M adam, - Ivor Shorts's interpretation of Pius XII's 1942 Christmas message (November 13th) differs from that of the Nazi persecutors at the time. Officials noted angrily: "Here he [the Pope] is virtually accusing the German people of injustice towards the Jews, and makes himself the mouthpiece of the Jewish war criminals" (see The Righteousby Sir Martin Gilbert, page 434).
At that point in the war, Pius was well aware that condemnations specifically mentioning Jews and the Nazis would enrage Hitler and lead to further loss of life. The Dutch bishops' courageous denunciation of the Nazis on July 26th, 1942 led to savage reprisals, including the deportation of Jews who had converted to Catholicism. In Poland that November, Archbishop Sapieha of Krakow requested the Pope not to speak publicly against Nazis atrocities, for fear of increased persecution. Pius was more interested in saving lives than cultivating a reputation.
Mr Shorts's views on papal wartime leadership hold no water in the face of overwhelming historical evidence and Jewish testimonials. The Hungarian Jewish historian Jeno Levai, speaking at Adolf Eichmann's war crimes trial, described Pius as "the one person who did more than anyone to halt the dreadful crime [the Holocaust] and alleviate its consequences". During and after the War, similar tributes came from many prominent Jews including Moshe Sharrett, the second prime minister of Israel, Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the chief rabbi of Israel, Robert Kempner, the deputy chief US prosecutor at Nuremberg, Rabbi Israel Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome during the Nazi occupation, and Golda Meir.
Questioning of the wartime pontiff's courage is particularly hard to take. Other wartime leaders were able to make rousing speeches well away from the sound of gunfire. From July 1943 until the liberation of Rome in June 1944, the SS barbarians were literally at the Pope's gate. He was responsible for convents and monasteries saving 4,248 of Rome's 5,730 Jews during the SS round-up of October 16th, 1943. A further 477 were given sanctuary in the Vatican (see page 442 of The Righteous). Three thousand of Rome's Jews were eventually sheltered at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, more than at any other site in Nazi-occupied Europe. - Yours, etc,