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Reich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories Rijkscommissariaat Nederland | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940–1945 | |||||||||
| Anthem: Horst-Wessel-Lied | |||||||||
.svg) Reichskommissariat Niederlande in 1942 | |||||||||
| Capital | Amsterdama | ||||||||
| Common languages | Dutch German | ||||||||
| Government | Civil administration | ||||||||
| Reichskommissar | |||||||||
• 1940–1945 | Arthur Seyss-Inquart | ||||||||
| Leader of the Dutch People | |||||||||
• 1942–1945 | Anton Mussert | ||||||||
| Historical era | World War II | ||||||||
• Seyss-Inquart appointed | 29 May 1940 | ||||||||
• German capitulation in Netherlands | 5 May 1945 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 42,000 km2 (16,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1940 | 8,834,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | Dutch guilder (NLG) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheReichskommissariat Niederlande (Dutch:Rijkscommissariaat Nederland) was thecivilian occupation regime set up byGermany in theGerman-occupied Netherlands duringWorld War II. Its full title was theReich Commissariat for the Occupied Dutch Territories (German:Reichskommissariat für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete). The administration was headed byArthur Seyss-Inquart, formerly the last chancellor ofAustria before initiating itsannexation by Germany.
The German domination of the Netherlands began with theGerman invasion. On the day of the capitulation (15 May 1940), the entire ministerial staff fled to London to form aDutch government in exile.Queen Wilhelmina had already preceded them the previous day. This hadde facto left government authority in the hands of generalHenri Winkelman as the senior-most military commander in the Netherlands. On 20 May 1940 amilitary administration was initially implemented, led byMilitärsbefehlshaberAlexander Freiherr von Falkenhausen. This was quickly disbanded however to be replaced by a civil administration under the authority of the newly appointedArthur Seyss-Inquart, who was namedReichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete. The new form of government was therefore not a German military government (Militärverwaltung) but a civil government (Zivilverwaltung). Hitler chose this option on mainly ideological grounds: the Dutch were considered a "racially related kindred-people" and therefore had to be won over forNational Socialism.
This move was technically justified on legal grounds according to the provisions of theHague Conventions on the laws of war. The wholly unconstitutional evacuation of the monarch and her government before the advancing German forces meant that there was no longer any functioning civil authority left in the area. Article 43 ofThe Laws and Customs of War on Land stipulates that in this scenario, the occupying power is accorded responsibility for maintaining order in the territories that it has occupied in lieu of the native government exercising this authority.
On the longer term ("longer term" not being defined any further by the Germans other than "nach Kriegsende", meaning after the war's conclusion), the German authorities anticipated the directintegration of the Netherlands into the expanding Third Reich.
Sinceabdicating the Imperial throne in 1918, former GermanKaiserWilhelm II had been living in the Netherlands. Since the invasion,Wehrmacht soldiers guarded his house. Wilhelm hoped he could persuade Hitler or the Berlin government to restore theGerman monarchy. All requests were denied. Wilhelm died in the Netherlands on June 4, 1941. Despite Hitler's personal animosity toward Wilhelm, whom among many he blamed for Germany's defeat inWorld War I, he wanted to bring Wilhelm's body back to Berlin for a state funeral, as Wilhelm was a symbol of Germany and Germans during the previous World War. Hitler felt that such a funeral would demonstrate to the Germans the direct descent of the Third Reich from the old German Empire. However, Wilhelm's wishes never to return to Germany until the restoration of the monarchy were respected, and the German occupation authorities granted him a small military funeral, with a few hundred people present. The mourners includedAugust von Mackensen, fully dressed in his old imperial Life Hussars uniform, AdmiralWilhelm Canaris, and ReichskommissarArthur Seyss-Inquart, along with a few other military advisers. However, Wilhelm's request that the swastika and other Nazi regalia be not displayed at his funeral was ignored, and they are featured in the photographs of the event taken by a Dutch photographer.
