Colonel Pieter Wilhelmus Scharroo (16 September 1883, The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 - 19 August 1963, The Hague) was the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 commander in charge during the Battle of Rotterdam

Battle of Rotterdam

The Battle of Rotterdam was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of the Netherlands. Fought between 10–14 May 1940, it was a German attempt to seize the Dutch city. It ended in a German victory, following the bombing of Rotterdam.-Prelude:...

. While he was trying to negotiate a ceasefire

Ceasefire

A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...

 with his German counterparts, the Bombing of Rotterdam took place. He was frustrated after the bombing, and refused to continue the negotiations with the German army.
Prior to the Second World War, he had an impressive civil and military career in the Netherlands as well as the Dutch Indies. Scharroo was also a long-time member of the IOC.