Willem Aantjes

Willem Aantjes
Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives
In office 19 December 1977 – 7 November 1978
Preceded by	Dries van Agt
Succeeded by	Ruud Lubbers
Leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party
In office 7 March 1973 – 25 May 1977
Preceded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Succeeded by	Party Disbanded
Parliamentary leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives
In office 7 March 1973 – 25 May 1977
Preceded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Succeeded by	Party Disbanded
In office 22 June 1971 – 30 November 1972
Preceded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Succeeded by	Barend Biesheuvel
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 26 May 1959 – 7 November 1978
Personal details
Born	Willem Aantjes (1923-01-16)16 January 1923 Bleskensgraaf, Netherlands
Died	Utrecht, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Political party	Christian Democratic Appeal (from 1980)
Other political affiliations	Anti-Revolutionary Party (before 1980)
Spouse(s)	Gisela Braun (m. 1953–1995; divorced) Ineke Ludikhuize (m. 2000–2015; his death)
Children	2 sons and 1 daughter
Residence	Utrecht, Netherlands
Alma mater	Utrecht University (Master of Laws)
Occupation	Politician Civil servant Trade unionist
Religion	Protestant Church in the Netherlands

Willem "Wim" Aantjes (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləm ˈʋɪm ˈaːncəs]; 16 January 1923 – 22 October 2015) was a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 26 May 1959 until 7 November 1978, first as a member for the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) and from 1977 as a dual member for the CDA.

He served as the Parliamentary leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives from 22 June 1971 until 30 November 1972, during the period when Barend Biesheuvel, the Party leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party, served as Prime Minister. He served again as the Parliamentary leader from 19 December 1977 until 7 November 1978 when he resigned both his positions.

Biography

Early life

Willem Aantjes was born on 16 January 1923 in Bleskensgraaf in the Netherlands Province of South Holland. His father, Klaas Aantjes', was alderman in Bleskensgraaf and from 1 October 1950 to 14 January 1951 mayor of Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht. His brother Jan Aantjes was also mayor of several municipalities. Aantjes attended the Marnix Gymnasium in Rotterdam.

On 8 February 1940, Aantjes started to work for the postal mail company PTT. On 19 July 1943, he was selected for Arbeitseinsatz and sent to Güstrow to deliver mail. Aantjes would later say he had not refused selection, because the board of PTT would otherwise have sent a married employee in his place. In September 1944, Aantjes wanted to return to the Netherlands. Other Dutch forced laborers told him that if one joined the Germaanse-SS, one could ask for an assignment in the Netherlands and be trained as a police officer on the Avegoor estate near Ellecom. Aantjes decided he would follow this route, and enlisted in the SS. To his dismay, he was assigned to Landstorm Nederland, a division of the Waffen-SS and he received a uniform. After being transferred to Hoogeveen, Aantjes refused to wear the uniform and to enlist in Landstorm Nederland. He was arrested and imprisoned in Port Natal near Assen, an abandoned psychiatric hospital that had been turned into a work camp by the Nazis.

After the war ended in May 1945, Aantjes enrolled at the University of Utrecht to study law. He never mentioned his enlisting in the Germaanse-SS to anyone.

Politics

File:Willem Aantjes (ARP) aan het woord - NL-HaNA 2.24.01.05 0 918-3640 WM030.jpg

Wim Aantjes as a Member of the House of Representatives in 1965.

File:Persconferentie van de fractieleiders van de vier overgebleven regeringspartijen, v.l.n.r., Aantjes (ARP), Wiegel (VVD) - NL-HaNA 2.24.01.05 0 925-7585 WM176.jpg

Wim Aantjes (left) as the Parliamentary leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives in 1972.

Aantjes became a member of the House of Representatives for the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) in 1959. He was offered the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in 1967. He turned it down, because several party members knew enough about his war past to object to his candidacy in public. On 6 July 1971, Aantjes became leader of the ARP group.

Aantjes played an important part in the fusion of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), the Christian Historical Union (CHU) and the Catholic People's Party (KVP) into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). His address to the first joint congress of the three parties, which was held in 1975, has become known as the "Sermon on the Mount". After the Dutch general election of 1977, Aantjes was offered the Ministry of Justice in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Dries van Agt. Again, Aantjes refused, and used his continuing involvement in the development of the CDA party as reason for his refusal. He then became the first leader of the CDA party in the House of Representatives on 20 December 1977.

World War II controversy and resignation

On 6 November 1978, Loe de Jong of the Dutch Institute for War Documentation announced in a press conference that Aantjes had signed up for the Waffen-SS in World War II, and that he had been a camp guard in Port Natal. Aantjes, at that time leader of the CDA party in the House of Representatives, resigned his position as parliamentary party leader and member of the House of Representatives the next day. Later, it turned out that De Jong had confused the Waffen SS with the Germaansche SS. Aantjes argued he had joined the Germaansche SS because he believed that this was the only legal way to escape from forced labor in Güstrow. While De Jong assumed that Aantjes had joined the Germaansche SS out of mere opportunism or sympathy for the Nazi ideology or the Dutch collaborating fascist National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands Aantjes said this was not the case.

Decorations

• Order of the Netherlands Lion
  • Knight (29 April 1970)

External links

Official

• Mr. W. (Wim) Aantjes Parlement & Politiek (Dutch)

Party political offices
Preceded by Barend Biesheuvel	Party leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party 1973–1977	Succeeded by Party Disbanded
Preceded by Barend Biesheuvel	Parliamentary leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives 1971–1972	Succeeded by Barend Biesheuvel
Preceded by Barend Biesheuvel	Parliamentary leader of the Anti-Revolutionary Party in the House of Representatives 1973–1977	Succeeded by Party Disbanded
Preceded by Dries van Agt	Parliamentary leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal in the House of Representatives 1977–1978	Succeeded by Ruud Lubbers