Gregorij Rožman

Infobox Bishop
infobox_width = 100px
honorific-prefix =
name = Gregorij Rožman
honorific-suffix =
bishop_of = Ljubljana
caption = Bishop Gregorij Rožman
province =
diocese =
see =
enthroned = 17 May 1930
ended = 16 November 1959
predecessor = Anton Bonaventura Jeglič
successor = Anton Vovk
ordination =
consecration =
other_post =
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birth_date = birth date|df=yes|1883|3|9
birthplace = Dolintschitschach, Austria
death_date = death date and age|df=yes|1959|11|16|1883|3|9
deathplace = Cleveland, Ohio
buried =
nationality =
religion =
residence =
parents =
spouse =
children =
occupation =
profession =
alma_mater =

Gregorij Rožman (alternative spellings: Gregory, Gregori, Gregorio, Grigorij Rozman) (1883-1959) was a Bishop of Ljubljana, Slovenia (1930-1945). His prominent role in the Second World War has made him a controversial figure in Slovenia. While the Catholic Church in Slovenia and other historians, journalists and politicians maintain he was a pragmatist who sought the best for the people of Slovenia in circumstances of utmost difficulty and danger, Yugoslav-based and other reports lead many people to believe that he was a leading collaborator with Italian and German occupying forces.

He was born into an ethnic Slovene family in 1883 in Dolinčiče, (Austrian: "Dolintschitschach") near Feistritz ob Bleiburg in Austria. He became a priest (1907) and a Doctor of Theology (1912). From 1919 he was a lecturer in Canon Law at the Theological Faculty in Ljubljana, and was made Bishop of Ljubljana in 1930 [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/brozm.html Bishop Gregorio Rožman [Catholic-Hierarchy ] ] [ [http://books.google.be/books?id=ORSMBFwjAKcC&pg=PA191&dq=Bishop+Gregorij+Rozman&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U13tYEO8vT4XBBlba8Bh7BoF37UAw#PPA191,M1 The Former Yugoslavia's Diverse Peoples by Matjaž Klemenčič, Mitja Žagar] ] .

War time collaboration

Rožman is known to have believed in an alleged "Jewish conspiracy", [ In a pastoral letter published on 30 November 1943 Rožman wrote "only by this courageous fighting and industrious work for God, for the people and the Fatherland will we, under the leadership of Germany, assure our existence and better future in the fight against the Jewish conspiracy."
"NŠAL, Tekoči arhiv, št. 3465, 30.11.1943" (the Diocesan Archive of Ljubljana, the Running Archive, no. 3465, 30 November 1943); for war crimes [Count 3(C) MURDER AND ILL-TREATMENT OF PRISONERS OF WAR: “In Yugoslavia the German Command and the occupying authorities in the person of the chief officials of the Police, the SS troops (Police Lieutenant General Rosener) and the Divisional Group Command (General Kubler and others) in the period 1941-43 ordered the shooting of prisoners of war”. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/count3.htm.] .

Yugoslavia was invaded by the Wehrmacht on 6 April 1941; following their swift victory, Yugoslavia was partitioned by the Axis powers, with Ljubljana and much of the rest of the territory of modern

:"Excellency! A decree has been published today, via which the Slovenian territory occupied by the Italian army has been incorporated into Italy. When I consider this, I thank your Excellency ... I express absolute loyalty and ask God to bless you and our aspirations for the welfare of our people" ["Ljubljanski škofijski list", (the Ljubljana Diocesan Gazette) 4-6, 31.7.1941; Tamara Griesser Pečar, France Martin Dolinar, 'Rožmanov Proces' p 52 Ljubljana 1996. See: [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:L5-o9SDXCpIJ:www.rkc.si/aktualno/D000806.html+Pastirsko+pismo+o+nevarnosti+brezbo%C5%BEnega+komunizma&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2 RKC (Aktualno)] ] .

He celebrated Masses for the Italian troops, provided Italian-speaking confessionals and organized a Mass of thanksgiving to Mussolini on 22 May 1941 at Ljubljana Cathedral [http://www.kid-pina.si/~dzmp/kolaboracionizem.htm Kolaboracionizem In Klerofasizem ] ] . Rožman referred to the Italians as powers "which God has established" with whom Church representatives will "be pleased to co-operate in peace" [He had visited Italian High Commissioner Emilio Grazioli on Sunday 20 April 1941, two weeks after the Wehrmacht invasion, and, explaining his reasons for this in "Ljubljanski škofijski list" (the Ljubljana Diocesan Gazette) published on 31 July 1941 Rožman wrote that he had expressed to Grazioli the following::"the gratitude of the clergy and of believers that the military has occupied the region peacefully, kept order and allowed the people freedom, especially in a religious sense; regarding the co-operation of Church representatives with the new Fascist Italy, for we Catholics God’s word is decisive, which says 'Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no authority except God and those which God has established' (Romans 13:1). Via this standpoint we acknowledge the higher power that is above us and we will, following our consciences, be pleased to co-operate to the honourable and eternal benefit of the people, among whom God’s care for priests is asked" .:"We are grateful to God that He has inspired in the leader of Greater Italy the thoughts of generous justice and considerate wisdom with which His Majesty … suggested the foundation of the Ljubljana region"."Ljubljanski škofijski list", 4-6, 31.7.1941; quoted by Tamara Griesser Pečar, France Martin Dolinar, 'Rožmanov Proces' p 50,52 Ljubljana 1996. "Slovenia 1945" by John Corsellis, Marcus Ferrar. Available online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=MyyGYKgUk94C&pg=PA246&lpg=PA246&dq=%22We+are+thankful+to+god,+who+inspired+in+the+leader+of+Greater+Italy&source=web&ots=QSAoemCc7Q&sig=XGwu8Y2w1Nwq43UImDH3y7h-EFE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result "Slovenia 1945" by John Corsellis, Marcus Ferrar] ] .

The September 1942 memo

In 1942, he began to attempt to turn his city and ethnic Slovene capital from 'Red Ljubljana' into 'White Ljubljana', in other words, a place more sympathetic to the "Crusade against Bolshevism" [http://www.drustvo-zak.si/ilegalcki_spremna_beseda.pdf] . Rožman played a "leadership/co-ordination role" [ [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:6WA6al-YnmEJ:www.kid-pina.si/~dzmp/kolaboracionizem.htm+Kolaboracionizem+In+Klerofasizem&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1 Kolaboracionizem in Klerofašizem] ] in various anti-Partisan collaborationist militias; the "Vaške Straze" (Village Guards) and "Slovenska legija" (Slovenian Legion), and in March 1942, with Marko Natlačen and Leon Rupnik, created the "Slovenska Zaveza" (Slovene Alliance) [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=ZcUNELPsQQsC&pg=RA7-PA274&lpg=RA7-PA274&dq=%22The+declared+intention+of+the+Alliance+and+its+armed+wing&source=web&ots=9HFJpSC5SD&sig=DHDddh26dy8NqhpXTeMzr98Oiqw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Fascism's European Empire by Davide Rodogno] ] . On 12 September 1942 Rožman sent a memorandum to Italian General Mario Robotti, commander of the Italian 11th Army Corps, in which he offered detailed suggestions on how best to fight the Partisans, who were at that stage emerging as the principal resistance to the occupation:

After the capitulation of Italy (September 1943), Ljubljana was occupied by the Germans. Rožman recommended to Friedrich Rainer, Nazi Gauleiter of Carinthia that Slovenian fascist Leon Rupnik should become the president of the new provincial government [Tone Ferenc, The German Occupier in Ljubljana p211; Jozo Tomašević, War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941-1945 p518, available online at [http://books.google.com/books?id=fqUSGevFe5MC&pg=RA1-PA520&lpg=RA1-PA520&dq=Gregorij+Ro%C5%BEman&source=web&ots=-M9XirjaUh&sig=_xfW_ODy5MCkVWVtFFAPA6Ck7Ak&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PRA1-PA518,M1 Google books, Jožo Tomašević, War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945] ] , and Rupnik was then duly appointed on 22 September 1943. Rožman issued a pastoral letter on 30 November 1943, urging his faithful to fight for a Slovenia under German hegemony. He claimed that

:“only by this courageous fighting and industrious work for God, for the people and the Fatherland will we, under the leadership of Germany, assure our existence and better future in the fight against the Jewish conspiracy” [ "NŠAL, Tekoči arhiv, št. 3465, 30.11.1943" (the Diocesan Archive of Ljubljana, the Running Archive, no. 3465, 30 November 1943); Friedländer, Saul. 1966. "Pius XII and the Third Reich: A Documentation" p.106. New York: Alfred A Knopf. ISBN 0-374-92930-0; see also [http://billcork.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/pope-pius-xii-and-the-jews/ Pope Pius XII and the Jews] ] .

