Politician. He was an early 20th-century German politician, who resisted the Nazi Regime. He is remembered for the quote, "Given the Nazis' reign of terror, I demanded that God's law stand above state law." Born Eugen Alton Bolz, the oldest son of twelve children, his father was a merchant and the family devoted Roman Catholics. Beginning in 1901, he studied law at the University of Tubingen and the universities of Bonn and Berlin before taking his law exams in January of 1905, passing with excellent results, and starting in a civil servant position in the prosecutor's office. During World War I, he served as a lieutenant on the Western Front with the 2nd Württemberg Field Artillery Regiment in Ulm. He believed his Roman Catholic faith hindered his professional advancement. He began his political career by being elected a legislator representative in the Reichstag from 1912 to 1933. In Württemberg, he became Justice Minister in 1919 and Interior Minister starting in June of 1923. He was the first Roman Catholic to hold a political position in the predominantly Protestant Württemberg. For a short time, he served simultaneously as acting Ministry of Finance. He earned his PhD in business from University of Tubingen in 1928. Highly respected, he was made honorary citizen of Stuttgart in 1929 and the city of Rottenburg in 1931. He started to publicly speak against the ideologies of Nazi Party leader Adolph Hitler as early as 1930. On March 11, 1933 the National Socialists or the Nazi Party dissolved his government. Shortly afterward, he was taken into "protective custody," serving for several weeks in a concentration camp, yet after his release, stayed in contact with members of the disbanded, later outlawed, political party. After 1933, he was the tax advisor at Beruon Monastery until his death. By 1942, he came into contact with the resistance circle, which was planning the assassination of Hitler. From the mid-1930s there had been several planned and failed assassination attempts of Hitler. After being approached, he agreed to take the cabinet post of Minister of Culture if Hitler was assassinated, which was documented. The planned assassination of Hitler was initiated July 20, 1944, and although four were killed, by a miracle, Hitler survived the planned bomb blast. For any role in the attempted assassination, the Gestapo arrested, according to sources, at least 110 suspects, which were not only military officers but politicians, priests, noblemen, farmers and diplomats, and most were eventually executed. His role was sanctioning the assassination and accepting the cabinet position. He was arrested on August 12, 1944, sentenced to death on December 21st by the "People's Court" and a month later, beheaded at Plötzensee Prison. After being tortured, he was found guilty of "inciting high treason and favoring the enemy". He was married and the couple had a daughter. After the war ended, he was recognized for his stance on his beliefs even to his death. A bronze plaque with facial relief was erected on the house of his birth with the inscription "TIMOR DOMINI INITIUM SAPIENTIAE" or "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". To honor him, a monument with modern sculpture by Alfred Hrdlicka was dedicated on March 15, 1993 in Stuttgart. There are several schools, streets, and parks in Germany named in his honor. To recognize his 125th birthday, a postal stamp with his image was issued.