Vatican documentation on Jewish persecution during the Nazi period is no longer restricted to only scholars.
The Vatican has published 119 of the 170 booklets that make up part of the Secretariat of State archives on the Internet. The goal is to publish the rest once the digitization process is completed.
This publication lets the public see thousands of requests for help that reached the Vatican during World War II and how Vatican Secretariat of State officials tried to help the Jews.
In 2020, Pope Francis had already arranged for scholars to have access to these documents. A year later, the prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives described the work needed to have everything ready for public access.
MSGR. SERGIO PAGANO
Prefect, Vatican Apostolic Archive
We had to work for many years—definitely more than 12 years to be sure to classify everything, make an inventory of everything and we still haven't finished because the pope decided to open the archives. The Holy Father knew that we still lack douments from some nunciatures. We are working in these months and we hope that this year we can finish everything.
Although the material that scholars can access is greater than what the public can see, the Vatican hopes that this publication encourages greater study and consultation regarding the tragic events of that period.
JRB
TR: KG