He was frequently seen at formal and informal events chatting with SS General Erwin Rösener [Three photos of Leon Rupnik, SS General Erwin Rösener and Rožman. The first is outside the central stadium on what's now Dunajska cesta in Ljubljana, probably on 20 April 1944 or 30 January 1945 when the Domobranci swore oaths of allegiance to Hitler: http://muceniskapot.nuovaalabarda.org/galleria-slo-7.php] [Rupnik, Rösener and Rožman at Ljubljana Central Stadium on the occasion of the Domobranci oath-taking ceremony on 20 April 1944. http://image.24ur.com/media/images///600xX/Oct2007//60055453.jpg] [Rožman in conversation with Rupnik and Rösener. Date and place unknown. http://shrani.si/f/3f/xM/3SGacidX/rozman2.jpg] , the commander of German forces in the province. From 1943 until the end of the war, Rožman was closely associated with the anti-Partisan, anti-communist and anti-Semitic [A "Domobranci" pamphlet entitled ‘What is Bolshevism?’ concluded with the words “This Jewish Bolshevism that, [even] in Churchill's saying, is "worse than death", is served by OF (the Partisans) with its bandit groups”. See
http://users.volja.net/gremlin/slike/kaj%20je%20boljsevizem%203.html
The same pamphlet also quoted Rožman on the subject of communism and atheism. See
http://users.volja.net/gremlin/slike/kaj%20je%20boljsevizem2.html] [Ljenko Urbančič, a central "Domobranci" figure was notorious for his anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi propaganda in newspapers and on radio. His themes were invariably the same: communist Jews controlled Britain and the US, who were using ‘negroes’ in their war against Hitler's New Europe. In typical style, broadcasting on Radio Ljubljana in June 1944 Urbančič said:
“All those Anglophiles – that word is actually wrong, as they are not Anglophiles, but fruitcakes – must bear in mind that our anti-Communist battle would be all in vain if we were to make such a fatal mistake and take today’s Anglo-American invasion troops for anything other than what they are, a Jewish-communist tool”.
"... it is not important that I speak to you as the youngest Slovene journalist . . . [what is important is that] the truth which is older than I, which is centuries old [be proclaimed] . That is, the truth about all the vile intentions of the chosen people, the 15 million Israeli race roaming the world". He went on "We went to war for Jewish interests, for the benefit of international communism", and the responsibility rested "with those 'allies', the British, Soviets and Masons, and above all, and I stress the words above all, the Jews - sworn enemies of Christianity and all the non-Jewish world".
Later in the broadcast he concluded with a tirade against the Chinese, Indian and African troops fighting against the Reich on European soil, and then with a rallying cry to his listeners to:
“. . . follow our leader, the experienced and homeland-loving General Rupnik, about whom we can say that God himself has sent him to us . . . It is our duty to repeat over and over again, to exhaustion, that there is only one way, the way of General Rupnik”.
"Jutro" 29 June 1944. See
http://www2.arnes.si/~ljgozzb1/javnost17.htm
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/HansArt.nsf/V3Key/LC19970924041
[http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/ardent-nazi-took-liberal-to-extremes/2006/03/03/1141191845008.html?page=2 "Sydney Morning Herald" obituaries, Lyenko Urbanchich] ] "Domobranci", the Slovenian Home Guard forces formed by order of SS General Rösener on 24 September 1943 [In his speech at the ceremony where the "Domobranci" swore allegiance to Hitler on 20 April 1944 Rösener said "On 24 September 1943 I issued the command for the foundation of "Slovensko domobranstvo". From the few troops of the so-called White Guard legionnaires, as per my order, "Slovensko domobranstvo" has grown. With the help of the Greater German Reich, we have trained, clothed and armed you. Today you have taken an oath, that you will, together with the German Army, the military SS and police fight for the freedom of all of Europe”. "Slovenec" newspaper, 21 April 1944. See
http://www2.arnes.si/~ljgozzb1/javnost17.htm] . Rožman performed a mass religiously 'cleansing' the "Domobranci" prior to them swearing a collective oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler at Ljubljana central stadium on 20 April 1944 (see article on Slovenian Home Guard). In his Christmas message to the "Domobranci" at the end of 1944 Rožman wrote “You are defending your nation against wolves and jackals (…) who are poisoning souls with the foreign mentality of atheistic communism” ["Škof Rožman in kontinuiteta" (Bishop Rožman and continuity), author Ivan Jan, Ljubljana 1998, p. 313.] .On 30 January 1945 the "Domobranci" once again swore loyalty to Hitler; Rožman stood on the pedestal between Leon Rupnik and Erwin Rösener as they paraded past after the ceremony [Two photos of Rupnik, Rožman and Rösener on the stand in front of the Ursuline Church in Ljubljana at the Domobranci oath-taking ceremony on 30 January 1945:
http://www.250kb.de/u/060426/j/efb134ec.jpg
[http://www.ericfrattini.com/top_secret/EL%20ARZOBISPO%20PRONAZI%20GREGORY%20ROZMAN%20PASA%20REVISTA%20A%20UNA%20UNIDAD%20DE%20LA%20SS.jpgRupnik, Rožman and Rösener, 30 January 1945] ] .