Wilhelm was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds ofHuis Doorn, which has since become a place of pilgrimage for German monarchists.
TheNationaal Socialistische Beweging, or in English the National Socialist Movement (NSB), had existed for years before the Germans arrived in the Low Countries.[1] Between World War I and World War II, Dutch society experienced a crisis in its sociopolitical system.[2] The National Socialist movement offered a solution to Netherlands' instability and gained some influence without endangering the existing political order, a system that was already frail during the period of political democracy. However, this form of democracy was not completely in practice nor uncontested as a principle by the NSB.[2]
Leading up to the German invasion, the National Socialist Movement spent much of the 1930s loudly denouncing the government's inability to protect the Dutch people from economic suffering, social chaos, and the expanding influence of Marxism-Bolshevism.[1] The group separated itself as an internal force, gaining a small degree of importance during that mid-1930s, and eventually contributing to the German efforts to Nazify the occupied Netherlands.[3] The NSB began to admire the "achievements" of the German Reich by 1936 and broadcast their own warnings that "International Jewry" had taken a hold of the Netherlands and would conquer Europe.[4]
As the Germans gained power in the Netherlands, the NSB believed it could influence occupation policy and German behavior. The group anticipated Anton Mussert, a prominent and founding member of the Party, to be Hitler's appointee during the occupational regime.[1]
If the German invasion had never occurred, it is undisputed that the NSB would never have managed to take over political power of the Netherlands. The Germans did not allow for an independent Dutch way to National Socialism and only wanted to incorporate Dutch Nazis into the political structure as supporters and executors of German policy, not leaders of the country in its entirety.[5]
The German government in the Netherlands was headed by Seyss-Inquart asReichskommissar. Beneath him were fourGeneralkommissare. These were:
TheWehrmacht troops stationed in the Netherlands were commanded byWehrmachtbefehlshaber in den NiederlandenFriedrich Christiansen (28 May 1940 - 7 April 1945).
There was a constant conflict between Seyss-Inquart, Hitler's personally appointed Reich Commissioner who relied directly on Hitler's support, and Rauter, who was the Generalkommissar for security matters and nominally subordinate to Seyss-Inquart, but as Higher SS and Police Leader he took direct orders from Heinrich Himmler.[6] In the period following theFebruary Strike, Seyss-Inquart and Rauter engaged in a political struggle as each competed for control over Jewish affairs in the country.[7] The control which Seyss-Inquart was supposed to have was almost non-existent in practice due to overlapping and contradictory competences and a series of unresolved conflicts between party and state organizations, as well as the individuals listed above.[8]
Despite his nominal government subordination to Seyss-Inquart, Rauter as anSS officer was actually only responsible toHeinrich Himmler asReichsführer-SS. His own deputies in turn were theBefehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD (commander of the criminal police and theSD)Wilhelm Harster, theAussenstelle (deputy) in Amsterdam (headed byWilly Lages), and theZentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Office for Jewish "Emigration") led byFerdinand aus der Fünten.
No new ministers were appointed; thesecretaries-general maintained control over their respective departments, but were now operating under the authority of Seyss-Inquart. The existing lower-level governments remained completely intact as well, although these were gradually being replaced byNSB members as the war progressed.
Upon the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1940, Nazi Germany's attitude towards the Dutch people initially seemed favourable.Adolf Hitler,Heinrich Himmler, and other senior Nazis regarded theDutch as part of theAryan "Herrenvolk" (Master Race).
