Chapter XIII: )

The Nazi conspirators were measurably aided in executing the foregoing policies in Holland by the cooperation of a local Nazi, Rost van Tonnigen, who was appointed President of the Netherlands Bank and Treasurer in the Netherlands Ministry of Finance by Seyss-Inquart in the spring of 1941. The cooperative spirit with which van Tonnigen discharged his responsibilities in these posts was disclosed in the following excerpt from a report of the German Commissar of the Netherlands Bank:

“The new President of the Netherlands Bank, Mr. Rost van
Tonnigen, is, in contrast to a large part of the leadership,
penetrated in his movements and his official acts by the greater
German thought, and convinced of the necessity of the creation
of a greater European economic space. This ideological attitude
in itself gives him the correct position on financial and
monetary policy questions for his country in relation to the
greater German economic space. Furthermore it makes easier
cooperation with my office, a fact which deserves special
mention in consideration of the frequently observed impossible
conduct of the Netherlands agencies before the entrance into
office of the new President. I consider as a fortunate solution
the fact that the Reichskommissar for the Occupied Dutch Areas
has also entrusted Mr. Rost van Tonnigen with the Treasury of
the Ministry of Finance [_Schatzamt des Finanzministeriums_].
Mr. Rost van Tonnigen took over this office at the end of the
month of April. Thus there is a guarantee that the financial and
monetary policy of the country will be conducted according to
unified points of view.” (_ECR-174_; see also
_Verordnungsblatt_, No. 22, 24 August 1940 (Fourth Order of the
Reich Commissar for the Occupied Netherlands concerning certain
Administrative Measures); _Lemkin_, “Axis Rule in Occupied
Europe,” pp. 455-456.)

In addition to the responsibility which attaches to Seyss-Inquart as a result of his dominant position in the Netherlands, his appointment of Nazi-minded individuals to key positions, and his complete knowledge of and acquiescence in illegal Nazi policies, there is conclusive evidence of his initiation of such policies. In April 1942 “at the instigation of the Reich Commissar Seyss-Inquart” the Netherlands began to pay a “voluntary contribution to the war against Bolshevism” of 50,000,000 gulders per month, retroactive to 1 July 1941, of which ten million per month was paid in gold. (_ECR-195_)

By 31 March 1944, this contribution amounted to 2,150,000,000 RM. (_EC-86_)

The alleged “voluntary” character of the contribution is to be taken with considerable reserve in view of the admission contained in Seyss-Inquart’s Top Secret report of 29 May to 19 July 1940, that the voluntary nature of previous financial and economic measures was in reality fictional. (_997-PS_)

However, the question whether or not the contribution is to be deemed at the direction of Seyss-Inquart or was in fact “voluntary” is immaterial. It is manifest that the then President of the Netherlands Bank and Treasurer in the Ministry of Finance, van Tonnigen, acted in the German interest and to the detriment of the Netherlands. His acts are attributable to the responsible head of the German Civil Administration in the Netherlands and the individual to whom he owed his appointment, Seyss-Inquart.

(_e_) _Participation in activities of Einsatzstab Rosenberg._ Seyss-Inquart, in his capacity as Reich Commissar for the Occupied Netherlands territory, also cooperated with and acquiesced in the activities of the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_ in the territory under his jurisdiction. He is therefore responsible for his actions in this regard, which constituted crimes under Article 6 (b) of the Charter and violations of Articles 46, 47, and 56 of the Hague Regulations, 1907.

(The _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_, which commenced as a research library project, developed into a systematic program for the wholesale looting of art treasures and cultural objects in the conquered territories. Its activities are discussed in Chapter XIV.)

Implication of Seyss-Inquart in the criminal activities of the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_ is revealed in a detailed progress report of its chief Netherlands representative, Schimmer. The first paragraph of this report states as follows:

“The Working Group Netherland of the _Einsatzstab Reichsleiter
Rosenberg_ began its work in agreement with the competent
representative of the Reichkommissar during the first days of
September 1940. The execution of the post, conforming with the
Fuehrer’s orders, coordinated itself with the liquidation, that
is confiscation, according to civil law, of the various
subversive institutions—as set forth in the circulars of the
OKW, dated 5 July 1940, and of the Chief of the OKW to the
Commander in Chief of the _Wehrmacht_ in France, dated 17
September 1940, as well as to the Commander in Chief of the OKW
in the Netherlands, dated 30 October 1940. The screening of the
material of the various Masonic lodges was taken care of
primarily, and the library and the archives of the following
lodges were sifted and all useful material was packed.”
(_176-PS_)

