The twentieth century was marked by genocides on an monstrous scale. One of the most terrible was the Holocaust wrought by Nazi Germany, which killed an estimated six million European Jews and almost as many other victims.
During this dark time, the Catholic Church was shepherded by Pope Pius XII, who proved himself an untiring foe of the Nazis, determined to save as many Jewish lives as he could. Yet today Pius XII gets almost no credit for his actions before or during the war.
Anti-Catholic author Dave Hunt writes, "The Vatican had no excuse for its Nazi partnership or for its continued commendation of Hitler on the one hand and its thunderous silence regarding the Jewish question on the other hand. . . . [The popes] continued
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The Germans were likewise displeased with the reigning pontiff, Pius XI, who showed himself to be a unrelenting opponent of the new German "ideals"—even writing an entire encyclical, Mit Brennender Sorge (1937), to condemn them. When Pius XI died in 1939, the Nazis abhorred the prospect that Pacelli might be elected his successor.
Dr. Joseph Lichten, a Polish Jew who served as a diplomat and later an official of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, writes: "Pacelli had obviously established his position clearly, for the Fascist governments of both Italy and Germany spoke out vigorously against the possibility of his election to succeed Pius XI in March of 1939, though the cardinal secretary of state had served as papal nuncio in Germany from 1917 to 1929. . . . The day after his election, the Berlin Morgenpost said: ‘The election of cardinal Pacelli is not accepted with favor in Germany because he was always opposed to Nazism and practically determined the policies of the Vatican under his predecessor.’ "[4]
Former Israeli diplomat and now Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Pinchas Lapide states that Pius XI "had good reason to make Pacelli the architect of his anti-Nazi policy. Of
The Holocaust was one of the twentieth century's greatest tragedies that were made possible by anti-Semitism, the indifference of other nations, isolationism politics, and outright fear.
Years ago, a man was crucified for saying he was God’s Son. His name was Jesus Christ. Those who followed his teachings were named Christians; and Christians soon resented Jews for their sinful act. This tension between Christians and Jews lead to increasing hatred for one another. Not too long ago, anti-Semitism was common. Anti-Semitism led to the death of an entire population during the Holocaust. Luckily, the church has taken measures to rectify this anti-semitism with the publication of Nostra Aetate. In 1965, the Vatican II Council completely transformed the church’s policies and theology with this document. Nostra Aetate signifies “In Our Time.” Indeed, in our time, the ill sentiments towards Jews have changed tremendously. Nostra
None the less the Papacy was now divide. The saying "United we stand, while divided we fall." is very valid in this instance. The church is having many problems around this time period and many people are converting, or shale we say shifting, to other forms or Christianity. Whereas before these problems occurred the church was the central power in Western Europe and had great influence over the governments in their sphere of power. This event, the schism, caused a split in the Catholic Church and divided countries among the two popes. "Everyone realized that the schism resulting from the counter-election of Cardinal Robert of Geneva as Pope Clement VII . . . was a tragedy for the church . . ."
During the Second World War, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the leader of the Italian Nationalist Fascist government. He was head of the Italian government from 1922 till 1943. The significance of Mussolini is that he played a key role acting as the Italian Prime Minister and established a totalitarian regime, during this time, as the unchallenged supreme leader, known as ‘Il Duce’. Fascism consisted of many contributors of which Mussolini with all his quirks was the key to most of its failures and successes, making him the most significant player that is worthy of being investigated. This topic is worthy of being investigated as Mussolini made a lot of decisions that lead to the death of many, but the question as to
This examination is important in its historical content because it is often debated whether Pope Pius XII and the Catholic Church actually helped or hurt the Jews during the Holocaust. Some claim that he helped to legitimize the Nazi regime and assisted Hitler himself, while others argue that he silently assisted the Jews while still appearing neutral.
Pope John XXIII played a vital role in shaping Christianity as we know it today. He contributed socially, politically and liturgically and was a major influence in the establishment of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue between other churches and religions. He advocated Christian unity, social justice, human rights and the promotion of world peace, and his openness to all people led to him obtaining the name “Good Pope John”.
