What was the Vatican's view of the Holocaust in WW2-were they unaware or did they choose to turn a blind eye?

Answer 1

Due to Fascist dominance in Italy the Pope had to bee very careful we what he said or did publicly. Many priests in the Vatican aided Jews, helpgin to either hide them or spirit them out of the country to safety. The Pope however, had to walk a thin line. He agreed to not allow German priests to make political statments from the pulpit, this arrangment guarunteed him saftey for the church.

Had the Pope been too openly condmening of the holocaust, which many didn't even know much about, he may have angered Hitler enough to cause an invasion of the Vatican City, and/or a systematic backlash against German Catholics. Even without such action form the pope, figures lower in hyerarchy did quite a bit to help the Jews and condemn Nazi actions, many died for it. Catholics were one of the leading victims in the whole mess of 5 million non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, something seemingly forgotten.

Answer 2

Pope Pius was severely castigated in Europe (outside of Germany) for not only refusing to take an active stand against Hitler, but by seeming to support Hitler, if not directly, at least by his (Pius') incation against the Holocaust. The way that Hitler was moving through Europe was undoubtedly unsettling to a man whose power base (at least to those outside of the Catholic Church) seemed to stem from Italy. Hitler and Mussolini were uneasy allies until El Duce was beheaded. Therefore, for Pius to have actively stood against Hitler he would have been angering the man who appeared to be on a course toward world domination and also the leader of the country in which the Vatican was located. Now, granted, the Vatican is politically independent of Italy, but it would be difficult to exercise that independence with the likes of Hitler and Mussolini breathing down your neck. So, most likely Pius took the path of least resistance and did not strenuously object to what was happening in many parts of Europe. Also, Hitler, the great propagandist, had promised to rid the world of Communism, that in and of itself posed a tremendous threat to the reputation, if not existence of the Vatican. It would be difficult to prove one's rightful place as the wealthiest principality in the world while everyone else was collective farming. Not only would Communism put the Vatican in a defensive mode but also Communism would have greatly curtailed or even stopped the flow of revenue into the Vatican's boundaries. People who do not own property cannot be expected to tithe to the church. Finally, and this is the really horrible part, other religions (and not only the Roman Catholic Church) have long held antisemitic believes, either openly or covertly. Unfortunately, it would not be a surprise to discover that Pius felt that the Jewish were being deservedly punished. It is possible, but not likely, that Pius truly did no know the extent to which genocide was taking place in Germany and its conquered countries, being that the Vatican, should it choose to be isolated, is capable of being so. Nevertheless, the popes are and always have been well informed in regard to political climates throughout the world, and most likely Pius knew what was happening but turned a blind eye in order to preserve his dominion from invasion, poverty or outright destruction.

Answer 3

I hate to say it, but it seems that they turned a blind eye. I'm Catholic, and I've done SOME research on the subject. It seems that Pope Pious XII had an understood mutual exclusionary pact. You don't get involved with me, and I don't mess with you. Catholicism has always been greatly opposed to Communism which flourished at the time. Hitler was very outspoken against Communism and vowed to remove it from Europe, something the Pious agreed with. A great book on it is "Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII" and a good movie on it is "Amen" (2002). Apparently there were a number of German clergymen that got wind of what was going on and tried to convince the Pope to take action. They were seemingly ignored. Perhaps (within reference to Catholic authority and the German people in general) it was a combination of both. Since the NAZI government tried to keep it a secret the public didn't outright know what was going on. They knew something was wrong but chose largely to ignore it.

Answer 4

The German army was strongly represented in Italy. Pope Pius XII probably judged the survival of the institution demanded prudence in what he said, and care in his behavior.

The Church knew what was going on, no question of it, judging from what's public in the documents.

The Church evidently did do some maneuvering to try assisting escape for some Jews.

No way of knowing whether they could have done more, or done what they did better.

Answer 5

I think the pope at that time was hoping to get on Hitler's good side in order to promote the religion throughout communist Europe after the war.
This should not be forgotten that the pope is just a human like the rest of us, he is no closer to God than anyone else.
The people's faith in the religan it's self is what is important to remember.

Answer 6

The RC church actively backed the nazi regeem.
You can find many pictures of them blessing generals , troops and the machinery of war.

Thats not doing anything , or turning a blind eye like some answers have proposed.

Thats participating.

Answer 7

What do you think? "In the Kingdom of the blind,the one-eyed man is King"..Does this make any sense ? The World's richest Corporation which pays no taxes and exists unto itself can easily afford a new eye..a pirate patch is WAY too much..the parrot's voicebox..is silent.

Answer 8

Most likely the Vatican had a hand in it! Most of the evil acts in the world are done by the Catholic Church.

Answer 9

Pope Pius XII The pope who reigned during the Holocaust, whose detractors have called him "Hitler's Pope" and defenders say used his moral...

Answer 10

They knew but did nothing. To them Hitler was an enemy of Communism so he was OK