There follows the specification of some 92 Masonic IOOF Lodges and Rotary Clubs which were screened and yielded 470 cases of valuable objects. Also, a large number of libraries and scientific and cultural institutions were listed with the statement that all books and archives contained therein were being catalogued preparatory to shipment to Germany. (_176-PS_)

The report concludes with the following statement indicating close integration in the Netherlands between Rosenberg’s program of grand larceny and Seyss-Inquart’s anti-Jewish program, viz:

“The Working Group, in executing the afore-mentioned tasks, is
bound strictly to the pace set by the Reichskommissar for the
handling of the Jewish questions and that of the international
organizations. This pace again is determined by the political
evolution which is taking shape according to decisions made on a
higher level, and which must not be hampered by individual
acts.” (_176-PS_)

Other documents captured from Rosenberg’s files remove any doubt whatever as to Seyss-Inquart’s full knowledge of the criminal activities of the _Einsatzstab Rosenberg_ in Holland and his participation therein. On 11 September 1944 Rosenberg informed Seyss-Inquart by letter that orders had been issued for the seizure and transportation to Germany of the library of the Social Institute in Amsterdam. (_091-PS_; see also _1621-PS_, a secret letter from Reichsfuehrer SS (Himmler) ordering SS Gen. Rauter in the Hague to seize medical apparatus at the Universities of Leyden and Utrecht with the aid of Seyss-Inquart.)

(_f_) _Conscription of civilian labor._ In his capacity as Reich Commissar for the occupied Netherlands territories Seyss-Inquart authorized and directed the deportation of vast numbers of Netherlands nationals to the Reich for forced labor in the instruments of German war production. These acts were all in violation of Articles 6 (b) and (c) of the Charter; Articles 6, 23h, 46, and 52 of the Hague Regulations, 1907 (_3737-PS_); and the Prisoner of War Convention, Geneva, 1929. (_3738-PS_)

The deportation program in the Netherlands was initiated on 20 June 1940, five weeks after the occupation of that country. The Germans at first deported only the unemployed, threatening them with curtailment of their dole for refusal. Thereafter in 1942 measures were taken to draft employed workmen. Dutch business concerns were combed in “Sauckel-actions” for available workers, who were forced to register at the labor offices. Workmen who refused were prosecuted by the SD, committed to one of the prisoners’ camps in the Netherlands, and eventually put to work in Germany. By the end of April 1942 the program was in full operation, and not less than 22,000 workers were deported that month. Many Belgian concerns not considered essential were closed down to release manpower for deportation to Germany or for work in Dutch industries deemed essential to the German war effort. New measures of a drastic nature were inaugurated in the spring of 1943. All males between 18 and 35 were forced to register for “_arbeitseinsatz_” (war effort), which was synonymous with deportation. As time elapsed and the German military situation deteriorated, the measures taken became increasingly more ruthless. Whole sections of a town were lined off and people were seized in the streets or in their homes and transported to Germany. A total of approximately 431,500 Netherlands workers were deported to Germany and other foreign countries. (_1726-PS_)

Illustrative of the participation of Seyss-Inquart in the slave labor program are four proclamations which he caused to be issued, calling up Dutch civilians between certain ages for forced labor and threatening them with shooting in the case of noncompliance. (_1162-PS_)

Sauckel, General Plenipotentiary for the Employment of Labor, on 5 October 1945 disclosed, under oath, the part played by Seyss-Inquart in the forced recruitment of Dutch workers for German war production. The following is an excerpt from an interrogation of Sauckel:

“Q. For a moment I want to turn our attention to Holland. It is
my understanding that the quotas for the workers for Holland
were agreed upon, and then the numbers given to the
Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart to fulfill. Isn’t that correct?

“A. Yes, that is correct.

“Q. After the quota was given to Seyss-Inquart, it was his
mission to fulfill it with the aid of your representatives, was
it not?

“A. Yes. This was the only possible thing for me to do and the
same applied to the other countries.” (_3722-PS_)

Seyss-Inquart has himself acknowledged under oath his active participation in deporting 250,000 Netherlands workmen between the ages of 17 and 42 toward the end of 1944, although he attempted to shift responsibility by stating that the order was issued by the _Wehrmacht_ and that “I can’t intervene against the _Wehrmacht_.” However, he admitted:

“I didn’t oppose it. I helped to carry it out in my province.”
(_Transcript of Interrogation of Seyss-Inquart_, afternoon
session, 18 September 1945, pp. 19-20.)

(_g_) _Murder and ill-treatment of civilian population, including killing of hostages._ Seyss-Inquart, in his capacity as Reich Commissar for the Occupied Netherlands Territory, authorized and directed the exaction of collective penalties, murder, and ill-treatment of the civilian population of the Netherlands, and the killing of hostages. All these actions constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity within the meaning of Article 6 (b) and (c) of the Charter, and violated (i) the Hague Regulations, 1907, Articles 46 and 50, (ii) the laws and customs of war, (iii) the general principles of criminal law as derived from the criminal laws of all civilized nations and (iv) the internal penal laws of Netherlands.

Public utterances of Seyss-Inquart reveal his determination to resort to ruthless measures for the purpose of intimidating and repressing the civilian population. In a speech commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Germany’s coming into power, at Weert on 29 January 1943, before workers and trades of the NSDAP, he spoke in part as follows:

“I will give my instructions. They must be executed by all. In
the present situation a refusal to execute such instructions
could be regarded only as sabotage. It is also clear, now more
than ever, that every resistance which is directed against this
fight for existence must be suppressed. Some time ago the
representatives of the churches had written to the _Wehrmacht_
commander and to me, and they presented their conception against
the execution of death sentences which the Wehrmacht commanders
announced in the meantime. To this I can only say the following:
The moment in which our men, fathers and sons with iron
determination look towards their fate in the east and
unflinchingly and steadfastly perform their highest pledge, it
is unbearable to tolerate conspiracies whose goal is to weaken
the rear of this eastern front. Whoever dares this must be
annihilated. We must be severe and become even more severe
against our opponents, this is the command of a relentless
sequence of events, and for us perhaps humanly hard, but our
holy duty. We remain human because we do not torture our
opponents, we must remain firm by annihilating them.”
(_3430-PS_)

Endorsement of the policy of holding innocent persons responsible for the misconduct of others beyond their control is implicit in the following public statement of Seyss-Inquart made at Weert on 8 January 1945:

“I have given orders to suppress all appearances with a
severeness corresponding to the brutality of the crime. If in
connection with these measures Dutch citizens are affected and
have to undergo difficulties and limitations of special nature,
then they have to seek the cause therefor solely in these
eruptions of the anarchistic mental attitude of a few culprits
and the just-as-criminal-tolerance or apathy within their own
circles.” (_3430-PS_)

Evidence of Seyss-Inquart’s application of this doctrine of vicarious responsibility is contained in a poster signed by him and warning the Dutch population to expect reprisals in the event of sabotage. The poster reads as follows:

“NOTICE

“I consider all inhabitants responsible for the destruction or
damage to railroad installations, waterways with their
installations, telephone cables and Post Offices occurring
within the boundaries of their locality.

“The population of such localities may therefore expect
reprisals in the form of seizure of property and destruction of
houses or groups of houses.

“I therefore advise the population to protect the means of
transportation and communications by means of patrols or other
appropriate measures.

“The Hague 24 Sept 1944
“/s/ Seyss-Inquart
“The Reich Commissar for the
Occupied Netherlands Territories.” (_1163-PS_)

Another poster issued by the Superior SS and Police Chief publicized with remarkable candor the fact that 12 Netherlanders were executed “independent of further investigation” as reprisals for the killing of two Germans. That poster reads as follows:

“NOTICE

“The Superior SS and Police Chief gives notice that on 20
November 1944 Schutzgruppenmann Janssen and on 13 December 1944
the Senior Officer Candidate Guse were shot in the back by
criminal Netherlands elements. Both were robbed of their
pistols.

“Independent of further investigation of the perpetrators, two
houses were blasted and 12 Netherlanders were executed at the
place of one of the crimes as reprisals.