At the end of the war, he fled to the British zone of Austria [Ladislav Bevc, an eyewitness wrote that "Despite the British roadblocks around Lienz, the refugees generally could find a way to circumvent them and filter into Anras, a mountain village to which Bishop Rožman had removed himself. The bishop still had his car which was driven by his chaplain". See http://www.dangel.net/SLOVENIA/MyJourneyToFreedom.html] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=fqUSGevFe5MC&pg=RA1-PA558&lpg=RA1-PA558&dq=rozman+ljubljana+left+their+posts&source=web&ots=-MaRdni9Oi&sig=wXhyorurU6FTxi2vQtt4jnDkatQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Google books, Jožo Tomašević, War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945] ] . Rožman was put on trial in absentia by the military court of the 4th Yugoslav Army in Ljubljana for treason and other crimes; convicted and sentenced in absentia to 18 years imprisonment on 30 August 1946 [NYT 31 Aug 1946:3:1. see photocopy of report at http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=25192] .

After the war

Various leading Catholic figures, politicians and even clergy from Yugoslavia were indicted for war crimes by the Communists but managed to escape. These included Bishop Ivan Šarić of Sarajevo, the alleged ‘hangman of the Serbs’ (in Tito Communist propaganda) who had set about forcibly converting the local Orthodox population to Byzantine Catholicism. Rožman and Šarić were reported by the CIA to be living together at the Bishop’s Palace at Klagenfurt, Austria, in October 1946 [ [http://www.jasenovac-info.com/cd/biblioteka/pavelicpapers/cia/cia0001.html Jasenovac - Donja Gradina: Industry of Death 1941-45 ] ] . Rožman began to appear in American and British intelligence reports as being involved in ratlines that spirited wanted Nazi and collaborationist fugitives out of Europe [MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Stephen Dorril, The Free Press, New York, 2000, pp. 864-907. ISBN 0-7432-0379-8. pp 330, 332, 335, 339, 341-2, 350, 434] .Declassified documents also show that Bishop Rožman was funneling money to South America from a Swiss bank account set up "to aid refugees of the Catholic religion." U.S. military attaché Davis Harrington reported on 9 March 1948 [Harrington CIC memo of 9 March 1948, 'Activity of Bishops Rozman and Saric´, released under US FoIA; Airgram from Berne to State Department, USNA, Myron Taylor Papers, Box 21] that "Rožman is going to Bern to take care of these finances. The money is in a Swiss bank, and he plans to have most of it sent through to Italy and from there sent to the Ustashas in Argentina" [Susan Headden, Dana Hawkins, and Jason Vest, A Vow of Silence, U.S. News (March 30, 1998) available online at http://www.reformation.org/usnews.html]

“In Berne, Rožman’s Ustashi friends were engaged in wholesale fraud, using the black market to convert the gold into dollars, and later, into Austrian schillings. ‘Aid to the refugees is accounted for at the official rate of exchange for dollars,’ the American officers noted, adding that ‘malpractices have been carried on (officially, the dollar is worth 10 schillings; on the black market, 100 to 150). According to reliable information: ‘Rožman is going to Berne to take care of these finances. The money is in a Swiss bank, and he plans to have most of it sent through to Italy and from there to the Ustaše in [the] Argentine.’” [Unholy Trinity The Vatican, the Nazis, and the Swiss Banks by John Loftus and Mark Aarons 1998, St. Martin's Press ISBN:031218199x.; pp. 132-133.]

