Five Brothers and a War

Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB)

By 1935 the party had garnered 8% of the votes in provincial elections. While initially not anti-Semitic (some of its leaders were Jewish) it became anti-Semitic in 1936 under the influence of Rost van Tonningen, who had the support of Germany’s Nazi Party. This led to a decrease in support from the populace, which resulted in only getting 4% of the votes in the 1937 and 1939 elections. Remember that Holland had 11 provinces up to 1986 when the new polders formed from the Zuider Zee/IJselmeer became the twelfth province, Flevoland. The drop in popularity was nationwide, with each of Hollands 11 provinces recording drops:

Result 1935 (seats)

Result 1939 (seats)

Province

Drenthe

4

3

Friesland

1

0

Gelderland

5

2

Groningen

4

2

Limburg

5

2

North Brabant

2

1

North Holland

7

4

Overijssel

3

2

nazi germany Utrecht Zeeland

4

1

2

1

South Holland

7

3

When Germany invaded Holland on May 10, 1940, the NSB initially urged total Dutch neutrality. In the first days of the war, hundreds of NSBers (as they were called in Holland) were arrested. Of course, the Germans overran Holland within days, and the NSBers were immediately released, and all other political parties were made illegal. NSB members were the only ones to be given government management jobs. All appointed mayors were members of the NSB. The ranks of the NSB grew to over 100,000.

Five Brothers and a War

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