August von Galen was born in Germany in 1878. He joined the church and eventually became Bishop of Munster. He held conventional religious views and was initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler and in 1936 blessed the troops before they marched into the Rhineland.

Galen disliked the Nazis racial doctrines and on one occasion wrote a critical review of a book by Alfred Rosenberg.

In 1941 Galen spoke out in a sermon against the Nazi practice of euthanasia (the killing of those considered by the Nazis as genetically unsuitable). Adolf Hitler wanted Galen arrested but Joseph Goebbels warned against this as Galen was a popular religious leader. It is claimed that Galen's sermon inspired the formation of the anti-Nazi White Rose group.

After the July Plot Galen was arrested and accused of being involved in the attempt to assassinate Hitler. He was sent to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp but after no evidence against him was found he was released in early 1945. August von Galen died in 1946.