Updating current news on Pius XII and the Shoah

Work commitments have kept me away from the blog for much longer than I anticipated.  Some might think that a good thing!

Here in summary are some items of interest that have ended up in my email throughout September.

1.  It is always good to see that works of note still enjoy a wide readership.  Pius XII and the Holocaust: Understanding the Controversy (2002) by Jose Maria Sanchez is one of the best introductions to the whole topic.  Matt Mazewski's comments are proof that a sturdy, evidence based work will always contribute to helping us understand the past and look at shaping questions based on fact rather than polemic.

2. World Net Daily - WND - a conservative American news service, ran an article entitled Call Issued to stop Communist Smear Campaign. After I checked the date to be certain this article was written in 2013 and not 1953, since Stalin's picture glowers out from the screen, I read about an appeal from Chuck Morse, author of On the Jewish Question - Karl Marx, anti-Semitism and the war against the West, and host of "Chuck Morse Speaks", made to Yad Vashem to have Pope Pius XII honoured as a "Righteous Gentile".  The basis of his appeal lies in his enthusiasm for the new book, Disinformation, by former Romanian communist spy, Ion Mihai Pacepa.  The article contributes nothing new to the discussion about Pius nor does it give any evidence of being aware of the comprehensive "de-bunking" of much of Pacepa's allegations that have been posted earlier.

3.  William Oddie wrote another column in the Catholic Herald related to Pius XII in mid-September.  I have written about Oddie's journalism and use of history a number of times and do not feel the need to write it again.  It is time to move beyond the old chestnuts of "calumny" and "canonise him now".  Let's deal with accurate history, not with defensive jabs at largely imaginary enemies.  The interested reader can look at past posts.

4. Filip Mazurczak interviewed Gary Krupp and posted it on the First Things site.  Mr Krupp has not changed his position over the years, which in one respect is commendable, the man is consistent and persistent.  However, I think it rather silly to say this:

The debate is over. Those who attack Pius XII still do not have a shred of documented evidence to support their claims. They base their theories on the books and research of historical revisionists whose research is weak and faulty. Every charge against Pius XII can be proven wrong. The problem is getting this information out there so that fresh, neutral minds can review and process it and render an opinion.

I respectfully suggest that Mr Krupp along with the journalists at First Things engage in some serious contemporary reading.  I recommend starting with Robert Ventresca and Frank Coppa's books.  The debate is definitely not over.

5. Catholic Culture, a conservative Catholic website from Virginia, USA, published a detailed chronology of Pope Pius XII's opposition to Hitler.  Their reason for publishing what is in fact a handy timeline that would be of great use for students is something less than salutary.

Both the Nazis of 60 years ago and today’s accusers have one common goal—to destroy the moral authority of the Papacy. Because Pius was such a strong Pope, destroying his good name would weaken the confidence of many Catholics and increase hostility to the Church everywhere. Scripture describes the cruel logic of Pius’s detractors in a single sentence: Strike down the shepherd and the flock will be scattered. (Mark 14: 27)

I imagine I would be one of those the author/s would consider out to destroy the "moral authority of the Papacy".  If so, I am flattered to be thought of as someone with such great power and influence.  It smells a bit like old fashioned conspiracy theory to me, and not dissimilar to the pernicious Jewish conspiracy theories peddled by the Nazis and their fellow travellers.

6. In two weeks Italian Jews will remember the great raid on the community in Rome on 16 October 1943.  In her article in the Edmonton Journal "The complex Holocaust legacy of Pius XII", Susan Zuccotti writes in her usual clear and unambiguous prose.  Zuccotti sets out the historical circumstances of the raid and the position of the pope.  Her closing paragraphs leave us with the timely reminder that history is not relegated to the past.  It is always in a state of discovery, interpretation and dealing with new questions.  In that sense, the debate over Pius XII is most definitely not over.

What are we to make of this complex legacy? The errors and omissions of Pius XII are not more glaring than those of other national and religious leaders, unless one believes that the head of the Roman Catholic Church should be held to a higher moral standard.

Furthermore, the Church of the past is not the Church of today. But it is important to study the historical record carefully and dispassionately, to define those errors and omissions with a view toward understanding the past and improving our responses to humanitarian crises in the future.

Finally, another review of A Cross Too Heavy has been published in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.  Mark Ruff, Associate Professor of History at St Louis University, has written a fair and balanced critique of the book.  I think he is right to criticise my lack of reference to many of the available German sources, something I am now more than well aware of and engaged in redressing.   

