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Yad Vashem and Pius XII

Background

The following narrative is based on published news reports and private e-mail correspondence:

The April 12, 2007 edition of the Jerusalem Post included an article by Etgar Lefkovits entitled, "Vatican to skip Yad Vashem ceremony."

The article stated that the Vatican ambassador to Israel, Archbishop Antonio Franco, would not attend the annual Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) state ceremony at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, because of a caption mounted there in 2005 about Pope Pius XII. Click HERE for the text of the caption.

"I will attend any ceremony on the victims of World War II," Archbishop Franco is quoted as saying, "but I do not feel at ease at Yad Vashem when the Pope is presented in this way." Stating that his decision not to attend the ceremony was a personal one, he added that museum officials had not responded to a request from his predecessor last year to reword the caption.

The Vatican's perspective was further expressed by Monsignor Pasquale Jacobone of the Pontifical Council for Culture in quotations in an April 13 article, "Vatican: Israel 'blind' to pope's role in Holocaust, says Vatican official " on adnkronosinternational (AKI). Claiming that the Jewish state is showing "ignorance," Msgr. Jacobone is quoted as saying that "Israel's attitude toward the figure of Pius XII shows a willingness not to recognise the role of the Church, attested by numerous historical documents." "Even documents recently found confirm Pius XII's interest to safeguard Jews, many of whom were saved after they were sheltered in churches," he added.

For its part, Yad Vashem spokespersons said the caption accurately reflected history. According to the Lefkovits article, "Yad Vashem informed the Vatican representative that it would readily re-examine Pius XII's conduct during the Holocaust if the Vatican opened its World War II-era archives to the museum's research staff." The processing of the Vatican archival materials is currently proceeding at an accelerated pace and recently materials from the pre-war period have become available. Lefkovits quotes Vad Vashem spokespersons as saying, "The Holocaust museum presents the historical truth on Pope Pius XII as is known to scholars today."

The dispute has generated several types of reactions:

  • Given the volatile nature of the subjects, there has unsurprisingly been heated rhetoric on both sides. Defenders of Yad Vasham accuse the Vatican of engaging in historical revisionism, while defenders of the Vatican charge the museum with a lack of historical objectivity.

  • Some have acknowledged that the caption describing Pius XII is problematic (see comments below), but also claim that boycotting a memorial to the memory of the victims of the Shoah is an inappropriate and extreme way for the Vatican to express its displeasure over an exhibit caption. It is seen as an offense to the memory of the slain. (See the April 13 statement of the Anti-Defamation League).

  • Others have lamented the rapid escalation of the rhetoric, feeling that the dispute could have easily been resolved before reaching this point if the parties had been more amenable.

  • Several reports have suggested a connection between this incident and a long-standing dispute over the full implementation by the State of Israel of its 1993 Fundamental Agreement with the Holy See, which led to full diplomatic relations between them. At stake are the Catholic Church's right to property tax exemption in the State of Israel, which was to be negotiated according to Article 10 of the Fundamental Agreement. These negotations have been delayed by the State of Israel, most recently when a March 29 meeting was suddenly cancelled by Israel because of the pressure of "international political events." The AKI article cited above notes that "The failure to resolve the issues have left church properties ranging from holy shrines to modern hospitals languishing in legal and fiscal limbo. ... [T]he church has no access to judicial courts when land ownership disputes occur, and is not guaranteed tax-exempt status that it and other religious institutions routinely receive in other countries." According to informed observers, while the Vatican interprets Israel's delaying as ill will, its actual cause is the inability of the various Ministries in the Israeli government to act in a coordinated fashion and accept that the Fundamental Agreement requires a new law to be passed in this case.

More relevant materials will be posted here as the situation develops.

 

  • Vatican nuncio will attend Yad Vashem ceremony
April 15, 2007 Ynetnews.com story, click HERE.
 