“The Hague, 16 Dec 1944.” (_1163-PS_)

In an interrogation under oath Seyss-Inquart has acknowledged that Netherlanders were shot as hostages without trial. While he sought to shift responsibility to the SS he admitted that upon one occasion the SS called on him to furnish 50 hostages and that he gave five instead, all of whom were shot. (_Transcript of Interrogation of Seyss-Inquart_, 18 September 1945, p. 20)

Other crimes against humanity are documented in the statement of the Dutch Government. The vastness of the scale of the commission of such crimes and the necessary notoriety thereof clearly implicate Seyss-Inquart as the responsible civil head of the German Government in the Netherlands territory. (_1726-PS_)

E. _SEYSS-INQUART PARTICIPATED IN THE CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT CRIMES
AGAINST HUMANITY AS SET FORTH IN THE INDICTMENT._

(1) _Austria._

(_a_) _Persecution of the Jews._ While Seyss-Inquart was the Reich Governor of the Province of Austria, laws were issued against Jews and against those who opposed the Nazi Regime politically. As has been shown, this usually took the form of decrees providing for the sequestration and confiscation of the property of these so-called “enemies of the State.”

In the early days of November 1938, pogroms against the Jews took place all over the German Reich, including Austria. These pogroms resulted from the killing of von Rath, a diplomatic official at the German Embassy in Paris, by a young Jew named Grynszpan. Jewish synagogues, homes and shops were smashed and destroyed by fire. Large numbers of Jews were arrested, jailed, or placed in concentration camps. A partial report as to what occurred during the 9th and 10th of November 1938 is found in a letter written by the Reich Commissar for the Reunion of Austria with the German Reich, Josef Buerckel, to Goering, dated 18 November 1938. This report reveals that the fire department was not utilized to control the flames consuming Jewish homes, stores, shops, and synagogues. The school children in Vienna were given an opportunity to participate in the demonstration “according to the order.” Buerckel’s report also discloses that enormous quantities of valuables, jewelry, and merchandise were stolen from the Jews during these pogroms. (_2237-PS_)

A more detailed description of what happened in Vienna during the 9th and 10th of November 1938 is found in the stenographic report of a meeting on “The Jewish Question” under the Chairmanship of Goering (_1816-PS_). This meeting was held on 12 November 1938. It appears from this report that altogether 101 synagogues were destroyed by fire, 76 synagogues demolished, and 7,500 stores ruined in the Reich, including Austria. In this same meeting, a member of the official family of Seyss-Inquart (Reich Governor of the Province of Austria) related the efficiency with which the Civil Administration in Austria dealt with the so-called “Jewish Question.” This official was Fischboeck, and in his verbal report to Goering he said:

“Your Excellency,

“In this matter we have already a very complete plan for
Austria. There are 12,000 Jewish artisans and 5,000 Jewish
retail shops in Vienna. Before the National Revolution, we had
already a definite plan for tradesmen, regarding this total of
17,000 stores. Of the shops of the 12,000 artisans about 10,000
were to be closed indefinitely and 2,000 were to be kept open.
4,000 of the 5,000 retail stores should be closed and 1,000
should be kept open, that is, were to be Aryanized. According to
this plan, between 3,000 and 3,500 of the total of 17,000 stores
would be kept open, all others closed. This was decided
following investigations in every single branch and according to
local needs, in agreement with all competent authorities, and is
ready for publication as soon as we receive the law which we
requested in September; this law shall empower us to withdraw
licenses from artisans quite independently from the Jewish
Question.” (_1816-PS_)

To this Goering replied:

“I shall have this decree issued today.” (_1816-PS_)

The stenographic report of this meeting further reveals that the solution of the so-called “Jewish Problem” adopted in Austria by Seyss-Inquart and his official family was most efficient from the viewpoint of Nazi objectives. The plan adopted in Austria became a model for the entire Reich. (_1816-PS_)

A report of the Bureau of Statistics for the Provinces of Austria on the Jewish population in Vienna and in Austria, dated 15 December 1939, shows that after the Nazi conspirators assumed power in Austria, the Jewish population in that country decreased approximately 100,000. (_1949-PS_)

While the reasons for the decreases in the Jewish population of Austria would seem to be obvious, yet tangible evidence of at least one reason is provided by Seyss-Inquart himself in a letter written by him to Himmler, dated 4 November 1939. In substance Seyss-Inquart, while Deputy Governor General of the Polish Occupied Territory, stated that an official in Cracow had informed him that there was a plan to send Jews from Vienna to Poland, whereupon he gave instructions that such action should be carried out only in cooperation with the SD and by the SD, since he would not permit wild-cat actions. (_3398-PS_)

