did vatican help financing second world war?

Answer 1

I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE IF THEY HELPED FINANCE THE WAR EFFORT BUT I DO KNOW THAT AT THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR THE VATICAN DID HELP NAZI AND SS OFFICER ESCAPE GERMANY WERE THEY WERE TAKEN TO THE VATICAN, CLOTHED FED AND HIDDEN FROM THE ALLIES UNTIL THEY WERE ABLE TO GIVE THEM MONEY AND SEND THEM TO OTHER COUNTRIES FOR SAFE HIDING AS TOO NOT BE PROSICUTED BY US OR AMERICA FOR WAR CRIMES. SOME OF THESE COUNTRIES WERE IN SOUTH AMERICA AND EVEN SOUTHERN FRANCE. AND THEY SAY RELIGION IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GOOD THING. HOPE IT HELPS

Answer 2

To state that the Vatican financed or assisted the Nazi's in WW2 is akin to stating that Britain & U.S. prolonged the Holocaust by refusing to bomb Auschwitz, even though Jews throughout Europe and middle East sought such action. Yes , there may have been some Catholic clergy who colluded with the Germans, but to generalise the Vatican as having such a policy is ridiculous. As for the Vatican assisting the S.S. with a means of escape after the war, again did not the British and the U.S. also assist and hand -pick those Germans/Nazis who were deemed valuable and quickly evacuated them to far off climes, those deemed useless were left behind for the Soviets, Israelis and Partisans.It would be wise to remember that 'the first casualty of war is Truth' and also that 'history is written by the victors' when generalisation and rumour is pushed around.

Answer 3

they may not have financed it overtly, but by doing nothing or turning a blind eye they effectively made matters worse. It is a accepted theory that if the vatican would have taken a direct oppositional stance against hitler the holocaust could have been minimised through awareness and at the very least the fighting forces would have been bolstered by millions of catholic troops signing up to fight on the popes request.

Answer 4

The Vatican may honestly be charged with cowardice in the Hitler business, but not, I think, with complicity.

One must understand that the Pope had only recently regained sovranty over a tiny part of Rome after having none at all during the Risurgimento.

In addition, Mussolini consistently resisted pressure from Hitler to send Italian Jews to Germany and sudden or eventual death. It was only after the Italian surrender, consequent German occupation, and the establishment of Mussolini as a puppet in Northern Italy that Italian Jews were sent to the death camps.

I am not fond of Mussolini, but I think he was blameless in this regard (as was Franco, whom I also dislike but who accepted the few Jews who arrived in Spain as refugees).

Answer 5

Pope Pius XI, just before the war broke out, 1937, issued an Encyclical, Mit Brenner Sorge in German, calling for opposition to nazism, personally saving thousands of Jewish lives.
Pope Pius XII has been criticised for his silence on the Nazi question. It is considered that he may have belived that making statements would have made the situation even worse. There is no doubt that thousands of jewish people in Italy received 'instant' baptism certificates to use in case of being rounded up. Thousands were sheltered in convents and religious houses.

Answer 6

I am not sure about whether they supported it financially, but they definitely supported the Axis Powers during the war.

Answer 7

Yes. But we are not supposed to talk about it! Shhhhhhhhh!

Answer 8

Yes, how unchristian!