Pope Pius XII: Righteous Gentile or Hitler's Pope? Controversy has arisen in the past over the role of Pope Pius XII during the holocaust. Did he speak out against the atrocities against the Jews or did he remain silent? Since there are many people in today’s world that do not know about the Holocaust and Nazism it is good to remind people what did happen. An article in The New York Times published shortly after the death of Pope Pius XII quoted several Jewish leaders who voiced praise for the Pope. One was Rev. Dr. William F. Rosenblum, speaking at Temple Israel in New York who said, "...five hundred million Catholics the world over form a spiritual government that can always wield an influence on the side of understanding and peace. One of the most poignant examples of this was during the Hitler holocaust when Pope Pius made it possible for thousands of Jewish victims of Nazism and Fascism to be hidden away in monasteries and convents of the various Catholic orders and for Jewish children to be taken to their orphanages." (The New York Times. October 12, 1958). In an article in Time Magazine (December, 1940) Albert Einstein, himself a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, paid tribute to the moral courage of Pope Pius. Einstein said, "Only the Catholic Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing the truth. I never had any interest in the Catholic Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised, I now praise unreservedly." (quoted in Dalin, 2001) Some claim that since Einstein left Germany before 1940 he would not have seen the worst of the holocaust. Controversy of Pius XII's Role Still Pius XII's role during World War II is not without controversy. Many trace the beginning of criticism of the Pope to the play, The Deputy, written by German left-wing Protestant Rolf Hochhuth in 1963. In the play, Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) is depicted as a Nazi collaborator guilty of cowardice in the face of rising Nazi popularity. The play ignited a storm and other writings followed, including a book by British author, John Cornwell, Hitler's Pope published in 1999. Many feel that there is overwhelming evidence that Pope Pius XII did speak out against the Nazis and their treatment of Jewish people. Why, then, does the myth of Pacelli as 'Hitler's Pope' persist? As Cardinal, Eugenio Pacelli was sent as Vatican Nuncio (Ambassador) to several countries including Germany before World War II. Although Italian, he loved German music and culture. After he became Pope he condemned war in general and tried to promote peace in the years leading up to World War II. Did this mean that he accepted the status quo of Hitler’s rule? During the war, it seems that the Pope hesitated to speak against the Nazi movement, not only because he felt Communism was a greater threat, but also because he felt that denunciation of the Nazis would unleash harsher treatment of the Jews. In fact, this did happen in Holland where Bishops publicly spoke out against the Nazis in July 1942. It resulted in the deportation of more Jews from Holland to death camps, the highest percentage of Jews of any country occupied by Nazis. Some thought that the Pope should have ex-communicated Hitler, who was from a Catholic background, but others said that ex-communicating leaders in the past (Elizabeth I and Napoleon) had not changed their policies and would have had no affect on Hitler who had never been a practising Catholic and had no love for the Church in any case. Pope Pius XII thus became responsible for a balancing act in which he tried to save as many Jews as possible. The Pope's War Messages It can be shown that the Pope did, in fact, speak out against the treatment of Jews by the Nazis although perhaps not as directly as some would have hoped. In January of 1940, Vatican Radio revealed to the world the terrible cruelty that the Nazis were inflicting on Jews and Catholics in Poland. In his 1940 Easter message, the Pope condemned Nazi bombing of defenceless people. In June 1942, he spoke against the mass deportation of Jews from France and urged the Bishops of Europe to do all they could to save Jews from Nazi persecution. After his 1941 Christmas homily, The New York Times called Pius XII a "...lonely voice of protest against Hitler...the Pope put himself squarely against Hitlerism". And even the Nazis interpreted his 1942 Christmas sermon as a condemnation of Nazism, '...he is clearly speaking on behalf of the Jews...he is virtually accusing the German people of injustice toward the Jews..." (quoted in Dalin, 2001). In the Pope's 1942 Christmas message, he said, "Humanity owes this vow to those hundreds of thousands who, without any fault of their own, sometimes only by reason of their nationality or race, are marked down for death or gradual extinction." Detractors point out that he did not actually use the word 'Jewish' in the statement but there were others who were persecuted by the Nazis as well. Pope Pius' Role in Saving Jews In his book, Three Popes and the Jews (1967), Israeli diplomat, Pinchas Lapide says Pius XII "...was instrumental in saving at least 700,000, but probably as many as 860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands." (quoted in Dalin, Rabbi David. Pius XII and the Jews) Rabbi David Dalin PhD a well-known scholar of the history of Christian-Jewish Relations, credits Pope Pius XII with "... saving more Jewish lives from the Holocaust than any other person; a 'righteous gentile' and true friend of the Jewish people". (Dalin, Rabbi David. Pius XII and the Jews. Weekly Standard, February 26, 2001.) Did the Pope tell the Bishops, monasteries and priests to save Jews? One can hardly know what he said personally to individuals which would have, of necessity, been in secret. Possibly the most revealing statement about Pacelli is what was published in the Berlin paper Morgenpost the day after his election as the new Pope in March, 1939 before the war: "The election of Cardinal Pacelli is not accepted with favor in Germany because he was always opposed to Nazism and practically determined the policies of the Vatican under his predecessor." The vindication of Pius XII has been established principally by Jewish writers and from Israeli archives. It is now established that the Pope supervised a rescue network which saved 860,000 Jewish lives - more than all the international agencies put together. (from the Jewish Virtual Library website). Sources: Dalin, Rabbi David. Pius XII and the Jews. Weekly Standard. February 26, 2001. Duffy, Eamon. Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1997. Pius is Extolled by Rabbis in City. The New York Times, October 12, 1958. JewishVirtualLibrary.org. Accessed April 20, 2012.