Analyse nostradamienne : The prophecies during the Second World War : “brochure 18”


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The prophecies during the Second World War :
“brochure 18”

by T. W. M. van Berkel

Synopsis

While reading a preview of dr. Halbronn’s essay about French 20th century nostradamologic studies, I was surprised by his presentation of a French and a German edition of a brochure, numbered Brochure 18. On Encyclopaedia Hermetica and Espace Nostradamus, in an essay, dealing with the history of the Prophecies in the Netherlands during the Second World War, I discussed the Dutch edition of this brochure.¹ At the time of writing that essay, I did not know the existence of other editions. In the catalogues of the Royal Library in The Hague and the Dutch Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) in Amsterdam, it was not noted that Brochure 18, entitled in Dutch De voorspellingen van Nostradamus, has also been available in French and German.

Halbronn and I exchanged copies and Halbronn included some of my comments on this theme in his essay. Mr. W. Zannoth, a German searcher who collected about 175 books on Nostradamus, gave essential information regarding e.g. the “opening poem” in Brochure-18.

The present essay contains the most recent results of the study of these documents and is a supplement to my previous essay on Encyclopaedia Hermetica and Espace Nostradamus.

Brochure-18

In this essay, the Dutch edition of Brochure-18 is named Brochure-18-NL, the French edition is named Brochure-18-F and the German edition is named Brochure-18-D.

Like the Brochure-18-NL, the Brochure-18-D and the Brochure-18-F are published as volume 18 in a series, entitled in German Informations-Schriften; and in French Information universelle.

The Brochure-18-D is entitled Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus and was published by the Europa-Verlag (place of residence unknown). It carries 1940 as the year of issue. On the last page, there is a list of 29 volumes which were already published. Volume 29 is entitled : Schwarzes Elfenbein.

The Brochure-18-F is entitled Les prophéties de Nostradamus and is published by the Editions Européennes in Paris. The year of issue can not be read, since it is covered by a stamp.

The Brochure-18-NL carries 1941 as the year of issue. It was published by the Europa-uitgeverij (place of residence: unknown).

The Brochure-18-D is the source text, from which the other editions are translated. This assumption is based upon the opening poem, the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 and on German grammar principles in the Brochure-18-NL. Because of this assumption, the idea is that the German department of People’s Information and Propaganda ordered to produce the series Informations-Schriften and the French and Dutch translations.

The same cover illustration is used for all editions of Brochure-18 : a collage of quatrains in old-French. In all editions, the editing of the text is equal: no chapters, no preface and no epilogue. None of the editions contains an illustration in the text. In all editions, the discussed quatrains have no serial number.

Each edition begins with the same opening poem, presented to be situated at the beginning of a book, of which the first volume was published in Lyon in 1555. In reality, this poem was printed in part I of Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte von 1547 bis gegen 3000 (1928, Leuchtfeuer-Verlag, Berlin-Wilmersdorf), between the end of chapter 4 (the text of the Epistle to King Henry II) and chapter 5. The author, Bruno Noah, also ran an astrological magazine, entitled Die Astrologie. The book contains a copy of the front page of the 1668-Ribou-edition. In this edition, the fulfilling of the first series of predictions in the Epistle to Henry II is said to have been started in 1547. This year figures in the title of Noah’s study, which means that the 1668-Ribou-edition was one of his source texts.

The poem, published by Noah, is an adaptation of a six-line poem in chapter 1.3 in Das Schicksalsbuch der Weltgeschichte (around 1922, Johannes Baum Verlag, Pfullingen, Germany), written by Wilhelm Faber. According to Faber, Nostradamus was the author of this poem (Faber, p.9), but Faber does not specify which of Nostradamus’ publications contain this poem. Noah did not mention anything about the source of the poem. It looks as if the author of the Brochure-18-D copied the poem from the book by Noah and copied its supposed source data from the book by Faber. It should be noted that in Faber’s book, the poem is situated at the beginning of the book; the first numbered page carries the number 5.

