A Cross Too Heavy A Cross Too Heavy Pope Pius XII and the Jews of Europe Paul O’Shea palgrave macmillan A CROSS TOO HEAVY Copyright © Paul O’Shea, 2011. All rights reserved. First published in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, ISBN 978-0-230-11080-9 ISBN 978-0-230-11836-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230118362 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data O’Shea, Paul Damian. A cross too heavy : Pope Pius XII and the Jews of Europe / by Paul O’Shea. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). 1. Pius XII, Pope, 1876–1958—Relations with Jews. 2. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) 3. Judaism—Relations—Catholic Church. 4. Catholic Church—Relations—Judaism. 5. Christianity and antisemitism— History—20th century. 6. World War, 1939–1945—Religious aspects— Catholic Church. 7. National socialism and religion. I. Title. BX1378.O74 2010 282.092—dc22 2011000524 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: March 2011 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Chris CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xi Introduction: Pius XII, Catholics, Myths, and Realities 1 One Problems with Pacelli 13 Two Contempt as “Virtue” 27 Three Et in Unum Ecclesiam 53 Four Eugenio Pacelli 1876–1917 73 Five When Worlds Collide 91 Six His Master’s Voice 109 Seven Cardinal Pacelli, Jews, and Germany, 1933–1939 139 Eight Habemus Papam 169 Nine Blessed Eugenio? 207 Glossary of Terms 225 Notes 227 Bibliography 251 Index 265 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This revised book grew out of research work undertaken for my doctoral dissertation, but quickly assumed a life of its own as more material came to light. Chief among the lessons I learned in writing this work is that I stand on the shoulders of giants, men, and women who have written in the field long before me and whose work has influenced, shaped, and cri- tiqued my own. Special thanks go to the library staff at the Catholic Institute of Sydney in Strathfield, one of the best resourced theological and Catholic histor- ical libraries in the Southern Hemisphere. I must also acknowledge the help of the staff at Archivio di Stato di Roma, President Kennedy Library, Boston, the Library staff at the Australian National Library, and Macquarie University. Bishop Sergio Pagano and the staff at Archivio Segreta Vaticano (ASV) deserve special thanks for their accommodation of my requests, someone they have never met. The Internet has changed the way research is done. All my dealings with the ASV have been done “online,” and I ac- knowledge the professionalism and speed of the service rendered to me. Over the years, I have engaged in conversation and correspondence with many academics. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the assistance given by Yehuda Bauer, Thomas Brechenmacher, John Conway, Deborah Dwork, Amy-Jill Levine, Michael Phayer, Alessandro Portelli, Matteo Luigi Napolitano, and Susan Zuccotti. Despite our agreements or disagreements they have, in their own ways, helped clarify areas for me, offered valuable advice and directed me to archives, documents, and other sources. It hardly needs saying that any errors in the text are my own and do not reflect on the caliber of the assistance so freely offered by a willing group of scholars. Rabbi Eric Greenberg of the Anti-Defamation League helped open doors and opportunities in New York. Eric has become a good friend; his energy and encouragement have been a real mitzvah for me. Nothing is ever too great a problem. Lynne Rabinoff, my literary agent, has been a great support and I thank her for all she has done for me and for her cour- age in taking on this unknown writer from Down Under. Writing is often a solitary and idiosyncratic pursuit and I must offer my gratitude and love to those closest to me who have endured more than their share of solitude. To Chris and the rest of the family, my love and thanks. ABBREVIATIONS AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis: Commentarium Officiale ADB Akten Deutscher Bischöfe über die Lage der Kirche 1933–1945 ADSS Actes et Documents du Saint-Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre mondiale ASV AES Archivio Segreta Vaticano, Affari Ecclesiastici Straordinari 1922–1939; followed by: ANB Archivio Nunziatura Berlino ANM Archivio Nunziatura Monaco Baviera Germania Stati Ecclesiastici AKF Akten Kardinal Michael von Faulhaber 1917–1945 Albrecht Der Notenwechsel zwischen dem Heiligen Stuhl und der Deutschen Reichsregierung Arad Documents on the Holocaust CC Civiltà Cattolica CM Catholic Mind DBFP Documents on British Foreign Policy DGFP Documents on German Foreign Policy FRUS Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States NARA National Archives and Records Administration (Washington DC) NYT The New York Times Times The Times (London) Introduction Pius XII, Catholics, Myths, and