Analyse nostradamienne : The 1941-Vreede-translation of the Prophecies and its revision in 1998

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129

The 1941-Vreede-translation of the Prophecies
and its revision in 1998

by T. W. M. van Berkel

The 1941-Vreede-translation

The first time a complete, Dutch translation of the Prophecies was published, was in 1941. This translation, made by prof. dr. mr. H. Houwens Post aka mr. dr. W.L. Vreede, was published by Servire publishers, The Hague. After the war, this translation (on this Site abbreviated as the “1941-Vreede-translation”) was not published again. At the end of the seventies, the use of this translation was granted to the director of Schors publishers, Amsterdam. In that time, there was a huge increase of interest in the Netherlands in esoteric and occult literature. As a result, the 1941-Vreede-translation was reprinted countless times during twenty years. For the last time, this happened in 1997.

In “The 1941-Vreede-translation and the 1558-Lyon-edition” the source texts, used by Houwens Post for his translation, are discussed thoroughly: the copy of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, made by the Frenchman P.V. Piobb in 1927 (with addition of a version of the Letter to Cesar, printed in 1558) and the book Das Mysterium des Nostradamus by dr. Chr. Wöllner (Leipzig, 1926).

In “Nostradamus, the Netherlands and the Second World War” it is discussed in what way Houwens Post turned himself against national-socialist Nostradamus-publications, published in Germany.

A modernized version

The fact that the 1941-Vreede-translation was reprinted until the nineties, without any change, meant that people had to buy a translation of the Prophecies, which was written according to obsolete rules of spelling and grammar. In 1998, Schors publishers replaced the reprint of the 1941-Vreede-translation by Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden (tr. : Nostradamus, the greatest seer of all times). This book is written by J. Vandervoort. It contains a linguistical revision of the 1941-Vreede-translation, a biography of Nostradamus, descriptions of predictions which are fulfilled, abused or interpreted in a sometimes hilarious way and recepies for pills, elixirs and beauty devices.

According to the preface, Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden differs from books which contain dubious interpretations, which are sensational with sometimes shocking photographs or which were accomplished by conversations with the seer himself or by a channeled dialogue.

Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden is entering its eighth year of publishing. This review is written, because during my investigation of national-socialist and allied Nostradamus literature, I noticed correspondences between the chapter Wonderbaarlijke interpretaties en 'uitgekomen' voorspellingen (tr. : amazing interpretations and “fulfilled” predictions) in the book by Vandervoort and the chapter VERLEDEN, HEDEN en TOEKOMST Op wonderbaarlijke wijze voorspeld door den Franschman MICHEL NOSTRADAMUS in zijn “Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties” (tr. : PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE predicted in a remarkable way by the Frenchman MICHEL NOSTRADAMUS in his “Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties”), in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? (tr. : How will this war end ?, The Hague, 1940), a national-socialist Nostradamus-publication. These correspondences show that Vandervoort copied texts from this book. These texts deal with fulfilled predictions and do not contain national-socialist propaganda. The correspondences do not only stretch out to the interpretation of fulfilled quatrains, but also to the Dutch texts of these quatrains in this chapter of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?

In this review, the contents of Vandervoorts book and his methods are discussed thoroughly. The aim of this discussion is to answer the question to what extent the replacement of the 1941-Vreede-translation by Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden fits to the translation by Houwens Post and the aim he wanted to achieve.

The nature of the revision of the 1941-Vreede-translation

In the preface, (p. 8) it is written that Houwens Posts translation was the starting point for the revised version. The revision was a linguistic one; hardly it affected the contents. The revision consisted of re-writing the text, according to contemporary rules of Dutch grammar and spelling. Some old-fashioned words or expressions were replaced by contemporary ones. When necessary, Vandervoort carried through changes or corrections.

The revised version is on pp. 63-227. The revision clearly contributed to the readability of the 1941-Vreede-translation.

In this part of the book, Vandervoort does not specify the corrections and replacements. Quite a pity, especially since there is no parallel French source text. Mistakes, made by Houwens Post, were not corrected. For example, his translation of Saurome in quatrain 03-58 in the Saar region instead of in Sarmatia, was copied by Vandervoort (1941-Vreede-translation, p.73, Vandervoort, p.108). In the discussion of this quatrain on p.43, the word Saurome was translated in Sarmatia. The reason for this discrepancy is discussed in “Peculiar quatrain texts”, one of the next paragraphs in this review.