Opening poem Faber, 1922, pp.9-10	Opening poem Noah, 1928, p.28 Brochure-18-D, 1940, p.1	Opening poem Brochure-18-F, p.3	Opening poem Brochure-18-NL, 1941, p.1
Ich gebe in dem Spiel von tausend dunklen Reimen Entdeckend und verbergend, was der Zukunft wird entkeimen An Hauptererlebnissen der grossen Potentaten, Der Neugier eine Folter, die sie nicht erraten, Denn eine lange Reih’ von Dingen ist verzeichnet, Der man erst dann erkennt, wenn sich die Tat ereignet.	Ich gebe in dem Spiel von tausend dunklen Reimen, Entdeckend und verbergend, was Zukunft will entkeimen. An Hauptereignissen der grössten Potentaten, Der Neugier eine Folter, wenn sie es will erraten; Denn eine lange Reih’ von Vorfäll’n ist verzeichnet, Die man erst dann erkennt, wenn sich die Tat ereignet.	Dans le jeu de mille rimes obscures, Je dévoile et je cache ce que l’avenir fera surgir. Des faits importants des grands puissants, Pour les curieux s’ils prétendent le deviner, ce sera une souffrance; Car, ils trouveront une longue série de faits annotés, Qu’on comprendra seulement en les voyant un jour confirmés.	Ik geef in het spel van duizend duistere rijmen Ontsluierend en verbergend, wat de toekomst wil doen baren Aan groote gebeurtenissen der hoogste potentaten, Voor de nieuwsgierigheid een foltering, wanneer zij het wil raden; Want een lange reeks van voorvallen is opgesomd, Die men eerst dan erkent, wanneer de daad geschiedt.

In the Brochure-18-D, the opening poem is characterized by a consistent rhythm in the text and the rhyme scheme a-a-b-b-c-c. In the French and the Dutch opening poem, there is no rhythm in the text and no rhyme scheme. The last line of the Dutch opening poem contains the word erkent. This is a German expression (cf. the last line of the German opening poem: erkennt). The correct Dutch translation should have been herkent.

According to the Brochure-18-D, this poem is situated at the beginning of a book, entitled Hundertschaften und Prophetien, of which the first volume was published in Lyon in 1555. This title is given on p.1 and p.3. In the Brochure-18-NL, this title is translated in Centuriën en Profetieën and is also given twice. In the Brochure-18-F, this title reads Recueil des prédictions dites “Centuries” (tr: a collection of predictions named “Centuries”). This translation, given twice, is not according to the other editions.

On p.1 of the Brochure-18-NL, the word Centuries is explained in a footnote. This footnote does not occur in the other versions.

A proper text rhythm and a rhyme scheme in the Brochure-18-D and the lack of both in the Brochure-18-F and the Brochure-18-NL is also present in the text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02.

Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Brochure-18-D, 1940, p.4	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Brochure-18-F, pp.5-6	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Brochure-18-NL, 1941, p.4
Sitze ich des Nachts, geheimen Dingen offen, In stiller Einsamkeit auf ehrnem Seherthron, Lässt bald mich das verlorene Flämmchen hoffen, Dass meinem Glauben wird der rechte Lohn.	La nuit me trouve accessible aux choses secrètes, Dans la silencieuse solitude assis sur mon trône de visionnaire, La petite flamme perdue me fait espérer Que ma foi obtiendra la juste récompense.	Zit ik des nachts voor geheime dingen, In stille eenzaamheid op bronzen zienerstroon, Laat weldra mij het verloren vlammetje hopen, Dat mijn geloof ‘t verdiende loon ontvangt.
Wenn ich die Rute bei den Händen fasse, Netzt bald die Welle Saum und Füsse mir. Ich höre eine Stimme und erblasse. Himmlisches Licht! Das Göttliche ist hier !	Lorsque je prends ma baguette dans ma main, Je sens le contact de l’onde dans la bordure de mon habillement et dans les pieds. J’entends une voix et je pâli, Lumière céleste! Voici le divin !	Wanneer ik de roede in mijn handen neem, Bespoelt de golf mij weldra mantelzoom en voeten, Ik hoor een stem en verbleek. Hemelsch licht! Het goddelijke is hier !

In the Brochure-18-D, the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 are the only quatrains which got a text rhythm and a rhyme scheme a-b-a-b, which is present in all original French quatrain texts. In the other quatrains in the Brochure-18-D, no text rhythm is present, no rhyme scheme.

In the Brochure-18-F, the text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 is completely different from e.g. the text in the 1668-Amsterdam-edition.

Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02, 1668-Amsterdam-edition, p.1	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02, Brochure-18-F, p.5-6
ESTANT assis, de nuict secret estude Seul, reposé sus la selle d’airain ? Flambe exigue, sortant de solitude, Fait proferer qui n’est à croire en vain.	La nuit me trouve accessible aux choses secrètes, Dans la silencieuse solitude assis sur mon trône de visionnaire, La petite flamme perdue me fait espérer Que ma foi obtiendra la juste récompense.
La verge en main mise au milieu des branches, De l’onde il moulle & le limbe & le pied, Un peur & voix fremissent par les manches, Splendeur divine, le divin pres s’assied.	Lorsque je prends ma baguette dans ma main, Je sens le contact de l’onde dans la bordure de mon habillement et dans les pieds. J’entends une voix et je pâli, Lumière céleste! Voici le divin !

In the text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, text rhythm is present and the rhyme scheme a-b-a-b. In the Brochure-18-F, the text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 is not the text in the 1668-Amsterdam-edition. It is the result of a translation from the German text in the Brochure-18-D, it contains no text rhythm, no rhyme scheme. In fact, all quatrains in the Brochure-18-F are translated from the Brochure-18-D. Not one quatrain is copied from French editions which were available at the end of the ‘30’s, such as the 1927-Piobb-copy (1668-Amsterdam-edition) or the 1940-Krafft-copy (1568-B.Rigaud-edition). They are also not the result of a revision of original texts in modern-French.

To some extent, the German text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in the Brochure-18-D corresponds with the text in the book by Noah (p.29). The text of quatrain 01-02 in the Brochure-18-D has no such correspondence.

The contents of the Brochure-18-F

The Brochure-18-D is completely translated in Dutch, with the exception of the footnote on p.1 of the Brochure-18-NL, in which is explained that “Centuries” are series of one hundred four-line verses. In the Brochure-18-D or the Brochure-18-F, this footnote is not present.

In the Brochure-18-F, the translation differs in a number of cases from the Brochure-18-D. On p.6 of the Brochure-18-D, the first line reads :

“Aber es ist an der Zeit, den Seher selbst sagen zu lassen was er im dunklen Schosse der Zukunft srschaut hat. Vieles ist für uns inzwischen Vergangenheit geworden; anderes hält uns als Gegenwart betäubend gefangen. Beides verdient gleichermassen unsere Aufmerksamkeit.”

The Brochure-18-NL also includes this line (p.6, second line : Doch het is nu tijd, den ziener zelf te laten zeggen...). In the Brochure-18-F (p.7), this line is not included.

In the discussion of the year 1792 in the Brochure-18-D (p.7), it reads :

“Nun begann mit der Herbst-Tag- und Nachtgleiche, die durch die französischen Revolutionäre eingeführte neue Zeitrechnung, die am 9. September 1805 von Napoleon wieder ausser Kraft gesetzt wurde.”

The translation in the Brochure-18-NL (p.8) follows the Brochure-18-D. In the Brochure-18-F, there are two additions : the date on which the new calendar was introduced and the National convention, who decided to introduce :

“En effet, les Français réformèrent la computation, quand ils firent la Révolution; la Convention nationale établit que l’année commençait à l’équinoxe d’automne (22 Septembre). Napoleon Ier abolit cette réforme le 9 Septembre 1805.”

On p.9 of the Brochure-18-D, the link between quatrain 09-83 and May 10, 1940, is emphasized like this :

“Genug von Frankreich! Was diesen Voraussagen (trotz der gewiss erstaunlichen Fixierung auf Sonne 20 o Stier = 10.Mai) an zeitlicher Bestimmtheit noch zu mangeln scheint, wird in einer Strophe, die vor allem England betrifft, nachgeholt:”

This text is translated completely on p.10 in the Brochure-18-NL. In the Brochure-18-F, the emphasis on the striking resemblance between Sun 20 Taurus and May 10, 1940, is replaced by the striking correspondence between the discussed quatrains and the events which took place :

“Voici donc pour la France.
Les précisions chronologiques qui pourraient faire défaut dans ces prédictions - bien que les données soient déjà surprenantes! - sont compensées par une strophe se référant au peuple anglais:”

German grammar and expressions in the Brochure-18-NL

The Brochure-18-NL contains at least three German grammar principles and/or expressions. The word erkent in the opening poem on p.1, which should have been herkent, has been discussed already. On p.3, the sentence “Vier jaar later noodigt hem Catharina van Medici uit…• has a German grammar principle. The correct translation should have been “Vier jaar later noodigt Catharina van Medici hem uit...” On p.10, the German name Karl I is printed, where it should read : Karel I. All these errors imply that it was a German who translated the Brochure-18-D into Dutch.

