Seyss-Inquart, Arthur

Seyss-Inquart, Arthur (är'toor zīs'-ing'kvärt) [key], 1892–1946, Austrian National Socialist leader. In Feb., 1938, Chancellor Schuschnigg of Austria was forced by German pressure to appoint him minister of the interior. Seyss-Inquart became chancellor a few hours before German troops entered (Mar. 11) Austria. The Anschluss [union] of Austria and Germany was announced on Mar. 15, and Seyss-Inquart was made governor of Austria. In 1940 he was appointed German high commissioner in the occupied Netherlands, where he ruthlessly exterminated the Dutch Jews and deported many thousands to slave-labor camps. He was convicted as a war criminal and was hanged.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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