"PORTRAIT OF ANTON ADRIAAN MUSSERT" "In Europe, World War II lasted from 1939 until 1945." "There were a total of 13 million victims." "At the centre of this battle was National Socialist Germany." "Instigator was the German Führer, Adolf Hitler." "We want this Empire to exist through the next millennia." "We should be happy to know that the future belongs to us." "Hitler wasn't alone in Europe." "He also had followers in the Netherlands." "That's why we are the black soldiers... who have gone to battle under Anton Mussert." "That's why we are the black soldiers... because we fight for freedom and for justice." "We fight against Marxism... the Red Front and Liberalism." "Because our people should live in freedom again." "That's our task and holy right." "All you Dutch citizens, hold out your hand to each other." "The WA marches for our People and our Fatherland." "All you Dutch citizens, hold out your hand to each other." "The WA marches..." "In 1943, hundreds of thousands of Dutch were members of the NSB... the National Socialist Movement." "13,000 men were part of the WA, the paramilitary branch of the NSB." "30,000 Dutch joined the SS, the Schutzstaffel or Defence Corps." "20,000 of those went to the eastern front and 10,000 of them perished." "In 1950, a dictionary explains the word "traitor" using the sample phrase..." ""Mussert and his clique were traitors"." "Under the "scum" keyword, the dictionary says..." ""the riffraff, the worst:" "NSB members were the scum of the nation"." "And under "refuse" it says: "the WA and the National Guard consisted of refuse"." "The leader of the NSB, Anton Mussert... is accused of high treason after the war and is executed on May 7th 1946." "Who was Anton Mussert?" "Mussert was born in Werkendam." "His father was the principal of the junior school, a very patriotic man." "Since he had a special telephone connection, he was the first one... in his village to hear about the birth of Princess Juliana." "Just before his execution, in 1946, Mussert said..." "My father was my best friend." "He moulded me." "His extremely monarchist father sends him to a high school in Gorinchem." "TEACHER" "When I joined the school in 1910 as a teacher, he was in the third year." "The principal informed me that his father... that he was repeating that year." "Third year or second year..." "I'm not sure because I wasn't there yet." "And the father was absolutely convinced that his son was a genius." "Because he was good in arithmetic." "And he was fairly good in science, but... but there were other subjects too and if you fail too many of them... you don't pass." "That's the rule." "And the father was furious that his talented son... had to repeat the year." "He was going to talk to the Inspector." "The Inspector asked for the boy's grades... and said he could understand why he had to repeat the year." "CLASSMATE OF MUSSERT" "We were in the fifth year and the draw for military service was coming up." "And I once said I hoped I wouldn't be drawn." "Mussert immediately became aggressive and said I wasn't a good patriot." "You'll understand that for a 17 year old boy, that wasn't what it was about." "I just wanted to get more time to finish the rest of my studies." "Originally, he wanted to be an officer in the army." "He took the exam at Military School and I'm sure that he must have... passed, because he was a good student." "But I seem to remember... you must understand it's a long time ago... that they didn't accept him because he was shorter than the minimum." "That's incorrect." "He was rejected because of an eye defect." "In 1918, Mussert received his engineer's degree in Delft." "He lived very close to me and we often walked home after classes." "When Mussert was executed as a traitor, in 1946..." "Professor Schermerhorn was prime minister of the Netherlands." "One month before his death, Mussert wrote to Schermerhorn..." ""Destiny wanted that from two childhood friends..."" ""one becomes prime minister and the other one is shot as a traitor."" ""Truly a topic for a great drama."" "Schermerhorn says about the Mussert of 1914..." "On the one hand he was fiery." "He was strongly anti-German in those days." "And he read the Telegraaf newspaper in those days... which I minded less back then than I do now." "He wasn't a member of anything, neither politically nor religiously." "As a student, he was what one calls "obscure"." "That was a bit of a strange characteristic all his life." "You can't say he was a trouble maker." "It wasn't as bad as that." "But he was a man who..." "I wouldn't say he was a rebel..." "He already often felt hard done by." "In 1917, Mussert married." "He was 23 years old." "His wife was 41, 18 years older." "She's his aunt, Maria Witlam, a sister of his mother's." "That's a mystery." "I've thought about it a lot." "EX