• Gemachtigden van den Leider I
• Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging (NSB)

Date of birth:

October 15th, 1887 (Rotterdam/Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands)

Date of death:

November 1st, 1966 (Utrecht/Utrecht, the Netherlands)

Service number:

246 (NSB)

Nationality:

Dutch

Anton van Vessem was born in Rotterdam in 1887. He studied law from 1908 to 1914 and settled in Utrecht as a lawyer. He soon became known as a supporter of the Greater Dutch, 'Dietse' ideology and founded the Dietche Bond in 1917, of which he became secretary. Van Vessem was also known as fiercely anti-German and French.

In the second half of the 1920s, Van Vessem began to take an interest in politics. He met Mussert and, on behalf of the Vrijheidsbond, was a member of the Utrecht city council between 1928 and 1931. After 1931, he also acted as an advisor to Mussert and NSB members regarding legal matters. Van Vessem became a member of the NSB in 1935 and became a member of the Senate for the NSB in 1935. After the German invasion on 10 May 1940, he resigned and left politics for good.

Despite his anti-German views, Van Vessem remained a member of the NSB during the German occupation years and was even appointed 'authorized representative of the Leader for legal affairs'. During the war, Van Vessem provided legal assistance in that role to NSB and non-NSB members who had come into conflict with the German occupier.

Van Vessem enriched himself by appropriating and selling Jewish goods such as houses and stocks. In 1947, he was sentenced in a Utrecht tribunal to 4 years in prison, a fine of 25,000 guilders and a ban on holding office or being a lawyer. After being released in 1948, he was allowed to resume his profession as a lawyer and solicitor eight years later.

Van Vessem died in 1966 in Utrecht.

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• Photo 1: Persdienst der NSB (Public Domain)
• - Nationaal Archief
  - CABR files
  

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