NOSTRADAMUS, ASTROLOGY AND THE BIBLE
SUBSTUDY "WORLD WAR II"
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt - ein Augenzeugenbericht des Auslandsprechers des OKW 
(M.H. Sommerfeldt, Frankfurt am Main, 1952)
- T.W.M. van Berkel -

Nederlandse versie  

Index WORLD WAR II

Introduction
Martin Henry Sommerfeldt, son of a preacher, was born in 1899. During World War I, he was a lieutenant. After World War I, he worked as a journalist, was a correspondent at the German parliament and temporarily chief editor at the Tägliche Rundschau. In 1932, he wrote a biography on Hermann Göring. Many times in 1933, this biography was reprinted. Göring appointed him to chief of the press department of the Prussian State Department.
In 1936, Sommerfeldt again went into the army. In 1938, he was promoted to captain, in 1942 to major.[1]
In November 1939, Sommerfeldt was posted to the section Auslandspresse as a communication officer of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and was their spokesman. Each day during the war, he explained the military situation for the accredited foreign press. At least once a day, often twice, he also did this in the meetings of the foreign press in the Ministry of Propaganda. He often was present at the secret daily propaganda meetings in the Ministry of Propaganda and he often privately reported to Goebbels.[2]
After World War II, Sommerfeldt wrote two books. His book Ich war dabei - die Verschwörung der Dämonen 1933-1939 was published in 1949. In this book, Sommerfeldt discussed a.o. the fire in the Reichstag and the events in the life of Ernst Röhm. His book Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt - ein Augenzeugenbericht des Auslandsprechers des OKW, was published in 1952. This book contains countless discussions about what happened during World War II.
In this article, a fragment is discussed, written in chapter VI in Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt. In this fragment, Sommerfeldt wrote about Nostradamus, the Centuries and an instruction of Goebbels regarding the way one of the predictions in the Centuries should be published. Partly, this fragment is included in Wollt Ihr den totalen Krieg? (Willi A. Boelcke, Herrsching, 1989 [1967]). Franz Isfort added a part of this fragment in his translation of Ellic Howe's Astrology and the Third Reich (London, 1984), which was published in 1995.[3]

Rumours and miracles

Chapter VI in Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt is entitled Goebbels' Krieg. In this chapter, Sommerfeldt discussed the propaganda which Goebbels directed to the German people, especially to whispering campaigns and campaigns, anticipating on the belief in miracles.[4]
Goebbels, who restrained the collection of news and who enacted a strict ban on reading foreign newspapers or listening to radio-broadcasts of foreign or neutral countries, wanted to demoralize people by means of whispering campaigns or motivate them to do heroic spending or sacrifices. With the whispering campaigns, he anticipated on the longing for news, especially for news which originated from a forbidden source. He took benefit of the fact that when people passed on secret, illegal rumours, they would not tend to weaken the contents of these rumours, but would tend to enforce them, not in the least because they themselves wanted to look more interesting. The rumours which were spread by the Ministry of Propaganda and which looked as if they were illegal, spread like oil on the water.
Sommerfeldt gave two examples of whispering campaigns. In one of them, he described that, when Germany had to count with a reduction of civil railroad traffic, the Ministry of Propaganda spread the rumour that from the first of October the civil railroad traffic would be stopped completely. Within one week time this was known in all Germany. When eventually the civil railroad traffic was reduced with 50% instead of being stopped completely, the general reaction was filled with relief and  people were proud on the German government, who had managed to prevent worse.
When after some years the whispering campaigns were working without failure (people paid far more attention to indiscretions than to government communiqués), Goebbels anticipated on another element in the collective of German thinking: the belief in miracles. As an example, Sommerfeldt described an instruction of Goebbels regarding the publicity which should be given to one of the predictions in the Centuries.