NSB FARMER LEADER" "And I thought: he's a real engineer." "He only asks himself one thing:" "what can I do for the Netherlands?" "Roskam's still a farmer, in Lunteren." "During the war, he was the NSB's farmer leader." "He had been a member since 1932." "He was a member of the Reformed Protestant Church... and using the slogan "Farmer's Land in Farmer's Hand"... he was a passionate advocate of the Blood and Soil ideology." "When he was around 20, he had some kind of kidney disease... and his 18 year older aunt nursed him." "Now I like to look at people in a positive light." "Could this have been what he thought or felt..." ""If I'm going to sacrifice my life for the Netherlands..."" ""I won't have time for a family."" ""I would have liked to have five children, but I can't do that."" ""If I stay with my aunt, I won't have an entire household..."" ""and then I'll have all the time I need to give myself to the Netherlands."" "Since 1921, Mussert worked at the Provincial Water Department of Utrecht." "First as Engineer and later as Senior Engineer/Director." "His design for the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal got the attention of his colleagues." "By adding a split near Vreewijk, he connected Amsterdam... with the Lek river, without using weirs, solving a years old problem." "At the same time, he developed a reputation as a designer of roads." "The roads he designed were extra wide, for the standards of those days." "ENGINEER H.A.M. DIBBITS" "This road is a design of his." "It was a step forward in those days." "I'd judge it favourably." "Mussert also published some articles." "I haven't read many of his publications." "I did, however, read his brochure about highways." ""Make Room For The Future"." "In this brochure from 1933, Mussert advocates a large highway network." "All Dutch highways will have to be built as viaducts... as is already the case in cities such as Tokyo, London and Rotterdam." "I was tasked to evaluate this brochure in the context of... the highways we were currently working on." "The outcome was that the plan was too expensive... and that we would be committed too much to lateral construction profiles." "You wouldn't be able to just put a service station somewhere." "You'd have had to start building." "And when I look at how we construct our highways these days... how wide they are..." "I think it was a good idea not to follow Mussert's plan." "What we do now is cheaper and more flexible." "Has was still a real engineer back then." "And he was a talented engineer until the end." "But... he had a certain awareness, that I always shared with him... that our technical work is important, but that the focus of our lives... should be elsewhere." "He was very convinced of that." "So he started focussing on other things... the moment he moved to Utrecht." "In 1925, plans were made in the Netherlands to dig a canal... from Antwerp to the Moerdijk." "Mussert thought this was an economic threat to Rotterdam and the Netherlands." "He thought the plan lacked national awareness." "He established an action group that protested against the canal plans." "The action group against the Belgian treaty, was established... before the treaty was discussed in the Lower House." "20 years later, in 1945, this former fellow member... of Mussert's action group was the public prosecutor... who accused him of high treason." "He demanded the death penalty." "After the treaty had been accepted by the Lower House... the action group went all out... and organised, among other things, a student action against the treaty." "It was at the end of my time as a student and..." "I took charge of that entire action." "Mussert and his action committee were already active and... he was secretary of the committee." "What impression did Mussert make on you in those years?" "He came across as a very energetic and patriotic man." "That applied to the entire action committee... because they all honestly thought that the Belgian treaty... was a very important affair that was damaging to the country." "They spent a lot of time and effort to try and stop it." "In 1927, the Upper House rejected the canal plans." "Mussert had achieved his aim." "The threat to Dutch independence had been thwarted, thanks to him and others." "The time Mussert spent in that committee... has it been of importance for his later political development?" "I think it's even been of decisive importance." "At first, he was no more than an engineer." "But then he got involved in the matter of the Belgian treaty." "Since he was very energetic and was surrounded by people... who were dedicated to this case... he became the secretary and a pivotal figure." "As a result, he did important political work..." "And when the treaty was rejected, it was suddenly over." "That probably bothered him, because