The Vatican knew about the Holocaust, WW2-era letter reveals

The letter, dated December 14 1942, proved Pope Pius knew of extermination camps killing Jews and Poles.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-759392

POPE PIUS XII appears in an undated file photo from the archives of Vatican newspaper ‘Osservatore Romano.’(photo credit: OSSERVATORE ROMANO / REUTERS)

A recently discovered correspondence between Pope Pius XII, who served as Pope during World War II, and a German Jesuit has revealed that Pius knew of the atrocities committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, according to an article by Italian News Corriere Della Sera published earlier this week.

The letter confirmed that Pius was told of the 6,000 Jews and Poles being gassed in Poland every day during the Holocaust. This, according to AP News, has meant that the Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t verify official reports of atrocities to denounce them is invalid.

There has been significant discourse on how Pius’ legacy should be remembered. Some have seen him as a silent ally to Jewish victims who made subtle arrangements to save the lives of European victims, while others have viewed him as someone who enabled the Holocaust with abject silence.

The article by Corriere made specific reference to a speech made by the former pope, on December 24, 1942. Pius had stated “hundreds of thousands of people, who, without any fault of their own, sometimes only for reasons of nationality or lineage, are destined to death or progressive deterioration."

A letter from archives on Pope Pius XII, who reigned from 1939-1958, written by Margarethe Batch, daughter of Wien Rabbi, to thank Pius XII for the help received and communicate that she will pray together with her father for the Pope is displayed ahead of the full opening of the secret archives to (credit: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

However, as the article points out, the pope failed to make any direct mention of the Jews, or Nazis, or specify the atrocities referenced.

Information on the recently discovered letter

The letter, dated December 14, 1942, was sent from the German Jesuit priest to Pius’ secretary.

The letter highlighted the war crimes committed in the Belzec concentration camp; specifically within the crematoriums.

The transcript of the letter will be available to see in a book about Pius to be published on September 18 by Giovanni Coco, a researcher and archivist in the Vatican’s Apostolic Archives.

Pud says: It has been known for decades and suppressed by the Catholic Church that during World War II the Catholic Church kept quiet about the atrocities the Nazis were carrying out and at the end of WWII with Germany's defeat looming the Catholic Church worked hand in hand with the worst SS war criminals to arrange their escape to South America and other countries and the Vatican Bank handled the transfer of large amounts of money and valuables stolen from Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution, to fund the resettlement of thousands of German war criminals in the Catholic countries of South America. These latest revelations will hopefully stop the attempts to canonize Pope Pius XII as a Saint.