Remarkable testimony on Pope Pius found

[Impenitent]

I don't know whether any one has come across this yet - I received it as part of a news group and found it very interesting in light of the harsh judgement of Pope Pius' behaviour during WW II.

In a remarkable historical find, testimony has emerged revealing that, in 1941, Pope Pius XII received a German Jewish visitor at the Vatican who was seeking help for certain Jews who were being held in an Italian internment camp. After welcoming the young man and promising him help, Pius told him not once but twice--in emotional language, in front of a large group that included German soldiers--"Be proud to be a Jew."

The amazing testimony, written as a first-hand account by an anonymous Jewish author in wartime Palestine, originally appeared on April 28, 1944 in "The Palestine Post" (now, "The Jerusalem Post"), the most influential Jewish publication in the world at that time.

According to long-time" Inside the Vatican" contributor William Doino, who discovered the testimony in an archive, maintained by Tel Aviv University, "the testimony has apparently been forgotten, because, as far as I know, no leading Holocaust authority or biographer of Pius XII has ever cited it."

As the article reports, the Jewish author attended a papal audience in the autumn of 1941. He entered the papal chamber along with numerous other people, including a group of German soldiers. (It was common for soldiers to visit the Pope early in the war era. Later, when Hitler learned of what the Pope told them, he put an end to this practice.)

The author was the final individual to approach the Pope that day. He wanted to tell Pius about a group of Jews who were being interned by Italy's Fascist government on an island, in danger of starvation. He tried to speak in broken Italian, but the Pope invited him to use his native language, assuming that it would be German. "You are German, too, aren't you?" asked the Pope. The author then explained that he was born in Germany, but he was a Jew.

Pius invited the author to finish his story. He listened intently then said: "You have done well to come to me and tell me this. I have heard about it before. Come back tomorrow with a written report and give it to the Secretary of State who is dealing with the question. But now for you, my son. You are a young Jew. I know what that means and I hope you will always be proud to be a Jew!"

Pius then raised his voice so that everyone in the hall - including the German soldiers - could hear it and said (in a "pleasant voice"): "My son, whether you are worthier than others only the Lord knows, but believe me, you are at least as worthy as every other human being that lives on our earth! And now, my Jewish friend, go with the protection of the Lord, and never forget, you must always be proud to be a Jew!"

The significance of this testimony, particularly for the cause of Pius XII, is still too early to gage, but Doino believes "it may well be the most explicit single testimony about Pius' personal feelings toward Jews that has ever been recorded. It is not too far removed from Pius XIs famous declaration of September 1938: "No, it is not possible for Christians to take part in anti-Semitism.... Spiritually, we are all Semites." But Doino notes one great difference between the statements: "Pius XIs remark to a group of Belgian pilgrims was given wide publicity and is often quoted; Pius XIIs statement has been lost to history -- until now."

"For Pius XII to make this statement to a German Jew, in 1941, in private, would have been remarkable enough," continued Doino. "That he did it in public, with his voice raised so that 'everybody in the hall' could 'hear it clearly,' in front of German soldiers, as well as cardinals, bishops and other high dignitaries of the Vatican government, is more astonishing still. It doesn't merely reveal Pius XII's kindness and Christian compassion; he goes well beyond that and affirms the young man's Jewishness, the very core and dignity of his being."

Attached below is the original article, as it first appeared in the pages of "The Palestine Post," in 1944, describing events that had occurred three years earlier. This will be followed by a full-scale commentary by Doino, in an upcoming issue of "Inside the Vatican" magazine, in which he evaluates the importance of this testimony for Pius XII studies, recounts the story of the shipwrecked Jewish refugees, the Vatican's support for them, and gives clues as to whom the anonymous Jewish author might be -- the editors of "Inside the Vatican"

[Note: the original article can be found online by accessing the archives of the "Palestine Post," run by Tel Aviv University, here: http://jic.tau.ac.il/Default/Skins/Pale ... &AppName=2
Follow the instructions to access the April 28, 1944 issue of the "Palestine Post," forward to page 6, and go to the article entitled, "A Papal Audience in Wartime," by "Refugee."]

---

The Palestine Post, April 28, 1944; Page 6

A Papal Audience in Wartime

By "Refugee"

The author of this article arrived in this country in the refugee ship Nyassa.