he was an energetic man." "He probably looked for something else he could do." "One engineer had shown more stamina than the entire Dutch government." "That's the impression Mussert made on those... who felt the Netherlands, in these grey, uninspired first years of the 30s... needed a new national identity fast." "The mythology of the "Dutch race" was translated into the NSB... that was established by Mussert, in 1931." "The clear ideals of the NSB appealed to a dormant need for... order, discipline, uniformity and national awareness." "The NSB principle "National interest overrides group interest"..." ""and group interest overrides personal interest..."" "implied action." "The principles of discipline and order appealed so much to Dutch police... that they often protected the NSB during anti-fascist demonstrations." "EX NSB FARMER LEADER" "In the beginning, I'd have to go with Mussert when he would hold a lecture." "We arrived in Groningen and he said "Can we get our own room upstairs?"" "So I made sure of that." "When we got upstairs, he said..." "When people come, tell them the leader's not ready yet... and that you'll let them know." "These were provincial people." "I wondered what was going to happen now because I didn't know him that well yet." "He sat down on his knees, put his hand on the seat and... started praying for five minutes." "The character of the public events of the NSB was copied from... the semi-religious mysticism that Hitler's NSDAP surrounded itself with." "Except it was more Dutch in nature." "Mussert felt like a national prophet, a visionary." "Called upon by God to preach love of the Fatherland in the Netherlands." "Fellow Germanics and countrymen..." "What unites us is this..." "We have all been longing for a Fatherland... that we can respect." "We have longed for a Dutch people that we can be proud of... that we will defend with our love, our dedication... our labour and our blood." "Together, comrades, we shall build that Fatherland and that People." "That is why we are looking, together... for that road that no one can find on their own... but that we'll be able to find together." "CLASSMATE OF MUSSERT" "The political system of the NSB appealed to him." "I have a letter by a school friend of ours." "He wrote it to me on January 2nd, 1933." "And he wrote..." "Recently, I read an interview by a reporter from our paper with Mussert." "It said: "The leader was sitting behind his desk with an... energetic, strong-willed look in his eyes." "And my correspondent added between brackets..." "He must have been sitting because he's so short when he's standing." "He replied to the fascist greeting by his bodyguard with the same gesture." "And my correspondent added:" ""You can see he's in his element..."" ""and has finally reached his ideal of playing soldiers"." "Mussert was looking for clues and signs, in the present and the past." "In the past, he finds them in Heiligerlee... where the "Dutch race" had once fought before." "Counts Adolf and Lodewijk Van Nassau and hundreds sons of the Dutch race... who fought here in Heiligerlee for the freedom of the nation." "On behalf of 30,000 NSB members I thank you respectfully... for what you have sacrificed for our People and Fatherland." "And I add the assurance that we shall do all that's within our power... to fight for the honour, the independence and the existence... of the nation." "Give salute!" "The Battle of Heiligerlee, the start of the Eighty Years' War... was fought 400 years earlier, in 1568, by two mercenary armies... under Spanish and Dutch command." "He fought for justice." "Mrs Rost van Tonningen had been a militant NSB member since 1936... and leader of the Dutch Hitler Jugend." "In 1941, she married Mussert's big rival Rost van Tonningen." "It was an ostentatious SS wedding." "He fought for justice." "He wanted to make the Dutch people aware of its strength and achievements." "He wanted to unite them into one nation and he propagated that." "In those days, there was a lot of poverty and unemployment." "He thought his movement should make a start... because there was no real alternative to solve the problems." "He looked towards Italy, in which he was very interested." "Italy had a fascist regime." "Before that it was very chaotic." "As the fascist regime grew stronger, chaos decreased and justice improved." "Mussert saw that as very positive." "He wanted to propagate the same combination of ideas in the Netherlands." "What were Mussert's ambitions, do you think?" "To convince the people of their ideas." "That was his ambition." "He wanted to improve the standard of living and combat poverty." "And to provide people with work." "Mussert had been fired by the Water Department over his political ideas." "He was now a professional politician." "In 1935, when he visited the Dutch