Failing forgery

The impact the pro-nazi comments on the Prophecies had on the people in the Netherlands has not been documented, not even by L. de Jong, founder of the NIOD and author of an eponymous range of books about the Second World War. The announcement of Germany’s victory and England’s defeat undoubtedly will have impressed some readers, like the pamphlets, strew over France, made people to flee to the south of France, if the memoirs of Schellenberg, chief of the nazi secret service, are reliable on this point.

The reach of Brochure-18 was big. Halbronn rightly emphasizes that the Brochure-18-Fcovers the French-speaking countries, the Brochure-18-NL also covered Flanders and the Brochure-18-D might also have been meant for German-speaking regions, occupied by the nazis. The question is if those who were thoroughly acquainted with the editions and translations of the Prophecies, were impressed by the Brochure-18. They could have been able to fathom the forgery in Brochure-18, since it was possible to compare the text of the quatrains with other text sources.

The Prophecies were translated in German by Edouard Rösch (Weissagungen des grossen Sehers Michel Nostradamus, published in 1850 by J. Scheible, Stuttgart). This translation was revised, corrected and published completely, with comments, by Wilhelm Faber (Das Schicksalsbuch der Weltgeschichte, Pfullingen, 1922). Among the large number of French editions, there was the 1927-Piobb-copy. In the Netherlands, a complete translation became available in 1941 (the 1941-Vreede-translation).

In this essay, two cases of forgery in the Brochure-18 are presented: the quatrains 04-37 and 05-30. In these quatrains, Nostradamus predicted, according to the Brochure-18, the capitulation of Paris in 1940.

The original French text of the second line of quatrain 04-37 reads : “occupera le grand lieu de l’Insubrie”. In the Brochure-18-F, this line reads : “Il penétrera et occupera la grande ville”. This is a translation of the text of in the Brochure-18-D : “Eindringen und den grossen Ort besetzen”. In the Brochure-18-NL, this line reads “binnendringen en de grote plaats bezetten”, which is also a translation of the German text. In all editions of the Brochure-18, “Insubria” is omitted. In the 1941-Vreede-translation, the original second line is translated correctly : “zal de grote plaats in Insubrië bezetten”.

The original French text of the third and fourth line in quatrain 05-30 read : “Donner l’assaut Paris, Rome incité, sur le pont lors sera faicte grand pille”. In the Brochure-18-F, these lines read : “Lorsque Rome accourra à l’appel pour coopérer, On donnera l’ordre d’occuper Paris par surprise”. This is a translation of the text of these two lines as given in the Brochure-18-D : “Nachdem Rom zur Beteiligung veranlasst wurde, Wird Befehl gegeben Paris überraschend zu besetzen”. In the Brochure-18-NL, these lines read : “Nadat Rome tot deelnemen genoopt werd, Wordt het bevel gegeven Parijs bij verrassing te bezetten”, which is a translation of the German text in the Brochure-18-D.

The Brochure-18 does not contain fake quatrains, it contains forged quatrains. The fabrication process of these quatrains is clear. A number of quatrains were translated and “elaborated” in German. The result of it was translated in Dutch and French.

The Brochure-18-NL and Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?

The text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in the Brochure-18-NL has many correspondences with the text of these quatrains in another Dutch pro-nazi comment on the Prophecies, entitled Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, whereas there are almost no correspondences with the text in the 1941-Vreede-translation, made by Houwens Post.

Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Pasteur, 1940, p.13	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Brochure-18- NL, 1941, p.4	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 1941-Vreede-translation, p.34
Zit ik des nachts, ontvankelijk voor geheime dingen, in diepe eenzaamheid, op harden zienerstroon, dan laat mij een verloren vonkje weldra hopen, dat mijn geloof op juiste wijze zal worden beloond.	Zit ik des nachts voor geheime dingen, In stille eenzaamheid op bronzen zienerstroon, Laat weldra mij het verloren vlammetje hopen, Dat mijn geloof ‘t verdiende loon ontvangt.	‘s Nachts gezeten voor de studie van verborgen dingen, Alleen, rustend op den bronzen zetel: Een klein licht, dat uit de eenzaamheid ontspruit, Doet ontluiken, wat niet als ijdel te verwerpen valt.
Als ik de roede in de handen vat, besproeit weldra de golf mij zoom en voeten, ik hoor een stem dan en verbleek, o hemelsch Licht! Hier is het goddelijke !	Wanneer ik de roede in mijn handen neem, Bespoelt de golf mij weldra mantelzoom en voeten, Ik hoor een stem en verbleek. Hemelsch licht! Het goddelijke is hier !	Met de staf in de handen, midden in de takken geplaatst, Maakt hij met het water zoowel de zoom als de voeten nat. Een gevoel van vrees en een stem trekken omhoog door de armen heen. Goddelijke verhevenheid. Het goddelijke komt nader.

The author of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen referred to the use of the 1927-Piobb-copy (1668-Amsterdam-edition) and included the text of the quatrains in this edition. H. Houwens Post, who made the 1941-Vreede-translation, also used the 1927-Piobb-copy.

A comparison between on the one hand the Dutch translations of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, the Brochure-18-NL, the 1941-Vreede-translation, the German text in the Brochure-18-D and the French text in the Brochure-18-F, with on the other hand the text in the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, shows that the translation in the 1941-Vreede-translation is the only one which fits to the text in the 1927-Piobb-copy (1668-Amsterdam-edition). The other Dutch translations and the text in the Brochure-18-F are translations of the German version of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02, as published in the Brochure-18-D.

The correspondences between the translation of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in the Brochure-18-NL and Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? disqualify the presentation of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? as a compilation of leftover French writings. A translation by a Dutchman, based upon the 1668-Amsterdam-edition as suggested in the introduction of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, should have resulted in the text, as given by Houwens Post, instead of in which turns out to be a translation of a German adaptation. The correspondences between the translation of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in the Brochure-18-NL and Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? raise the idea that Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? is not compiled by a Dutchman and translated from French, but is written by a German and translated in Dutch.

The fact that the Dutch translation of the German adaptation of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 can be found in both Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? and the Brochure-18-NL, leads to the assumption that both publications were written by order of the German department for People’s Information and Propaganda. It also implies that there has been a German source text, which contained the text of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02, as printed in the Brochure-18-D and translated in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? and the Brochure-18-NL, but this source text has not been found yet.

Credits

I would like to thank dr. J. Halbronn for sending copies of the Brochure-18-D and the Brochure-18-F and for his part in the discussion of their contents. I also would like to thank mr. W. Zannoth, Mengkofen, Germany, for his extensive information about the contents and bibliographical data of German comments on the Prophecies of Nostradamus.

T. W. M. van Berkel
De Meern, August 22, 2004

Bibliography

- Wilhelm Faber : Das Schicksalsbuch der Weltgeschichte. Pfullingen, 1922.

- Bruno Noah : Nostradamus - prophetische Weltgeschichte von 1547 bis zum gegen 3000. Berlin, 1928.

- Michel Nostradamus : Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties. Amsterdam, 1668.

- n.n. : Die Prophezeiungen von Nostradamus. 1940. Collection National French Library, Paris.

- n.n. : Les Prophéties de Nostradamus. Paris. Collection National French Library, Paris.

- n.n. : De voorspellingen van Nostradamus. 1941. Collection Royal Library, The Hague.

- “Pasteur, J.-F.” : Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? Den Haag, 1940.

- mr. dr. W.L. Vreede : De profetieën van Nostradamus. Den Haag, 1941.

Note

¹Halbronn : “Panorama de la recherché nostradamoloqique au XXe siècle en France” ; Van Berkel : “Nostradamus, the Netherlands and the Second World War” ; both published on Encyclopaedia Hermetica and Espace Nostradamus. A revised version of Van Berkel’s complete essay on the history of the Prophecies in the Second World War can be read in the section “research results” on his Site “Nostradamus, astrology and the Bible” (www.nostradamusresearch.org ). Retour

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