It is on a sunny Wednesday morning in the autumn of 1941. An up-to-date Roman bus takes me from the center of the Eternal City to the Vatican. In the pocket of my dark suit I have a permit to enter the Palace of Vatican City for an audience with His Holiness Pope Pius XII.

As the bus crosses the Tiber, I can see the complex of Hadrian's Tomb. A moment later we arrive at the huge square in front of St. Peters.

The portal di bronzo, leading to the Governmental Palace, is guarded by foot soldiers, who look like the lansquenets of some centuries ago. They are the Swiss Guards, and their multicolored uniforms and polished halberds and swords seem to be taken from a museum. An officer with a big moustache gives me the pass permit, the Guards take up their halberds and salute while I enter the Palace and mount a staircase. On the second floor a footman, in tight velvet trousers, shows me into a vestibule, where about 80 people are waiting. Among them are many German soldiers, in field uniform, their caps in their hands. For about an hour I stand around or pace the parquet floor among those warriors of Herr Hitler - probably on their way to Benghazi and Tripoli, anxious not to miss the chance of taking a papal blessing with them for further heroic deeds.

After some time we are led into another hall, its walls are decorated with oil paintings, antique engravings and maps. We then pass through a corridor into another anti-chamber, and, finally we stand before huge double doors ornamented with gold.

One of the Papal under-secretaries appears and gives us instructions about what to say to His Holiness and how to behave. Then one after the other, we are allowed to enter the richly furnished hall, where the Pope receives visitors.

I am the last one to enter, after the German soldiers. The Pope, sitting in a throne-like armchair, dressed in magnificent vestments, resembles some wise doctor, a good friend. His eyes shine in a friendly way through gold-rimmed glasses as each petitioner kneels to kiss the ring on the thin fingers of the Father's right hand.

The Pope speaks to everybody--asking the soldiers in fluent German from which part of the Reich they come and whether they have a special wish. And he speaks so naturally and so simply that one cannot but feel his benevolent influence. Afterwards the Holy Father gives his benediction and hands over the petitions to his retinue: cardinals, bishops and other high dignitaries of Mother Church, officials of the Vatican Government, secretaries and diplomats. They stand respectfully in the background behind the audience chair, dressed in richly colored garments of mediaeval style.

At last it is my turn. I step forward, feeling very uneasy and shy. Then I kneel down on a velvet cushion, bow over the Papal hand, and breathe a kiss on the ring.

Then I look up and address him, stammering some Italian phrases.

But the Pope interrupts me; --"My son, you can speak your own language with me; you are German, too, aren't you?"--

--"No, your Holiness, I was only born in Germany. But I am not a German any longer--I am a Jew"--

--"So you are a Jew, what can I do for you? Tell me, my son!"--

I begin to explain why I have come. I report about the shipwrecked Jewish refugees, saved by Italian warships in the Aegean Sea and now starving in a prisoner of war camp on one of the islands. The Pope listens carefully to my explanations of how to help these poor people either by taking them to Palestine or by bringing them back to Italy to avoid epidemics and further starvation. Then Pius XII says:

"You have done well to come to me and tell me this. I have heard about it before. Come back tomorrow with a written report and give it to the Secretary of State who is dealing with the question. But now for you, my son. You are a young Jew. I know what that means and I hope you will always be proud to be a Jew!" And the Pope raises his voice that everybody in the hall can here it clearly, "My son, whether you are worthier than others only the Lord knows, but believe me, you are at least as worthy as every other human being that lives on our earth! And now, my Jewish friend, go with the protection of the Lord, and never forget, you must always be proud to be a Jew! -- -- --

After having pronounced these words in his pleasant voice, the Pope lifts his hands to give the usual benediction. But he stops, smiles and his wonderful fingers only touch my head. Then he lifts me from my kneeling position.....

I join the others by the wall, not caring for the expression on their faces. Have they heard it too?

Now the Holy Father, Pope Pius XII, rises from his chair, spreads out his hands over us and speaks the general benediction. I bow my head.

Afterwards, after leaving the Palace, I walk alone across the piazza before St. Peters, back to the Tiber embankment. I sit down on a bench looking at the Eternal City, at Rome, her ruins and palaces, at the Capital on which the sun shines brightly from a Roman sky.

[Jnyusa]

Imp, that's an extraordinary find! Thanks so much for posting it here.