East Indies, 8% of the Dutch population... supported the NSB." "This made it the fifth party of the country." "But in the East Indies, the NSB was the biggest of all parties." "NSB principles such as "Dutch race" and leadership... left no doubt about who should continue to rule the East Indies: the Dutch." "Mussert was received twice, with remarkable ceremony... by Governor-General De Jonge." "A highlight of Mussert's visit was honouring the memory of Van Heutsz." "Until May 1940, the colonial Dutch were the main sponsors of the NSB." "Fellow Dutchmen, each year can be the last... of the independent existence of our people." "The East Indies are practically undefended... and if the Indies will be lost..." "I can't repeat it often enough... the independent existence of this people will have become impossible." "Then we would have to become part of Germany... and we may hold our neighbours in high esteem... but that is the last thing a proud Dutchman wants." "Mussert was 40 years old now." "It is the eve of a decisive event... a meeting with a man who would change his life." "In 1936, Mussert visited Berlin." "On November 16th, at 12.30 pm, he met Adolf Hitler for the first time." "In his diary, he described Hitler as "strong, muscular, hard but a prophet"." "prophet" "Mussert was originally very enthusiastic about Mussolini." "And then he met Hitler." "But after he had seen Hitler several times... he recognised Hitler as his superior, whom he could learn from." "And who provided him with several guidelines he had to follow." "Hitler now had dictatorial power in Germany." "His opponents were in concentration camps." "In 1934, he enacted the race laws." "Since then, a distinction was made between Aryan and non-Aryan." "Genealogists showed the difference using skulls." "These are Aryan people." "He is Aryan too." "They are so called Übermenschen." "Non-Aryan are Pushkin, Tolstoy, Marx and all the Jews." "They are so-called Untermenschen." "Their books were burnt and they lost all their rights." "Mussert wasn't very keen on the German measures but... on October 22nd 1938, he announced that Jews could no longer join the NSB." "The German expansion effort was about to start." "On March 7th 1936, German troops invaded the Rhineland." "Two years later, on March 12th 1938, Austria was incorporated." "On October 1st 1938, at the conference table in Munich..." "Hitler managed to get his hands on Sudetenland." "Less than half a year later, entire Czechoslovakia... was part of the German Empire." "Another half a year later, Hitler began a war of conquest against Poland." "The Second World War had started." "Mussert continued to see Hitler as Europe's saviour." "The fact that he, Mussert, will assume power in the Netherlands... after an unavoidable German invasion, does not constitute treason to him... but a prophetic ambition in the context of a fascist future." "After all the preparations had been finished... the German army attacked via Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg." "Dutch soldiers fought back hard." "Air support brought relief." "Military targets in the heavily defended city of Rotterdam... were bombed." "Rotterdam's defence could not withstand the use of this modern weaponry." "The Dutch negotiator surrendered the city." "A city that was burning in seven spots." "The irresponsible Dutch government was to blame for this." "They worked with the British plutocracy and called upon the Dutch to resist." "This same government fled to London, thus abandoning their people." "The German military, however, had to hit hard and without mercy... to eliminate England's fighter jets in time." "The NSB organised its yearly convention." "Members arrived in large numbers and Mussert... had organised an impressive ceremony... half religious, half mystical." "Mussert presented the NSB to the occupier." "He was convinced that Hitler would set the Netherlands free... after the war against England would have been won... even though Hitler never gave him any guarantees to this effect." "He offered the clock they sounded in Lunteren... to Göring, so it could be made into a canon." "Grant that I may remain brave... your servant for always... and may defeat the tyranny which pierces my heart." "We hope and trust, comrades and fellow- countrymen, that we shall succeed... in opening the eyes of the hundreds of thousands... who have not yet understood... the sound that can be heard in all of Europe." "It is the Dutch people..." "Germanic to the bottom of their soul... that are knocking on Hitler's door... so they will be given a position in a new Europe under Hitler and Mussolini... that corresponds with their ambition and their ability." "Now I shall ask you questions that you will have to answer yourself." "The first question is: do you consider yourself at war with