Austrian chancellor at the Anschluss and Reichskommissar of the occupied Netherlands from 1940 to 1945
Born in Stannern, a German-speaking village near Iglau in Moravia, he fought in the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War and became a successful lawyer in Vienna. In February 1938, under Hitler’s threats, Chancellor Schuschnigg made him interior minister; when Schuschnigg resigned in the face of a German invasion in March, he was chancellor from 11 to 13 March. Admitted to the Nazi Party retroactively that year, he was Reichsstatthalter of the “Ostmark” until April 1939. After serving as Hans Frank’s deputy in occupied Poland, he became Reichskommissar of the occupied Netherlands in May 1940; under his rule Dutch civilians were subjected to forced labour, hostages were shot and most Dutch Jews were deported and murdered. Convicted at Nuremberg of war crimes and crimes against humanity, he was hanged in 1946.
Also known as: Arthur Seyß-Inquart
Activities and affiliations
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1938
Austria state institutionsInterior Minister and Chancellor
Government and administration -
1938–1940
Germany state institutionsReichsstatthalter of the Ostmark; Deputy Governor General
Government and administration -
1938–1945
Government and administration
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1940–1945
Germany state institutionsReichskommissar for the NetherlandsMain
Government and administration