In the last few posts I have added the continued exchange of documents over attempts to rescue the remnant of Slovakian Jewry. Early in 1943 Angelo Roncalli, the Apostolic Delegate to Turkey, met Chaim Barlas who worked with Jewish groups in Turkey to try and save Jews trapped in Europe. Reaching out to Roncalli Barlas made a series of suggestions asking the Holy See to intervene with the Germans, the neutral states and America to help get Jews out of Europe. Barlas' final request was for a public statement on the radio telling Catholics that helping Jews was a good thing to do.
Was Barlas naive? Possibly; but the desperate situation evidently compelled people such as Barlas to make dramatic demands. The appeal of Catholic religious sister Margit Slachta in March 1943 is a similar example from a non-Jewish source.
What surprises most is the footnote mentioning a note sent from the British Ambassador to Washington, Lord Halifax echoing the rumour that Germany might let the Jews go. Halifax's concern seems to lie more with the risk that Germany might flood other countries with "aliens". This theme was to occupy more time later during the year in the Vatican.
The Pope was kept informed of developments throughout the Slovakian intervention and rescue proposals. His responses were not made public outside of notes that Pius had seen notes and reports and expressed a continued sympathy for the Jews. I believe the closest we come to a papal opinion is found in the responses made by Cardinal Maglione and Monsignori Tardini and Montini who repeated "the Vatican has done and is doing all it can".
ADSS 9.22 Angelo Roncalli, Apostolic
Delegate to Turkey
to Cardinal Maglione
Reference: Report number 4129 (AES 1036/43)
Location and date:
Istanbul, 22.01.1943
Summary statement:
Requests HS intervention in favour of Jews to be permitted to leave Germany
and the occupied countries. Attaches
proposition of Chaim Barlas, Jewish Agency for Palestine
given to Arthur Hughes, charge d’affairs, Ap
Del Egypt
who handed it to Roncalli in mid-January.
Languages: Italian
and English
Text:
The other day I
was introduced to Mr Bader (1) of the “Jewish Agency for Palestine”.
I thought it best to put him in touch with Father Hughes (2) who governs
the Apostolic Delegation of Palestine and more so as this man only speaks
English. He understood and appreciated
this and the result of that conversation is in the accompanying memorandum.
(3) I sent the manuscript to Father
Hughes, upon whose recommendation I send it to your Eminence. The report only contains Mr Bader’s comments
and questions and no other.(4)
Questions to the
Holy See, through Father Hughes, from Mr Bader of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. (5)
1) We understand that the governments of neutral
nations are willing to grant temporary asylum to Jews found in Nazi-occupied
countries, if the United States would provide for their maintenance of the Jews
and would guarantee that they would not remain in the host countries after the
war;
2) We understand
the German government is willing to grant permission to Jews to leave occupied
countries (approximately 5,000 people and also 700 women and children currently
in Poland could move to Palestine where they have husbands and fathers).
3) the a
declaration made over the radio that the Church considered any help given to
persecuted Jews is a good deed.
Attachment:
No number (ASS
1036/43)
Istanbul 20.01.1943
(English – as
printed in ADSS)
It is with great
pleasure that I heard of the expressing of your sympathy towards the Jewish
victims of terror in Europe and that you are
prepared to raise the question in High Quarters of the Holy Seat. The facts are summarised in the joined
declaration of the Allied Nations, which declaration ws announced by Mr Eden in
Parlament on the 18.12.1942 (7) (the text published in “Informations de
Palestine” of the 24.12.1942 is attached herewith). (8)
In this
connection I beg to submit to your Eminence the following proposal:
1) In view of the
terror and slaughter of Jews that goes on unintermittenly in the occupied
territories, it would be of great importance to undertake an action to save the
Jews before it is too late, with a veiw to enabling them to leave the countries
of persecutions, where they are threatened to be wholly exterminated. It would be, therefore, appreciated if an
effort could be made to secure a temporary asylum for Jews from the mentioned
countries in some of the neutral countries: Portugal, Sweden etc. The suggestion has been made that the Vatican
should be approached with a view to sounding the Governments of neutral
countries, as to whether they would be prepared to admit a certain number of
Jews from Nazi occupied territories, if the United States guaranty to provide
for their feeding and gives an assurance that after the war they would not
become a charge on these countries. The
conditions under which the refugees might stay in the neutral countries would,
of course, depend on the decision of their respective Governments. They might be put in refugee camps, such as Switzerland has
set up for this purpose since the war, unless the Governments agree to more
liberal terms. This would mean that the
neutral countries would not have to provide for the refugees anything beyond
the air which the refugees breath and the soil on which their camps would be
set up. The financial side, the
provision of food etc, would, of course, have to be borne by the Jewish
Communities of the free countries, especially the United States. It is anticipated that social and
philanthropic bodies such as the International Red Cross etc, might be induced
to give assistance on the technical side.
2) The actual
position with regard to the possibilities of emigration is that the Jews in Germany, Austria,
Czechoslovakia and Poland are not
allowed to leave the country. On the
other hand there is no objection to Jews leaving Holland, Belgium
and the Balkan countries. The position
in France
is still undefinite. That at least is
the latest information in our possession. (9)
The Jewish Agency
for Palestine have at their disposal a number of immigration certificates
granted by the Government of Palestine, which would enable the entry of about
5,000 immigrants (including children) into Palestine. Besides there are about 700 Jewish women and
children, mostly in Poland,
whose husbands and fathers respectively, are residing in Palestine.
For these families the Government of Palestine approved entry into Palestine to join their
relatives. We would appreciate it very
much, if the High Authorities of the Holy Seat would agree to approach the
German Government with a view to grant the exit permission for those Jewish
immigrants, who have the opportunity of immigrating into the Holy
Land.
3) The highly
humanitarian attitude of His Saintety [sic] expressing His indignation against
racial persecutions, was a source of moral comfort for our brethren. May we venture to suggest that an opportunity
should be found by radio, or as it may be deemed useful, to declare that
rendering help to persecuted Jews is considered by the Church as a good deed. This would, undoubtedly, strengthen the
feelings of those Catholics, who, as we know and appreciate, render help to
Jews doomed to starvation in the occupied territories in Europe.
In submitting
these suggestions we do not underestimate the difficulties which are evident
enough. We feel, however, the position
is so terrible, that anything that may offer an avenue of escape to even a
fraction of the Jewish Communities in Europe
will be considered as a great humanitarian action towards the Nation of Israel.
(10)
Chaim Barlas
References:
(1) Should read
Chaim Barlas.
(2) Arthur
Hughes (1902-1949), charge d’affaires of the Apostolic Delegation in Egypt was in Istanbul
from 12.01 – 21.01.1943 on request from Cardinal Maglione in order to collect Vatican mail. See
ADSS 7.72, 90, 182.
(3) See the
attachment.
(4) See ADSS
9.241
(5) See Peter
Hebblethwaite, John XIII Pope of the Century,(Continuum, 2000), pp
91-92.
(6) See ADSS
9.270 & 352.
(7) See ADSS
8.578.
(8) Not published
in ADSS.
(9) At the same
time Viscount Halifax (1881-1959) British Ambassador in Washington
DC (1940-1946) wrote to the State Department
that there was a possibility at that time there may be a possibility of freeing
the Jews. “There is a possibility that
the Germans or their satellites may change over the policy of extermination to
one of extrusion and aim as they did before the war at embarrassing other
countries by flooding them with alien immigrants”. (FRUS 1943, I, p134).
(10) See ADSS
9.60.
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