The Commemorative Medal of the Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB) for the period May 10-14, 1940 represents a significant artifact from the history of Dutch collaboration during World War II. This bronze, non-wearable medal, measuring 40 millimeters in diameter, was instituted in autumn 1940 by Anton Adriaan Mussert, the leader of the NSB.
The NSB was the principal fascist and National Socialist party in the Netherlands, founded on December 14, 1931, by Anton Mussert and Cornelis van Geelkerken. The movement was ideologically oriented toward German National Socialism and Italian Fascism, though it initially emphasized Dutch nationalist elements. During the 1930s, the NSB temporarily gained popularity, achieving approximately 8 percent of votes in the 1935 provincial elections before its support dramatically declined by 1939.
The dates inscribed on the medal, May 10-14, 1940, mark the critical first days of the German invasion of the Netherlands as part of the Western Campaign. On May 10, 1940, the Wehrmacht launched its attack on the neutral Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg without declaration of war. The Dutch government, viewing the NSB as a potential fifth column, immediately ordered the arrest of leading NSB members and sympathizers. Hundreds of members were preventively interned to forestall possible acts of sabotage or support for the German invaders.
The obverse of the medal displays the Wolfsangel (wolf's hook) before a swastika, with the inscription “Lotsverbondenheid 10 - 14. Mei 1940” (Destiny's Bond May 10-14, 1940). The Wolfsangel was a symbol used by various National Socialist organizations, originally representing a medieval sign. In NSB symbolism, it represented the supposed connection between Germanic peoples.
The reverse bears the programmatic inscription: “Dietschers en Duitschers verbonden in de Toekomst - Saamgedreven door het lot - Vereend in Gevaar” (Dutch and Germans united in the Future - Driven together by fate - United in Danger). The term “Dietschers” refers to the idea of a Greater Dutch or Greater Germanic people and was part of NSB ideology that propagated racial and cultural kinship between the Dutch and Germans.
Following the German occupation of the Netherlands, which ended with capitulation on May 15, 1940, Mussert initially hoped to play a leading role in administering the occupied country. However, the German occupiers under Reichskommissar Arthur Seyß-Inquart primarily used the NSB as a tool of their occupation policy without granting Mussert the power he desired. The NSB was declared the only permitted political party but remained under strict German control.
The institution of this medal in autumn 1940 served several propagandistic purposes. It was intended to honor NSB members arrested during the invasion and portray their internment by the Dutch government as unjust persecution. Simultaneously, it propagated the ideological connection between the NSB and National Socialist Germany. The medal was an instrument for strengthening cohesion within the movement and justifying collaboration with the German occupiers.
As a non-wearable medal, this piece was primarily conceived as a commemorative and collectible object rather than a military decoration in the strict sense. Such medals were typically produced in limited editions and awarded to selected individuals who had been arrested during the specified period or had served the movement in a special capacity.
After the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945, the NSB was banned and its members held accountable. Anton Mussert was sentenced to death for high treason in December 1945 and executed on May 7, 1946. Tens of thousands of NSB members were interned, tried, or restricted in their civil rights during the postwar period. Collaboration with the German occupiers remained a traumatic and controversial chapter of Dutch history.
Today, such objects are important historical sources for understanding collaboration movements during World War II. They document the propaganda, symbolism, and self-representation of fascist movements in occupied territories and serve historical research and education about this dark period of European history.