Germany, yes or no?" "No!" "Good!" "Second question." "Do you consider yourself an ally of England, yes or no?" "No!" "Good!" "After the German victory, he expected the Netherlands... to become part of a federation." "A European federation... in which the Netherlands could play a part... and could be autonomous on its own territory." "But directives came, of course, from the country that had sacrificed the most." "Mussert understood that, even though he hoped that the Netherlands... would also play a leading role after the victory." "Hitler received Mussert in the new chancellery in Berlin." "The NSB has just celebrated its tenth anniversary." "Mussert wrote that "to achieve Dutch independence after the war..."" ""I have to take Hitler's side unconditionally."" "He also continued to have total faith in Hitler's prophetic mission." "Mussert said the following about the German dictator." ""Adolf Hitler, the Führer..."" ""who I firmly believe has been sent by God..."" ""to save Europe, that was about to disappear in the abyss."" "However, Mussert has detected a grave danger, the SS." "The SS, the Totenkopf Division." "Mussert had been fearing it for a while." "He considered Himmler, the leader of the SS, as his personal enemy." "He understood this man did not want an independent Netherlands." "Not even under the NSB and Mussert." "As a result, Himmler's visit was a bitter comedy." "Himmler saw the Netherlands as a German province." "Mussert considered Himmler the evil genius behind Nazism." "To him, Hitler was a divine prophet, but Himmler was the Devil's emissary." "In his diary, Mussert wrote:" ""It is terrible"." "Himmler's political views were implemented in the Netherlands... by Rost van Tonningen, the man on the left." "My husband was the President of the Dutch Bank." "As a result, he had a lot of direct power." "Especially compared to Mussert who was the Leader of the Dutch people." "Which represents relatively less power." "As a minor figure, he was afraid of my husband's superiority." "And this caused problems." "Mussert saw in Rost the same satanic characteristics as in Himmler." "He feared Rost would want to take over his NSB, with help of the SS." "In letters between Himmler and Rauter we read that..." ""Mussert is a little bourgeois, through and through Dutch"." ""We can't work with Mussert."" ""It would be best of we destroyed the NSB."" "It was during the war, during the most heated period." "His secretary called and said the Leader wanted to talk to me." "She asked if I was home." "I said:" "Let him come over." "45 minutes later, he arrived." "He wanted to go for a walk." "He liked to talk during a walk." "He told me he hadn't slept all night." "He said: "I've made plans to make sure the Germans won't overpower us"." ""And then I thought it would be great if I could achieve that."" ""And then it scared me that I wanted to claim that honour."" ""And then I thought I'll go see Roskam."" "He said: "We have to promise each other something"." ""You and me both."" ""If we get to grow old and one of us will say in an interview..."" ""or in a newspaper..."" ""I have achieved that..."" ""then the other one should go straight to him..."" ""I to you and you to me and say:" "'Stop it, you know better than that.'"" ""'It was nothing but divine grace.'"" "On June 22th, the German Wehrmacht defended the Empire and Europe... against the Bolshevik threat." "In 1941, Hitler started his war against Russia." "The advance of the army was marked by terrible cruelties... against the Jewish population of this new German Lebensraum." "Eager to fight Europe's enemy, Bolshevism... many WA men had reported in to fight at the eastern front." "In the occupied countries of Europe, volunteers were recruited to fight... against the "unholy Bolsheviks"." "Mussert contributed." "He thought that by making sacrifices at the eastern front, the Dutch people... could prove that they were worthy of a place in a new Europe." "He also thought this would prevent total annexation by Germany." "On October 11th, the first volunteers left The Hague for the eastern front." "Comrades, you are about to leave the Fatherland... and to go east, responding to my appeal to you." "This is an act of great importance." "For your personal life, for the life of your relatives... and for the future of the Dutch people." "That is why you are assembled here at this historical location." "You will be going as idealists." "You will be going as National Socialist fighters, because you realise... that National Socialism and Fascism are the future of the new Europe." "I know you will do your duty and we are grateful." "We shall show you the gratitude you will be entitled to... when you will arrive back home in the Fatherland." "Comrades, for our People and our Fatherland!" "Hurray!" "EX SOLDIER AT THE EASTERN