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Removal of Jews from Dutch Government and Public Bureaucracies

On August 28, 1940, the Germans (orally) instructed the Dutch Ministry of the Interior to purge the government and public bureaucracy of Jews — as the Nazis did in Germany in early April 1933—or, as they put it, “to refrain from appointments and promotions of Jews.” The order was kept classified. The secretaries-general of the Dutch government ministries (who constituted an acting government of sorts after the legal government fled to England), after discussing the matter several times, protested against the German decision but agreed to implement it de facto . After this, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior adopted measures to oust the Jews. The following document is a circular distributed on September 30 to the government ministries communicating in this matter. On October 3, a further provision was attached to this document: all officials in the public administration must declare their “Aryan origin.” On the basis of this attestation, known as the “Aryanism statement,” Jews were expelled from all echelons of the government bureaucracy.

Ministry of the Interior

Re: Enforcement of the Fourth Regulation concerning special administrative-legal orders.

The Hague, 30 September 1940.

According to the instruction of the Commissar-General for Administration and Justice, I have the honor to inform you the following:

1. In order to enforce the Fourth Regulation No. 108/40 of the Reich-Commissioner for the Dutch occupied territories, concerning special administrative-legal orders, care has to be taken that henceforth Dutch Governmental bodies as well as public bodies will not appoint or accept persons who are fully or partially of Jewish blood for temporary employment on labor terms according to the civil law, and will not promote them.

2. All private bodies, institutes and foundations in which [either] the State, [or] a province, a municipality or any other public body participates, is equal to public bodies.

3. Anybody who is fully or partly of Jewish blood, is henceforth prohibited from being employed in any position in the civil service of any kind, including honorary positions; he will also be prohibited from being employed at public or private schools, except for schools which are attended only by Jewish students. Employment includes re-appointment.

4. In answer to the question who is considered to be of Jewish blood or not, the policy that has to be followed is that people of whom — according to their own knowledge — none of their four grandparents has been a member or temporarily a member of the Jewish community, are not considered to be of Jewish blood.

5. Supplementary to this, the Commissioner-General for Government and Justice has given also notice, that from appointment, acceptance, employment or promotion as mentioned above, should be excluded additionally all persons whose spouses are fully or partially of Jewish blood, and that officials as well as other people who are employed as terms of labor contracts, who marry a person who is fully or partially of Jewish blood, will be released from their position or job immediately.

6. I have the honor to demand from Your Council to immediately communicate the aforementioned to the boards of polders, fen-districts and fen-polders in your province, as well as to the boards of the private bodies, institutes and foundations concerned. Additionally I demand from you to take this into account now and in the future. It has to be recommended, to urge those who are interested in making a statement clarifying if they and their spouses are of Jewish blood according to the definitions of paragraph 4, to do so.

7. The municipal councils were informed directly by me. I sent the Beauftragte ["Supervisor”] of your province directly two copies of this circular.

The Secretary-General
Acting Head of the Ministry of Interior
(signed) Frederiks

To: The Councils of Representatives [Gedeputeerde Staten] of the different provinces

Source: Reproduction in H. Wielek, "De Oorlog die Hitler Won," Amsterdam, 1947, p. 14.

Source: Yad Vashem