The Silence of Pius XII
Two years after finishing Eleos, I’m still getting (mostly unfavorable) comments over my portrayal of the Pius XII’s role during that time. I will admit that I do puzzle over this: why was Pius XII publicly silent about the Holocaust? With hundreds of millions of Catholics in the world and one of every three Germans being a Catholic, the threat of papal excommunication was a powerful weapon. There’s no doubt that in 1942 he already knew about the extermination. The two main explanations that were advanced: 1) he didn’t want to risk even greater atrocities, and 2) he saw Communism as the greater enemy and wanted to be a peacemaker between Germany and the Western Allies. I think these explanations are plausible up to a specific point of October 1943, when Nazis occupied Rome. Over a thousand Jews were rounded up right next to the Vatican (they were sent to Auschwitz; only sixteen survived). Pius XII sent a letter threatening Berlin with a public protest. But ultimately, he issued no public declaration of any kind.
At that point, neither of the offered explanations made a lot of sense. The truth about death camps was out, what greater atrocities could be imagined? And the Western Allies made it quite clear that there will be no separate peace with the Nazis. Either Pius XII was deluding himself about his influence as a “peacemaker,” or something else was in play here. With the German Army in Rome, Hitler could have had Pius XII arrested and taken to Berlin. We know that such a plan existed; it’s likely Pius XII knew that too. The simplest explanation for the papal silence in October of 1943 is that he was afraid of being arrested. Which is perfectly human: when faced with a dire physical threat, most of us would keep silent. But, unlike most of us, he was the Vicar of Christ.
I’m sorry if raising this possibility offends some, but as the Occam’s razor teaches us: the simplest explanation is usually the right one. We often don’t consciously know our own hidden motives; the truth of “real” motives for Pius XII’s silence will likely never be known. We only know that publicly he kept silent.
At that point, neither of the offered explanations made a lot of sense. The truth about death camps was out, what greater atrocities could be imagined? And the Western Allies made it quite clear that there will be no separate peace with the Nazis. Either Pius XII was deluding himself about his influence as a “peacemaker,” or something else was in play here. With the German Army in Rome, Hitler could have had Pius XII arrested and taken to Berlin. We know that such a plan existed; it’s likely Pius XII knew that too. The simplest explanation for the papal silence in October of 1943 is that he was afraid of being arrested. Which is perfectly human: when faced with a dire physical threat, most of us would keep silent. But, unlike most of us, he was the Vicar of Christ.
I’m sorry if raising this possibility offends some, but as the Occam’s razor teaches us: the simplest explanation is usually the right one. We often don’t consciously know our own hidden motives; the truth of “real” motives for Pius XII’s silence will likely never be known. We only know that publicly he kept silent.
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