Houwens Post could translate all quatrains, except 29. He decided to keep the translation of these quatrains incomplete, to mark this in the Dutch text and to include the French text of these quatrains in an appendix. In the revised version of the 1941-Vreede-translation, the translation of these quatrains remained incomplete and the French text of these quatrains was included in Appendix I.

General knowledge

The variety of themes, discussed in Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden, as well as the remarks in the preface lead to the supposition that the author is thoroughly acquainted with Nostradamus and his work.

In Appendix III, a list of recommended literature, Vandervoort gave the maximum number of quality stars to Nostradamus - ses origines, sa vie, son oeuvre (Salon-de-Provence, 1993 [1972]), written by dr. E. Leroy. The biography of Nostradamus, written by Vandervoort around 1998, does not exceed the biography, written by Houwens Post in 1941. Despite his opinion about Leroys book, Vandervoort maintained legends about Nostradamus’ ascendancy which were refuted by Leroy.

On p. 13, Agen, the place of residence of Jules-César Scaliger, was twice printed as Aken (i.e. Aachen, Germany). This mistake raises the idea that Nostradamus spent a couple of years in Germany, which was not the case.

Vandervoort briefly discusses a horoscope of Nostradamus, calculated with present-day software. The horoscope figure which is the result of this calculation, is depicted on p.26. The birth data: December 14, 1503, 11:40 True Local Time, Saint-Rémy de Provence. The zodiacal longitude of the Ascendant: 23:49:40 Pisces. The zodiacal longitude of the MC: 26:58:08 Sagittarius. On p.28, an older, square horoscope figure is depicted. Vandervoort did not specify in which book this figure was depicted originally. Its birth data: December 14, 1503, 12:14 True Local Time, Saint-Rémy de Provence.

The author of this essay adds to this theme that two sources point to a birth around noon. First: a remark in a letter of Nostradamus to Laurens Tubbe, dated on October 15, 1561 and published in Amadou's L'astrologie de Nostradamus - dossier, p.118-119. In this letter, a configuration is mentioned which seems to point to Nostradamus’ birth chart : “le Soleil est réprésenté en haut, trois planètes en bas” (tr. : “the Sun is depicted high, three planets low”). This remark might correspond with the zodiacal longitude of the Sun on 2 Capricorn and the ones of Jupiter retrograde (11 Cancer), Saturn retrograde (16 Cancer) and Mars retrograde (19 Cancer), with the MC located in either the last degrees of Sagittarius or the first degrees of Capricorn. Second, in the section Brief Discours in Ianus Gallicus (1594), it reads : “Michel de Nostredame [...] naquit en la ville de Saint-Remy, en Provence, l'an de grâce 1503, un jeudi 14 décembre, environ les douze heures de midi” (tr. : “Michel de Nostredame [...] was born in the city of Saint-Remy, in Provence, in the year of our Lord 1503, on Thursday, December 14, around noon”). However, these remarks do not point to an exact birth time. From an astrological-technical point of view, one should first rectify the birth-time, for example by means of important events which occurred in the life of Nostradamus, before discussing his birth-chart. It makes a difference whether the Ascendant is in Pisces or Aries, as well as it makes a difference whether the Sun is in Capricorn in the 9th house, conjunct the MC in Capricorn, or in the 10th house, conjunct the MC in Sagittarius.

Houwens Posts source texts

Regularly, Vandervoort writes that the 1941-Vreede-translation was based upon a 1558-Lyon-edition, a remark which also occurs in the colophon of the book, written by the publisher. Both copy remarks, written by Houwens Post in 1941. On p.10, Houwens Post writes that some copies of the editions, dated in 1555 and 1558, are preserved in some French libraries. Vandervoort copied this remark (Vandervoort, p. 53). However, not one copy of a 1558-edition has been found in the past centuries. Experts doubt - for various reasons - the existence of such an edition.

