Marius Hugh Louis Wilhelm "Max" Blokzijl (20 December 1884 – 16 March 1946) was a Dutch singer and journalist. After the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz, bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces ...

, Blokzijl was sentenced to death and executed for his

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

Life

Born in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

, one of his grandmothers was

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish. He trained as a journalist before taking employment with the liberal ''

Algemeen Handelsblad ''Algemeen Handelsblad'' was a Dutch daily newspaper founded in 1828 by stockbroker . Originally liberal, economically focused, and Amsterdam-based, the paper merged in 1970 with the ''Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant'' to form ''NRC Handelsblad''. H ...

'' 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 Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

correspondent.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester P ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', 1990, p. 37 Blokzijl settled in Berlin in 1918, working for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

press until 1940, while also serving as president of the ''Niederländischer Bund in Deutschland''. Although based outside the Netherlands, Blokzijl, who had become a convinced

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

, joined the

National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political organisation that eventually became a political party. As a parliamentary party participating in legislative elections, the NSB had some suc ...

(NSB) in 1935. He returned to his homeland following the German invasion and became the

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

chief for the new NSB puppet regime. In February 1941, the NSB forcibly replaced

Hendrikus Colijn Hendrikus "Hendrik" Colijn (22 June 1869 – 18 September 1944) was a Dutch politician of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP; now defunct and merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal or CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands fro ...

as editor of the Protestant newspaper ''De Standaard'' with Blokzijl, who held the title of General Secretary for Press Affairs for the party. In fact Blokzijl's role was much greater than his title implied as he was actually effective head of the press in the Netherlands. He also broadcast pro-Nazi shows on Radio Hilversum which were particularly noted for the strength of their

anti-British sentiment Anti-British sentiment is the prejudice against, persecution of, discrimination against, fear of, dislike of, or hatred against the British Government, British people, or the culture of the United Kingdom. Argentina Historically, anti- ...

. On 16 March 1946 Blokzijl became the first Dutch collaborator to be executed, dying at

Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...

.Littlejohn, ''The Patriotic Traitors'', p. 127

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blokzijl, Max 1884 births 1946 deaths Dutch people of Jewish descent Dutch radio presenters Executed Dutch collaborators with Nazi Germany 20th-century Dutch criminals People from Leeuwarden People executed by the Netherlands by firing squad 20th-century Dutch male singers Dutch Nazi propagandists Nazi propaganda radio Race-related controversies in radio Controversies in the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch journalists Dutch emigrants to Germany Journalists from Berlin National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands members