Pius XII's defence of Jews

It has often been said that a lie repeated over and over again ends up being believed by many. This is the case of Pius XII and the calumny levelled at him because of his supposed silence regarding the persecution of Jews during World War II. However, unlike opinions and blind prejudice, facts are sacred and cannot be denied. It is facts, incontrovertible ones, that exonerate Pius XII from such accusations.

When the war ended, Jewish survivors of the Holocaust considered the Pope a "righteous gentile" and the leaders of the major Jewish organisations went to Rome, even from the United States, to personally thank him for his efforts to save Jews. Back in 1942, Albert Einstein, who was Jewish, wrote a letter to the New York Times praising Pius XII as the only voice in Europe raised in defence of Jews. The Chief Rabbi of Rome during the war, Israel Zolli, who later converted to Catholicism, took the Pope's name, Eugenio, at his baptism, in gratitude to him. When the Pope died in 1958, Golda Meir, Israeli politician and later Prime Minister, eulogised Pius XII for his defence of the Jews. Can it be possible that today we are more aware of what really happened than those who actually lived during those tragic years?

Pius XII was a diplomat and therefore his efforts to help Jews were carried out in an unobtrusive manner, typical of people trained in the diplomatic field. It was actions that mattered at the time rather than loud words which could have been counter-productive. (Dutch bishops had publicly attacked Hitler's policy towards the Jews, the result being the rounding up also of Jewish Catholics, around 40,000 of them). The Pope gave orders so that convents and monasteries, even buildings inside the Vatican itself, would open their doors, in order to shelter Jews, escaped Allied soldiers and political dissidents. This is, in fact, what happened and thousands of lives were saved.

It is interesting to note that, despite the fact that the Pope knew that his life was in danger, he refused to leave Rome while both king and government fled from the city. Recent reports reveal that Hitler had plans to kidnap Pius XII and take him to Germany.

It has also been historically ascertained that the Allies, the Red Cross and the major Jewish organisations all knew what was happening to Jews in Europe, having been informed of this by escaped resistance fighters, especially from Poland.

Yet, none acted and the Allies, who were the ones who could have done the most, made it clear that their main preoccupation was the downfall of Hitler and all efforts were harnessed towards this goal. Secret archives belonging to the Stasi, the East German secret police, which were opened just recently, reveal just how hard Pius XII strove to help Jews and others suffering because of Nazi repression and how much German diplomats were worried about this. A book by Rabbi David G. Dalin, The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pius XII and His Secret War Against Nazi Germany" should go a long way to dispel some of the prejudices against the Pontiff.

A final word of reflection is to ask, since the Church is invariably accused of speaking either too much or too little, what accusations would be levelled against Pius XII today if he had been less diplomatic in attacking Hitler's policies and whether he would be accused of precipitating the plight of Jews by his "imprudent" attitude?