Austrian Traitor Governs Holland

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 183, 3 August 1940, Page 1 (Supplement)

Austrian Traitor Governs Holland

SEYSS-INQUART, the recentlyappointed Reich Commissioner for the occupied territory of the Netherlands Empire, has formally assumed office in The Hague, stated "The Times" on May 30. The usurpation of the civil government of the'territory was staged in the ancient Hall of Knights in" the Binnenhof, where Queen Wilhelmina used to read the Speech from the Throne to the assembled Houses of Parliament at the opening of the new session each year. The effrontery of this outrage was the more offensive since " Prinsjesdag" used to be the day when The Hague and its visitors from all parts of the

country demonstrated their loyalty to the House of Orange, whose reigning representative drove in state, in the famous gold coach, through streets crammed with cheering crowds. As might have been expected, SeyssInqttart's proclamation to the subjugated people contained a mixture of promises and flattery, with a background of ominous German intentions. Austria's Betrayer. This Austrian, who betrayed his own country, promised. to " safeguard the interests of the people of the Netherlands, who will, by offering all co-opera-tion, assure their land and freedom for the future." His very significant explanation of what was to be understood by " co-operation " was that " all interests had to be subordinated to the vital struggle of the German people." He even went so far as to declare, quite frankly, that Dutch economic interests in particular would have to serve the German military effort. The German military command has already' proclaimed a number of decrees concerning offences by the civil population which would be heavily punished. It goes without saying that every action of the German authorities in the occupied area tears another shred from the Dutch Constitution and written law. The new commissioner has also proclaimed himself the highest legal authority in the Netherlands. This, of course, disposes of Parliament. Von Falkenhausen, the German military commander for the occupied territoiy, was present at .the ceremony. He has transferred the highest military authority in the Netherlands to a general of the air force, Christiansen by name, who accepted formally the office of holder of all military sovereign rights in the Netherlands. "Kindly" Fuhrer. Speeches were exchanged by the various German authorities, in which they spoke of the magnanimity of the Fuhrer towards Holland, and their intention to bring peace and happiness to the Dutch people. The ruthless invasion of the Netherlands was explained as " protection " by the German armed forces, which was necessary, they said, because the former bad Dutch Government had lent themselves to the dark plan of the British to use the Netherlands as a jumping board for a " stab in the hear* of the German industrial area." The " protectors' " intentions were only to repair as quickly as possible the damage done, to make " strong, real men" of the Dutch boys, and "happy housewives with large families" of the Dutch girls. Perhaps as a proof of the genuineness of all these promises for the promotion of the restoration of a free and better Holland, the ceremony in the Hall of toiights was concluded with the playing of Wagner's overture to " Rienzi" by the wireless orchestra of Cologne.