Max Blokzijl

Max Blokzijl
Born	Marius Hugh Louis Wilhelm Blokzijl December 20, 1884(1884-12-20) Leeuwarden
Died	March 16, 1946(1946-03-16) (aged 61) Scheveningen
Cause of death	Execution by firing squad
Citizenship	Dutch
Occupation	Journalist
Employer	Algemeen Handelsblad
Political party	National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands

Marius Hugh Louis Wilhelm Blokzijl (20 December 1884-16 March 1946) was a Dutch singer and journalist. During the German occupation of the Netherlands who was executed for his collaboration with Nazi Germany.

Born in Leeuwarden,^[1] he trained as journalist before taking employment with the liberal Algemeen Handelsblad in 1903. Appointed foreign correspondent for the paper in 1908 he remained in this role until 1913 when he was given the role of Berlin correspondent.^[2] Blokzijl settled in Berlin in 1918, working for the German press until 1940, whilst also serving as President of the Niederländischer Bund in Deutschland.^[2]

Although based outside the Netherlands Blokzijl, who had become a convinced Nazi, joined the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) in 1935.^[2] He returned to his homeland following the German invasion and became the propaganda chief for the new NSB puppet regime.^[2] In February 1941 the NSB forcibly replaced Hendrikus Colijn as editor of the Protestant newspaper De Standaard with Blokzijl, who held the title of General Secretary for Press Affairs for the party.^[3] In actual fact Blokzijl's role was much greater than his title implied as he was actually effective head of the press in the Netherlands.^[2] He also broadcast pro-Nazi shows on Radio Hilversum which were particularly noted for the strength of their anti-British sentiment.^[2]

On the 16th March 1946 Blokzijl became the first Dutch collaborator to be executed, dying at Scheveningen.^[4]

References

1. ^ One of his grandmother's was Jewish: www.dbnl.org
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, 1990, p. 37
3. ^ David Littlejohn, The Patriotic Traitors, London: Heinemann, 1972, p. 105
4. ^ Littlejohn, The Patriotic Traitors, p. 127

Persondata
Name	Blokzijl, Max
Alternative names
Short description	Dutch journalist and Nazi collaborator
Date of birth	20 December 1884
Place of birth	Leeuwarden
Date of death	16 March 1946
Place of death	Scheveningen