In “The 1941-Vreede-translation and the 1558-Lyon-edition” it has been demonstrated with numerous arguments that the remarks by Houwens Post and Vandervoort are the result of a misunderstanding. The main arguments are that the quatrains 06-100, 07-43 and 07-44 did not occur before 1605 (the 1605-Sève-edition). The book by Houwens Post only contains pictures from the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, not from a 1558-Lyon-edition. The book by Vandervoort contains pictures from the 1555-Bonhomme-edition, from one of the 1557-Du Rosne-editions and from the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, but not from a 1558-Lyon-edition. The title, given by Vandervoort on p.238 (Les vrayes centuries et propheties de maister Micheld Nostradamus, Lyon, 1558) is the title of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition. Further, it has been shown that the text of the second biblical chronology in the 1941-Vreede-translation is not translated from a 1558-Lyon-edition, but from Wöllners Das Mysterium des Nostradamus (Leipzig, 1926). Wöllner, who used the text of the quatrains and the Letters as printed in Le Pelletiers Les Oracles de Michel Nostradamus (1867), revised this part of the Epistle. Houwens Post almost completely copied this revision.

Further research by the author of this review showed that in the case of the translation of the Letter to Cesar, Houwens Post once in a while also used Wöllners translation. For example, Wöllner translated the words “anaragorique révolution in dann nähert sich die Welt einer sowohl todbringenden als lebenzeugenden Umwälzung” (Wöllner, p.83). Houwens Post translated this German translation in “nadert de wereld tot een zowel den dood brengende, als het leven vernieuwende omwenteling” (tr. : “the world approaches a revolution which brings death and renews life as well” ; 1941-Vreede-translation, p. 31). Vandervoort copied this translation (Vandervoort, p. 68).

The source texts, used by Houwens Post, are the 1927-Piobb-copy (a copy of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, completed with the Letter to Cesar) and the 1926-Wöllner-comment. The idea that the 1668-Amsterdam-edition is related to a 1558-Lyon-edition, might be based upon a part of the subtitle of the 1668-Amsterdam-edition : “Reueües & corrigées suyuant les premieres Editions imprimées en Auignon en l'an 1556. & à Lyon en l'an 1558.& autres.” Except for the addition “& autres”, this subtitle was used previously in the 1649-Rouen-edition, entitled Les vrayes centvries de Me Michel Nostradamus had. This subtitle does not say anything about the contents.

In good faith, Houwens Post might have assumed that the 1927-Piobb-copy was a revised 1558-Lyon-edition and therefore listed it as such. He also might have decided to refer to a 1558-Lyon-edition in order to hide his real sources. By the end of 1940, in France, the Gestapo confiscated a book, written by De Fontbrune sr., and the most important of Houwens Posts source texts was a French one.

Anyway, it is correct and better that authors list the titles of the books they actually used instead of listing titles of previous editions which they only know by reference. If listed correctly, there is no room for misunderstandings.

Peculiar quatrain texts

Vandervoort revised the 1941-Vreede-translation and made a couple of times changes and/or corrections. He does not indicate which changes and/or corrections he made. In Vandervoorts book, the 29 quatrains which Houwens Post could not translate completely, remained incomplete. The French texts of these quatrains is included in Appendix I.

One of the quatrains which Houwens Post could not translate completely, is quatrain 09-34. On p.32 and p.199 in Vandervoorts books, there are Dutch versions. These versions are different. In the version on p.32, the first line is translated completely, without any restriction, whereas on p.199, there is a restriction, the same one Houwens Post made. In the French text on p.225, the second line, it reads thuille. On p.32, this is translated in Tuilerieën; on p.199 in dakpan (roof-tile, modern-French: tuile). In both Dutch versions, the number vijf honderd (five hundred) is given. But in the French text in the 1941-Vreede-translation as well as in the French text in Vandervoorts book, it reads cinq (five) instead of cinq cent (five hundred). In the 1668-Amsterdam-edition, it reads cinq cens (five hundred). Closing: in the third and fourth line in the version on p.32 in Vandervoorts book, it reads that Saulce is the son of an oil-trader. This is not the translation of the French text, but an interpretation. In the translation on p.199, nothing is mentioned about oil-traders.

This is only one example of many. In this chapter, the texts of a large number of Dutch quatrains differ from the modernized translation, made by Vandervoort.