Jn

[MithLuin]

I don't suppose there's any reason to doubt its authenticity? I mean, if it was published in 1944....that is fairly close to the time this would have happened? It sounds like part of a much longer story... It would be more compelling if they could identify the author, though.

[Jnyusa]

Mith, the author was probably living illegally in Palestine at that time and wrote anonymously for that reason.

Whether the Jerusalem Post would have retained those records or not, I don't know. There probably would have been some concern about confiscation by the Mandate government so they might not have kept any info about the real identity of correspondents.

But I would think that the Vatican might have record of all people given audience with the Pope ... voluminous as that number would be.

Jn

[Lurker]

My late grandfather on my dad's side was in Europe during that time and I think he had an audience with the Pope as well. When my grandmother passed away when I was a kid, my dad found this life size oil painting of Pope Pius XII in the basement (as well as other paintings) and pictures of the Vatican at that time. My grandad who died during the war was an artist, so I don't know if he took a picture of the Pope and painted it or he was commissioned to do it, since my grandad worked as a photographer. A museum has approached us to have it in their collection but my dad turned them down. My dad never met grandad cause my grandma was pregnant when the war broke out, so he said he wants to keep it in the family for awhile. The museum wants it because it showed the Vatican, people, places in Europe before the war broke out, some of which were lost during the war.

From what I know from my maternal grandparents Pope Pius XII is one of the greatest pope during their time, a lot of people admire him. Is there a cause to make him a Saint? Is that why this article came out?

[Impenitent]

I am quite sure this article did not come to light at this time as a tie-in for a push to sainthood.

Attitudes to Pius are not unalloyed btw; there are extant allegations that the Vatican colluded with the Nazi regime in some ways and adopted a hands-off attitude with regard to the persecution of the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals etc. Pius is not exempt from that criticism - which is why this article is so remarkable in portraying an alternative picture of that pope.

[nerdanel]

Attitudes to Pius are not unalloyed btw; there are extant allegations that the Vatican colluded with the Nazi regime in some ways and adopted a hands-off attitude with regard to the persecution of the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals etc. Pius is not exempt from that criticism - which is why this article is so remarkable in portraying an alternative picture of that pope.

Quite frankly, I find this article impossible to reconcile with the allegations of Vatican collusion with (or at the least, complete nonresistance to) the Nazi murder of Jews in particular, but also gypsies, homosexuals, and other disfavored groups.

[Lurker]

I'm not a history buff but remember, Italy was under Mussolini at that time so it was so easy to presume that Vatican actually did have an agreement with the Nazis. I guess the Italian army at that time would have just dropped a bomb at the Vatican if they criticized the Nazis.

Like I said I'm no history buff, so please correct me if I'm wrong.
My dad often says even history books are constantly changing, a person maybe a traitor in this century, he might be a hero in the next century.

[Impenitent]

Nel, I'm not sure I understand your last post. Are you saying that you reject the legitimacy of the article, or that it jolts your brain around? (It jolted my brain around! That's why I found it so remarkable!)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Well, I'm not nel (I'm neither that smart nor that pretty ), but I have to say that the article does little to influence my feelings about Pope Pius and the role of the Vatican in the Holocaust, whether it is true or not (and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. Pope Pius' kind words to one Jew the callous disregard of the suffering of so many others (particularly Jews, but others as well, as nel so properly points out). Lurker is correct that history books are constantly changing, but I haven't seen anything that has changed my opinion about this particular aspect of one the sorriest episodes in human history.

[Impenitent]

Yes, as I commented above, I don't think one act of kindness negates the pattern of inaction and disregard (at best; less benign motivations have been ascribed).

[MithLuin]

Lurker, I'm pretty sure he was beatified, so yes, his cause is open. But as far as I know, they are no closer to declaring him a saint and many never do so. (I think he was beatified the same day as his later successor, Pope John XXIII). The role of the Vatican during WWII has been an open question for some time. More controversial views of him are expressed in books with titles like "Hitler's Pope" - they suggest he cooperated with the Nazis. More realisticly, he is accused of silence and inaction. Many people stood by and let the Holocaust happen, but the Church had an even greater responsibility not to turn a blind eye.

Of course, it gets complicated. There were certainly clergymen in Germany who did nothing, or even tacitly supported the Nazis. Failure to do so was punished, obviously....but we're looking for some heroic virtue! Which also existed. Those priests who did oppose what was happening were rounded up and sent to Dachau (where there was a whole block for just priests). St. Maximillian Kolbe was one of those - an amazing guy, and a martyr.

