Letter from church source in anti-Hitler resistance reporting 6,000 daily killings undercuts Vatican’s claims of lack of knowledge

Letter from church source in anti-Hitler resistance reporting 6,000 daily killings undercuts Vatican’s claims of lack of knowledge

Newly discovered correspondence suggests that the second world war-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information from a trusted German Jesuit that up to 6,000 Jews and Poles were being gassed each day in German-occupied Poland. The documentation undercuts the Vatican’s argument that it couldn’t verify diplomatic reports of Nazi atrocities to denounce them.

The documentation from the Vatican archives, published this weekend in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, is likely to further fuel the debate about Pius’s legacy and his now-stalled beatification campaign.

Historians have long been divided about Pius’s record, with supporters insisting he used quiet diplomacy to save Jewish lives while critics say he remained silent as the Holocaust raged.

  • RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zipEnglish
    483·
    1 year ago

    Antisemitism was not an invention of Germany. It was very much the status quo across the world at the time. We didn’t go to war with Germany to free the Jews, it was honestly just an inconvenient task that had to be dealt with by the Allies.

    Of course the pope knew. Loads of important historical leaders knew. Had it not aligned with their goals of defeating the Germans it would never have been a major concern to the rest of the world.

    • GreenMario@lemm.ee
      278·
      1 year ago

      I’m certain If Germany stayed within their borders the other countries would have just shipped their Jews over to feed the furnaces there. Make out some trade agreement.

      And nobody would be shocked or care…they’d all loudly support it.

      Humans are absolutely garbage.

      • dethb0y@lemmy.world
        61·
        1 year ago

        The proof’s in the pudding - other countries that engaged in genocide weren’t invaded to stop it. To this day a country can engage in genocide and not be stopped by military intervention.

        Not to mention at the time, many countries turned away jewish refugees in large numbers.

  • spacecowboyEnglish
    253·
    1 year ago

    There’s a fairly good chance he knew about all priests raping children too.

  • arymandias@feddit.de
    151·
    1 year ago

    I can not believe it, the Vatican knowing of and actively hiding industrial scale crimes?