Quatrain 09-34 Vandervoort 1998, p. 32	Quatrain 09-34 1941-Vreede-translation, p. 174 Vandervoort 1998, p. 199	Quatrain 09-34 1941-Vreede-translation, p. 203 Vandervoort 1998, p. 225
De eenzame echtgenoot zal gekroond worden met de mitra Bij zijn terugkeer zullen er vijfhonderd de Tuilerieën bestormen Hij zal verraden worden door Narbonne en Saulce, de zoon van een oliehandelaar.	....* onder de echtgenoot zal een mijter dragen. De terugkeer van het conflict zal de dakpan voorbijgaan. Door vijfhonderd zal een verraad aangeduid worden. Narbonne en Saulce hebben door messen olie.	La part sous mary sera mitré. Retour conflict passera sur la thuille Par cinq un trahyr sera tiltré Narbon & Saulce par couteaux avons d'huille.

The way Vandervoort worked, raises a couple of questions. One of these questions is why he did not change the translation of quatrain 09-34 on p.199, since a complete, although different translation was available. Next, what to think about the more than 20 other quatrains in the chapter Wonderbaarlijke interpretaties en 'uitgekomen' voorspellingen, each of them different from the revised translation in another part of this book, each of them discussed as being fulfilled.

The author of this essay supposes that Vandervoort did not explain these quatrains by himself, but copied a number of interpretations of quatrains, including quatrain texts, from other publications, most of the times without mentioning the source. Only in one case he mentions an author: De Fontbrune. This is J.C. de Fontbrune, the author of Nostradamus, historien et prophète (1982). This De Fontbrune should not be confused with his father, the author of Les Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus expliquées et commentées (1939 [1938]).

In my research on national-socialist and allied Nostradamus-literature, I found a liberal German translation of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in a brochure, entitled Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus, volume 18 from the series Informations-Schriften (1940, abbreviated with Brochure-18-D). This liberal translation was made by dr. Bruno Winkler and was published on p.12 of Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert (Görlitz, 1939).

The Dutch translation of this liberal German translation is published in the Brochure-18-NL and - in slightly different words - on p.13 of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, a national-socialist propaganda booklet, published by W.J. Ort, The Hague, 1940. According to the preface, in 1940, a Dutchman translated this booklet from the leftover writings of a French friend. From the minutes of Goebbels’ Propaganda Department (Boelcke : Kriegspropaganda 1941-1943), it can be derived that in December 1939, Goebbels ordered Leopold Gutterer, chief of the Propaganda office in the Propaganda Department, to write this booklet. Others who were involved, were prof. dr. Karl Bömer, chief of the Foreign Press office of the Propaganda Department, and lieutenant-colonel Von Herwarth, a retired officer, working in the Propaganda Department. The compilers copied large amounts of text from books by the Germans Loog (1921), Kritzinger (1922) and Winkler (1939) and a book by the Frenchman De Fontbrune sr. (1939 [1938]). From April 1940, this booklet was published in several languages such as English and Swedish. The Swedish version was published by Stockholms bokindustri ab and is written by someone named Norab; a common Scandinavian family name. Stockholms bokindustri ab also published the English version. In the catalogue of the Royal Library in Stockholm, it reads that the author of the English version is someone named Lage Staël von Holstein, a German. Norab is mentioned as co-author. Staël von Holstein wrote some national-socialist propaganda books. Two of them were translated in Dutch and published by Ort publishers, The Hague: Kan Engeland de oorlog winnen ? (tr. : “Is it possible for England to win the war ?”) and De zee-oorlog en de neutralen (tr. : “The war at sea and the neutrals”).

In Vandervoorts book, the revised versions of quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 are printed on p. 73. In the chapter Inleiding bij de Profetieën (tr. : Introduction to the Prophecies), different Dutch versions of these quatrains are printed on p.56. These versions correspond word by word with the versions, printed in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?. One has to keep in mind that a literal translation of the quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 in Dutch can only result in the translation, made by Houwens Post and copied by Vandervoort on p.73. It is impossible that the Dutch text of these quatrains, printed on p.56 in Vandervoorts book, is the result of a literal translation.

Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 1941-Vreede-translation, p. 34 Vandervoort 1998, p. 73	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, 1940, p. 13 Vandervoort 1998, p. 56	Quatrains 01-01 and 01-02 Winkler 1939, p. 12
's Nachts, gezeten voor de studie van verborgen dingen, Alleen, rustend op de bronzen zetel: Een klein licht, dat uit de eenzaamheid ontspruit, Doet ontluiken, wat niet als ijdel te verwerpen valt.	Zit ik 's nachts, ontvankelijk voor geheime dingen, In diepe eenzaamheid, op een harde zienerstroon, Dan laat mij een verloren vonkje weldra hopen, Dat mijn geloof op juiste wijze zal worden beloond.	Sitz ich des Nachts, geheimen Dingen offen, In stiller Einsamkeit auf ehrnem Seherthron, Lässt bald mich das verlorne Flämmchen hoffen, Dass meinem Glauben wird der rechte Lohn.
Met de staf in de handen, midden in de takken geplaatst, Maakt hij met het water zowel de zoom als voeten nat. Een gevoel van vrees en een stem trekken omhoog door de armen heen. Goddelijke verhevenheid. Het goddelijke komt nader.	Als ik de roede in de handen vat, Besproeit weldra de golf mij zoom en voeten, Ik hoor een stem dan en verbleek, O hemels licht, hier is het goddelijke!	Wenn ich die Rute mit den Händen fasse, Netzt bald die Welle Saum und Füsse mir. Ich höre eine Stimme und erblasse. Himmlisches Licht! Das Göttliche ist hier !

A comparison between the contents of Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? and the contents of Vandervoorts book shows that Vandervoort copied both the explanation of the quatrains and the Dutch translation of the quatrains in the chapter VERLEDEN, HEDEN en TOEKOMST Op wonderbaarlijke wijze voorspeld door den Franschman MICHEL NOSTRADAMUS in zijn “Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties” (tr. : PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE predicted in an amazing way by the Frenchman MICHEL NOSTRADAMUS in his “Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties” ; Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, pp. 9-23), in Wonderbaarlijke interpretaties en 'uitgekomen' voorspellingen. The copied quatrains: the quatrains 01-01, -02, -35 -36 -47 and -60, quatrain 02-68, the quatrains 03-13 and -35, the quatrains 05-20, -28 and -57, the quatrains 07-13 and 08-60 and the quatrains 09-18 and -34. A couple of times, he copied texts word by word, some other times, he summarized the main meaning. He worked accurately; in Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, quatrain 07-13 carries the wrong number (VIII-13); Vandervoort lists the correct number.

Four examples are discussed in which the way Vandervoort might have worked, is revealed. On p.36, he writes :

“Nostradamus heeft minstens een dozijn kwatrijnen gewijd aan Napoleon Bonaparte.”
(tr. : Nostradamus dedicated at least a dozen quatrains to Napoleon Bonaparte).

In Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, it reads on p. 18 :

“Daar wij ons nu toch bij Napoleon Bonaparte bevinden, verdient het wel de aandacht dat Nostradamus aan hem ongeveer een dozijn van zijn vierregelige verzen heeft gewijd.”
(tr. : Since we are now dealing with Napoleon Bonaparte, the fact that Nostradamus dedicated about a dozen of his four-line verses to him, does deserve attention.)

While discussing quatrain 07-13, Vandervoort writes on p. 37 :

“Frappant detail is, dat Nostradamus als hij doelde op Napoleon, schrijft over het 'geschoren hoofd'. Bekend is dat Napoleon zijn haar ook daadwerkelijk kort droeg.”
(tr. : A striking detail is that Nostradamus, when he meant Napoleon, writes about the ‘shaven head’. It is known that Napoleon actually weared his hair short.)

In Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, p. 19 reads as follows :

“Hij spreekt, wanneer hij Napoleon bedoelt, van het "Geschoren hoofd"! Napoleon droeg, in tegenstelling tot de mode van zijn tijd, zooals bekend mag worden verondersteld, kortgeschoren haar.”
(tr. : He speaks, when he means Napoleon, about the “Shaven head” ! Napoleon weared, in contrast with the fashion in his time, as might supposed to be known, short-shaven hair.)

The third example: Vandervoorts translation and discussion of quatrain 08-60 on p.38-39. He writes that in this quatrain, the end of the war is predicted. With the words “the war”, Vandervoort means the First World War. Next, he translates the first line (Premier en Gaule, premier en Romanie) in Als eerste in Gallië, als eerste in Italië (tr. : As first one in Gallia, as first one in Italy). In the revised 1941-Vreede-translation, this line reads : “De eerste in Gallië, de eerste in Romanië” (tr. : the first in Gallia, the first in Romania; p. 189).

In Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ? p. 22 reads :

“Het einde van den wereldoorlog tenslotte wordt opgetekend in VIII, 60. Het vers luidt vertaald als volgt: Als eerste in Gallië, als eerste in Italië [...]”
(tr. : Closing, the end of the world war is described in VIII, 60. This verse reads, translated, as follows: As first one in Gallia, as first one in Italy [...]).

Last : a demonstration of the correspondences between the Dutch texts of quatrain 09-34, in Vandervoorts book, p. 32, and Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, p. 17 :

Quatrain 09-34 Vandervoort 1998, p. 32	Quatrain 09-34 Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?, 1940, p. 17
De eenzame echtgenoot zal gekroond worden met de mitra Bij zijn terugkeer zullen er vijfhonderd de Tuilerieën bestormen Hij zal verraden worden door Narbonne en Saulce, de zoon van een oliehandelaar.	De eenzame bedroefde echtgenoot zal gekroond worden met de mitra. Bij zijn terugkeer zullen er vijfhonderd een stormloop op de Tuilerieën ondernemen. Hij zal verraden worden door den veelbetitelden Narbonne. Een zoon en nakomeling van oliehandelaren, Saulce genaamd, zal hem overleveren aan de bewakers.

The copied parts do not contain national-socialist propaganda. They deal with the First World War and people like Henry II, Napoleon and Umberto I.

On p. 43, Vandervoort writes that the Frenchman De Fontbrune (he means: J.C. de Fontbrune) wrote that quatrain 03-58 indicates the birth of Hitler. The author of this review does not know the writings of J.C. de Fontbrune, but annotates that this interpretation is also present on p.14 of the Brochure-18-F. One of the first commentators who interpreted quatrain 03-58 in this way was dr. Bruno Winkler (p. 37 of Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert; its writing was achieved by the end of 1938).

In Vandervoorts book, Appendix III, a list of recommended literature, does not contain the title Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen ?

Summary and conclusions

Vandervoort achieved a readable linguistic revision of the 1941-Vreede-translation which improves the access to this translation. However, the quality of his book is affected negatively by several causes. Vandervoorts general knowledge of the life and work of Nostradamus is not sufficient. His biography is in some ways obsolete. He does not discuss astrological differences between two given birth-charts of Nostradamus. There is no proof for his supposition that in 1941, Houwens Post used a 1558-Lyon-edition. Closing, he simultaneously used various sources without specifying them; one of them being a source which in a political sense is very doubtful, i.e. national-socialist.

The unpleasant thing is that material which originates from a national-socialist Nostradamus publication, is included in a book which contains a revision of a translation, made as a token of resistance to national-socialist Nostradamus-literature.

It has been for good reasons that Schors publishers decided to replace the 1941-Vreede-translation by a contemporary version. With his linguistic work, Vandervoort achieved a readable result.

Regarding the information about Nostradamus and his work, the explanation of the quatrains, the different translations and the sources which are not mentioned - one of them in a political sense charged negatively - it has to be said that Vandervoort did not do a proper job. Considering the aim Houwens Post had in mind in 1941: a counter-react to national-socialist Nostradamus-literature, this is quite regrettable.

T. W. M. van Berkel
De Meern, October 17, 2004

Bibliography

      - R. Amadou: L’astrologie de Nostradamus - dossier. Poissy, 1992 (1987).
      - T.W.M. van Berkel: The 1941-Vreede-translation and the 1558-Lyon-edition and Nostradamus, the Netherlands and the Second World War. Site ramkat.free.fr, 2004 and www.nostradamusresearch.org, 2004.
      - W.A. Boelcke: Kriegspropaganda 1941-1943. Stuttgart, 1966.
      - Europa-Verlag (publisher): Die Prophezeiungen des Nostradamus (Brochure-18-D) . 1940.
      - I. Ieanson (publisher): Les vrayes Centuries et Prophéties de Maistre Michel Nostradamus. Amsterdam, 1668.
      - W.J. Ort (publisher): Hoe zal deze oorlog eindigen? Den Haag, 1940.
      - J. Vandervoort: Nostradamus De grootste ziener aller tijden. Amsterdam,1998.
      - W.L. Vreede: De profetieën van Nostradamus. Den Haag, 1941.
      - dr. B. Winkler: Nostradamus und seine Prophezeiungen für das zwanzigste Jahrhundert. Görlitz, 1939.

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