So the question becomes, where does Pope Pius fall on this spectrum? Was he helping to hide Jews and oppose the Nazis the best he could (in an occupied country?) Did he cooperate with the German soldiers and aid the Holocaust? Or was he one of the ones who stood by and did nothing, pretending it wasn't happening?

This letter is one piece of the puzzle of figuring out "what really happened" but it is not likely to be the whole story. I think (if accurate) it does make clear that Pius was not an anti-Semite himself. That doesn't mean his actions as pope were (necessarily) exemplary. For instance - was there any follow-up to this audience? He seems to have promised aid, but what ever happened? There is more to this (brief) story, I think.....


As an interesting detail, the current pope was a young man in Germany during WWII - he served in the Nazi army for about a year (he was conscripted, of course). The town where he was born is within easy driving distance of Dachau.

[Lurker]

I think this only goes to show that as the Pope you can't just decide for the Vatican. Yes, he may have wanted to help but unfortunately the rest of his advisors could have said "No, it's for the best interest of the Vatican." We really don't know why they've decided to just ignore the situation.

[nerdanel]

Well, I'm not nel (I'm neither that smart nor that pretty ), but I have to say that the article does little to influence my feelings about Pope Pius and the role of the Vatican in the Holocaust, whether it is true or not (and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. Pope Pius' kind words to one Jew the callous disregard of the suffering of so many others (particularly Jews, but others as well, as nel so properly points out). Lurker is correct that history books are constantly changing, but I haven't seen anything that has changed my opinion about this particular aspect of one the sorriest episodes in human history.

Sorry, Impy, I'm too tired to give a detailed response, but essentially Voronwë said what I was thinking.

...except for the one thing he got completely wrong:

I'm not nel (I'm neither that smart nor that pretty ),

[Jnyusa]

'Tis in the eye of the beholder.

Jn

[Túrin Turambar]

Sorry for the thread Necromancy, but I’ve been thinking about this particular topic for a while. I’ve just re-read an account of Pius XII’s conduct, an essay called Pope Pius XII Protests the Holocaust: Could the wartime pope have prevented the Final Solution? published in a collection of alternative history papers called What If?. Briefly, Katz’s answer is ‘yes’.

I can summarise the interesting points of the article briefly:

1. Pius restrained his criticism of the Axis powers in the hope that he could be seen to be neutral enough to help negotiate an end to the war.

2. Until fairly late in the war, Pius viewed the Soviet Union as a greater evil and greater threat than Nazi Germany.

3. Pius did provide sanctuary in the Vatican for some thousands of Jews; perhaps more. The exact number is open for debate. A few sources credit him with saving over 100,000 people from Nazi persecution but this is highly questionable.

4. Katz identifies two critical moments when Pius came close to open condemnation of the holocaust but decided against it – one in September, 1942 (at the very beginning of the final solution) and one in October, 1943.

5. September 1942 - Pius was one of the first people in Europe to know for certain that claims that the Third Reich was systematically killing people in large numbers were not simply allied propaganda. He wrote a lengthy protest, intending to publish it in the evening edition of L’Osservatore Romano. However, around lunchtime on that day he heard reports that a fiery condemnation of Nazi policy in the Netherlands by Dutch Catholic bishops had resulted in the rounding up and presumed execution of 40,000 Catholics of Jewish origin. As a result, he burned the protest and never published it, fearing even more severe retribution (he was heard to claim that if he protested, 200,000 Jews might die). It now seems that the reports were exaggerated and that the Nazis ‘only’ killed between 100 and 600 in their retaliatory purge against the Dutch bishops.

6. October 1943 – The German army occupied Rome and Pius could see the SS rounding up Jews from the windows of the Vatican. He sent a message to the German high command in Italy threatening to speak out in public against this policy, but did not go through with it (perhaps for similar reasons as before).

Basically, had he gone ahead and published his protest, Katz argues that he would not only have eroded support for the Axis in Catholic-majority Italy, occupied France and among the Catholic population of the Third Reich (some third of Germans), but provided warning to Europe’s Jews about the danger that they faced. He would also have given the allies the knowledge and the moral impetus to attack the railway lines and the camps themselves. Hitler had actually wound up his policy of killing off disabled people in 1941 under pressure from the clergy and may have been forced to scale back the holocaust in similar circumstances.

