32 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
32 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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aliases:
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- Louis de Wohl
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category: "Occult & Esoteric"
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tags:
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- WorldWarII
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- Person
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- WW2
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- Nazi
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- Occult
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summary: "Louis de Wohl was a German-born Hungarian astrologer and British citizen who became a key figure in Allied black propaganda during World War II."
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updated: 2026-10-15
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born: 1903-01-24
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died: 1961-06-02
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location: "Berlin, Germany"
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---
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Louis de Wohl was a German-born Hungarian astrologer and British citizen who became a key figure in Allied black propaganda during [[World War II]]. He was one of the most high-profile astrologers in the Western world, with admirers including [[Lord Halifax]], Britain's Foreign Secretary, and the Duke of Alba, the ambassador from [[Spain]][^1].
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The National Archives holds a Security Service personal file on de Wohl covering August 31, 1940 to August 19, 1952. The catalogue describes him as a professional astrologer who worked for the [[Special Operations Executive]].[^2]
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De Wohl's mission in America, in the summer of 1941, was to elevate astrology into the realm of "astro-philosophy" and, more importantly, to influence American public opinion in favor of aiding [[Great Britain]]. His syndicated American column, "Stars Foretell," consistently emphasized the Nazi threat. Starting in June 1941, shortly after the [[Rudolf Hess]] affair, de Wohl's predictions became unusually specific and appeared to come true, such as his foretelling of a "strong collaborator of Hitler who is neither German nor a Nazi will go violently insane," which was followed by reports of Admiral Georges Robert, the Vichy High Commissioner of the French West Indies, going mad[^1].
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His escalating popularity led the [[Federal Communications Commission]] to lift its ban against astrologers and air an exclusive interview with him. He was also the first astrologer filmed for a U.S. newsreel. However, de Wohl's successful American career was a product of [[British Intelligence]], specifically through its operational arm in America, the [[British Security Coordination Office]]. His so-called manager was none other than the spymaster [[William Stephenson]], whom [[Winston Churchill]] famously called Intrepid. The [[American Federation of Scientific Astrologers]] and its 1941 convention had been fabricated by [[British Intelligence]]. The British spy agency would first feed information to de Wohl for his column, and then feed this bogus information to the U.S. press, which, unable to fact-check with [[Nazi Germany]], would report it as real[^1].
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De Wohl's efforts were effective in swaying public opinion away from U.S. isolationist views. A declassified memo from Stephenson noted that "An ever-growing audience [is] becoming convinced of his supernatural powers"[^1]. This operation was coordinated with [[William Donovan]], who would later head the [[Office of Strategic Services]], the precursor to the [[Central Intelligence Agency]][^1]. After the Japanese bombed [[Pearl Harbor]] and the U.S. declared war on Japan, and [[Adolf Hitler]] declared war on the United States, de Wohl returned to England[^1].
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For the next few years, de Wohl was used by the Allies as a countermeasure to [[Heinrich Himmler]]'s use of astrology and the occult. Under the direction of master propagandist [[Sefton Delmer]], de Wohl wrote seemingly authentic astrology charts that predicted the demise of certain Nazi admirals and generals, and stated that [[Adolf Hitler]] would be betrayed by his inner circle. These fake star charts and horoscopes were included in near-perfect replicas of a banned German astrological magazine called *Zenit*, intended for underground distribution in Germany. However, these counterfeit magazines were seized by the [[Gestapo]] in [[Stettin]], as detailed by [[Wilhelm Wulff]] in his memoir *Zodiac and Swastika*[^1].
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
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[^2]: The National Archives, Kew, Security Service personal file on Louis de Wohl, reference C11439609, covering August 31, 1940 to August 19, 1952. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11439609
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