Extract C – Dutch SS-man
Like most of the Dutch population, John presumed the Netherlands would be neutral in another European war…. There is little question that [when the Germans invaded] John was arrested and interned [by] the Dutch…. [His sister] Miek clearly recalled he was arrested at Siewers Fotohandel. She said municipal records were used to identify and round up German nationals. The foreign-national work permits held by the local police could certainly have identified where he was… (Chapter 9 – THE GERMAN INVASION AND THE FIVE-DAY WAR)
John needed a job and a means of surviving under the new regime. He also needed to remain undetected as a German who had ignored his call-up notices. And he wanted to avoid the military or, at least, the front lines. An apparent answer to his dilemma presented itself in a roundabout way. He ran into Klein, a friend, who was a member of the NSB [the largest Dutch fascist party]. John told me Klein was someone he could trust. When Klein learned of John’s predicament, he apparently introduced him to a German army officer…. The officer… told him there was no organization to find draft dodgers. The army had neither the time nor the interest, he said, adding that John probably would not be discovered. He suggested the best thing John could do to remain in the Netherlands and stay out of combat was to volunteer as a Dutchman to become a policeman for the occupation authorities, which would require training in Germany. John said this was “good advice, although it did not turn out that way,” [because the police organization was the Sicherheitsdeinst (SD), the SS’s security and intelligence service]. (Chapter 10 – ADAPTING TO CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES)
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Extract D – Dachau’s Impossible Choice
John and Constant were held for three to four weeks. We know this because Reichsführer Himmler, who made frequent visits to Dachau, spoke to the prisoners on August 21 [1940] and broke the impasse. John gave me a detailed account of this meeting and what Himmler said. His account matches what In ’t Veld says about this event. John said Himmler and his entourage arrived for a three-day visit and that the Reichsführer addressed them on the last day.
Himmler spoke on race and German successes. He said he would give them a second chance. If they agreed to sign up for the duration of the war, they would be rewarded with land in the east for farming. He also provided a second option: sign up for two years, after which they would be free to do whatever was available to them, including re-enlist. Questions were permitted. Several of the Dutch recruits protested they had contracts for police training, which would be followed by police service in the Netherlands. Himmler seemed prepared for this. He granted a third option. Complete the necessary training, then return to the Netherlands for some sort of vague police work under the auspices of the SS. When they sought clarification, the Reichsführer gave them a fourth and final choice—outright release—which was really no choice at all.
“You can go back to Holland”—this is John paraphrasing Himmler—“but you will probably end up back in a concentration camp because you’re obviously anti-German.” Emphasizing the point, Himmler added: “You’ll be watched very carefully.” He also told them they “would never have a proper job in government service.”
With his checkered employment history, this point may have influenced John. He took the third option. He felt it was his only choice. An additional factor loomed large in his decision. A postwar prosecution document quotes John: “Since I am there as a Dutch person [and not as a German citizen] . . . and did not want this [falsehood] to be made public, I took the SS course. I was afraid that I would be called to do D [German] military duty.” (Chapter 11 – SS TRAINING)