Seyss-Inquart's policy was to gradually prepare the state structure and Dutch population forNational Socialist ideology, the notion of creating a "new Europe" (meaning one led by Germany), and ultimately assimilation intoGreater Germany after its victory in the war. However, he was aware of the limited support that the Netherlands' future as a German province would necessarily receive, and adjusted his style of rule accordingly so as not to cause any unwanted unrest among the Dutch people. He was also aware that the local Fascist and Nazi movements in the Netherlands, particularly theNationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB) led byAnton Mussert were nothing more than minority groups generally despised by the vast majority of the Dutch. Mussert was also an advocate of the creation ofDietsland, a kind ofGreater Netherlands to be formed out of theDutch-speaking Netherlands andFlanders, rather than aGreater Germanic one as desired byAdolf Hitler. For these reasons Seyss-Inquart allowed the NSB only limited authority, and was generally unwilling to appoint its members to strategically significant positions.
In the early stages of the German occupation, the Nazis planned to support the NSB's rivalNational Socialist Dutch Workers Party (NSNAP), which openly called for the annexation of the Netherlands into Nazi Germany.[9] The party received extensive coverage in Nazi newspapers and the organization was expanded with the establishment of the DutchHitlerjugend.[9] However, the NSNAP was a fringe party, having received less than 0.03% of the vote in the1937 Dutch general election, compared to the NSB's more than 4%, and was ultimately deemed to be politically useless by the Germans.[9]
Mussert tried to convince Hitler that he should be the leader of an independent Dutch state, a request which Hitler denied, leaving Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart as the absolute ruler of the Netherlands. However, he was allowed to take on the title of "Leader of the Dutch People" and the NSB was permitted to continue its political activities. The NSB declared that the monarchy was abolished and that the Netherlands should support Germany in the war. 20,000 to 25,000 Dutchmen served in theGerman army andWaffen-SS.
All institutions and organizations deemed unacceptable by Nazi Germany were abolished. These measures were opposed especially by DutchRoman Catholics andsocialists.[citation needed]
Despite being considered Herrenvolk, Germany's requirements for war production resulted in the introduction of forced labour (Arbeitseinsatz) for Dutch men between the ages of 18 and 45, as well as the extraction of Dutch natural resources for the use in Germany's war machine.
Afterits invasion, theNetherlands was temporarily placed under the authority of a German civilian governor (aReichskommissar) until a final decision would be made on the next form of government to "facilitate" theDutch nation for its intended assimilation into Germany. However, on several occasions, the German regime seriously considered implementing a concrete plan to change the territorial composition ofReichskommissariat Niederlande. Its then-eleven provinces were to be replaced by five newgewesten (historicalDutch term for a sub-national statepolity) and ReichskommissarSeyss-Inquart appointed asReichsstatthalter undGauleiter for the entire country as the first step in this process.[10]
This proposal originated from a document created byHanns Albin Rauter, theHigher SS and Police Leader in theNetherlands, who subsequently submitted it toNazi PartySecretaryMartin Bormann in November 1942. In it he put forward his suggestions on the future political organization of the Netherlands when it would be a component of the Third Reich. It called for its effective division into five newReichsgaue, preferably to be led by DutchWaffen-SS veterans from theeastern front.[11] These Gaue were entirely coterminous with the five police and judicial districts that the Germans had established earlier, based on the regional "standards" of theDutch SS.[10] Fearing the resulting further Nazification of the Netherlands the key Dutch government officials strongly advised Seyss-Inquart not to carry out these steps on account of the administrative chaos that it would inevitably cause, causing them to be shelved for the time being.[10] When Germany was subsequently forced on the defensive after 1942, they were abandoned indefinitely.
In February 1941, opposition to theanti-Semitic policies of the German occupiers and the collaborationists caused major strikes to break out across the Netherlands. This started after the NSB and its stormtroopers, theWeerbaarheidsafdeling (Defence Section) or WA began a series of provocations against Jewish neighbourhoods inAmsterdam. Fighting broke out in which members of the WA were injured, the collaborationists then called in the support of the German Army which assisted in turning the neighbourhood into aghetto surrounded by barbed wire and armed positions, non-Jews were not allowed to enter the area. Days later GermanOrdnungspolizei entered the neighbourhood but a number of police were injured, the Germans then responded by raiding the neighbourhood and capturing 425 Jews who were then deported to concentration camps. On the 24th, theCommunist Party of the Netherlands (made illegal by the Nazis) called for the people of Amsterdam to go on strike. Afterwards, tram drivers, schools, and some companies joined the strike. After three days, German police put down the strike.