Frank Coppa's biography of Pius XII

Earlier this month I was approached to write a "blurb" for Professor Frank Coppa's new biography on Pope Pius XII.  I was honoured to do so. 

The book will be published by the Catholic University of America Press in February 2013.

I endorse it for several reasons.  Most significantly, this is a work that follows in the manner set out by Jose Maria Sanchez in his important book Pius XII: Understanding the Controversy (2002).  Coppa sets out to produce the life story of Pacelli using the available historical record. He treads a careful line between incorporation of essential material and exclusion of interesting but tangential information.  There is an excellent "setting of the scene" in the opening chapter that makes clear just how important context/s are in order to obtain a valid and historically accurate biography of the man and pope.

Placing the war years into the fuller context of Pius' 82 years, Coppa has helped the general reader and historian alike, gain perspective, something sorely needed, and does much to help ease the tensions surrounding study of Pacelli.  The lessons I learned revolved around two points: firstly, the articulate examination of papal politics including the much misunderstood neutrality; and secondly, the equally articulate presentation of the greater part of Pacelli's pontificate, the post-war and Cold War years 1945-1958.

I enjoyed reading Coppa's book.  I have placed it alongside Sanchez.  It should have a place on the book shelf of anyone seriously interested in a balanced and authoritative biography of Pope Pius XII.

The Letter to Pope Benedict

Towards the end of last year I was invited to join a number of historians in signing a letter addressed to Pope Benedict XVI asking him to allow more time for the examination of the papacy of Pius XII.  Honoured to have been asked, I accepted.  The signatories were asked to preserve the confidentiality of the letter until such time as the Pope had recieved it and, as we hoped, and responded to it.  Such was not the case.  Within a couple of hours of the letter being sent to Rome it was "leaked" and splashed around the world.  I leave it to the reader to judge the merit of the letter.  It was done with a profound sense of respect to the Pope and with no hint of attempting to force the Pope's hand.

This is how the National Catholic Reporter (one of the best English language Catholic journals) reported the letter:

UPDATED: Scholars ask pope to slow Pius XII's canonization



Feb. 18, 2010


By Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service Vatican


WASHINGTON -- Nineteen Catholic scholars of theology and history are asking Pope Benedict XVI to slow the process of the sainthood cause of Pope Pius XII.

Saying that much more research needs to be done on the papacy of the mid-20th century pope, the scholars said in a Feb. 16 letter to Pope Benedict that "history needs distance and perspective" before definitive conclusions can be reached on the role of Pope Pius during World War II and the Holocaust.

Leading the effort are Servite Father John Pawlikowski, professor of ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and Holy Cross Father Kevin Spicer, associate professor of history at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.

"We're not on a bandwagon to stop his eventual canonization," Father Pawlikowski told Catholic News Service Feb. 18. "We're saying allow some time."

Father Pawlikowski said the scholars, known widely for their research and expertise on the Holocaust, wanted to express their concerns in a respectful manner to the pope.

First sent Feb. 16 via e-mail to the Vatican and then sent a day later via overnight mail, the letter asked Pope Benedict "to be patient with the cause of Pope Pius XII."

Pope Benedict advanced the cause of Pope Pius' sainthood in a Dec. 19 decree.

Copies of the letter also were sent to Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, episcopal moderator for Catholic-Jewish relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

Both Father Spicer and Father Pawlikowski said the letter was meant to be private correspondence with the pope but it was released by an unknown party to a secular news agency Feb. 17.

Father Spicer told CNS Feb. 18 that the scholars also wanted to tell Pope Benedict that concerns about the canonization of Pope Pius are not limited to the Jewish community.

"The people who signed the letter, they are ... Catholic, they work in the Catholic Church in Holocaust studies or have written in that area before," Father Spicer said.

"We're all practicing Catholics. We're faithful to the Holy Father. We wanted to be sure of writing a letter that was respectful but at the same time addresses our concerns," he added.

In the letter, the scholars said "the movement to press forward at this time the process of beatification of Pius XII greatly troubles us."

Citing controversy that surrounds Pope Pius' actions during World War II and the Holocaust, the scholars said much research remains to be done before final conclusions can be drawn about his behavior.

"History needs distance and perspective to arrive at these conclusions," the letter said. "At this moment, scholars eagerly await the opening of the papers from Pius XII's pontificate that you, Holy Father, have so graciously arranged to be made available."

The scholars said existing research "leads us to the view that Pope Pius XII did not issue a clearly worded statement, unconditionally condemning the wholesale slaughter and murder of European Jews."