Nostradamus in Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt
In Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt, Sommerfeldt described Nostradamus as a French physician and astrologer who wrote his Centuries, predictions for 1.500 years, at the court of Henry II. Sommerfeldt notes that the language of the Centuries is gloomy, something quite usual among prophets, which renders them multi-interpretable. Like the aphorisms of the Delphic Oracle, it is easy for someone to explain them according to one's own intentions.
Sommerfeldt writes that Zenturie 32 contains a marvellous prediction of the foundation in 1871 of the German Empire, and that nothing is better suited for the campaign in 1940 against France than Zenturie 33. Next, he describes that, according to Goebbels, Zenturie 33 should be published by means of an illegal looking chain letter:

Correspondences with Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte von 1547 bis gegen 3000 (Bruno Noah, Berlin, 1928)

Noah 1928	Noah reprint 2005

Sommerfeldt writes that the Centuries cover a time span of 1.500 years. This is not according to the general idea that the time span of the Centuries is 2.242 years, starting in 1555, the year which is mentioned at the end of the Preface to Cesar, and ending in 3797, a year which is mentioned in the Preface.
It is also remarkable that Sommerfeldt writes that Nostradamus wrote his Centuries at the court of Henry II.
The text of Zenturie 32 and Zenturie 33 is in German. This way of numbering does not show to which centuries (chapters of 100 quatrains) these Zenturien belong. This suggests that Sommerfeldt copied these Zenturien from a German publication, which contains Zenturien which numbers do not refer to centuries, but to a series of at least 33 Zenturien. Another peculiarity is that Zenturie 33 has eight lines, whereas a quatrain which is part of the Centuries, always has four lines.
The literature study upon which this article is based, showed that the time span of 1.500 years, the use of the word Zenturie and the German text of Zenturie 32 and Zenturie 33 can be traced back to Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte von 1547 bis gegen 3000, written by Bruno Noah in 1927 and published in Berlin in 1928. The subtitle of this book shows that Noah discusses a period of about 1.500 years, running from 1547 to 3000. The source text Noah used was the 1668-Ribou-edition of the Centuries (wrongly named by Noah as the 1668-Ribon-edition). The Epistle to Henry II which is part of this edition, does not contain the date March 14, 1557, as e.g. the 2000-Chomarat-facsimile, but the date March 14, 1547.[5] At the beginning of his discussion of the Centuries, Noah wrote that the time span of the Centuries began in 1555 and ends in 3797, information which only can be found in the Preface to Cesar. However, following the contents of the 1668-Ribou-edition, Noah did not include the Preface to Cesar in his book and did not take consequences from the years, mentioned in the Preface.
In the sequence of the quatrains, Noah used a system in which he refers to the quatrains with the word Zenturie. Each quatrain is numbered with the century-number and the quatrain number, e.g. Zenturie 1, 32 (= quatrain 01-32).
In the Sommerfeldt notes, Zenturie 32 is the complete, linguistically modernized version of Noah's translation of quatrain 01-32. The original words Zepter ruhn in the fourth line were replaced by the words Szepter ruhen. Noah linked quatrain 01-32 to the foundation in 1871 of the German Empire. It is possible that this link is copied in the comment which is given to Zenturie 32. Probably, correspondence in quatrain number (Noah: Zenturie 1, 32; Sommerfeldt: Zenturie 32) is a coincidence.
In the Sommerfeldt notes, Zenturie 33 is a combination of Noah's translation of the quatrains 05-94 and 10-42. In this combination, some changes were made. The first four lines of Zenturie 33 can be traced back to Noah's translation of quatrain 05-94. In the second line of Zenturie 33, the word vorübergehend is added; to the third line the word Doch. The second four lines of Zenturie 33 can be traced back to Noah's translation of quatrain 10-42. In the sixth line of Zenturie 33, the original word begründet is changed into gegründet. Noah linked the quatrains 05-94 and 10-42 to the future, without mentioning their year of fulfilment or linking them to Hitler, national-socialism or the NSDAP.

Goebbels on Zenturie 33 in a secret daily propaganda meeting
Sommerfeldt did not mention the nature or the date of the meeting in which Goebbels decreed the way in which Zenturie 33 had to be brought into publicity. In his function of communication officer of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, Sommerfeldt attended the secret daily propaganda meetings at the Ministry of Propaganda. It is quite likely that Sommerfeldt made notes about Goebbels' instruction regarding the use of Zenturie 33 in a secret daily propaganda meeting, especially since during these meetings, according to Sommerfeldt, Goebbels used a lot of stereotype expressions like a trick that we can use for a long time and keep something in reserve, expressions which also occur in the Sommerfeldt notes regarding Zenturie 33.[6]
In the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meetings in the Ministry of Propaganda, it is not reproduced word-by-word what every attendant said during the meetings. These minutes contain the contents of the instructions given by Goebbels, the names of those for who these instructions were meant and the deadlines. Some of the attendants of these meetings told Boelcke that the minutes were shortened, edited decision surveys, which never contained things which were qualified as to be kept out of the minutes. In other words, more has been discussed in these meetings than the things which eventually were noted in the minutes.[7] 
In 1966, Boelcke wrote that several memoirs contained notes which were made during a secret daily propaganda meeting.[8] At that time, ee did not mention the Sommerfeldt notes. He mentioned these notes in the book he published in 1967, in the light of the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meetings of November 22 and November 25, 1939, without giving a date on which the notes were made.[9] 
The first time the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meetings contained a note on Nostradamus, was in the minutes of the meeting of November 22, 1939, one day after Goebbels, in his diary, wrote about Nostradamus for the first time.[10] In the minutes of the meeting of November 22, 1939, it says that publications about predictions will be forbidden. May-be Nostradamus will be used in a French leaflet. Leopold Gutterer, head of the Propaganda department in the Ministry of Propaganda, is instructed to give proposals. In the meeting of November 25, 1939, Gutterer reports about the leaflets, meant for France. In the minutes of this meeting it is noted that he is instructed to have the Nostradamus-leaflet produced as soon as possible.
The Sommerfeldt notes about Goebbels' instruction regarding Zenturie 33 can be dated to a minor extent, i.e. they are part of a chapter in which Sommerfeldt, like in the previous chapter, frequently refers to November 1939. However, the basis to link these notes to the minutes of the meeting of November 25, 1939, is too small. In these minutes, it is noted that Gutterer is instructed to have a Nostradamus-leaflet, meant for France, produced as soon as possible. There is no note in the minutes of the meeting of November 25, 1939, which reads that Goebbels instructed that a chain letter had to be produced and that Zenturie 33 should be broadcasted in a radio-program, meant for France. The Goebbels' diaries, however, do contain a note regarding composing a chain letter, based upon the Centuries. In this note, which deals with December 13, 1939, Goebbels wrote that Nostradamus was demolished by Taubert in order to produce a brochure and a chain letter.[11] On December 13, 1939, there was also a secret daily propaganda meeting. In #2 of the minutes of this meeting, it is noted that Goebbels discussed the propaganda, based upon the astrological material. According to him, the piece Nostradamus has been written excellently. He urges to elaborate the horoscopes of the leaders of the Western powers. Next, he orders to compose cross-riddles with suitable answers and to spread them abroad. Finally, the compilation of the number mystics is approved and allowed to be published.[12] In these minutes, nothing is noted regarding a chain letter, based upon Zenturie 33. It requires more information to establish if there is a connection between the Sommerfeldt notes, Goebbels' December 13, 1939 entry regarding the chain letter and the contents of point -2- of the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meeting of December 13, 1939, or if there is no such connection.

Discussion of the Sommerfeldt notes
Sommerfeldt discusses Zenturie 33 as an example of the anticipation on the belief in miracles, living among the Germans. However, nothing of this kind is noted in Goebbels' diary or the minutes of the secret propaganda meetings. In a conversation on November 23, 1939, with the retired lieutenant-colonel Hans Wolfgang Herwarth von Bittenfeld, extraordinary head of the Foreign Press department in the Ministry of Propaganda, Goebbels said, regarding the use of the Centuries for psychological warfare, that advantage should be taken of the superstition, present all over the world, in order to trip the adversaries.[13] These words point rather to propaganda, meant for the adversaries of Germany, than to propaganda, meant for the German people. In Goebbels' diary and the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meetings, only publications are discussed, meant for "abroad" or "the neutrals". Sommerfeldt's description of the instruction of Goebbels regarding Zenturie 33 implies that Goebbels wanted this Zenturie to be spread both in Germany and France, without any allusion to Stalin. An example of the use of the Centuries for national-socialist propaganda, meant for Germany, is the article Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, in which Elisabeth Noelle wrote that Nostradamus predicted the German campaign against France. On June 16, 1940, after the flight of the French government to Bordeaux and the capitulation of Paris, this article was published in the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.
The Sommerfeldt notes also show that in November 1939, a piece of writing in German circulated in the Ministry of Propaganda, which contained at least 33 Zenturien and for which quatrain texts have been copied from (a.o.) Noah's Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte von 1547 bis gegen 3000. Partly, these quatrain texts were modernized, partly, they were edited in favour of "the German cause". This piece of writing must have contained a description of the future by means of Zenturie 33, with the hint that this would become reality, since a prediction in Zenturie 32 regarding the foundation of the German Empire back in 1871, already has become reality.
In his explanation, Sommerfeldt wrote that nothing was better suited for the campaign against France in 1940 than Zenturie 33. The note "in 1940" seems to imply that some kind of propaganda, based upon Zenturie 33, was spread in May/June 1940.