FRONT" "I've known this man for many years and I've also spoken to him." "He made a very good impression on me." "I saw him as the man who could end our misery." "The misery we in the Netherlands lived in back then." "This misery wasn't bearable for anybody." "I thought Mussert was a good and decent man." "I've always felt that way." "I heeded the appeal to go fight at the eastern front." "I didn't do it with pleasure, but I wanted to do my duty for this man." "After his execution, his death... proved to me that I had been following a man who was worth it... and who would have brought a lot of good to the Netherlands had he stayed alive." "I swear to God this holy oath... that during the fight against Bolshevism..." "I will unconditionally obey Adolf Hitler... supreme commander of the German Wehrmacht." "EX SOLDIER AT THE EASTERN FRONT" "As a result of the civil service ban, he resigned, so he could fully... dedicate himself to the cause of the Dutch people." "And he maintained this position until the war started in the Netherlands." "During the occupation, he was entirely dedicated to the Dutch people." "So that we could remain independent." "And nevertheless... he helped the National Socialist Germans fight against communism... by calling upon us to join the fight." "And I heeded that call." "Because I thought I had to accept the full consequences... of the membership and of the National Socialist ideas." "After the ceremony, the volunteers marched past the Reich Commissioner... the Leader and General Seyffardt." "EX SOLDIER AT THE EASTERN FRONT" "We could either choose for a Netherlands that would disappear forever... and be annexed by Germany." "We were adamantly against that." "That went against everything you felt as a Dutchman." "Or we could aim for a European federation and we believed in that." "In this federation, the Netherlands would keep a certain independence." "And Germany and we had a mutual enemy in Stalinist Bolshevism." "So we knew that if we wanted to achieve something for the Netherlands... we had to show that we were prepared to make a sacrifice." "That's why we took up the arms with a certain enthusiasm." "And we joined the battle on the eastern front." "In 1943, Hitler appointed Anton Mussert Leader of the Dutch people." "Mussert established his shadow cabinet in The Hague." "This is the current Queen's Cabinet." "He ordered the complete restoration of the building." "That is the main thing he was able to achieve." "In reality, his political role in the Netherlands was over." "The Germans considered Mussert an insignificant pawn." "Nevertheless, Mussert will support the Nazis until the last days of the war... even though, outside of his field of vision, the Dutch people... were being terrorised." "The majority of Dutch Jews had been deported to the gas chambers." "Thousands died during the famine of 1944." "It marked an entire generation." "Did Mussert not want to know?" "On May 5th 1945, the entire country was liberated." "The people are very happy." "They love to cheer on these brave guys." "The crowd is huge and enthusiastic." "On May 7th, during the chaos of the first days of the liberation... the armed forces started arresting NSB members." "I AM THE EXECUTIONER" "Mussert's arrest happened as follows." "COMMANDER OF THE ARMED FORCES" "We rang the doorbell and one of his aides opened the door." "We said we were from the armed forces and wanted to talk to Mussert." "I don't think they were surprised." "They accepted it and we wanted to go upstairs." "At the same time, Mussert was coming down the stairs here." "With the dignified attitude he always had." "This already told us how we had to deal with this situation." "After he had joined us and we had told him who we were... he asked us a question that had clearly been on his mind." ""How is the situation outside?"" "What do you mean, outside?" "Well, the people." "I said... it was terrible." "I said: "If they catch you, they'll hang you." "There's so much hatred."" "He pulled a face." "And I added: "That's one of the reasons why we're here"." ""You have to get out of here."" ""If they find out you're here, no one can vouch for your safety."" "He agreed with that without saying anything." "At that point, we had gotten over the biggest hurdle." "When things went well here, I made sure the press were informed." "They arrived and positioned themselves here." "When Mussert was brought down the stairs... he could see all those journalists." "He was furious." "His face became red." ""This is a scandal, this is unacceptable" and all that." "But this was typical for Mussert." "After we said to him... that this was part of his role..." "that this was a historic moment... that it had to be recorded... he straightened his back and accepted it." "He immediately went back to playing his role." "When