“A short time later Rožman duly arrived in Berne, accompanied by Bishop Ivan Šarić, the ‘hangman’ of Sarajevo. By the end of May 1948, Rožman had apparently carried out this money laundering operation for the Ustashi, for he visited the U.S. Consulate in Zurich and was given a ‘non-quota immigration visa as a minister of religion.’ He then traveled to the United States and settled in Cleveland, Ohio. The circle was now almost complete. Pavelić’s stolen ‘treasure’ had been tracked down through close monitoring of the movements and activities of the quisling Bishop of Ljubljana...” [Ibid.; p. 133.] [ [http://ftrsummary.blogspot.com/2005/05/ftr-508-vatican-rag-part-ii-der.html For The Record Summary Posts ] ]

After settling permanently in Cleveland, Ohio, Rožman is recorded as having visited Argentina on three occasions, in 1949, 1952 and 1956 [http://fsdm.mojforum.si/fsdm-post-126.html Poglej temo - nadškof dr. Gregorij Rožman :: Forum slovenske desničarske mladine ] ] . He died in Cleveland on 16 November 1959. Rožman was said to have been protected by the CIA and exonerated by NATO secret service lawyers. It is also said that Rožman had tried to facilitate a separate peace of Germany with the western Allies to continue the war against the Red Army and Partisans in the east and southeast.

Rehabilitation and lawsuits

In recent years, a campaign has been mounted by the Roman Catholic Church and others to rehabilitate the memory of Gregorij Rožman [ [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:L5-o9SDXCpIJ:www.rkc.si/aktualno/D000806.html+Pastirsko+pismo+o+nevarnosti+brezbo%C5%BEnega+komunizma&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2 RKC (Aktualno) ] ] . An official request for his rehabilitation was made by Slovenian Public Prosecutor Anton Drobnič prior to the visit to Slovenia by Pope John Paul II in 1999 [Vecernje novosti, February 13, 1996] . On the basis, among other things, that he should have had the right to defend himself, Rožman's 1946 conviction (by Communist Yugoslav judges) has been overturned by the Slovenian Supreme Court (11 October 2007) and his case was sent to the court of first instance for retrial, a decision welcomed by the Church as an act of historical and legal justice [ [http://www.mediascrape.com/News/ViewNewsItem.aspx?newsItemId=33838&rootVideoPanelType=1 Mediascrape | War trial judgement released ] ] [ [http://www.sloveniatimes.com/en/inside.cp2?uid=FC70D49D-E92C-BD42-9706-A2F248A84026&linkid=news&cid=1BB540C4-EA25-0226-785F-74436DBF408E The Slovenia Times - Supreme Court Repeals Conviction of Bishop Rožman - Politics - Daily News ] ] [http://www.sta.si/vest.php?s=f&id=1199586&pr=1] .

There are various court cases pending regarding the post-war activities of Rožman and others, including Naumovic v. Swiss National Bank [ [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/266.html Vatican asks court, U.S. government to dismiss lawsuit over Nazi gold ] ] , Levy v CIA and Alperin v Vatican Bank [ [http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com/ Vatican Bank Claims ] ] . See also Class action suit against the Vatican Bank and others.

ee also

* Collaboration during World War II
* Ante Pavelić
* Ustaše
* Leon Rupnik
* Slovenian Home Guard
* Vatican Bank
* Ratlines
* Yugoslavia during the Second World War
* Lake Toplitz
* Krunoslav Draganovic
* Class action suit against the Vatican Bank and others

References

External links

*
* [http://www.bc-alter.net/dfriesen/luemap.html The Lue Map and a Nazi Connection]
* [http://hitlernews.cloudworth.com/nazi-gold-lake-toplitz.php Nazi Gold and Art -- from Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News]
* [http://www.snb.ch/e/publikationen/hist_analysen/1996/content_gold_roth.html Swiss gold holdings and transactions during WW2]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/nazis/ PBS Frontline: Nazi Gold]
* [http://www.uek.ch/en/ Report of the Swiss Bergier Commission]
* [http://www.state.gov/www/policy_remarks/1998/980602_eizenstat_nazigld.html Nazi Gold Report (Stuart Eizenstat, Under Secretary for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, on-the-record briefing upon release of U.S. and Allied Wartime and Postwar Relations and Negotiations With Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey on Looted Gold and German External Assets and U.S. Concerns About the Fate of the Wartime Ustasha Treasury, Washington, DC, June 2, 1998)]
* [http://www.reformation.org/usnews.html ("US News and World Report") "A vow of silence. Did gold stolen by Croatian fascists reach the Vatican?"] 30 March 1998
* [http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com Lawsuit against Vatican Bank to recover Second World War era gold]
* [http://www.mladina.si/tednik/200742/clanek/slo-tema--borut_mekina/ Opravičilo kolaboracije (Justifying collaboration)]
* [http://www.mladina.si/tednik/200741/clanek/uvo-uvodnik--grega_repovz/ Natlačen, Rožman, Bernik]