Marius Hugh Louis Wilhelm Blokzijl or Max Blokzijl (20 December 1884 – 16 March 1946) was a Dutch singer and journalist. After the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

, Blokzijl was sentenced to death and executed for his

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Life

Born in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

, one of his grandmothers was

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish. He trained as a journalist before taking employment with the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Algemeen Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on 1 ...

'' in 1903. Appointed foreign correspondent for the paper in 1908 he remained in this role until 1913 when he was given the role of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

correspondent.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pr ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', 1990, p. 37 Blokzijl settled in Berlin in 1918, working for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

press until 1940, while also serving as president of the ''Niederländischer Bund in Deutschland''. Although based outside the Netherlands, Blokzijl, who had become a convinced

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

, joined the

National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands ( nl, Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political party that called itself a " movement". As a parliamentary party participating in legisl ...

(NSB) in 1935. He returned to his homeland following the German invasion and became the

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

chief for the new NSB puppet regime. In February 1941, the NSB forcibly replaced

Hendrikus Colijn Hendrikus "Hendrik" Colijn (22 June 1869 – 18 September 1944) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP; now defunct and merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from ...

as editor of the Protestant newspaper ''De Standaard'' with Blokzijl, who held the title of General Secretary for Press Affairs for the party. In fact Blokzijl's role was much greater than his title implied as he was actually effective head of the press in the Netherlands. He also broadcast pro-Nazi shows on Radio Hilversum which were particularly noted for the strength of their

anti-British sentiment Anti-British sentiment is prejudice, persecution, discrimination, fear or hatred against the British Government, British people, or the culture of the United Kingdom. Argentina Anti-British feeling in Argentina originates mainly from tw ...

. On 16 March 1946 Blokzijl became the first Dutch collaborator to be executed, dying at

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

.Littlejohn, ''The Patriotic Traitors'', p. 127

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blokzijl, Max 1884 births 1946 deaths Dutch people of Jewish descent Dutch radio presenters Dutch propagandists Executed Dutch collaborators with Nazi Germany 20th-century Dutch criminals People from Leeuwarden People executed by the Netherlands by firing squad 20th-century Dutch male singers Nazi propagandists Nazi propaganda radio Race-related controversies in radio Controversies in the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch journalists Dutch emigrants to Germany National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands politicians Journalists from Berlin