The fortune of quatrain 05-94
Zenturie 33 is a combination of the quatrains 05-94 and 10-42. Quatrain 05-94 is discussed in a number of national-socialist comments on the Centuries. In this paragraph, the comments on the Centuries in these publications, are compared with the Sommerfeldt notes. Further, some post-war publications contain descriptions about the way Goebbels looked at the contents of quatrain 05-94. These descriptions are compared with the Sommerfeldt notes and with findings by Ellic Howe.

a. Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?... / Nostradamus spådomar om kriget (1940)
In this study about the fortune of the Centuries in World War II, it is assumed that the November - December 1939, by order of Goebbels, some employees of the Ministry of Propaganda wrote a brochure, which was translated in several languages. The title of the Dutch version was: Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen?... The title of the Swedish version was: Nostradamus spådomar om kriget. 
From Goebbels' diary and the minutes of the secret daily propaganda meetings, it can be derived that Goebbels ordered to produce this piece of propaganda and was constantly informed about the progress of the production and the spread of these brochures. In his diary, Goebbels characterized this piece of propaganda as a brilliant, very polite brochure, meant for the neutrals.[14] In this brochure, the time around 1940 is characterized as a time in which tremendous important events are ahead. Nostradamus foresaw all these events. Their importance is shown by the large number of quatrains which deal with them, more than the number of quatrains that dealt with the past centuries.[15] By means of a number of fragments, copied from De Fontbrune's Les Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus expliquées et commentées (Sarlat, 1939 [1938]) and taken out of their context, it is explained that the defeat of England is at hand. Germany's victory is presented by means of an open question.
If one compares this brochure with the Sommerfeldt notes, one will see that this brochure does not contain quatrain 05-94, as it does not contain the quatrains 01-32 and 10-42.

b. Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (Informations-Schriften #18, 1940)
The brochure Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (N.N., Informations-Schriften #18, Berlin, 1940) only contains the first two lines of quatrain 05-94, without any comment.[16]

c. Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? (1941)
In April 1941, a French book of the Swiss astrologer Karl Ernst Krafft was published in Brussels, entitled Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?. This book contains the French text of quatrain 05-94, taken from a photocopy made by Krafft of a 1568-B.Rigaud-edition of the Centuries:

Translatera a la grand Germanie
Brabant & Flãdres, Gand, Bruges,& Bolongne:
La traisue fainte, le grand duc d'Armenie,
Assaillira Vienne & la Coloigne.

According to Krafft, quatrain 05-94 contains a fulfilled prediction of the conquest by Great-Germany and her Führer of Poland, Austria, the Rhineland, Brabant and Flanders. Krafft wrote that the word Bolongne in the second line is an allusion to Poland (Bolongne ► Boulogne ► Pologne).
Krafft explained the words La traisue fainte (the fainted cease-fire) in the third line as an allusion to the Versailles Treaty. According to him, the word duc is derived from ducere (to lead). Therefore, the third line contains an allusion to a great Leader, Arminius (Herman the Cherusc, 17 BC - 21AD), the leader of a German tribal army that defeated three Roman legions in 9 AD in Westphalia. In later legends, Arminius became the liberator of Germany. According to Krafft, the words le grand duc d'Armenie are an allusion to Hitler, a contemporary Arminius. One will notice that the French text of this quatrain contains the word Armenie.
In the German manuscript Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, written between May 28 and the end of June 1940, its final version published in 1941 in six languages among which Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe?, Krafft explained the words le grand duc d'Armenie as "the great Leader of Armin's land". He did not relate the word Bologne in the second line to Poland, but to the French city of Boulogne. In the Danish and Spanish translation of Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas, the word Bologne is also not related to Poland, but to the French city of Boulogne.[17]

d. Der Seher von Salon (Informations-Schriften, #38, 1941)
The brochure Der Seher von Salon (dr. H-H. Kritzinger, Informations-Schriften #38, Berlin, 1941) contains a German phrasing of quatrain 05-94:

Hinübernehmen nach Großdeutschland wird.
Brabant und Flandern, Gent und Brügge, Polen -
Vertrag war Schwindel! - Der Arminien führt,
Wird sich im Sprunge Wien und Cöllen holen.

