This manifesto, in the form of a poster, urged the Dutch population to join. Many people felt attracted to the initiative. They saw membership as a protest against the hated NSB (Dutch Nazi Party) and the occupier. Within a week the organization recruited 200,000 members and at its height had as many as 800,000 members. In comparison, the NSB only reached around 100,000 members. The occupier gradually forced the threesome to adopt a path that was more pro-German. This was reason enough for many followers to become disillusioned and in 1941 to turn their back on the union. De Nederlandsche Unie was ultimately banned by the German occupier on 18 December 1941.