"At the same time, some evidence also compels us to see that Pius XII's diplomatic background encouraged him as head of a neutral state, the Vatican, to assist Jews by means that were not made public during the war. It is essential that further research be conducted to resolve both these questions," the letter said.

The scholars also shared their concern that by discussing the beatification of Pope Pius, Catholic-Jewish relations would be set back.

Acknowledging Pope Benedict's efforts to breach misunderstandings between Catholics and Jews, the scholars still cautioned that much work remains to build relations between the two religions.

"Mistrust and apprehension still exist," the scholars wrote. "For many Jews and Catholics, Pius XII takes on a role much larger than his historical papacy. In essence, Pius XII has become a symbol of centuries-old Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism.

"It is challenging to separate Pope Pius XII from this legacy. Proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII, without an exhaustive study of his actions during the Holocaust, might harm Jewish-Catholic relations in a way that cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future," the letter said.

In addition to Father Spicer and Father Pawlikowski, the list of signers includes Jesuit Father James Bernauer, philosophy professor, Boston College; Suzanne Brown-Fleming, independent scholar; John Connelly, associate history professor, University of California at Berkeley; Frank J. Coppa, history professor, St. John's University in New York; Donald J. Dietrich, theology professor, Boston College; Sister Audrey Doetzel, a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion and associate director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Boston College; Lauren N. Faulkner, assistant history professor, University of Notre Dame in Indiana; Eugene J. Fisher, retired associate director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligous Affairs in Washington; and Dominican Father Elias H. Fullenbach of the Institute for Church History, University of Bonn in Germany.

It also includes: Beth A. Griech-Polelle, associate history professor, Bowling Green State University in Ohio; Robert A. Krieg, theology professor, Notre Dame; Martin Menke, associate history professor, Rivier College in Nashua, N.H.; Paul O'Shea, senior religious education coordinator, St. Patrick's College, Strathfield, Australia; Michael E. O'Sullivan, assistant history professor, Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Michael Phayer, professor emeritus of history, Marquette University in Milwaukee; Mercy Sister Carol Rittner, professor of Holocaust and genocide studies, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey; and Jose Sanchez, professor emeritus of history, St. Louis University.

Here is the text of the letter:

16 February 2010

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Apostolic Palace, 00120 Vatican City

Your Holiness,

As faithful, practicing Catholics, consecrated and lay, we urgently write to you concerning the cause of Pope Pius XII. We are educators who have conducted research and are currently carrying into effect more research on Catholicism under National Socialism and the Holocaust. The movement to press forward at this time the process of beatification of Pius XII greatly troubles us. Needless to say, the controversy over Pius XII’s actions during the Second World War and the Holocaust is long-standing. Numerous books and articles have been written on the topic. Nevertheless, the scholars still have a great deal of research to complete before final conclusions can be drawn about Pius XII’s behavior during the Holocaust. History needs distance and perspective to arrive at these conclusions. At the moment, scholars eagerly await the opening of papers from Pius XII’s pontificate that you, Holy Father, have so graciously arranged to be made available. At the same time, as researchers, we also realize that there are numerous archives, both secular and ecclesiastical, that scholars have yet to access or consult, many of which might shed more light on Pope Pius’s actions during the Holocaust. Currently, existing research leads us to the view that Pope Pius XII did not issue a clearly worded statement, unconditionally condemning the wholesale slaughter and murder of European Jews. At the same time, some evidence also compels us to see that Pius XII’s diplomatic background encouraged him as head of a neutral state, the Vatican, to assist Jews by means that were not made public during the war. It is essential that further research be conducted to resolve both these questions. As scholars of theology and history, we realize how important the historical critical method is to your own research and we implore you to ensure that such a historical investigation takes place before proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII.

A greater issue, of course, arises with the discussion of the beatification of Pius XII. For centuries the Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, have propagated both religious anti-Judaism and religious anti-Semitism, however unintentionally or in ignorance. “Nostra Aetate,” however, ensured that Catholics’ views of Jews would be definitively changed. Your most recent comments, Holy Father, in the synagogue of Rome, endeavored to breach centuries of misunderstandings between Catholics and Jews. Your actions were moving and courageous. Still there is a great deal of work to be done in this area. Mistrust and apprehension still exist. For many Jews and Catholics, Pius XII takes on a role much larger than his historical papacy. In essence, Pius XII has become a symbol of centuries-old Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism which, for example, the late Rev. Edward H. Flannery has documented and spelled out in his work “The Anguish of the Jews: Twenty-Three Centuries of Anti-Semitism.” It is challenging to separate Pope Pius XII from this legacy. Proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII, without an exhaustive study of his actions during the Holocaust, might harm Jewish-Catholic relations in a way that cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future.

