Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Austrian Nazi politician, and Nazi ruler of occupied Netherlands, convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death (1892-1946)
Dr. Arthur Seyss-Inquart (July 22, 1892 – October 16, 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days, before the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany (the Anschluss). During World War II, Seyss-Inquart served briefly as the Deputy Governor General in occupied Poland and, following the fall of the Low Countries in 1940, he was appointed Reichskommissar of the occupied Netherlands. He instituted a reign of terror, with Dutch civilians subjected to forced labour and the vast majority of Dutch Jews deported and murdered. At the Nuremberg trials, Seyss-Inquart was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and executed.
Quotes
edit- I hope that this execution is the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War, and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples. I believe in Germany.
- Last words, 10/16/46. Quoted in "Justice at Nuremberg" - Page 506 - by Robert E. Conot - History - 1984
- Death by hanging...well, in view of the whole situation, I never expected anything different. It's all right.
- To G.M. Gilbert, about receiving the death sentence. Quoted in "Nuremberg Diary" by G. M. Gilbert - History - 1995
- The National Socialist Party in Austria never tried to hide its inclination for a greater Germany. That Austria would one day return to the Reich was a matter of course for all National Socialists and for true Germans in Austria.
- Speech in Berlin, April 7, 1938. Quoted in "The Trial of the Germans" - by Eugene Davidson - History - 1997
- The Jews are the enemy of National Socialism. From the time of their emancipation their methods were directed to the annihilation of the folkish and moral worth of the German people and to replace a national and responsible ideology with international nihilism. It was really they who stabbed the Army in the back which broke the resistance of the Germans in the First World War. The Jews are the enemy with whom no armistice or peace can be made. We will smite the Jews where we meet them and whoever goes along with them must take the consequences.
- Speech in Amsterdam, March 12, 1941. Quoted in "The Trial of the Germans" - Page 468 - by Eugene Davidson - History - 1997
- The Fuehrer declared that the Jews have played their final act in Europe, and therefore they have played their final act.
- Speech in Amsterdam, March 12, 1941. Quoted in "The Scourge of the Swastika: A Short History of Nazi War Crimes" - Page 248 - World War, 1939-1945 - 1954
- Bedell Smith: Well, in any case, you are going to be shot.
Seyss-Inquart: That leaves me cold.
Bedell Smith: It will.- During surrender negotiations in Achterveld. Quoted in "United States Army in World War II: Civil affairs: soldiers become governors" - Page 831 - by Harry L. Coles and Albert K. Weinberg
About Seyss-Inquart
edit- Seyss-Inquart, spearhead of the Austrian fifth column, took over the government of his own country only to make a present of it to Hitler, and then, moving north, brought terror and oppression to the Netherlands and pillaged its economy for the benefit of the German juggernaut.
- Robert H. Jackson
- Soon after taking over in Austria, Klausner, Globocnik, and I flew to Berlin to report to Hitler's deputy, Hess, about the events which led to our taking over the government. We did this because we had the impression that the general opinion, perhaps also Hitler's own, was that the liberation depended more on Austrian matters of state rather than the Party. To be more exact, Hitler especially mentioned Dr. Seyss-Inquart alone; and public opinion gave him alone credit for the change and thus believed him to have played the sole leading role.
- Dr.Friedrich Reinhard, report to Reich Commissar Gauleiter Josef Buerckel, 6 July 1939
