Karl Ernst Krafft: The Nazi Astrologer Who Tried to Predict Fate
Karl Ernst Krafft was a Swiss astrologer whose career took a dark and unexpected turn during the rise of Nazi Germany. Initially known for his statistical research into astrology, he gained notoriety when he seemingly predicted an assassination attempt on Hitler. This brought him into the orbit of Nazi officials, who saw potential in using astrology for psychological warfare. But his association with the Third Reich would ultimately lead to his imprisonment and death in a concentration camp.
Rodden Score: A
🔹 Early Life and Astrological Pursuits
Born on May 10, 1900, in Basel, Switzerland, Krafft had an early fascination with mathematics, statistics, and astrology. His studies spanned astronomy, chemistry, and physics, though he never earned a formal degree.
In the 1920s, Krafft became deeply invested in proving astrology’s legitimacy through statistical research. He attempted to demonstrate recurring astrological patterns in families, especially at birth and death, and examined horoscopes of musicians to find common planetary influences. His findings were published in the 1923 booklet Influences cosmiques sur l’individu humain and later in the 1939 book Traité d’Astro-Biologie.
Krafft developed a theory known as Typokosmie, which suggested a systematic relationship between cosmic influences and human personality. His lectures gained him some recognition in Switzerland and Germany, where he built a reputation as an astrologer capable of making striking predictions.
🔹 The Prediction That Got Him Noticed
Krafft’s rise to prominence within Nazi Germany came after his alleged prediction of an attempt on Hitler’s life in 1939.
On November 2, 1939, he wrote that Hitler would be in danger between November 7 and 10 and that an attack involving explosives was possible.
On November 8, 1939, a bomb exploded in the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich, just minutes after Hitler had left.
Upon hearing the news, Krafft sent a telegram to Rudolf Hess, pointing out his fulfilled prediction and warning that more danger lay ahead.
The Gestapo quickly arrested Krafft, suspecting him of involvement in the plot. After intense interrogation, he convinced them that his prediction was purely astrological. Instead of being executed, he was recruited by the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), the Nazi security agency, and put to work.
🔹 Nazi Propaganda and Nostradamus
With Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry looking for ways to use astrology, Krafft was assigned a unique role. Interpreting Nostradamus’s quatrains for Nazi psychological warfare.
The Nazis believed that prophecies could be weaponized to manipulate public perception and demoralize enemies.
Krafft’s work involved twisting Nostradamus’s vague predictions to suggest an inevitable German victory, which was then spread across occupied territories in pamphlets.
In 1940, he wrote Nostradamus sieht die Zukunft Europas (Nostradamus Sees the Future of Europe), a propaganda text predicting success for the Third Reich, which was published in six languages.
Though initially valued, Krafft’s involvement in Nazi astrology created tension within the regime. He was far more fascinated with esoteric theory than political manipulation, which made him unpredictable and at times difficult for the Nazi leadership to control.
🔹 The Fall from Favor
Despite his contributions to Nazi propaganda, Krafft’s position grew more precarious. By 1941, astrology had fallen under suspicion after Hess’s flight to Britain, which was partly blamed on astrological influences.
On June 12, 1941, Krafft was arrested as part of Aktion Heß, the Nazi purge of astrologers, occultists, and mystics.
He was imprisoned without trial, accused of influencing Hess’s defection, despite having no direct connection to the event.
In 1942, he was briefly put to work analyzing horoscopes of Allied generals for propaganda, but when he realized his findings were being misused, he fell into a deep psychosis and began predicting doom for the Nazi leadership.
Krafft’s mental and physical health deteriorated rapidly. In February 1943, he was deemed useless to the regime and transferred to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. By November 1944, he was moved to Buchenwald, where he died of typhus on January 8, 1945.
🔹 Legacy: The Astrologer Who Couldn’t Escape Fate
Karl Ernst Krafft remains a controversial figure in the history of astrology. He was a brilliant but misguided researcher who sought legitimacy for his craft, only to become entangled with one of history’s most brutal regimes.
His early fascination with astrology and statistics led him to Nazi attention, and his ability to make compelling predictions made him valuable, until astrology itself became politically dangerous. In the end, his belief in cosmic patterns could not save him from the fate that awaited him under the very system he once worked for.
Was he a victim or a collaborator? A scientist or a mystic? His story remains one of the strangest intersections of astrology and political history, a cautionary tale of how belief in the stars can be manipulated for power and, ultimately, lead to destruction.
