Vatican Relations, the Rise of Fascism, and the Papacy of Pius XII during World War II

The Post-WWI Climate and the Rise of Fascism in Italy

The year $1922$ is identified as a pivotal turning point for the Vatican and its relationship with the events leading to the Holocaust. This was the year that Pius the eleventh was elected Pope, a role he would hold for nearly two decades. Simultaneously, the fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini was gaining significant ground in Italy. Contrary to the later development of National Socialism in Germany, Italian Fascism did not begin as an explicitly antisemitic movement. Early fascist ranks included several Jewish members who viewed the ideology as a nationalist, patriotic, and anticommunist movement. There were Jewish fascist mayors and individuals holding high-ranking positions within the fascist party. Pope Pius XI saw an opportunity in Mussolini, whom he believed had control over the political system, remarking that "God chooses strange instruments." Despite Mussolini being a violent man with no apparent religious conviction, the two worked together toward the establishment of the Concordat in $1929$. This treaty was transformative, establishing Vatican City as a sovereign entity, which did not exist as a state prior to this agreement.

The Rise of Eugenio Pacelli and the German Context

Pope Pius XI appointed Eugenio Pacelli as his Secretary of State, the second-most powerful position in the Vatican. Pacelli’s diplomatic background was rooted in his time as the papal representative in Germany during the immediate post-First World War era. He developed a deep fondness for the German language and people, alongside a sophisticated understanding of German politics. His staunch opposition to communism was shaped early in his career when he was personally threatened during a communist takeover attempt in Munich. While Pius XI was known to be less sophisticated and prone to emotional eruptions when church values were threatened, Pacelli was consistently in control of himself. The Pope came to rely heavily on Pacelli’s expertise regarding German affairs. As Adolf Hitler’s popularity grew, Pacelli received numerous letters from German Catholics seeking guidance on whether they could be both Catholic and Nazi. Internal documents reveal a strategic debate between Pacelli and German bishops about the risk of alienating Catholics attracted to Nazism.

The 1933 Concordat and Early Anti-Jewish Legislation

Hitler rose to power in January $1933$, and within six months, Pacelli negotiated a Concordat between the Vatican and the Nazi regime. Although the agreement was broken almost immediately by the Nazis, the Vatican believed it was the necessary path to preserve the privileges of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany. When the first anti-Jewish laws were enacted in $1933$, Pacelli adopted a stance of neutrality, allowing German bishops to make their own decisions while he attempted to remain "above the fray." This period was marked by the persecution of both Jews and the Catholic Church itself, as the Nazis viewed themselves as the true "redeemers" and sought to eliminate competing religious structures. Many Jews wrote to the Vatican pleading for a response that could influence the $30\%$ Catholic population of Germany, but Pius XI, who grew up in a church with historically hostile views toward Jews, shared some of the prevalent antisemitic views of the time. A notable example involved Rabbi Schwartz, an intellectual friend of the Pope, who wrote a letter asking for a public statement; it is believed Pacelli never showed this letter to the Pope.

American Catholic Rise and the Relationship with FDR

By the mid-$1930s$, the Catholic population in the United States had grown to nearly one-fifth of the total population ($20\%$). Historically persecuted or ignored by major political parties, this demographic was courted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who recognized the importance of immigrant and ethnic Catholics. In $1936$, Cardinal Pacelli visited the United States, chartering a plane to the West Coast and meeting with Roosevelt. This visit occurred on the eve of the presidential election, serving Roosevelt’s political interests by showing his connection to the Vatican. Behind the scenes, figures like Joseph Kennedy were instrumental in bridging the gap between the Vatican and the Roosevelt administration. However, the two leaders disagreed on the primary global threat: Pacelli insisted it was communism, while Roosevelt argued it was fascism.

The Influence and Fall of Father Coughlin

Father Coughlin, a priest in Detroit, became a massive political figure with a radio audience of approximately $30,000,000$ listeners. Initially a supporter of Roosevelt, Coughlin turned against him after being excluded from the inner circle of the administration in $1936$, famously calling the president "Franklin double-crossing Roosevelt." The Vatican became concerned when Coughlin transitioned into a political "attack dog" and began lacing his broadcasts with antisemitism. Despite his shift, his local superior, Bishop Gallagher of Detroit, continued to protect him. This internal Church conflict occurred as Mussolini began to embrace Hitler more closely. When Hitler visited Rome in $1938$, Pope Pius XI signaled his disapproval by leaving the city for his summer estate and closing the Vatican. This era also saw Mussolini adopt anti-Jewish measures, such as expelling Jewish students and firing Jewish professors, likely to prove equality to Hitler, despite Mussolini previously having a Jewish mistress and counselor, Margherita Sarfati.

