Activities in Austria
Seyss-Inquart participated in the last stages of
the Nazi intrigue which preceded the German occupation of Austria,
and was made Chancellor of Austria as a result of German threats of
invasion.
On 12 March 1938 Seyss-Inquart met Hitler at Linz and made a
speech welcoming the German forces and advocating the reunion of
Germany and Austria. On 13 March he obtained the passage of a law
providing that Austria should become a province of Germany and
succeeded Miklas as President of Austria when Miklas resigned rather
than sign the law. Seyss-Inquart's title was changed to Reich
Governor of Austria on 15 March 1933, and on the same day he was
given the title of a general in the SS. He was made a Reich Minister
without Portfolio on 1 May 1939.
On 11 March 1939 he visited the Slovakian Cabinet in Bratislava
and induced them to declare their independence in a way which fitted
in closely with Hitler's offensive against the independence of
Czechoslovakia.
As Reich Governor of Austria, Seyss-Inquart instituted a program
of confiscating Jewish property. Under his regime Jews were forced to
emigrate, were sent to concentration camps, and were subject to
pogroms. At the end of his regime he cooperated with the Security
Police and SD in the deportation of Jews from Austria to the East.
While he was Governor of Austria, political opponents of the Nazis
were sent to concentration camps by the Gestapo, mistreated, and
often killed.
Criminal Activities in Poland and the
Netherlands
In September 1939 Seyss-Inquart was appointed
Chief of Civil Administration of South Poland. On 12 October 1939
Seyss-Inquart was made Deputy Governor General of the General
Government of Poland under Frank. On 18 May 1940 Seyss-Inquart was
appointed Reich Commissioner for Occupied Netherlands. In these
positions he assumed responsibility for governing territory which had
been occupied by aggressive wars and the administration of which was
of vital importance in the aggressive war being waged by Germany.
As Deputy Governor General of the General Government of Poland,
Seyss-Inquart was a supporter of the harsh occupation policies which
were put in effect. In November 1939, while on an inspection tour
through the General Government, Seyss-Inquart stated that Poland was
to be so administered as to exploit its economic resources for the
benefit of Germany. Seyss-Inquart also advocated the persecution of
Jews and was informed of the beginning of the AB action which
involved the murder of many Polish intellectuals.