Nazi occupation meant a period of frenzied activity for the Vatican Secretariat of State. That's what the stories compiled in this book by archivist Johan Ickx recount.
At least 2,800 petitions for help from Jews all over Europe reached Pope Pius XII. They were requests that affected more than 4,000 people persecuted under Hitler's regime.
JOHAN ICKX
Archivist, Secretariat of State
“This is the surprising part. These people (at the Vatican) continued working day after day against evil in its purest form. They often failed, naturally, because many times the governments refused to collaborate, and instead, blocked all their activities.”
This was the case for hundreds of Jewish women from Slovakia who were handed over to the Nazis as prostitutes. The Holy See, coordinating closely with the nunciature, exhausted all diplomatic means to put an end to this situation, without success. In fact, at times it seems that the Vatican's protests produced the opposite result.
JOHAN ICKX
Archivist, Secretariat of State
“This too can be deduced from the book. They had to carefully weigh every situation to determine when, and when not, to take action, because they knew that the Nazis often increased their punishments when someone spoke out.”
Johan Ickx found within the archives the nuncio's personal impressions after his meeting with then prime minister of Slovakia, Vojtech Tuka. The nuncio asked the politician to stop deportations, but he found himself up against a brick wall. The prime minister characterized Jews as “the plague” and as “a group of evildoers.” The nuncio later took note of the disappointing meeting.
There is nothing more unpleasant nor humiliating than having a conversation with this man.
That's why Johan Ickx says it's not fair to accuse the Vatican of cowardice and indifference toward the atrocities carried out by the Nazis before its very eyes.
JOHAN ICKX
Archivist, Secretariat of State
“All the history books repeat the same idea: that the pope looked the other way, that he chose not to act to help the Jews. FLASH I offer the reader but a small sample of letters that show a completely different Pius XII and Secretariat of State.”
He also says there are documents that show that Pius XII was not “Hitler's Pope,” as some people have labeled him. Eugenio Pacelli was a good friend of the president of the United States.
JOHAN ICKX
Archivist, Secretariat of State
“What do these documents show? They show a private friendship between Roosevelt and Pacelli that had existed for 30 years, when Card. Pacelli traveled to the United States as the Secretary of State.”
Johan Ickx doesn't intend for the book to be an exhaustive study of the pope's responsibilities during the war. Rather, it's a compilation of stories that show both the determination and powerlessness that Pius XII and his staff felt as they tried to save lives while the Nazis camped out on the Vatican's doorstep.
Javier Romero
Translation: CT