The German phrasing of quatrain 05-94 in this brochure corresponds with the ideas of Krafft about Armenie ► Arminie and with his idea that the word Boloigne in the second line is an allusion to Poland (Bologne ► Pologne). In the third line, one will notice that the original words le grand duc d'Armenie are not translated in German, but replaced by the words Der Arminien führt. Actually, the German text of quatrain 05-94 in Der Seher von Salon was fitted to the comment on this quatrain in Der Seher von Salon. This comment contains many lines about the victory by Arminius in 9 AD on the Romans. This victory is combined with the German victory in Poland in 1939 and France in 1940.[18]

e. Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn... (1941)
In Voorspellingen die uitgekomen zijn..., (De Tombre, Arnhem, 1941), a translation of a piece of propaganda, written in 1941 by dr. Alexander Centgraf, the third and fourth line of quatrain 05-94 are linked to Stalin.[19]

f. Dr. Goebbels nach Aufzeichnung aus seiner Umgebung ( 1949)
In the chapter Nostradamus, Boris von Borresholm and Karena Niehoff, who base themselves upon a series of diary notes which they do not specify, write about a conversation between Goebbels and Krafft.[20] On November 2, 1939, Krafft had written a letter to Hitler with the warning that his life would be in danger between November 7 and November 10, 1939. On November 8, 1939, an assault on Hitler failed. Krafft was arrested by the Gestapo, being suspected from involvement. When Goebbels heard that there was no proof that Krafft was involved, he achieved that Krafft was released and secretly brought to his office at the Wilhelmplatz in Berlin.
According to Von Borresholm and Niehoff, Krafft showed Goebbels a manuscript he was working on, entitled Einführung zu den Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus. From this manuscript, he recited the French text of a quatrain, which turns out to be quatrain 05-94. In Dr. Goebbels nach Aufzeichnung aus seiner Umgebung, the text of this quatrain reads:

Translatera en la grande Germanie
Brabant et Flandes, Gent, Bruges, Boloigne:
La Traisue fainte, le grand duc d'Armenie,
Assailira Vienne et la Coloigne.

