Arthur Seyss-Inquart

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Arthur Seyss-Inquart
Seyss-Inquart c. 1940s
Chancellor of Austria
In office 11 March 1938 – 13 March 1938
President	Wilhelm Miklas
Vice-Chancellor	Edmund Glaise-Horstenau
Preceded by	Kurt Schuschnigg
Succeeded by	Position abolished (Karl Renner in 1945)
Reichsstatthalter of Austria
In office 15 March 1938 – 1 May 1939
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Josef Bürckel
Deputy Governor-General of the General Government of Occupied Poland
In office 12 October 1939 – 18 May 1940
Governor-General	Hans Frank
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Josef Bühler
Reichskommissar of the Netherlands
In office 29 May 1940 – 5 May 1945
Preceded by	Alexander von Falkenhausen (Military Governor)
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Additional positions
April–May 1945	Reichsminister of Foreign Affairs
1939–1945	Reichsminister without portfolio
1938–1945	Member of the Greater German Reichstag
March 1938	Minister of Defence of Austria
February–March 1938	Minister of the Interior of Austria
1937–1938	State Councillor of Austria
Personal details
Born	(1892-07-22)22 July 1892 Stannern, Austria-Hungary
Died	16 October 1946(1946-10-16) (aged 54) Nuremberg, Germany
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Political party	Independent (1933–1938) Nazi Party (1938–1945)
Spouse	Gertrud Maschka ​ (m. 1916)​
Children	3
Cabinet	Seyss-Inquart
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Austria-Hungary
Branch/service	Austro-Hungarian Army
Years of service	1914–1918
Battles/wars	World War I
Criminal conviction
Criminal status	Executed
Conviction(s)	Crimes of aggression War crimes Crimes against humanity
Trial	Nuremberg trials
Criminal penalty	Death

Arthur Seyss-Inquart (German: Seyß-Inquart [ˈartuːɐ̯ saɪs ˈɪŋkvart] ^ⓘ; 22 July 1892 – 16 October 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days before the Anschluss. His positions in Nazi Germany included deputy governor to Hans Frank in the General Government of Occupied Poland, and Reich commissioner for the German-occupied Netherlands. In the latter role, he shared responsibility for the deportation of Dutch Jews and the shooting of hostages.^[1]

During World War I, Seyss-Inquart fought for the Austro-Hungarian Army with distinction. After the war he became a successful lawyer, and went on to join the governments of Chancellors Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt Schuschnigg. In 1938, Schuschnigg resigned in the face of a German invasion, and Seyss-Inquart was appointed his successor. The newly installed Nazis proceeded to transfer power to Germany, and Austria subsequently became the German province of Ostmark, with Seyss-Inquart as its governor (Reichsstatthalter).

During World War II, Seyss-Inquart served briefly as the Deputy Governor General in occupied Poland and, following the fall of the Low Countries in 1940, he was appointed Reichskommissar of the occupied Netherlands. He was a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer. He instituted a reign of terror, with Dutch civilians subjected to forced labour and the vast majority of Dutch Jews deported and murdered.^[2]

At the Nuremberg trials, Seyss-Inquart was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, sentenced to death, and executed by hanging.^[3][4]