he called for accepting German leadership in Europe immediately after the Royal House had fled to England and left him behind. His view was influenced by the tremendous show of force that the German blitzkrieg had shown and the relative weakness of the Allied forces. Soon thereafter, he tried to organize political resistance but was arrested in June 1941 and taken to Berlin for interrogation. The Germans tried to have him confess that he had conspired with the British to invade the Netherlands to serve as an excuse for the German invasion. Late in the war, according to a grandson, after the tide had turned against the Germans, Heinrich Himmler wanted to keep Colijn available as a possible intermediary with the British, as he had done earlier for Wilhelm II. The very fact that the Gestapo allowed the visit suggests that Himmler was already making contingency plans in case of a German loss. In March 1943, Colijn was put under house arrest in a remote mountain hotel in Ilmenau, where he died on 18 September 1944. Decorations References External links Official Dr. H. (Hendrik) Colijn Parlement & Politiek Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal 1869 births 1944 deaths Anti-Revolutionary Party politicians Chairmen of the Anti-Revolutionary Party Directors of Shell plc Dutch chief executives in the oil industry Dutch civil servants Dutch corporate directors Dutch magazine editors Dutch people of World War II Dutch prisoners of war in World War II Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie Reformed Churches Christians from the Netherlands Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Third Class of the Military Order of William Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Recipients of the Order of the House of Orange Ministers of Colonial Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Defence of the Netherlands Ministers of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Finance of the Netherlands Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Ministers of Transport and Water Management of the Netherlands Ministers of State (Netherlands) Ministers of the Navy of the Netherlands Ministers of War of the Netherlands Members of the Senate (Netherlands) Members of the House of Representatives (Netherlands) Leaders of the Anti-Revolutionary Party People from Haarlemmermeer Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Prisoners who died in German detention World War II political leaders World War II prisoners of war held by Germany 19th-century Dutch