Arthur Seyss-Inquart, born as Artur Zajtich, were an Austrian lawyer and Nazi politician. He initially belonged to the moderate wing of the Austrian nazi's, later he would turn out to be a hard-liner in the occupied Netherlands. Seyss-Inquart was one of the 22 war criminals who were on trial during the Neurenberg process. On 1 October 1946 he was declared guilty on 3 of the 4 charges. Two weeks later he was brought to death.
Seyss-Inquart started his political career in 1934 when he became a cooperating member of the Cabinet of Engelbert Dollfus.
In 1938 under tremendous pressure and the threat of German dictator Adolf Hitler, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in the Austrian cabinet of Kurt Schuschnigg.
That same year he played a major role in the connection (called Anschluss) of Austria by Germany (so-called Greater German solution).
Under pressure and threat on the part of the National Socialist German Reich Government President Wilhelm Miklas of Austria appointed him, mid-March 1938, Chancellor, which made it easy for the German to occupy the country without any military resistance. Seyss-Inquart was only a few days chancellor. Hitler appointed him very shortly afterwards governor of the annexed Austria (Ostmark) which he remained until the end of April 1939.
On May 1, 1939, the Austrian Government ceased to exist. On the same date, Seyss-Inquart became Reich Minister without Portfolio, a position he formally held until the end of the war in 1945. Later in 1939, after the invasion of Poland, he also became the deputy of Governor-General Hans Frank of the occupied Polish territories.
In 1940 he became Reichskommissar (official "Reichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete") of the German-occupied Netherlands and in the Ridderzaal he was officially inaugurated by the German Wehrmacht generals and Dutch and German officials. This move from Vienna to The Hague was also seen by many as a degradation; Seyss was within the Nazi Party known as too moderate to resolve the "Jewish problem" in Vienna.
In the Netherlands Seyss-Inquart soon got a nickname: Zes en een kwart (Six-and-a-quarter) this was because he limped.
At first he tried gently to win the Dutch for the National Socialism, this included public appearances, strict standards for German soldiers and the establishment of German-Dutch friendship initiatives. But after the February Strike in 1941 the German oppression was also by Seyss-Inquart, who was put under great pressure by the SS, greatly increased.
When the war was almost lost, he became harder and more fanatically against the Dutch underground resistance. Several times, however, he tried hard to postpone or forbid revenge action by the SS, but because of Himmler's influence this became more and more difficult.
He was responsible for the deportation of over one hundred thousand Jews to concentration camps and extermination camps. Although he knew about the persecution of Jews and labor camps (including Westerbork), he claimed at the Process of Neurenberg that if it was brought to his attention of the existence of actual extermination camps in Eastern Europe, he would have done everything to stop these deportations. To Himmler, he, and that's a fact, several times tried to stop the persecution of Jews, arguing that during the war this would only led to unnecessary unrest, in both material production and among the rest of the "Aryan" population. He did not actually opposed to his superiors, presumably because of career and love of practical impossibility without deposition results.
In the last days of the war, Seyss-Inquart was personally involved in the negotiations with the Allies on food drops in the major cities of western Netherlands. During a meeting on April 30, 1945 in Achterveld Seyss-Inquart refused to surrender. This while he knew the war was lost. This refusal led to irritation at the American General Walter Bedell Smith, he said to Seyss-Inquart "Well, in any case, you are going to be shot" to which the Reichskommissar replied "That leaves me cold." General Smith then retorted "It will."
When the war was lost, Seyss-Inquart went from Flensburg, where he had a consult with the German government under Admiral Doenitz, with a submarine back to the just still "occupied" Netherlands, where he was arrested on May 8 by the Canadian navy and was held for weeks in a special prison in the city Delden Twente, near the castle Twickel where he had a country house.
In 1946 during the process of Neurenberg he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity (Jews Deportations, executions of condemned resistance fighters, allowing retaliation against 'anti-German' prominent Dutch). In the shortly before his death written letters to his father-confessor (Bruno Spitzl) the later reconverted Catholic Seyss-Inquart laid here more or less an admission of guilt, especially about his performance against Dutch civilians and allowing the Jewish Deportations to Eastern Europe.
On October 16, 1946 in Neurenberg he was hanged. His last words were: "I hope that this execution will be the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War, and that the lesson learned from this war, may be that peace and understanding between people must exist. I believe in Germany. "
His ashes were scattered in the river Isar to prevent that his grave would become a gathering place for former National Socialists.
Before his trial, just as with the other arrested Nazis, they did an IQ test. Seyss-Inquart scored 141, which, after Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Economy of Nazi Germany, was the highest score.
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| Reichskommisar Seyss-Inquart 07/22/1892-10/16/1946 |
In 1938 under tremendous pressure and the threat of German dictator Adolf Hitler, he was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs in the Austrian cabinet of Kurt Schuschnigg.
That same year he played a major role in the connection (called Anschluss) of Austria by Germany (so-called Greater German solution).
Under pressure and threat on the part of the National Socialist German Reich Government President Wilhelm Miklas of Austria appointed him, mid-March 1938, Chancellor, which made it easy for the German to occupy the country without any military resistance. Seyss-Inquart was only a few days chancellor. Hitler appointed him very shortly afterwards governor of the annexed Austria (Ostmark) which he remained until the end of April 1939.
On May 1, 1939, the Austrian Government ceased to exist. On the same date, Seyss-Inquart became Reich Minister without Portfolio, a position he formally held until the end of the war in 1945. Later in 1939, after the invasion of Poland, he also became the deputy of Governor-General Hans Frank of the occupied Polish territories.
In 1940 he became Reichskommissar (official "Reichskommissar für die besetzten niederländischen Gebiete") of the German-occupied Netherlands and in the Ridderzaal he was officially inaugurated by the German Wehrmacht generals and Dutch and German officials. This move from Vienna to The Hague was also seen by many as a degradation; Seyss was within the Nazi Party known as too moderate to resolve the "Jewish problem" in Vienna.
In the Netherlands Seyss-Inquart soon got a nickname: Zes en een kwart (Six-and-a-quarter) this was because he limped.
At first he tried gently to win the Dutch for the National Socialism, this included public appearances, strict standards for German soldiers and the establishment of German-Dutch friendship initiatives. But after the February Strike in 1941 the German oppression was also by Seyss-Inquart, who was put under great pressure by the SS, greatly increased.
When the war was almost lost, he became harder and more fanatically against the Dutch underground resistance. Several times, however, he tried hard to postpone or forbid revenge action by the SS, but because of Himmler's influence this became more and more difficult.
He was responsible for the deportation of over one hundred thousand Jews to concentration camps and extermination camps. Although he knew about the persecution of Jews and labor camps (including Westerbork), he claimed at the Process of Neurenberg that if it was brought to his attention of the existence of actual extermination camps in Eastern Europe, he would have done everything to stop these deportations. To Himmler, he, and that's a fact, several times tried to stop the persecution of Jews, arguing that during the war this would only led to unnecessary unrest, in both material production and among the rest of the "Aryan" population. He did not actually opposed to his superiors, presumably because of career and love of practical impossibility without deposition results.
In the last days of the war, Seyss-Inquart was personally involved in the negotiations with the Allies on food drops in the major cities of western Netherlands. During a meeting on April 30, 1945 in Achterveld Seyss-Inquart refused to surrender. This while he knew the war was lost. This refusal led to irritation at the American General Walter Bedell Smith, he said to Seyss-Inquart "Well, in any case, you are going to be shot" to which the Reichskommissar replied "That leaves me cold." General Smith then retorted "It will."
When the war was lost, Seyss-Inquart went from Flensburg, where he had a consult with the German government under Admiral Doenitz, with a submarine back to the just still "occupied" Netherlands, where he was arrested on May 8 by the Canadian navy and was held for weeks in a special prison in the city Delden Twente, near the castle Twickel where he had a country house.
In 1946 during the process of Neurenberg he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity (Jews Deportations, executions of condemned resistance fighters, allowing retaliation against 'anti-German' prominent Dutch). In the shortly before his death written letters to his father-confessor (Bruno Spitzl) the later reconverted Catholic Seyss-Inquart laid here more or less an admission of guilt, especially about his performance against Dutch civilians and allowing the Jewish Deportations to Eastern Europe.
On October 16, 1946 in Neurenberg he was hanged. His last words were: "I hope that this execution will be the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War, and that the lesson learned from this war, may be that peace and understanding between people must exist. I believe in Germany. "
His ashes were scattered in the river Isar to prevent that his grave would become a gathering place for former National Socialists.
Before his trial, just as with the other arrested Nazis, they did an IQ test. Seyss-Inquart scored 141, which, after Hjalmar Schacht, Minister of Economy of Nazi Germany, was the highest score.
Thanks for reading.