Holy Father, we implore you, acting on your wisdom as a renowned scholar, professor and teacher, to be patient with the cause of Pope Pius XII. Patience is not passive, it is active; indeed it is condensed strength and courage to bring one forward in hope to a central conclusion and point. In this regard, we humbly ask that scholars be given the access and time to carefully and thoroughly examine the documents relating to the pontificate of Pius XII before embarking on the beatification process. We thank you for hearing us and reflecting upon the urgent concerns of our request. We have the honor to be, Your Holiness,

Rev. Dr. John Pawlikowski, O.S.M., professor of ethics, Catholic Theological Union

Rev. Dr. Kevin P. Spicer, C.S.C., Kenneally associate professor of history, Stonehill College

Rev. Dr. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft professor of philosophy, Boston College, director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning

Dr. Suzanne Brown-Fleming, independent scholar

Dr. John Connelly, associate professor of history, University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Frank J. Coppa, professor of history, St. John’s University; associate editor, New Catholic Encyclopedia; currently working on biography of Pius XII

Dr. Donald J. Dietrich, professor of theology, Boston College

Dr. Audrey Doetzel, N.D.S., associate director, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Boston College

Dr. Lauren N. Faulkner, assistant professor of history, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Eugene J. Fisher, retired associate director, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

P. Elias H. Fullenbach, O.P., Dominikanerkloster Dusseldorf, Institut fur Kirchengeschichte der Universitat Bonn

Dr. Beth A. Griech-Polelle, Ph.D., associate professor of history, Bowling Green State University

Dr. Robert A. Krieg, professor of theology, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Martin Menke, associate professor of history, Rivier College

Dr. Paul O’Shea, senior religious education coordinator, St. Patrick’s College, Strathfield, NSW, Australia

Dr. Michael E. O’Sullivan, assistant professor of history, Marist College

Dr. Michael Phayer, professor emeritus of history, Marquette University

Dr. Carol Rittner, R.S.M., distinguished professor of Holocaust and genocide studies and the

Dr. Marsha Raitcoff Grossmann professor of Holocaust Studies, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Dr. Jose Sanchez, professor emeritus of history, St. Louis University

Pinchas Lapide and Rubbery Figures

In his book “The Last Three Popes and the Jews” (1967), Pinchas Lapide claimed that Pius XII was responsible for saving the lives of 860,000 Jews. I remember the first time I read Lapide’s book and the sense of amazement that Pius had been so active in saving Jewish lives. In the 20 years or so since I first read “The Last Three Popes” I have done a lot of work in studying, researching, teaching and writing about the Holocaust. While I did not give Lapide much, if any thought, in my studies, occasionally I wondered “Where did he get the numbers from?” It has only been in the last few months when I decided to launch the blog that I considered it was time to have a proper look at Lapide’s claim that has been used as one of the major arguments to support the thesis that Pope Pius XII was the greatest rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust.

But first, a couple of myths need to be dispelled. On a number of historically uncritical websites, blogs and in more than a few books, Lapide is described as a diplomat and a rabbi. As far as I can tell from the few sites that have detailed information about Lapide he never received smicha (rabbinical ordination), and was in diplomatic service from 1951 to 1962 holding several relatively minor roles in Milan, Rio and Jerusalem.

I have yet to find any source that claims Lapide was an historian. He held degrees in languages, biblical studies and political science. His great passion was interfaith dialogue between Judaism and Christianity.

Who was Lapide?

Pinchas Lapide was born in Vienna, Austria on 28 November 1922. After the Anchluss in March 1938 and a short term of imprisonment in a concentration camp near the Czech border, Lapide managed to make his way into Poland and from there to Britain before arriving in Palestine on the last ship to reach the Mandate in 1940 where he worked on a kibbutz near Haifa. He enlisted in the British Eighth Army in 1941 and eventually served in Italy as part of the Jewish Brigade. At war’s end he served as a liaison officer between the Americans and Russians in Vienna.

Remaining in Vienna after demobilisation in 1945, Lapide studied languages for a year at Vienna University. In 1947 he returned to Palestine and studied under Martin Buber as well as pursuing his now growing interest in early Jewish-Christian history. He fought in the Israeli wars of Independence after which he resumed studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In 1951 Lapide entered the Israeli diplomatic service and worked in Milan where he met Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. During this time he met and married Ruth Rosenblatt (1929- ) with whom he shared a common interest in Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Lapide was involved in the Israeli government’s preparation for the visit of Paul VI to Israel in 1964. At the same time he was Deputy Director of the National Press Office in Israel. Lapide’s commitment to study did not wane. He pursued studies in languages, medieval history and political science alongside his passion, early Jewish-Christian history. He was proficient in Italian, Russian, French, German, Hebrew and English. In 1967 he wrote his most famous work Rom und die Juden, translated as “The Last Three Popes and the Jews”.

