The Holy See And Hitler's Germany

There has always been a general assumption that Pius XI (1922-1939) and Pius XII (1939-1958) failed to speak out against the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis and the extermination of the Jews that took place throughout Europe. The Vatican, an institution shrouded in mystery, has only recently made its archives accessible to the public. The authors of this book were the first non-Catholics to view the files documenting the relationship between the Vatican and the National Socialist Party in the years from 1923 to 1939. The extent to which the Vatican's diplomatic strategy was dictated by their determination to retain their position of power in matters religious and political, in particular maintaining a strong anti-Bolshevik line, is only now revealed. At the same time, they were also prompted by the need to attend to their pastoral duties, caring for the welfare of their flock, and the endeavour to prevent the commission of further atrocities. Never before has the hypocrisy and duplicity of the Catholic Church's connections with the Nazi regime been exposed quite as starkly.

GERHARD BESIER is Director of the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research in Totalitarianism at the Technical University, Dresden, Germany. FRANCESCA PIOMBO is a researcher based at the Hannah Arendt Institute for Research in Totalitarianism at the Technical University, Dresden, Germany.

Preface * PART I: The Germany and Europe Policies of the Vatican, 1904-1920 * Eugenio Pacelli: State Canonist, Diplomat and Authority on Canon Law * Pacelli Becomes Apostolic Nuncio in Munich (1917) and Advocates the Pope's Peace Initiative * The Position of the Munich Nuncio on Revolution and the Efforts of the Holy See for a Just Peace * Setting Up an Embassy of the German Reich at the Holy See and the Berlin Nunciature (1920) * The Hitler Putsch and Pacelli's Move to Berlin * PART II: Vatican Foreign Policy between 1920-1929 * Catholic Nationalism in Poland and the Role of Achille Ratti * The Vatican's Negotiations with Soviet Russia * The Holy See between Germany and Poland * Pacelli, the Centre, and the Concordat Policy towards Prussia and the Reich * The Vatican's Clerical 'Domestic Policy' in Germany * The Lateran Treaty and the Restoration of the Papal States * Pacelli's Verdict of the Catholic Church in Germany at the End of His Nunciature * PART III: The Foreign Policy of the Vatican under Cardinal Secretary of State Pacelli (1930-1939) * First Conflicts with Italian Fascism, Developments in the Catholic Parties of Germany and Austria * First Conflicts with National Socialism * 'God Wills It!' The ideal of the Catholic Corporate State and the Attempt to Establish It in a Number of Catholic States in Europe * The Visits of Göring and Brüning to the Vatican * Pius XI's Understanding of the Kingdom of Christ * 'C'est Mon Concordat!' - The Origin of the 1933 Reich Concordat * Persecution of Jews and Catholics * The End of His Munich Nunciature * Struggle over the Implementing Regulations in Article 31 of the Reich Concordat * Catholicization of National Socialism? The Bridge-Building Attempt of Alois Hudal * The Holy Office's Drafts against Totalitarian Systems (1935-36) * The Spanish Civil War * The Three Papal Encyclicals of March 1937 * The 'Anschluss' of Austria * The Encyclical Draft on Racism * Hitler in Rome, the Instruction against Racism, and the Reichspogromnacht in 1938 * The Death of Pius XI, the Election of Pacelli as Pope, and the Threat of War * The 'Fullness of the Divine Right to be Obeyed', the Authoritarian Catholic Ideal of the State and the Totalitarian States * List of abbreviations * Notes * List of sources and references * Index of persons Preface * PART I: The Germany and Europe Policies of the Vatican, 1904-1920 * Eugenio Pacelli: State Canonist, Diplomat and Authority on Canon Law * Pacelli Becomes Apostolic Nuncio in Munich (1917) and Advocates the Pope's Peace Initiative * The Position of the Munich Nuncio on Revolution and the Efforts of the Holy See for a Just Peace * Setting Up an Embassy of the German Reich at the Holy See and the Berlin Nunciature (1920) * The Hitler Putsch and Pacelli's Move to Berlin * PART II: Vatican Foreign Policy between 1920-1929 * Catholic Nationalism in Poland and the Role of Achille Ratti * The Vatican's Negotiations with Soviet Russia * The Holy See between Germany and Poland * Pacelli, the Centre, and the Concordat Policy towards Prussia and the Reich * The Vatican's Clerical 'Domestic Policy' in Germany * The Lateran Treaty and the Restoration of the Papal States * Pacelli's Verdict of the Catholic Church in Germany at the End of His Nunciature * PART III: The Foreign Policy of the Vatican under Cardinal Secretary of State Pacelli (1930-1939) * First Conflicts with Italian Fascism, Developments in the Catholic Parties of Germany and Austria * First Conflicts with National Socialism * 'God Wills It!' The ideal of the Catholic Corporate State and the Attempt to Establish It in a Number of Catholic States in Europe * The Visits of Göring and Brüning to the Vatican * Pius XI's Understanding of the Kingdom of Christ * 'C'est Mon Concordat!' - The Origin of the 1933 Reich Concordat * Persecution of Jews and Catholics * The End of His Munich Nunciature * Struggle over the Implementing Regulations in Article 31 of the Reich Concordat * Catholicization of National Socialism? The Bridge-Building Attempt of Alois Hudal * The Holy Office's Drafts against Totalitarian Systems (1935-36) * The Spanish Civil War * The Three Papal Encyclicals of March 1937 * The 'Anschluss' of Austria * The Encyclical Draft on Racism * Hitler in Rome, the Instruction against Racism, and the Reichspogromnacht in 1938 * The Death of Pius XI, the Election of Pacelli as Pope, and the Threat of War * The 'Fullness of the Divine Right to be Obeyed', the Authoritarian Catholic Ideal of the State and the Totalitarian States * List of abbreviations * Notes * List of sources and references * Index of persons