New letter reveals Pope Pius XII had detailed information on Nazi killing of Jews

Vatican archive documents on mass killings in Poland undercut Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t denounce Holocaust as it was unable to verify diplomatic reports.

Newly discovered correspondence suggests that World War II-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, undercutting the Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t verify diplomatic reports of Nazi atrocities to denounce them.

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

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

Corriere is reproducing a letter dated December 14, 1942 from the German Jesuit priest to Pius’ secretary which is contained in an upcoming book about the newly opened files of Pius’ pontificate by Giovanni Coco, a researcher and archivist in the Vatican’s Apostolic Archives.

Coco told Corriere that the letter was significant because it represented detailed correspondence about the Nazi extermination of Jews from an informed church source in Germany who was part of the Catholic anti-Hitler resistance that was able to get otherwise secret information to the Vatican.

New letter reveals Pope Pius XII had detailed information on Nazi killing of Jews (Times of Israel)

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Letter Showing Pope Pius XII Had Detailed Information About Nazi Crimes Revealed (Haaretz)

New evidence of Pope Pius XII’s shameful silence in the face of Nazi brutality (The Jewish Independent)