Bishop Clemens von Galen: “Against Nazi Euthanasia”

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Bishop Clemens von Galen: "Against Nazi Euthanasia"
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Abstract

In 1941, Bishop Clemens von Galen delivered three sermons in which he spoke out against the Nazi regime in Germany under Adolf Hitler. The sermons earned him the nickname “Lion of Münster.” The sermons were published and distributed illegally, and in producing the sermons, Galen put his life at risk. Presented here is an excerpt from his sermon of August 3, 1941, in which he openly condemned the euthanasia policy of the regime, a policy that led to the deaths— murders, actually— of tens of thousands of people with various sorts of physical disabilities and mental disorders, including Down syndrome, schizophrenia, mental retardation, and others. Galen based his condemnation on the biblical prohibition against killing. The killings were carried out under an official program authorized by Hitler in 1939, and although the program was officially suspended in 1941, the killings continued until the end of World War II.

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