Remarkable testimony on Pope Pius found
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Voronwë the Faithful
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soli, that has always been my understanding (that the FDR wanted to help the Jews, but that the State Department was extremely recalcitrant).
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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solicitr
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That would fit the cultural paradigm: State at that time was a bastion of the WASPy Eastern Establishment, then a notably antisemitic outfit (vide Gentlemans' Agreement). It wasn't until the Fifties that State would even consider hiring a non-Ivy Leaguer; in fact I happen to know the very first FSO with a land-grant university background.
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Voronwë the Faithful
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That is not to say that FDR bears no responsibility. It was his goverment, and as his successor famously said, the buck stopped with him. The sad truth, however, is that helping the Jews would have been so unpopular that it was political unviable for him to force the issue.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
As for the pope, he was very preoccupied with anti-communism and has stated often and publicly that he considered the Nazis the lesser of two evils, so he did not speak up against the Shoah in order to support he war againt communism.
Anyway, I have very, very little time now, but if you are interested in that periode and the Vatican, there is the play "The Vicar" by Rolf Hochhuth and the movie "Amen" by Costa Gravas. Both are fiction, but very well documented and I read the play last year with a class, so documented myself on the subject too.
Sorry to see this thread so late, I will try to answer all posts more in detail this evening.
Anyway, I have very, very little time now, but if you are interested in that periode and the Vatican, there is the play "The Vicar" by Rolf Hochhuth and the movie "Amen" by Costa Gravas. Both are fiction, but very well documented and I read the play last year with a class, so documented myself on the subject too.
Sorry to see this thread so late, I will try to answer all posts more in detail this evening.
"nolite te bastardes carborundorum".
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solicitr
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Sorry, but Rolf Hochhuth is not to be trusted as an historical source in the least, and Costa-Gavras' films have, to put it mildly, a political agenda.
Historical fiction is, after all, fiction. It's rather like citing Leon Uris' Exodus as a history of the birth of Israel- somewhat true, but filtered through one very strong point of view.
"so he did not speak up against the Shoah in order to support he war againt communism" is an untruth, but one which has grown and spread thanks to "artists" with agendas.
Pius was overconcerned with retaliation against the Church in German-occupied territory, and his failure to speak out loudly (or rather, allowing his advisors to talk him out of statements he had drafted) was a failure of nerve, not some devil's bargain with the Nazis.
Nor was Pius' anticommunism just some ideological shibboleth: he was elected just after the murder of some 8-12000 Catholic clergy by the Spanish communists.
Historical fiction is, after all, fiction. It's rather like citing Leon Uris' Exodus as a history of the birth of Israel- somewhat true, but filtered through one very strong point of view.
"so he did not speak up against the Shoah in order to support he war againt communism" is an untruth, but one which has grown and spread thanks to "artists" with agendas.
Pius was overconcerned with retaliation against the Church in German-occupied territory, and his failure to speak out loudly (or rather, allowing his advisors to talk him out of statements he had drafted) was a failure of nerve, not some devil's bargain with the Nazis.
Nor was Pius' anticommunism just some ideological shibboleth: he was elected just after the murder of some 8-12000 Catholic clergy by the Spanish communists.
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N.E. Brigand
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My father recalls that early post war, Pius was looked on favorably for protecting the Jewish people. The attitude towards Pius at that time was quite different from this time.
The following statistic may be incorrect, but my understanding is that in most of Europe 80% of the Jews were killed, and in Italy 80% were not, in part due to the secret actions of the church in Italy.
Pius' reasons for not speaking out might well have been to enable the further protection of those he could help (if he'd spoken out, those convents and monasterys that hid jews would have been shut down, and fewer would have been saved).
I'm not sure what the full story is, but the article quoted in the OP matches what my 81 year old father told me, and matches other articles/interviews he read in the papers back at the time.
Certainly some might say Pius erred in judgment, and would have done more good by speaking out. But it's possible his motives for not speaking out were to save people who otherwise would have been lost.
The following statistic may be incorrect, but my understanding is that in most of Europe 80% of the Jews were killed, and in Italy 80% were not, in part due to the secret actions of the church in Italy.
Pius' reasons for not speaking out might well have been to enable the further protection of those he could help (if he'd spoken out, those convents and monasterys that hid jews would have been shut down, and fewer would have been saved).
I'm not sure what the full story is, but the article quoted in the OP matches what my 81 year old father told me, and matches other articles/interviews he read in the papers back at the time.
Certainly some might say Pius erred in judgment, and would have done more good by speaking out. But it's possible his motives for not speaking out were to save people who otherwise would have been lost.
-Elm