(_b_) _Persecution on political grounds._ Seyss-Inquart has supplied evidence that the SS in Austria was responsible for the murder of Chancellor Dolfuss on 25 July 1934. (_3425-PS_)

Seyss-Inquart has also supplied evidence that his predecessor as Chancellor of Austria, von Schuschnigg, had been confined in a concentration camp after his forced resignation from office. (_3254-PS_)

(2) _Poland._ The manner is which Polish Jews were treated and given “special handling” by the Nazi conspirators, although a matter of common knowledge, was described in detail in the “Black Book of Poland.” This document tells of the establishment of special reservations for the Jews as well as ghettos in various parts of Poland. The report also relates how the Jews were starved and exterminated in large numbers. A great portion of these crimes were committed in Poland by the Nazis while Seyss-Inquart occupied the position of Deputy Governor General of the Polish Occupied Territory. (_2613-PS_)

During the time that Seyss-Inquart held this high office in the Nazi government of Poland, a special decree was issued by Frank, dated 26 October 1939, which required compulsory labor for Jews domiciled in the General Government of Poland. The decree was to take effect immediately and the Jews were to be formed in forced labor groups. The execution of the decree was placed in the hands of the Higher SS and Police Leaders. (_2613-PS_)

(3) _The Netherlands._ Seyss-Inquart, in his capacity as Reich Commissar of the occupied Dutch territory, bears full individual responsibility for the execution in the Netherlands of the Nazi program of persecution of Jews. Acts against the Jews authorized, directed, or condoned by Seyss-Inquart, which constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity as defined in Article 6 (b) and (c) of the Charter, included: stigmatization; disfranchisement; denial of civil rights, personal liberty, and economic freedom; religious and cultural persecution; use of organized “spontaneous violence” against persons and property of Jews; ghettoization; starvation; enforced labor; enslavement; mass deportation, and annihilation.

The intentions of Seyss-Inquart with respect to treatment of the Jews is a matter of record. In a speech before a gathering of all workers and trades of the NSDAP at Amsterdam on 13 March 1941 he left no doubt as to where he stood on the Jewish question. He said:

“The Jews are the enemy of national socialism and the national
socialistic Reich. From the moment of their emancipation, their
methods were directed to the annihilation of the common and
moral worth of the German people and to replace national and
responsible ideology with international nihilism. The fatal
meaning of Judaism became completely clear to the German people
during the years of the world war. It was really they, who stuck
the knife in the back of the German army which broke the
resistance of the Germans, and in the year 1918, it was they who
wanted to dissolve and decompose all national tradition and also
moral and religious beliefs of the German people. The Jews for
us are not Dutchmen. They are those enemies with whom we can
neither come to an armistice nor to peace. This applies here, if
you wish, for the duration of the occupation. Do not expect an
order from me which stipulates this, except regulations
concerning police matters. We will beat the Jews wherever we
meet them, and those who join them must bear the consequences.
The Fuehrer declared that the Jews have played their final act
in Europe, and therefore they played their final act.”
(_3430-PS_)

Following his assumption of office in the Netherlands on 29 May 1940, Seyss-Inquart, pursuant to the authority vested in him as Reich Commissar Of the Netherlands by the Fuehrer decree of 18 May 1940, systematically promulgated decrees designed to implement the Nazi program of persecution and elimination of Jews. He promulgated a law which prohibited the Jewish ritual slaughter of animals in the Netherlands Occupied Territories, thus making it impossible for devout orthodox Jews to live in accordance with their religious dietary laws. (_2705-PS_)

Other anti-Semitic decrees of a like nature, all of which were signed by Seyss-Inquart and published in the _Verordnungsblatt fuer die besetzen niederlandischen Gebiete_ (VOBL), may be summarized as follows:

_Publication Date and No. _Summary of Subject Matter_
of VOBL_
_3333-PS, Order to register all businesses belonging to
Verordnungsblatt_, No. Jews, joint stock corporations including
33, p. 546, 26 Oct 1940. either one Jewish partner or one Jewish
member in their Board of Directors, or those
of which more than 25% of the capital stock
belong to Jews or those in which half of all
votes are to be exercised by Jews, or in
general, businesses which in fact are placed
under predominatingly Jewish influence.