At the end of November 1940, all Jewish civil servants in the Netherlands were dismissed from their jobs. The Jews who worked for the government, the police, or the courts, as well as the Jewish teachers all lost their positions. Their dismissal had been ordered by the Nazis.
One month earlier, all Dutch civil servants had had to sign a Declaration of Aryan Origin. This declaration was used to indicate whether or not they were Jewish. That way, their superiors knew who to fire. Almost all civil servants signed the declaration.
Some non-Jews protested against the dismissals. On 26 November 1940, Professor Rudolph Cleveringa delivered a speech in which he protested against the dismissal of his colleagues at Leiden University. The speech was so impressive that within a few days, it was secretly distributed throughout the Netherlands. Cleveringa was subsequently imprisoned for eight months at the Oranjehotel (the German prison in Scheveningen). He inspired many students to commit acts of resistance. Some schools went on strike and a number of churches raised their protests as well. But the measure was not reversed.
