• Gemachtigden van den Leider I
• Gemachtigden van den Leider II

Date of birth:

September 19th, 1891 (Amsterdam/North Holland, The Netherlands)

Date of death:

July 4th, 1967 (Amsterdam/North Holland, The Netherlands)

Service number:

NSB Stamb Nr. 7638

Nationality:

Dutch

Woudenberg was born in Amsterdam in 1891. He is best known for his role as a NSB trade unionist.

Woudenberg was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives between 1937 and 1940 on behalf of the NSB. During the Second World War he took control of the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (NVV), the Roman Catholic Workers' Union (RKWV) and the Christian National Trade Union (CNV). Under his leadership these organisations were disbanded. In their place came the national socialist Dutch Labour Front (NAF), which Woudenberg led. The NAF proved to be a failure and had little influence during the last years of the war. The organisation had difficulty recruiting members and retaining existing members. German organisations actively worked against the NAF.

After the war Woudenberg was investigated by a special public prosecutor. Initially the death penalty was demanded in 1948, but an Amsterdam Special Court sentenced Woudenberg to life imprisonment. The Attorney General found this sentence too severe. According to him, Woudenberg was not personally guilty of treason or fraud. However, he did find that Woudenberg had betrayed the Dutch labor movement by robbing Dutch workers of their organizations. Woudenberg and his associates were also guilty of embezzlement: The sentence in 1947: 20 years in prison.

During his execution, Woudenberg showed remorse and stated that he had joined the NSB because of the impression that the social program of that movement had made on him. After the judge asked him about the "anti-democratic spirit of the movement", Woudenberg replied:

"I just accepted that".

The apparent fraudulent bookkeeping that was done under his administration was also discussed during the trial, to which Woudenberg replied:

"That's not my fault".

Woudenberg further stated that he knew nothing about the German attempts to recruit Dutch NAF workers for the German war machine via the NAF headquarters in Berlin. He showed remorse for his attempts to Nazify Dutch workers.

Woudenberg was released in 1956 and died in 1967 in his hometown of Amsterdam.

Career
1935-1945: Chairman of the National Employees' Association (NWV)
1940-1942: Chairman of the Dutch Federation of Trade Unions (NVV)
1941-1942: Commissioner of the R.K. Workers' Union (RKWV)
1941-1942: Commissioner of the Christian National Trade Union (CNV)
1 May 1942 - 1945: Leader of the Dutch Labour Front (NAF)
3 February 1943 - 1945: Representative [of the Leader] for affairs of the national community (labour front)

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• Photo 1: Collectie NMM (Public Domain)
• - Nationaal Archief
  - Trouw, 25-04-1992
  - De Noord-Ooster, 01-12-1949
  - CABR files
  

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