The date of publication and succeeding events
Noelle-Neumann wrote that a couple of days after June 16, 1940, the date on which Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus was published, the Germans conquered Paris and the French government fled to Bordeaux, "exactly as Nostradamus had predicted". These events took place near the end of the German campaign in France. In the interview with Hagen, Noelle-Neumann referred to the beginning of this campaign as the event which succeeded the publication of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus.
The references to the conquest of Paris and the flee of the French government to Bordeaux are not correct. The Germans conquered Paris on June 14, 1940, two days before Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus was published, not a couple of days after it. Until June 13, 1940, the French government had her office in Paris, from June 13 to June 15, 1940, in Tours, and from June 15, 1940, in Bordeaux, not from a couple of days after June 16, 1940.

c. The decisions of the Censorship department
In Nostradamus und ich, Noelle-Neumann wrote that the article she wrote in 1940 on Friedrich's orders, was submitted to the Censorship department of the Ministry of Propaganda, because of its thorny character. The information she gives about the decisions of the Censorship department is the same as the information she gave to Hagen: publication was only allowed in the DAZ-Auslandsausgabe and only as far as predictions were discussed, which already were fulfilled. In Nostradamus und ich, Noelle-Neumann did not describe which parts of her article were deleted.
The questions which rose because of the information Noelle-Neumann gave to Hagen, also rise because of the information she gave in Nostradamus und ich. In both cases, it is not explained why in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus the prediction of the conquest of Paris was not deleted. After all, at the time Noelle-Neumann wrote this article or at the time it was read by the Censorship department, Paris was not conquered. In both cases, it is not explained why the Censorship department allowed publication in the DAZ-Auslandsausgabe, given the fact that such an edition did not exist.

d. The fortune of Hitler, the course of World War II and the war with the Arabs
In Nostradamus und ich, Noelle-Neumann wrote that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, while reading Nostradamus, she read about World War I and about the terrible way in which World War II would end. The information she gave about Nostradamus warning the fathers to hide themselves with their daughters in the woods, is quite similar with the information she gave to Hagen. As an illustration, she described that the father of a secretary who in 1960 started to work at the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach, exactly did this during World War II. However, neither Loog, nor Walsing, nor Winkler, nor Wöllner write about such a warning in the Centuries.
In Nostradamus und ich, Noelle-Neumann did not write anything about the link between quatrains 03-58 and Hitler's birth or about the war between Germany and Russia, which would be lost by Germany, or about Hitler's death. She does refer to the television portrait, made by Knopp, and her remark that back in 1940, at the Prussian State Library, she read in Nostradamus that the war would result into loss.
Nostradamus und ich, published on April 24, 2003, two years and seven months after the assault on the World Trade Centre in New York, opens with Noelle-Neumann's remark that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, she read that the war which would come next to the two world wars, would be a war with the Arabs. At the end of Nostradamus und ich, she wrote that Nostradamus' reputation remained throughout the centuries and that we now have arrived at the war with the Arabs. During the study upon which this article is founded, it has been verified which author, mentioned in the bibliography of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, wrote such a comment. Neither Loog, nor Winkler, nor Wöllner wrote a comment like this. Loog expected a second world war only around 2100; at that time, Germany would be at war with France and would gain the victory.[21] With the discussion of the course of that war, Loog ends his discussion of the period 1555-2200 in his book. He wrote nothing about a succeeding war with the Arabs.
Wöllner derived a series of events from the contents of the Epistle to Henry II, events which would occur between 1792 and 2000. Without given concrete years, he wrote that in this period, the rulers of Germania, Romania and Spain for the first time would be united and next would be at war with each other, during which war Europe will tremble. After reconciliation, the ruler of Germany will occupy the Netherlands, the ruler of Romania will cross the Pyrenees and the ruler of Spain, who protects the Church, is lucky in his fight against the Islamic people. This ruler damages the Islam, his empire will stretch out until Africa and in the east until Hungary.[22] However, Wöllner does not write that the war which succeeds the two world wars, is a war with the Arabs.
During the writing of Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert, Winkler expected, basing himself upon quatrain 05-94, that no sooner than around 2000, Germany would be involved in a war. [23] He wrote nothing about a succeeding war with the Arabs. In Englands Aufstieg und Niedergang... he also has not written anything of this kind.
According to Walsing, the Swedish Century-scholars whose comment he discussed, expected a large-scale war in Europe only around 2000. At that time, the Islam would be concentrated in three areas: West-Africa, Arab/Syria/Mesopotamia and Turkey. Then, the Arabs start a campaign in which they conquer France and Spain and march until the Rhine.
It is most probable that Noelle-Neumann based her statements about a war with the Arabs upon Walsing's remarks in Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit. However, she does not mention the fact that in this article, no large-scale war was predicted for the period 1940-2000.

e. The presence of the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung of November 12, 1925, in the Prussian State Library
In 1996, in her conversation with Hagen, Noelle-Neumann told that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, she studied Nostradamus literature. In this conversation, it did not become clear if she read Walsing's Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit in the Prussian State Library. 
In her article in Die Welt, Noelle-Neumann writes that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, she read Walsing's article, as published in the DAZ-edition of November 12, 1925. Both the Groß-Berliner Ausgabe of the DAZ and the Reichsausgabe were part of the collection of the Prussian State Library. This collections contains a copy of the Reichsausgabe-edition 534/535 of November 12/13, 1925, in which Walsing's article was published. Noelle-Neumanns communication that back in 1940, in the Prussian State Library, she read Walsing's article, could very well be true.[24]

Discussion
In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (1940), written by order of Hans Eberhard Friedrich, Noelle-Neumann's editor, who gave her a postcard on which a cut-out was glued of Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit, an article published in the DAZ on November 12, 1925, the readers are informed about Nostradamus as a person, the nature of his predictions, fulfilled predictions and their striking nature in 1940. In connection with 1940 she discussed a text, taken from Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit.
In Die Erschaffung der Demoskopie (1998 [1996]) Noelle-Neumann told that because of the Nostradamus comments she read back in 1940, she knew at that time that Germany would attack Russia and in the end would lose the war, and that Hitler would die. She also told that Hitler's birth was predicted in the Centuries.
In Nostradamus und ich (2003), Noelle-Neumann illustrated the striking character of Nostradamus' predictions by saying that around 2003, there is a "war with the Arabs", which she already knew in 1940 when she read Nostradamus comments.

According to my opinion, Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus shows a couple of propagandistic traits. This article contains errors and semi-truths which in a subtle way seem to support the "German cause". For example, the moral situation in France in 1940 is described wrongly. The low moral in France, as visible in a "Nostradamus-Column", was supposed to have been caused by the fact that the Centuries are not at all clear about the future of France. Actually, this low moral was caused by the German psychological warfare, which included a Nostradamus-campaign.
By selecting a certain part of Ein Zukunftsroman der europaïschen Menschheit and taking this part out of its context, Noelle-Neumann suggested that the German invasion in France in May 1940 was predicted in the Centuries. Actually, Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit contained a prediction of a war in 1940 between Germany and France without any involvement of the other European countries. Counting from 1914-1918, the Swedish Century-scholars whose comments were discussed by Walsing did not expect a large-scale war in Europe before 2000.
In Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, Nostradamus is wrongly described as a political prophet and the Centuries are wrongly presented as a collection of political predictions.

The publication date, indicated by Noelle-Neumann in 1996, differs from the one she indicated in 2003. This might have been caused by the fact that Nostradamus was not the main topic of the interview she gave in 1996. However, this does not explain why Noelle-Neumann in 1996 referred to the German invasion in France as the event which succeeded the publication of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, whereas in 2003 she referred to the conquest of Paris and the flee of the French government to Bordeaux. One has to keep in mind that both the conquest of Paris and the flee of the French government preceded the publication of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus.
In 1996 and 2003, Noelle-Neumann told that the Censorship department decided to allow the publication of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus only in a DAZ-Auslandsausgabe and only as far as predictions were discussed which already were fulfilled. However, a DAZ-Auslandsausgabe did not exist and Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus contains a prediction of the conquest of Paris, which was not fulfilled during the writing of the article or its submission to the Censorship department.
Noelle-Neumann's statement that back in 1940 she already knew the course of the war and that Hitler would die, is not confirmed by the publications which are part of the bibliography of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus. A comment of this kind exists in Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte, a post-war comment.
The statement Noelle-Neumann made in 2003, that back in 1940 she derived from Nostradamus comments that after the two world wars there would be a war with the Arabs, is also not confirmed by the publications which are part of the bibliography of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus.

Scepticism
The lacks which were found during the literature study upon which this article is based, raise doubts about the origin history of Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, as told by Noelle-Neumann. I do not exclude the possibility that back in 1940, Friedrich ordered her to describe France's future and that Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus was published in the DAZ of June 16, 1940, without having been submitted to the Censorship department. Such a submission was not obligatory. Next, it may be assumed that the Censorship department was well informed about the kinds of editions of the DAZ. It may also be assumed that the DAZ-editing staff could not ignore a decision of the Censorship department regarding publication and contents.
Regarding Noelle-Neumann's knowledge about the course of World War II, the death of Hitler and the war with the Arabs, the question is if in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus the summing up of publications was complete. It is possible that back in 1940, Noelle-Neumann read publications which she did not mention in her article. However, it is striking that none of the facts she mentioned can be found in the publications she mentioned. That is why I do not exclude the possibility that her knowledge about Hitler and the course of World War II comes from a post-war comment, e.g. the one, written by Centgraf, also known as Centurio, and that this is similar in the case of the mentioned war with the Arabs.

In Die Erschaffung der Demoskopie and Nostradamus und ich, I did not find indications that Noelle-Neumann dissociated herself from the description she gave of the French moral in 1940 in Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, or that she dissociated herself from her opinion, based upon a fragment of Ein Zukunftsroman der europäischen Menschheit which was taken out of its context, that Nostradamus predicted the German invasion in France.

De Meern, the Netherlands, December 15, 2005
T.W.M. van Berkel
Actualized on May 5, 2007