In 1969 Lapide and his family moved from Israel to Cologne, Germany. He studied at the Martin Buber Institute for Jewish Studies and completed a PhD on the subject of Hebrew usage in Christian religious communities in the land of Israel. From 1971 Lapide was resident in Frankfurt am Main. For the rest of his life, Pinchas Lapide worked for reconciliation between Jews and Christians. He was honoured for his work by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1993 with the Great Federal Cross of Merit; and his adopted city, Frankfurt, which struck a medal in his name. Lapide died on 23 October 1997.

Lapide’s published works cover topics around the areas of early Jewish-Christian history. His studies at tertiary levels were in the areas of languages, biblical studies, medieval history and political science.

Lapide and Interfaith Dialogue, History and Popes.

It is reasonably clear that Pinchas Lapide was passionate about Jewish-Christian dialogue in a time when such dialogue was just emerging. “The Last Three Popes” was published just two years after Nostrae Aetate and well before the major dialogues between the Judaism and Christianity were part of the regular pattern of religious life for either tradition. I suggest that Lapide’s non-critical examination of the role of the Catholic Church during the Holocaust comes from his eagerness to promote good relations between the official Church and, understandably, sceptical Jewish communities. The book demonstrates a basic knowledge of the history of Jewish-Christian relations in the first half of the 20th century, but does not seem to grasp the complexities that characterised Catholic responses and reactions to Fascism, Communism and Democracy.

Lapide does not explain, in a satisfactory or reliable way, how he reached the figure of 860,000 rescued Jews in his discussion of Pius XII. On pages 214 and 215 of “The Last Three Popes” (Souvenir, London) Lapide wrote:

"The Catholic Church, under the pontificate of Pius XII was instrumental in saving at least 700,000 but probably as many as 860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands"

Estimating that 1.3 million of Europe’s pre-war Jewish population survived, Lapide then subtracted numbers based on what he said were “reasonable claims” of rescue made by Protestant Christians, Communists, agnostics and other non-Jews. Jose Maria Sanchez, author of “Pius XII and the Holocaust: Understanding the Controversy” (CUA Press 2002) and arguably one of the most conservatively balanced writers on Pius, wrote:

Lapide gives no documentation for this figure or his exact calculations. It should be noted that Lapide does not say that Pius saved the Jews, only that the saving occurred “under the pontificate of Pius XII.” The undocumented calculation and suggestive wording have been ignored by Pius’ defenders. Their uncritical acceptance of Lapide’s statistics and statements has weakened their arguments. (Sanchez, 140)

Ronald Rychlak, William Doino, David Dalin and Margherita Marchione are among writers who consistently use Lapide’s figure to support their arguments.

In summary, the figure of 860,000 is a creation of Pinchas Lapide and nothing else. It has no basis in historical fact.

Most Holocaust historians such as Raul Hilberg, Yehuda Bauer, Lucy Dawidowicz, Martin Gilbert, David Bankier, Michael Berenbaum and Saul Friedlander, support the thesis that the number of dead lie between Raul Hilberg’s 5.1 million and Wolfgang Benz’s outer limit of 6.2 million. The reason for the discrepancy lies in the lack of verifiable data. The Germans kept lists for many of the killing sites, but some of the lists contain estimates, and it was not uncommon for these to be inflated in order to impress superiors in Berlin.

Lucy Dawidowicz is regarded as having created a reliable summary in her book “The War Against the Jews” (1986): of a European pre-war population estimated at 8.861 million, approximately 5.933 were murdered – c67%. The surviving number – 2.983 million are accounted through migration either pre-war or after war began, depending on location; Soviet Jews in European Russia who fled eastwards after June 1941; Jews hidden in occupied territories either by non-Jews or with other Jews in places such as forests and partisan groups; survivors of camps and ghettoes. The number of Jews rescued by Catholics will never be known with accuracy because of the variables related to the reality of rescue.

Lapide also mentioned that in 1958 there were calls to plant a forest of 860,000 trees in memory of the Jews saved by Catholics during the Holocaust. This “throw away” line has entered the mythology of some “canonise-him-now” groups, who believe that such a forest exists. Recent emails to friends in Israel have discovered no forest. It has never existed, and most likely, never will.