 
 
 

 

 Caption for photo of Pope Pius XII at Yad Vashem

In 1933, when he was Secretary of the Vatican State, he was active in obtaining a Concordat with the German regime to preserve the Church's rights in Germany, even if this meant recognizing the Nazi racist regime. When he was elected Pope in 1939, he shelved a letter against racism and anti-Semitism that his predecessor had prepared. Even when reports about the murder of Jews reached the Vatican, the Pope did not protest either verbally or in writing. In December 1942, he abstained from signing the Allied declaration condemning the extermination of the Jews. When Jews were deported from Rome to Auschwitz, the Pope did not intervene. The Pope maintained his neutral position throughout the war, with the exception of appeals to the rulers of Hungary and Slovakia towards its end. His silence and the absence of guidelines obliged Churchmen throughout Europe to decide on their own how to react.


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Some Comments on the Caption

 

... even if this meant recognizing the Nazi racist regime.   The Nazis were the legitimately elected German government. All nation-states, including the Holy See, recognized this despite any disgust with Nazi rhetoric and policies.
... he shelved a letter against racism and anti-Semitism that his predecessor had prepared   This refers to a draft encyclical, Humanae Generis Unitas, made public in 1997 in Georges Passelecq and Bernard Suchecky, The Hidden Encyclical of Pius XI (Harcourt, Brace, and Co.). Its section on antisemtism argued that Jews should be segragated in society because of their slaying of Jesus. Click HERE for the relevant section. Had such ideas been officially promulgated, then Hitler would have put them to destructive use and the later theological reforms of Nostra Aetate repudiating the idea of a divine curse on Jews would have likely been impossible. The caption's wording suggests that Pius XII acted because he did not reject antisemitism.
Even when reports about the murder of Jews reached the Vatican, the Pope did not protest either verbally or in writing.   This blanket statement overlooks such texts as Pius XII's 1942 Christmas message. While it did not specifically identify Jews as victims, it was nevertheless well understood at the time as a papal criticism of the Nazis and their policies. Although it could be argued that more forceful and repeated protests could have been made, to imply that none were made is excessive.
The Pope maintained his neutral position throughout the war, with the exception of appeals to the rulers of Hungary and Slovakia towards its end.   It is true that the Holy See followed a policy of neutrality in its diplomatic relations. That does not mean that Pius XII was personally neutral or unmoved by the plight of Jews as the caption suggests.
His silence and the absence of guidelines obliged Churchmen throughout Europe to decide on their own how to react.   This is a blanket statement that asserts an absolute silence, thereby overlooking, for example, numerous accounts of the sheltering and rescue of Italian Jews under verbal instructions from the pope.
     
     
     

 

 

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Anti-Defamation League:

Vatican Boycott of Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day “Inappropriate and Insulting”

New York, NY, April 13, 2007 … Calling the decision by the Vatican ambassador to Israel to boycott the Holocaust memorial services at Yad Vashem “inappropriate and insulting,” the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today repeated its longstanding call for the Vatican to open its wartime archives so that the facts concerning the wartime actions of Pope Pius XII may finally be brought to light.

            Archbishop Antonio Franco, the Vatican’s ambassador to Israel, has made the unprecedented announcement that he will boycott the April 16 memorial events at Yad Vashem, Israel’s national memorial to the Holocaust, in protest of a photo caption in an exhibit that seemingly charges Pope Pius XII with failing to save Jews during the Holocaust.

            “While we understand Archbishop Franco’s displeasure about the photo caption, his decision to boycott the entire Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies is unnecessarily insulting and unbecoming,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor.  “The photo caption may be inappropriate and too judgmental, but it does not justify the Vatican’s refusal to participate in Israel’s national observation of Holocaust Memorial Day.”

            Mr. Foxman said the episode served as yet another reminder of the need for the Vatican to declassify all archival materials covering the period of the rise of the Third Reich in Germany and World War II, “so that legitimate independent scholars and historians can study and analyze them and help us to finally learn the facts concerning Pope Pius XIII and his actions vis-à-vis Jews during the Holocaust.

            “Without the public release and analysis of the Vatican’s wartime archives, the questions about Pope Pius XII will remain unresolved,” said Mr. Foxman.  “These records have special significance for Holocaust survivors and their families.  We strongly urge the Vatican to make public access to the archives their highest priority.”

 

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