Gregorij Rožman Cleric

Gregorij Rožman (9 March 1883 – 16 November 1959) was a Slovenian Roman Catholic prelate. Between 1930 and 1959, he served as bishop of the Diocese of Ljubljana. He may be best-remembered for his controversial role during World War II. Rožman was an ardent anti-communist and opposed the Liberation Front of the Slovene People and the partisan forces because they were led by the Communist party. He established relations with both the fascist and Nazi occupying powers, issued proclamations of support for the occupying authorities, and supported armed collaborationist forces organized by the fascist and Nazi occupiers. The Yugoslav Communist government convicted him in absentia in August 1946 of treason for collaborating with the Nazis against the Yugoslav resistance. In 2009, his conviction was annulled on procedural grounds.During the Communist period, official historiography portrayed Rožman as a Nazi collaborator. Historians, including Jozo Tomasevich and Gregor Kranjc have described Rožman as a collaborator, based on his proclamations and actions during the war. The Slovene branch of the Roman Catholic Church has been actively campaigning for his rehabilitation, claiming his actions were motivated solely to minimize the number of Slovenian casualties during the war.