According to Von Borresholm and Niehoff, Krafft explained this quatrain to Goebbels like this: because the cease-fire was fainted, the great Leader of Arminia (the land of Arminius) will bring Brabant, Flanders, Gent, Brugue and Boulogne to Great-Germany. By surprise he will occupy Vienna and the Rhineland region.[21] Goebbels was struck by the propaganda value of this explanation.
Von Borresholm and Niehoff end their story with the remark that a few months later, millions of leaflets were spread over the Maginot-line. In these leaflets, it read in French that Nostradamus not only predicted Hitler's march to the Rhineland region and Austria, but also the conquest of Belgium and the French coast. The words le grand duc d'Armenie were explained as an allusion to "the great Leader of Armin's land". 
Boelcke supposed, basing himself upon the story of Von Borresholm and Niehoff, that Goebbels for the first time was confronted with the Centuries in his conversation with Krafft.[22]
The story, told by Von Borresholm and Niehoff, is situated in the first weeks of November 1939. The Sommerfeldt notes deal with a secret daily propaganda meeting which probably was held in the last weeks of November 1939. The question is if Goebbels in November 1939 got different ideas about the way quatrain 05-94 had to be used in psychological warfare, in other words, to link the third and fourth line of this quatrain to Stalin instead of to Hitler. As far as I am concerned, such is not the case. The story of Von Borresholm and Niehoff is far more legendary than that is a reliable story in a historical sense. Ellic Howe, who did extensive research on the life and the work of Krafft, wrote nothing about a conversation between Krafft and Goebbels after Krafft's release in November 1939. According to Howe, Goebbels for the first time was confronted with the Centuries when his wife drew his attention to a fragment in Mysterien von Sonne und Seele (Berlin, 1922), in which dr. H.-H. Kritzinger quoted Loog's comment on quatrain 03-75; Loog expected that in 1939 there would be a severe crisis in England and simultaneously one in Poland. It seems to be possible to connect Kritzinger's story about the way Goebbels for the first time was confronted with the Centuries, to Goebbels' diary.[23] The first time that Krafft had a contact with national-socialist offices because of the Centuries, was in December 1939. At that time, however, Krafft had no conversation with Goebbels.[24]  Von Borresholm and Niehoff also write that Krafft in 1939 worked as a translator of French books and that Goebbels made him work at the French Translation department of the Deutsche Nachrichtenbüro, while according to Howe, Krafft worked for Amt VII of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt from October 1939 until spring 1940, when he started to work as a translator at the Deutsche Nachrichtenbüro; a friend drew his attention to that job.[25] 
Krafft has written a publication, entitled Einführung zu den Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus. This publication was achieved in the midst of August 1940 and was published in November 1940 as a supplement to Les Propheties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus, Bildgetreuer, vergrösserter Abdruck einer Ausgabe der "Prophéties", erschienen bei Benoist RIGAUD Lyon unter dem Datum 1568. The Einführung... does not contain complete quatrain text, but quotes from quatrains and references to quatrain lines. Krafft writes about quatrain 05-94: La trève feinte - Weil der Waffenstillstand eine finte, der Friedensschluß ein Betrug war; assaillira - wird überraschend besehen; "Duc" ist nicht mehr der 'Herzog' sondern das Hauptwordt zu ducere - führen. Further, it reads that the word grand in quatrain 05-94 points to the same person as similar words in the quatrains 06-34, 09-83, 03-53, 05-83 and 04-68, and that the words grand duc d'Armenie are an allusion to the land of Armin.[26]
Regarding the story of Von Borresholm and Niehoff, the conclusion is that to some extent they correctly described what happened in November 1939, i.e. that an assault on Hitler failed, that Krafft was arrested by the Gestapo and released shortly after, because of a lack of evidence. This release, however, was not achieved by Goebbels. Krafft had no conversation with Goebbels next to his release. The first time Krafft had a contact with national-socialist offices regarding the Centuries, was in December 1939. Further, the story of Von Borresholm and Niehoff contains information about the work of Krafft which is not correct.

g. Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte (1955) and Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte (1977)
Dr. N. Centurio, pseudonym of dr. Alexander Centgraf, linked quatrain 05-94 to Hitler and Stalin. In the comment on this quatrain in Nostradamus - der Prophet der Weltgeschichte (Berlin, 1955), he wrote that in the case of quatrain 05-94, the well-known astrologer and Century-scholar Krafft was completely beside the mark. According to Centgraf, Krafft explained to Goebbels that the words le grand duc d'Armenie were an allusion to Stalin. Goebbels managed to convince Krafft that these words did not point to Stalin, but to Hitler. Next, Krafft became an advisor of the national-socialist propaganda institute.[27] In Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte (Bietigheim, 1977), Centgraf wrote that back in 1938, Krafft warned Goebbels that quatrain 05-94 pointed to Stalin; Goebbels persuaded Krafft to change the word Armenie into Arminie. Krafft obeyed and as a result, he did not only became an advisor of the national-socialist propaganda institute, but also an astrological advisor of Hitler.[28]  
In the discussion of the story, told by Von Borresholm and Niehoff, it has already been noted that, according to Howe, the contacts between Krafft and national-socialist offices regarding the Centuries date from December 1940. According to Howe, stories about Krafft being an astrological advisor of Hitler are rumoured by captain Louis de Wohl, the author of Sterne, Krieg und Frieden. In World War II, De Wohl worked for the British Secret Service.[29] As far as Howe is concerned, Krafft never worked as an astrological advisor of Hitler.
The Sommerfeldt notes show that in November 1939 Goebbels linked the third and fourth line of Zenturie 33 (which lines are the third and fourth line of quatrain 05-94) to Stalin. There is no indication that he linked these lines to Hitler.