Along with the Fascist Party, came the idea of a "perfect" race of man, and persecution. Hitler’s idea of a non-Jewish race appealed to Mussolini. Before the war began, Benito Mussolini and his army started their persecution of the Jews in Italy. This did not last long, however, because Mussolini’s popularity began to fall. As his popularity among his people began to decline, so did his relations with many European nations. Much of Italy’s foreign relations depended solely on treaties and pacts. (5) As Germany and Italy moved together towards a uniform society, the strength and honor of the treaties were in jeopardy.
It is a widely held belief that the Church did not aid Hitler’s regime and were innocent bystanders. Others say that the Church indirectly contributed to Hitler’s agenda with their anti-Jewish doctrines. The Jews, however, were not only victimized by Nazis but also Christians. Christian authorities’ reactions to the Holocaust and how they reacted to accusations of blame are very vague. This topic is important because it explores how the people of a major religion abandoned the most basic teachings and morals of that religion. Christianity’s and Pope Pius’ role in the Holocaust still remains to this day remains very controversial.
On page 37, Manchester states, “At any given moment the most dangerous enemy in Europe was the reigning pope.” The popes of the church were their Holy Fathers, but
The Catholic Church is the oldest major religion in the Western world. Littered with peace, love, and humility, along with violence, turmoil, and controversy this institution has seen, heard, led, and had influence over the majority of everything and everybody that there was in the last two millennia. This has included ordinary people, Kings, Queens, Generals, Nobleman, Royalty, and everything in between, and has endured since the beginning of the modern era, Anno Domini. They great spiritual and monetary machine created a powerful reign over the entire world’s Catholics, and remains so to this day. For the purpose of background for my visit to a Catholic Church, being Presbyterian, I did historical research before I visited. I
Two years later and just before the outbreak of World War II, in February 1939, Pope Pius XI died. Cardinal Pacelli was then elected Pope and became Pope Pius XII. Due to his previous anti-Nazi ideals, the future Allied powers were confident that Pius XII would fully support their part in WWII; however, Pope Pius XII would remain neutral throughout the war (Sanchez 17). At the beginning of his papacy, Pius XII told Vatican officials that 'to me the German question is the most important; I will reserve handling it to myself.' He added, 'Naturally I will follow German matters closer than all others" (Phayer 44). Pius XII hoped that remaining neutral in the war would evade battles in Vatican City.
Guido is the outcome of a brutal, uncivilized history that establishes him becoming the Christian aristocratic subject which he identifies himself with the world as: “With a rope about its neck...applauded with that cold yet hysterical abandon of a people… the very Pope himself shaken down from his hold on heaven with the laughter of a man who forgoes his angels that he may recapture the beast.” The platform or “arena” of deterioration establishes the exclusion of the Jewish race. Through the
With this propaganda the Nazi attacked the churches and their members between 1934 and 1936. The Nazis shut down Catholic schools, the Hitler Youth absorbed several youth groups, and the Gestapo arrested dozens of Catholic priests and accused them of immorality. This anti-Catholic campaign produced a defensive reaction from the Church. In March 1937, Pope Pius XI issued a papal encyclical entitled Mit Brennender Sorge (‘With Burning Anxiety’), in which the Pope condemned the violations of the Reichskonkordat and criticized the racial policies of the regime and the lack of justice or natural law in the Nazi state. This marked the beginning of the resistance that the Catholic Church put up against the Nazi regime.
Pius Xii was a man who placed a great deal of care in the wellbeing of human. This conclusion can be drawn from the actions he made in the face of the man he owes his name sake to, hitler. The pope, starting early began a highly classified program to get jews to safety. He did this by issuing an entire program of saving jews which included lying to the nazi government and risking
Fundamentally, both Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler had the same burning desire to each make their nation a respected and economically impregnable Great Power. Mussolini wanted to return Italy to its glory days of the ancient Roman Empire, a domestic policy amongst others which was used as propaganda and to ultimately consolidate his power. A strong economy and a united state were vital for both countries in case of the outbreak of yet another catastrophic war. "Everything in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state", stated Mussolini in need of desperate backup at home. Post WWI left both Germany and Italy with grave problems economically, which further repelled into social problems such as high unemployment and