A Catholic Critique of National Socialism
ALOIS Karl Hudal (1885-1963) was a German Catholic theologian and bishop in his prime during the rise of National Socialism in Germany. American Reform at Substack has posted about Hudal's important observations on the subject of race: Hudal was an advocate of German nationalism and believed in the need for a reconciliation between Christianity and certain aspects of National Socialism. In 1937, he published Die Grundlagen des Nationalsozialismus (The Foundations of National Socialism), in which he sought to create a bridge between the Catholic Church and the German Reich. Years earlier, in defense of the Church, he played an instrumental role in securing a reproval of several anti-Christian National Socialist ideologues, notably Alfred Rosenberg and Ernst Bergmann. Their works, The Myth of the Twentieth Century and The German National Church, respectively, were condemned by the Holy Office, based on his analysis. His book on National Socialism, making a key distinction between Christian and unchristian strains in the movement, was delivered to Adolf Hitler, bearing the handwritten note of dedication, praising him as “the new Siegfried of German greatness”. This same work would receive an imprimatur from Cardinal Innitzer, an Austrian prelate, in 1937. AR includes an excerpt from the book and it is highly relevant. Bishop Hudal wrote: A solid racial science, a prudent racial care and therefore a racial protection within certain limits is something that is entirely desirable and necessary. But racial research must never become a playground for dilettantism. It would be regrettable if…