h. A letter of dr. Hans-Hermann Kritzinger to Ellic Howe (1962)
In the discussion of the story by Von Borresholm and Niehoff, the history of the use during World War II of the Centuries for psychological warfare was discussed. In this discussion, the name of Kritzinger was mentioned. In a letter to Ellic Howe, dated on October 24, 1962, Kritzinger complained that Krafft's comments on the Centuries went too far. As an example, he described a discussion with Krafft in the summer of 1940 about the meaning of quatrain 05-94. Kritzinger noted that without any doubt the words Grande Germanie pointed to Germany, since Germany conquered Brabant, Flanders, Gent, Bruges and Boulogne until the French coast. Now the question was who was meant with the words le grand duc d'Armenie and why this person would want to attack Vienna or Cologne. According to Kritzinger, these words pointed to Stalin, but back in the summer of 1940, it was hard to imagine that Stalin would attack Vienna or Cologne. Krafft suggested to explain these words as an allusion to Arminius and therefore to the Führer of Great-Germany, who in 1936 occupied the Rhineland, in 1938 Austria and two years later Brabant, Flanders etc.[30]
Howe's description of the discussion between Kritzinger and Krafft does not make clear if in the end their meaning about the implications of quatrain 05-94 was unanimous or not.

De Meern, the Netherlands, January 10, 2006
T.W.M. van Berkel
actualized on September 11, 2006

Notes

1. Boelcke-1966, p.109. [text]

2. Sommerfeldt, p.50. According to Boelcke, Sommerfeldt mainly saw Goebbels during the secret daily propaganda meetings in the Ministry of Propaganda (Boelcke-1966, p.109). [text]

3. Sommerfeldt, p.56-57; Boelcke-1989 (1967), p.25; Howe, p.246, note 3. [text]

4. Sommerfeldt, p.52-61. [text]

5. Noah (2005 [1928]), p.24; facsimile-Chomarat-2000, p.155. [text]   

6. Sommerfeldt, p.58. [text]

7. Boelcke-1966, p.191-193. [text]

8. Boelcke-1966, p.192. [text]

9. Nach Sommerfeldt erklärte Goebbels in diesen Tagen in der Konferenz zum Thema Nostradamus: [...] (Boelcke-1989 (1967), p.25). [text]

10. Boelcke-1966, p.230; Boelcke-1989 (1967), p.25; Fröhlich, p.206. [text]

11. Fröhlich, p.230. [text]

12. Boelcke-1966, p.242. [text] 

13. Fröhlich, p.208-209. [text] 

14. Richter, p. 320. [text]

15. "Pasteur", p.35-37; "Norab"-1940a, p.41-46. [text]

16. Brochure-18-DE, p.13. The series Informations-Schriften, a series of national-socialist anonymous brochures, carries the name of the Europa-Verlag as the name of the publisher. Actually, this series has been published by the Auswärtige Amt, the German Foreign Office (dr. H. Eckert in Die Bewegung, volume 9, nr. 18/19, May 13, 1941, p.10). This information has been provided by Ulrich Maichle, a German Century-scholar, who is doing research on the Centuries and World War II (Maichle to Van Berkel, January 9, 2006). [text]

17. Krafft-1940d, p.62-63; Krafft-1941-DK (1940d), p.70-72; Krafft-1941-ES (1940d), p.110-112; Krafft-1941-FR (1940d), p.145-148. [text]

18. Kritzinger-1941 (Brochure-38-DE), p.14-16, cf. Krafft-1941, p.145-148. [text]

19. De Tombre, p.27-29. [text]

20. Von Borresholm/Niehoff, p.146-149. Goebbels' diary does not contain references to the events in the life of Krafft as described by Von Borresholm and Niehoff; Krafft's name does not occur in Goebbels' diary. See also: Van Berkel: Dr. Goebbels nach Aufzeichnungen aus seiner Umgebung (B. von Borresholm / K. Niehoff, DE, 1949). [text]

21. Cf: c. Comment Nostradamus a-t-il entrevu l'avenir de l'Europe? [text]

22. Boelcke-1966, p.223-224. [text]

23. Van Berkel: The 1939 fortune of Mysterien von Sonne und Seele (dr. H.-H. Kritzinger, DE, 1961). [text]  

24. Howe, p.231. [text]

25. Howe, p.228 and p.250-251. [text] 

26. Krafft-1940b, p.XVIII-XIX and p.XXII-XXIII. [text]

27. Centurio-1955, p.128. [text]

28. Centurio-1977, p.216. [text]

29. Howe, p.273-293. [text]

30. Howe, p.246-247. [text]