In 1934 , Bishop Galen began to attack the racial ideology of the Nazi regime , partly poking fun at it , partly critiquing its ideological basis as presented by the Nazi ideologist Alfred Rosenberg . He declared it unacceptable to argue that Jewish authorship of the Old Testament diminished its authority , or that morality and virtue were in any way derived from the perceived usefulness of a particular race . In January 1934 , he criticized Nazi racial policy in a sermon and , in subsequent homilies , equated unquestioning loyalty to the Reich with " slavery " . He spoke against Hitler 's theory of the purity of German blood . Bishop Galen also derided the neo-pagan theories of Rosenberg in '' The Myth of the Twentieth Century '' as perhaps no more than " an occasion for laughter in the educated world " , but warned that Rosenberg 's " immense importance lies in the acceptance of his basic notions as the authentic philosophy of National Socialism and in his almost unlimited power in the field of German education . Herr Rosenberg must be taken seriously if the German situation is to be understood . " In retaliation , two senior SS officers visited Galen to pressure him into endorsing Rosenberg 's doctrines publicly , threatening the confiscation of Church property and an anti-Catholic propaganda campaign . One of them was the future SS General Jürgen Stroop , who later recalled , " Bishop von Galen was a great gentleman , a true aristocrat , a Renaissance prince of the Church . He welcomed us politely but with reserve . " Galen began by commending Stroop 's mother for her devout Catholicism , then categorically refused to accept or praise Rosenberg 's doctrines of euthanizing or forcibly sterilizing the disabled . He denounced the Nazis for trying to introduce Germanic neo-paganism into his diocese . He scoffed at marriage ceremonies and funerals conducted before altars dedicated to Wotan , surprising Stroop , who had attended such a ceremony only days before . Galen closed by assuring the officers that the Church would remain loyal to the state in all lawful matters . He expressed his deep love for Germany and reminded them that he had been the first bishop to publicly acknowledge the new regime . In Stroop 's view , Galen 's German patriotism " was tainted by Papist ideals , which have been harmful to Germany for centuries . Besides , the Archbishop 's orders came from outside the Fatherland , a fact which disturbed us . We all know that despite its diverse factions , the Catholic Church is a world community , which sticks together when the chips are down . " In June 1935 he delivered a sermon that connected the heresy of the Anabaptists to the " sins of the Jews " . He told his audience that " whoever does not listen to the Church is a heathen and officially is a sinner " . He described how " the Israelites debased the Savior " , and how people who resisted Jesus as the Christ appeared on the " side of the blinded Jews " . He equated the rejection of Christianity with rejection of worldly authority , leading to anarchy and chaos . He pointed to the Russians also as among those who had not respected God-given authority . Galen did not protest the antisemitic 1935 Nuremberg Laws , or the Kristallnacht pogrom of 1938 . Until his death , he refused to recognize that referring to Jews as " degenerate " , " rejected " , and " lost " or labeling anarchy or liberalism as " Jewish " , in any way aided the Nazi regime or and its racist antisemitism
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Clemens August Graf von Galen