In the darkest days of the Second World War, as Europe fell under Nazi domination and Britain faced invasion, Louis de Wohl, a 36-year-old refugee from Germany, made a curious offer to British Intelligence. Based on the widely held belief that Hitler’s every action was guided by his horoscope, de Wohl claimed he could reveal precisely what advice the Führer’s astrologers were giving him.

An Aquarius is born --An air of baroque opulence -- A perfectly splendid chap -- When Hitler knows he is lucky -- Hitler fears death -- America would be 'in' by 1944 -- We must never lie by accident -- A bumptious seeker of notoriety.