{"id":53872,"date":"2020-03-02T01:09:30","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T07:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=53872"},"modified":"2020-03-02T01:09:30","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T07:09:30","slug":"op-ed-the-vatican-opens-its-wartime-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/op-ed-the-vatican-opens-its-wartime-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: The Vatican opens its wartime archive"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By BEN COHEN<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"dateline\">(<em>JNS.org<\/em>)<\/span> \u2013 One of the most persistent and controversial debates about the history of World War II concerns the role of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust, and specifically, the actions of Pope Pius XII. In the view of some historians, Pius manifestly failed to protect the Jews of Europe or effectively protest their fate, even those who were under his own nose in Rome, during the Nazi Holocaust. But other historians take a diametrically opposite view, holding that Pius actually did all he could to defend the Jews of Europe, and that he will ultimately be remembered for having saved\u2014to quote the late, distinguished historian Sir Martin Gilbert\u2014\u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of them.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_53874\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53874\" class=\"wp-image-53874 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495.jpg 880w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/169;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53874\" class=\"wp-image-53874 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/F140526NS04-880x495.jpg 880w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-53874\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pope Francis arrives to pray in front of the Western Wall, Judaism&#8217;s holiest site, in Jerusalem&#8217;s Old City, on May 26, 2014. Photo by Nati Shohat\/FLASH90<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In other words, it is a polarized debate, often bitterly so. On Monday, when the Vatican opens the secret war archives of Pius XII, new layers of evidence will emerge that should offer unprecedented clarity on what the pope and the church did and didn\u2019t do in the face of the greatest moral challenge in the history of Europe. <ins class=\"adsbygoogle JNS_InArticle_1\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8573325940152694\" data-ad-slot=\"JNS\/JNS_InArticle_1\" data-adsbygoogle-status=\"done\"><ins id=\"aswift_1_expand\"><ins id=\"aswift_1_anchor\"><\/ins><\/ins><\/ins><\/p>\n<p>Preparation of the archive for use by scholars has taken about 15 years; in that time, doubts were continually sown about whether the archive would be opened at all. On March 4 last year, Pope Francis announced definitively that its doors would open with the observation that the Catholic Church was \u201cnot afraid of history\u2014on the contrary, she loves it.\u201d Francis added that he had taken the decision to open the archive \u201cwith a serene and confident soul,\u201d certain that the documents in the archive would showcase Pius XII\u2019s \u201cmoments of exaltation\u201d during the Nazi era, as well as those \u201cmoments of serious difficulties, of tormented decisions, of human and Christian prudence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fate of the Jews is, of course, only one element of this enormous archive, and so the church will be able to make the case for the saintliness of Pius XII by referring to what Pope Francis called the \u201cpastoral \u2026 but also theological, ascetic, diplomatic\u201d activities that the wartime pontiff engaged in on behalf of Catholics living under Nazi occupation. At the same time, however, church leaders seem convinced that the controversies over Pius\u2019s stance during the Holocaust will be laid to rest in his favor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p>In a recent interview with <em>Vatican News<\/em>, Monsignor Sergio Pagano\u2014Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives\u2014was asked whether the archive contained unseen documents that would prove \u201cthe Church\u2019s work under the papacy of Pius XII to save Jewish people\u201d during the Holocaust. \u201cWithout a doubt,\u201d replied Pagano. Researchers would now have access to documents, he explained, that contained \u201cnumerous testimonies of the assistance given by simple Christians, as well as by religious institutes and the bishops themselves for the salvation of this poor population so cruelly persecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_96272\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div id=\"attachment_53873\" style=\"width: 643px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53873\" class=\"wp-image-53873 size-full lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"633\" height=\"455\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII.jpg 633w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII-300x216.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 633px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 633\/455;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53873\" class=\"wp-image-53873 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"633\" height=\"455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII.jpg 633w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Members_of_the_Royal_22e_Regiment_in_audience_with_Pope_Pius_XII-300x216.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-53873\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Canadian soldiers visiting with Pope Pius XII following the liberation of Rome in 1944. Source: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Even more importantly, perhaps, the archive would provide answers to the complaints about Pius\u2019s \u201csilence\u201d during the Holocaust, exemplified by the fact that he never once mentioned the Jewish people as a victim group of the Nazis in his entire time as pope. According to Monsignor Pagano, the documents in the archive provide \u201ca new, more detailed explanation\u201d for that silence.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For many in the Jewish world, the opening of the archive will be a seminal moment in the relationship between Catholics and Jews since the Second Vatican Council of 1965 famously exonerated the Jewish people of the charge of \u201cdeicide\u201d\u2014collective, eternal responsibility for the suffering and death of Jesus. Abraham Foxman, the former national director of the Anti-Defamation League who survived the Holocaust in Poland after he was hidden by his devoted Catholic nanny, told me that it was no accident that Pope Francis, whom he called \u201cvery sincere in his understandings and sensitivities towards the Jewish people,\u201d had authorized the opening of the archive.<\/p>\n<p>Nor should we underestimate the enormous significance of what Foxman called \u201cone of the most secretive organizations in the history of human society\u201d\u2014i.e., the Catholic Church\u2014opening itself up to scrutiny. For those reasons, Foxman argued that the archive will not allow for a simple whitewash of Pius XII. If a consensus does finally emerge among scholars of the period, Foxman believes that this will recognize that the Church \u201cdid more than we know about, but less than it could have done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To some extent, this more nuanced interpretation of Pius\u2019s role has already surfaced. A 2011 book by the historian Paul O\u2019Shea titled <em>A Cross Too Heavy: Pope Pius XII and the Jews of Europe<\/em>, made a powerful case that Pius was certainly not a Jew-hater or Nazi sympathizer, but neither could he be seen as a \u201clamb without a stain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to O\u2019Shea, Pius\u2019s behavior was governed \u201cby his conscious and deliberate choices to do all within his limited economic and political power, <em>as he perceived it<\/em>, to help European Jewry while keeping the fiction of papal neutrality, and not endangering the position of the Catholic Church in Germany or occupied Europe.\u201d On the question of the pontiff\u2019s \u201csilence,\u201d O\u2019Shea described this as a \u201cstrategy to protect Vatican interests, including rescue activities.\u201d Within these parameters, therefore, there will always be differences between those who insist that Pius did have the power to be more assertive in the face of Nazi savagery towards the Jews, and those who argue that he showed wisdom in deploying his skills to save as many Jews as possible without endangering his own institution.<\/p>\n<p>In William Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cHamlet,\u201d the Danish prince of the title says of his late father, the king: \u201cHe was a man. Take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again.\u201d With the opening of the papal archive, we may well reach the same conclusion about Pius XII. Regardless, the opportunity has finally come to learn more not only about the wartime pope, but about the church he headed. Many Catholics endured persecution under the Nazis at the same time that many of their fellow believers, as Foxman put it to me, \u201ckilled Jews from Monday to Friday, and then went to church on Sunday.\u201d Amid all this heat, those scholars who will now enter the archive have a vital responsibility to shed light as well.<\/p>\n<p><em>Ben Cohen is a New York City-based journalist and author who writes a weekly column on Jewish and international affairs for JNS.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"OP-ED%3A%20The%20Vatican%20opens%20its%20wartime%20archive\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[8790,8795,8788,1877,1525],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53872"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53875,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53872\/revisions\/53875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}