As German authorities took hold of the Netherlands, they hoped to find substantial groups among the Dutch who were prepared to accept National Socialism and collaboration.[2] Accommodation was the first phase of the occupation and was characterized by a readiness by the majority of the Dutch population to accept political consequences of their defeat.[12] Dutch elites indicated a willingness to reach some understanding with the Germans, either playing an active role in some way in the persecution and deportation of the Jews or failing to put up any kind of resistance at all, this is particularly true of the Dutch administrative assistants and the authorities as a whole.[2][13] The Dutch civil service, also, in general, adopted an accommodating attitude to the Germans.[14]
In 1937, special Aanwijzingen (instructions) were formulated for the Dutch government employees and other public servants on cooperating with occupying forces.[13] Public servants were to stay on the job and carry out their duties to the best of their ability, so those who remained at their post had to judge for themselves whether the contents of each order they were given were substantively and procedurally legitimate.[15] Under these rules the traditional Dutch civil service were, therefore, expected to be loyal to the principles of administrative and public order above all other considerations.[14]
Prime Minister Gerbrandy, exiled to London along with members of his cabinet and the royal family, announced in his speech,Commentaar op de Aanwijzingen (Comments on the Instructions), the guidelines of how public servants were expected to behave, stating that they were not to cooperate with the occupying force in any way, especially in the Nazi persecution of the Jews.[15][16]
Although the Germans did appoint a number of NSB members and other Germanophiles to senior posts like secretaries-general and mayors, their numbers or ideological influence on the administration was not extensive.[14] Dr. Friedrich Wimmer led the internal government and had the power to issue mandatory regulations to Dutch civil servants and under his rule local government was transformed into an instrument by which policy was used to Nazify the Netherlands.[17] The civilian administration in the Netherlands enabled the Germans to exert much tighter control over Dutch citizens than military occupied countries like the French government in Vichy.[18]
The nature of the civilian, rather than a military, administration was a major contributing factor to the ease that Nazi-sponsored policies against the Jews were carried out. A general absence of anyWehrmacht control over the running of the country allowed civilians and the agencies operated by Himmler's SS more freedom.[19] In January 1941, civil servants, administrators, and elected representatives were ordered by the Germans to register the whole Dutch population by name and address, Jews were to be registered separately.[20] These extensive and detailed population registers made it easy for the Germans to target Jews, eventually allowing for the process of registration to be replaced by segregation, spoliation, and eventually deportation.[21][20]
However, the bureaucracy in the Netherlands was not a model of efficiency, the SS/SD personnel were no more ruthless or efficient than elsewhere in Europe, but there were a greater number of German police, around 5,000, compared to that of France where it never went above 3,000. The dominance of the SS in the Netherlands has been cited as one of the fundamental differences between the Netherlands and other Western European occupied by the Germans.[22]
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From 1944 to 1945, theReichskommissariat came under attack from Allied forces. The first attempt to liberate the Netherlands by the Allies was duringOperation Market Garden in 1944, involving the use of paratrooper divisions to take over key bridges in the Netherlands to allow Allied tanks positioned in Belgium to quickly go through the Netherlands and reachArnhem, which helda bridge over the riverRhine. This would put the Allies in a strategic advantage to invade Germany and quickly end the war.Eindhoven andNijmegen were liberated. However Allied intelligence failures and poor organization resulted in an Allied failure to cross the Rhine atArnhem.
After Market Garden, theCanadian Army was given the initiative to liberate the Netherlands, the Canadian armed forces managed to push the German forces to the upper part of theNetherlands by 1945 in which Germany surrendered, abdicating its claim to the Netherlands and all other occupied territories.
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