Anton Mussert (11 May 1894-7 May 1946) was the Leader of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) from 13 December 1942 to 7 May 1945. Mussert collaborated with the Axis Powers during World War II, and the government of the Netherlands had him executed for treason after the war.
Biography[]
Anton Mussert was born in Werkendam, North Brabant, Netherlands on 11 May 1894. He became active in several far-right organizations during the 1920s, and Mussert and Cornelis van Geelkerken co-founded the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands. Mussert pursued national socialist policies, and the party grew in strength during the late 1930s. During World War II, Mussert attempted to prevent resistance to the German invasion, and his party became the only legal party in the German-occupied Netherlands. Mussert was disappointed when Adolf Hitler appointed Arthur Seyss-Inquart as the Reichskomissar of the Netherlands instead of making Mussert Prime Minister. He was named the honorary "Leader of the Dutch People" by Adolf Hitler in 1942, but this role was merely symbolic. On 7 May 1945, he was arrested at the NSB headquarters in The Hague, and his appeals for clemency were rejected by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. On 7 May 1946, he was executed by firing squad.