After the capitulation on 15 May 1940, the Netherlands was placed under a civil administration led by Reich Commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart on 29 May 1940.

The Reich Commission was set up to oversee the Dutch civil service. All powers vested in the Dutch government and parliament were transferred to the Reich Commissioner, apart from the supreme military powers, which passed to Wehrmacht Commander-General F.C. Christiansen.

The Dutch bureaucratic machine was left as intact as possible. Seyss-Inquart was supported by four commissioners-general who were in direct contact with the various departments. Various representatives of central organisations of the German Reich were also active in the Netherlands, including O. Bene for the Auswärtige Amt.

• G. Hirschfeld, Nazi Rule and Dutch Collaboration. The Netherlands under German Occupation, 1940-1945 (Oxford/New York/Hamburg 1988) 12-54.