Realities At what point does an experience precipitate a change in consciousness? Professor David Bankier, Yad Vashem (March 8, 2009) The Battles over Pius XII On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI signed the Decree of Heroic Virtue for Pope Pius XII. The now “venerable” Pius XII was deemed to have lived an exemplary Christian life—not a faultless one, but one that was indicative of a close communion with God in his vocation as priest, bishop, and pope. Responses varied from the triumphant to the tragic. Most focused on the papal actions and reactions during the Second World War in general, and on the Holocaust in particular. I suggest that the qual- ity of many responses were indicative of deeper issues that lie beneath the surface of contemporary Catholicism. And as is so often the case when one peers beneath the surface, what is found is often unpleasant, challeng- ing, and upsetting. Benedict’s signature on the Decree of Heroic Virtue was, for many, the latest in a series of Vatican public relations blunders that have stretched the credibility factor to the limit In 2007 the pope gave unrestricted per- mission for the use of the pre–Vatican II Latin Mass, which included the Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews. The ensuing “ker- fuffle” led to Benedict composing a new prayer that left no one happy. Lifting the excommunication of the anti–Vatican II Lefebvrist bishops in January 2009 unleashed a storm of criticism over the splinter faction of extreme conservatives, who reject, among other Vatican II reforms, the idea of religious liberty, ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, especially with Jews. The storm worsened when it was revealed that one of the Lefebvrist bishops, Richard Williamson, was a known Holocaust denier. An unprecedented papal letter of apology to the world’s Catholic bishops did little to calm fears that a major “reform of the reform” was under way. And then in November 2010 Benedict made a series of very public 2 A Cross Too Heavy “private” statements declaring that Pius XII was a righteous man who saved more Jews than anyone else. The familiar cycle of outrage, qualifi- cation, rebuttal, and exasperation followed.1 At the heart of the nonhistorical argument about Pius XII is a battle over authority and how it is exercised in contemporary Catholicism. I believe that the case of Pius XII, for many fundamentalist Catholics and their supporters, derives from a cultural shift within Western society over authority and institutional religion that has been in process since the 1950s. Institutional Catholicism has not been immune from this. It was felt quite keenly at Vatican II when Pope Paul VI made two unprecedented inter- ventions. The first, in 1964, forbade discussion of contraception; the sec- ond, in 1965, forbade discussion of priestly celibacy. This was followed by two encyclical letters of the same pope addressing both issues—Sacerdotalos caelibatus (on priestly celibacy) on celibacy in 1967, and Humanae vitae (on the regulation of birth) on birth control in 1968.2 The letter on celibacy did not arouse much debate outside clerical circles, but Humanae vitae unleashed a violent storm of protest across the whole Catholic world. The pope was so stunned by the negative reaction that he never wrote another encyclical. For conservative, traditionalist Catholics, there arose a fear that if the Church admitted or accepted that a pastoral measure or moral teaching was no longer entirely positive and needed changing, other aspects of Church teaching would also be challenged. Paul VI was often branded as a “weak” pope by many of his critics in contrast to Pius XII, a “strong” pre-Vatican II pope, and John Paul II, a “strong” post-Vatican II pope. Fidelity to orthodox Catholic teaching as pronounced by the Roman Magisterium was a hallmark of the long pontificate of John Paul. That Church teaching has been challenged, often vigorously, in the wake of the decade of clerical sex abuse scandals is an accepted fact. The Vatican’s stubborn unwillingness to go beyond recognition of individual acts to an examination of the institution that allowed such criminal activity to fester remains a matter of serious concern.3 Is it too far fetched to suggest that questioning the responses of Pius XII during the Second World War falls into the paradigm outlined above? If it is admitted that the pope failed to speak and act clearly when he had undeniable proof of the murder of European Jews, would this seriously damage papal authority today? Would it not, in fact, bring a more irenic spirit to the study of the man because it was accepted that he made mis- takes, sometimes serious omissions, and so allow a measure of “closure” for that period and, at the same time, show the Church as willing to admit its past and learn from it? Unfortunately, such thinking remains purely personal and hypothetical.