Mussert, Anton Adrian

Born May 11, 1894, in Werkendam; died May 7, 1946, in The Hague. Leader of the National Socialist Movement, a fascist party in the Netherlands, from its inception in 1931.

Mussert was a hydraulic engineer by profession. During the fascist German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–45), he placed the party and its small military units at the service of Hitler’s Germany. In December 1942, Hitler recognized him as the “leader (leider) of the Dutch people.” Mussert announced plans to create a Greater Netherlands that would comprise the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France. After the Netherlands was liberated in May 1945, Mussert was arrested. He was executed for “treason and collaboration with the enemy.”