you look at the pictures taken of this event... he looked triumphant and we looked..." "like we should be happy to be there." "I don't think he thought he'd go to prison." "More like he would get house arrest in a villa or something similar." "He expected to be treated in accordance with his special position." "At least, that was my impression." "And how did he react when he arrived at the jail?" "That was the big unmasking." "And I saw that my impression had been correct." "At that point we couldn't hide anything anymore." "My task had been fulfilled." "I handed him over to the jail." "And that was the unmasking." "In every meaning of the word." "He had to take everything off." "They took the shoelaces out of his shoes." "He had to hand over his braces and his sock suspenders." "And then he became furious." "This affected him much more than the entire arrest." "The fact that he was being treated like a common criminal." "He was protesting:" ""You can't treat me like this!"" ""I'm not some thief!"" "House rules, Mr Mussert." "You know all about rules and discipline." "The NSB leaders are identified at the jail in The Hague." "Mussert was followed by Max Blokzijl." "The identification was conducted by General Kruls... who had just returned from London." "Mussert's trial started on November 27th 1945." "It only took 9 hours." "Mussert was accused of wanting to place the Netherlands under German rule." "He denied." "He based his defence on his struggle against the SS... in the interest of the Dutch people." "He saw himself as a political figure in the courtroom." "He likened himself to Hugo de Groot and Johan de Witt." "He was there to justify himself in front of his judges." "And he pretty much played that role." "Everything went calmly and he defended himself diligently." "He also defended himself in an honest way, from his point of view." "He made the impression of being an honest man." "Not a defeated man but someone who stood for what he had done." "As the leader of the NSB, he was also defending NSB politics." "Mussert's defence was factually correct." "He always worked towards... avoiding annexation by Germany." "His aim was a Germanic federation under German rule." "He wrote five memo's about this to Hitler." "He was always trying to placate the Germans... in order to achieve this." "His main interest was the form German domination would take." "For the Germans themselves, this wasn't relevant at all." "It didn't interest them at all yet." "And they were even less interested in all kinds of opinions of obscure..." "Dutch schemers, whether it was Mussert, Rost Van Tonningen or Feldmeijer." "They weren't interested at all." "They were only interested in the fact that these people would work... in favour of the German war effort." "And in order to achieve anything, these people first had to make sure... that the Germans saw them in a positive light." "To achieve that, they had to support the German war effort." "So the only thing Mussert had done, was support the German war effort." "And aid German domination of the Netherlands." "That's all he had done and for that he was justly condemned to death." "One early May morning in 1946..." "Mussert was executed at the Waalsdorpervlakte in The Hague." "Superficially speaking, it was terrible." "A sacrificial animal had perished." "But there was something deeper and higher at work." "He didn't die as a traitor." "He also didn't die as a disgraced man." "He died in triumph." "What does that mean?" "I'll tell you..." "Anton Adriaan Mussert's triumph... and it's so fantastic and I can't explain or understand it..." "Absolutely not..." "and yet it's true..." "And it's so big that, as a result, we have received a lot of light... and lots of dark things have changed into light." "It's about the following." "His soul is in Eternity and awaits Judgement Day." "Only God is great." "This is museum material." "These days, there is little left to remind us of Mussert and his movement." "Any tangible remains have become pricey collector's items." "An NSB badge: 25 guilders." "An eastern front medal: 40 guilders." "Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera." "They are the half decomposed remains of a movement... of which the folklore has disappeared far into the past." "Fellow-countrymen, comrades..." "It is the Dutch people..." "Germanic to the bottom of their soul... that are knocking on Hitler's door... so they will be given a position in a new Europe under Hitler and Mussolini... that corresponds with their ambition and their ability." "The NSB has become part of history as well." "And history judges in shades of grey." "Van Dale dictionary used to say, ten years ago..." ""Mussert and his clique were traitors"." "Instead it now says: "The NSB leaders were convicted as traitors."" "A subtle difference."