What did the Pope know about the Holocaust? | DW Documentary

The Vatican opened once-secret records on Pope Pius XII on March 2020.
This gave researchers a brand new insight into the Catholic Church during
the Nazi era. What did the Pope know about the Holocaust?

Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, is one of the most controversial figures in recent church
history. New archive material sheds light on his career and politics. As ambassador of
the Holy See in Germany and Cardinal Secretary of State of the Vatican, Pacelli witnessed
Hitler’s rise to power. He was elected Pope in 1939, just months before the start of World
War II. But what role did he play during the Holocaust? Many accuse him of shirking his
responsibilities; of complicit silence while minorities were murdered, especially the Jewish.

Just days after the archives opened, church historian Hubert Wolf discovered a document
describing the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto. Pope Pius XII read the paper on 27 September
1942, but its contents were never published. Nor were the notes in the margins by members
of the Secretariat of State. But the Vatican claimed for decades that nothing was kept from the
public.

Defenders of Pius XII say he acted in secret to save the lives of many Jews. Thousands were
hidden in church institutions, and the Roman Curia helped them to escape abroad. But the
credibility of the Roman Curia during the Holocaust is now at stake, with many still unanswered
questions. Why did Pius XII not join the Allies’ protest in December 1942 against the extermination
of the Jews?