[solicitr]

This story casts an additional light on the subject:

Vatican planned to move to Portugal if Nazis captured wartime Pope

It has been known for a while that Hitler ordered the SS to arrest the Pope as soon as Italy surrendered. What is new in this story was Pius' resolve to abdicate rather than be a Papal Petain.

I can't concur in Vor's assessment of "callous disregard." While it is the case that the Vatican could have acted more bravely, and perhaps suicidally, in speaking out, the notion that Pius was in effect a Nazi sympathizer who quietly colluded in and approved of the Holocaust is a vicious slander, an idea that stems largely from The Deputy, a 1963 play by Rolf Hochhuth, a controversial figure whose association with David Irving and other Nazi sympathizers renders his motives (and historicism) highly problematical.

An article on La Civilità Cattolica in March 2009 indicated that the accusations that Hochhut's play made widely known originated not among Jews but in the Communist bloc. It was Moscow Radio, on 2 June 1945, that first direct against Pius XII the accusation of refusing to speak out against the exterminations in Nazi concentration camps. It was also the first to call him "Hitler's Pope".[212]

Former [Rumanian] Securitate General Ion Mihai Pacepa has stated that the play of Hochhuth and numerous publications attacking Pius XII as allegedly having been a Nazi sympathizer were fabrications from the KGB and Eastern bloc Marxist secret services leading a campaign to discredit the moral authority of the Church and Christianity in the west.[213] Pacepa also claims that he was involved in contacting east bloc agents close the Vatican in order to fabricate the story to be used for the attack against the wartime pope.[213]

It does seem to be the case that there were some members of the Catholic heierarchy who can be accused of callousness or even Fascist politics; but this brought them into conflict with Pius rather than the opposite. The Wiki article details some of this, and follows:

Many Jews publicly thanked the pope for his help. For example, Pinchas Lapide, a Jewish theologian and Israeli diplomat to Milan in the 1960s, estimated that Pius "was instrumental in saving at least 700,000 but probably as many as 860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands."[202] Some historians have questioned this oft-cited[203] number, which Lapide reached by "deducting all reasonable claims of rescue" by non-Catholics from the total number of European Jews surviving the Holocaust.[204] Catholic scholar Kevin Madigan interprets this and other praise from prominent Jewish leaders, including Golda Meir, as less than sincere, an attempt to secure Vatican recognition of the State of Israel.[205]

[...]

On September 21, 1945, the general secretary of the World Jewish Council, Dr. Leon Kubowitzky, presented an amount of money to the pope, "in recognition of the work of the Holy See in rescuing Jews from Fascist and Nazi persecutions."[208]

After the war, in the autumn of 1945, Harry Greenstein from Baltimore, a close friend of Chief Rabbi Herzog of Jerusalem, told Pius how grateful Jews were for all he had done for them. "My only regret," the pope replied, "is not to have been able to save a greater number of Jews."[209]

It is indisputed that Pius ordered Rome's churches and convents to hide Jews from the roundups.

If Pius was a "collaborator," what does that make FDR, who closed America's ports to Jewish refugees?

[Túrin Turambar]

This story casts an additional light on the subject:

Vatican planned to move to Portugal if Nazis captured wartime Pope

I noticed that as well.

Pius' sins were certainly of omission rather than commission, and perhaps the right course of action is only crystal clear in hindsight. Still, he knew the Nazi state was systematically killing people, knew how influential he was, and did not speak out.

[Frelga]

If Pius was a "collaborator," what does that make FDR, who closed America's ports to Jewish refugees?

What, indeed?

[solicitr]

And now this:

NEW YORK – A new book disputes widely held assumptions that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was insensitive to the plight of European Jews under the Nazis, and instead concludes that he tried to arrange resettlement for thousands of refugees in the late 1930s, only to be thwarted by his own State Department.

The book, "Refugees and Rescue," claims FDR developed plans in 1938 for the United States to fill its immigration quota with 27,000 Jews from Germany and Austria and to send others to British-held Palestine and friendly nations in Africa and Latin America.

"Most of the initiatives to resettle refugees in underdeveloped areas proved impossible, met substantial resistance abroad, or developed very slowly partly because of resistance by the Department of State," the Center for Jewish History says in a statement about the book.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090502/ap_ ... h_refugees