The Drafting of the "Hidden Encyclical" by John LaFarge

Toward the end of his life, Pope Pius XI decided to challenge Hitler and the concept of antisemitism directly, declaring to Belgian tourists that "spiritually, we are all Semites." Bypassing the normal channels of the Church and his own Secretary of State, he summoned John LaFarge, an obscure American Jesuit. LaFarge, a Harvard graduate whose vocation was supported by Teddy Roosevelt, had a background in ministering to poor African American communities in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. His experiences there led him to write the book "Interracial Justice." In June $1938$, the Pope met LaFarge at Castel Gandolfo and commissioned him to write an encyclical denouncing racism and antisemitism, telling him to "say it as if you yourself were the Pope." LaFarge was stunned, describing the task as the "rock of Peter" falling on his head. The encyclical is the most authoritative pronouncement a Pope can make, and this project was kept highly secret from Pacelli.

Suppression of the Encyclical and the Death of Pius XI

The head of the Jesuit order at the time, Vladimir Ledochowski, was described as a virulent antisemite who sought to obstruct the Pope’s plan. He intervened in LaFarge’s process and insisted on delivering the draft to the Pope himself. Throughout late $1938$, LaFarge became concerned that he had heard nothing regarding the draft. During this same period, Kristallnacht occurred in November $1938$, resulting in the destruction of Jewish shops and the deportation of $30,000$ Jews to concentration camps. Pacelli, acting with significant power due to the Pope’s illness, refused to make a specific statement against the Nazibus or for the Jews, maintaining a "general neutral statement" policy. The draft encyclical finally reached the Pope’s desk in January $1939$. Pius XI planned to deliver a major address to Italian bishops on February $11$, $1939$, but he died of a cold the day before, on February $10$, $1939$. Upon his death, Pacelli was elected as Pius XII. One of his first actions was to order the destruction of all versions of LaFarge’s draft encyclical, ensuring the challenge to antisemitism would not be published.

Myron Taylor and the Channel of Communication

FDR, realizing the need for a diplomatic link in Europe as war broke out, appointed Myron Taylor as a special envoy to the Vatican in February $1940$. Taylor was a prominent industrialist who had saved U.S. Steel at the request of J.P. Morgan. Although not Catholic, he was a trusted friend of Roosevelt. His initial mission was to persuade the Pope to keep Mussolini out of the war, a mission that failed as the Pope claimed he had no authority over the dictator. After Pearl Harbor, Taylor was sent back to convince the Vatican that the United States would never accept a Nazi victory. He used reports of the American war machine—producing $10,000$ tanks and $10,000$ planes per week—to argue that the Allies' industrial weight would inevitably crush the Axis powers. Despite these communications, Pius XII maintained strict neutrality.

The 1942 Christmas Message and the Holocaust

By $1942$, the Vatican had received clear evidence, including signed reports, that approximately $2,000,000$ Jews had been killed. Myron Taylor and the Allied world hoped for a specific denunciation of these atrocities in the Pope’s $1942$ Christmas radio broadcast. However, the Pope included only a single sentence regarding those suffering due to their race or descent, without explicitly mentioning Jews or Nazi Germany. He feared a diplomatic break with Germany and maintained that a forthright denunciation would only lead to more violent deaths. While he issued messages about world peace, he never addressed the fact that many "good Catholics" were participating in the massacres in countries like Poland and throughout Eastern Europe.

The Occupation of Rome and the Roundup of 10/16/1943

In July $1943$, Mussolini was removed from power and Italy became an occupied country under German control. The Pope’s primary concern shifted to the preservation of Rome and Vatican City from Allied bombing, describing it as "death leaping from the skies." On October $16$, $1943$, German forces carried out a roundup of Jews in Rome, capturing $1,259$ individuals, including women and children, very close to the Vatican walls. Despite being informed of the event as it happened, the Pope did not protest. Two days later, on October $18$, over $1,000$ Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Comparisons are made to Denmark, where German officials and local authorities warned and shielded Jews, resulting in much higher survival rates. While many Roman Jews were hidden in Catholic convents and monasteries, there is no direct evidence that this was a result of an official papal order; rather, it often depended on the bravery of individual citizens and clergy. The failure of the Church to speak clearly against the Holocaust remains a subject of intense historical and moral debate, often referred to as the "Pius War.”