PIUS XII AND THE JEWS: The War Years, 
as reported by the New York Times 

 by Stephen M. DiGiovanni, H.E.D.

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Introduction:  

In 1998, the Vatican issued a document entitled, “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah.”   The result was a flurry of interest in the Church during the Holocaust.

I decided to do a brief research project, employing readily available historical sources that would reveal the contemporary scene during the War.  What did the Roman Catholic Church do during World War II concerning the Nazi’s and their racial policies?  One of the most accessible sources of information concerning the War years is the New York Times.  Most major American libraries, university, public, or private have the New York Times on microfilm with a thorough index.  While not being a source offering complete information, the New York Times does provide a view of that which was publicly known and that which was publicly done by the Church concerning European Jewry and the Nazis.

The present brief study is based primarily upon entries in the New York Times during the War years.  It provides a marvelous source of contemporary information that has rarely been used by historians in their treatment of the War.^[1]

The commonly held view, propagated first by the communist party near the end of the war, and popularized since the 1963 production of Rolf Hochuth’s play, “The Deputy”, is that Pius XII dropped the ball, and that the Church, while not actively supporting the genocide of the Fuhrer or the Duce, did little to stop it. The New York Times provides a very different view.  It reported that both Pius XI and Pius XII spoke out repeatedly against the racist policies of the totalitarian governments, and worked to save hundreds of thousands of Jews from extermination.  Among the many Jewish voices raised during the war to extol Pius XII and the Church was Albert Einstein’s:

“Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth. I never had any special interest in the 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.” (Time Magazine, December 23, 1940).

This paper reports what the Times reported and commented upon concerning Pope Pius XII.  It is as complete as was the Times in its reporting; if the Times didn’t report an event during the War, then that event is not considered in this paper.  Nevertheless, the Times does  provide evidence that the Pope and the Church did much to save the Jews, and that the entire world applauded Pius XII and publicly thanked him for his efforts.  The Times also reported that Pope Pius XII and the Church hierarchies in Europe recognized and condemned the horrible reality of the ultimate goal of Hitler.  Hitler worked to redefine the human person, making all drones of the deified state, destroying peoples and institutions that did not fit into his new world order.  Among the many victims were the Jews and the Church. 

There are four sections to this paper: An Introductory section concerning the moral and theological  principles established by Popes Pius XI and XII relative to totalitarian governments. Pope Pius XI was the first to face the Nazi and Fascist regimes.  The principles he laid down and the work he began, formed the basis for the work by Pope Pius XII; the second section treats of the application of these principles by the Church in defense of the Jews and of the Church; the third section concerns the Nazi reaction to the Church’s protests against the Nazi and Fascist governments; the fourth section briefly treats of the origin of the charge about the alleged “silence” and pro-Nazi sentiments of Pope Pius XII.  References to the N.Y. Times articles will list the date of the issue, the page number and the column reference.