The “Trustee”

The Reich Commissioner speaks.
April 13, 1944
Finally, the Reich Commissioner also spoke. He also paid tribute to the soldiers of the Viking Division. You have faced fate head-on, he said, because you knew and know what is involved. I rejoice in your return. You and I know what life demands of us. Fate has dictated that we must place this country under the protection of the German armed forces. As representative of the Führer and the German Reich, I want to tell you that I and my comrades consider ourselves only as “trustees” for you. When you return, we want to hand over this fate into your hands. You are the steely core of convinced National Socialists, forged at the front, who can bear this responsibility. Your oath obliges you to preserve the freedom of the people of the Netherlands within the framework of the greater Germanic community. At the end of his speech, the Reich Commissioner wished the fighters a good fight and ultimate victory.

Seyss-Inquart said: We consider ourselves
To be “trustees” of this land
We will not forever hold
The administration in our hands.

One day we will hand over
The destiny of this Reich,
When I read that, I say: By my life,
Seyss, you are right.

You will not be ruling for much longer,
Not much longer will your reign of terror last
Very soon, fate will change,
For the wind has already shifted.

And you truly no longer have the choice,
To whom you will then hand it over,
You will lose life and power,
The hour you have feared for so long

Comes closer, Seyss, and even closer,
The hour is coming when you will pay,
Seyss-Inquart, Austria’s traitor,
Brought here by Hitler.

Managed with your unfaithful hands
You have stifled this country and its rights,
You and those who conspired with you,
You have robbed and murdered.

We have endured long enough
The torment of your rule,
Very soon, you will be defeated,
And the Netherlands will be free again.