Pius XII and the Holocaust: Understanding the Controversy [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Jose Sanchez's Pius XII and the Holocaust is an excellent, scholarly presentation and summaryof the arguments surrounding the papacy of Eugenio Pacelli. Sanchez has meticulously reviewed and revisited much of the source material used by defenders and critics of Pius. His narrative is dispassionate and calm, always allowing the sources to speak for themselves. He cites the major historians from all camps and clearly sets out their arguments with some comments as to the helpfulness of their claims. At no point does he do other than that which he set out to do - namely allow the arguments space to be presented as clearly as possible. Sanchez leaves it to the reader to make up their own mind. For those who seek a "final word" or are waiting for the discovery of a "smoking gun", Sanchez will disappoint. I believe the greatest strength of this work is providing the historian along with the general reader with a very useful handbook with which to navigate the continual stream of material about Pope Pius. On subjects such as papal rhetoric and interpreting Vatican-speak, Sanchez does a great service. Discussing the relationship of Pacelli and the Nazi regime is another example of skillful historical analysis. It is not the last word or treatise on the subject, but it is a timely call to order on a subject that has more often than not been marred by polemic and name-calling among those who should know better.

When William Shirer published his standard work "The Rise and Fall of Hitler and the Third Reich" in 1960, about 15 years had passed since the end of WWII. At that time, Piux XII - deceased two years previously - was a minor character receiving no undue attention in the involvement of the terrible Holocaust two decades earlier.

In 1963, Rolf Hochhuth released his play, "The Deputy", and charged the late Pope with not forcefully protesting the Jewish slaughter. Over time, the "silence of Pius XII" became an indictment of a particular man (while the various other silences of persons great and small were largely brushed aside). There is no doubt that Catholic history vis-a-vis the Jews in general ("Constantine's Sword," James Carroll) and early 20th century Protestant Christian thought in particular ("Nazism, Liberalism, and Christianity: Protestant Social Thought in Germany and Great Britain 1925-1937," Kenneth C. Barnes) worked accidentally or otherwise with the neo-pagan "Volk" philosophies in Nazi Germany in such a fashion as to allow an abomination in human behavior.

With the publication of the popular (and provocatively titled) "Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII" in 1999, John Cornwell helped direct decades of frustration at one man: Pius XII. Apologists for "the Catholic position" quickly lined up ("Pius XII and the Second World War," Fr. Pierre Blet), and with battle lines drawn the student of history was left to wonder if hyperbole and polemic speech would ever allow for a sensible investigation of the matter.

I believe Jose M. Sanchez answered that call. In this book, Dr. Sanchez evaluates the problems and determines the issues, renders a concise history of the controversy and proceeds to examine the evidence: What type of life did Eugenio Pacelli lead before becoming Pius XII? What was his personality like? How did later changes to the papacy affect hindsight on the papacy of Pius XII? What were his feelings with regard to fascism and communism and how did they affect his action or inaction on various matters?

Pius XII is painted as a man who was refined, aloof, painfully diplomatic by nature and training, and probably out of his element in a world where people were gassing and incinerating their fellow men, women and children. What did Pius XII know? What should he have known? Pius is criticized where appropriate: He apparently took no action in Catholic Croatia against the genocide there in spite of the fact that he had more power there than in Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy.

Did Pius really fear that a papal protest would generate a greater retaliation against those whom he would intend to protect? All these issues and more are examined in this lucid, concise and scholarly treatment.

At the end of the day, Pius is neither condemned nor exonerated. But the reader comes away with a more clear view of a troubled man who bore an incredible weight and has been judged in wildly divergent ways over the last four decades.

Jose Snachez has accomplished what no other modern author has been able to on the topic of Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. Sanchez has provided his readers with an overall presentation of bth side of the argument. He has done a great deal of research al the while diplaying no particular preference or sense of favoritism.

He is to be commended for this, for I believe that he has done the very best in describing the events that surround this slender and frail individual.

Istrongly reccommend this work to anyone who would like to discover more of what actually took place in the years before, during and after the Holocaust. Sanchez writes in such a way as to avoid much technical language making his work accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds.