The Vatican had knowledge about the Holocaust orchestrated by the Nazi regime in German-occupied Poland, revealed a World War II era letter sent to the then Pope Pius XII.
A German Jesuit priest by the name of Rev. Lothar Koenig had written to the Pope’s Secretary Rev. Robert Leiber on December 14, 1942, detailing how Nazis were killing up to 6,000 Poles and Jews daily from Rava Ruska (now in Ukraine) and transporting their bodies to the Belzec extermination camp.
The letter, which is a part of Vatican archives, was published by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday (September 17) and was first discovered by discovered by Vatican archivist Giovanni Coco in 2019.
Letter by German Jesuit puts the Catholic Church in the spot
Although the Catholic Church and its apologists have always claimed that it couldn’t verify reports about Nazi crimes then, the letter raises doubts about the assertion of the Vatican.
According to Giovanni Coco, Rev. Lothar Koenig was a respected German Jesuit who was able to pass on information about Nazi’s extermination of Jews to the Holy See.
“The novelty and importance of this document comes from this fact: that on the Holocaust, there is now the certainty that Pius XII was receiving from the German Catholic Church exact and detailed news about crimes being perpetrated against Jews,” he told Corriere della Sera.
First letter to mention ‘Jews being killed’ explicitly
According to anthropologist David Kertzer, the letter by Rev. Lothar Koenig held significance since it was the first time a reference was made to ‘Jews being gassed in ovens.’
While some doubts remain about whether Pope Pius XII saw the letter, it must be mentioned that he and his Secretary Rev. Robert Leiber shared a great working relationship on matters pertaining to Germany.
Lieber was reportedly the Vatican’s ambassador to Germany during the 1920s and was Pius XII’s top aide. Interestingly, the letter by the German Jesuit urged the Catholic Church to not make the matter public, fearing threats to his own life and that of others.
This argument is used by the supporters of the then-Pope to justify his silent stance on the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime.
The sordid past of the Catholic Church
In July 1933, the Vatican had forged a deal with the newly emerging Nazi government in Germany. The treaty was dubbed as ‘Reichskonkordat‘ or a ‘concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich’.
It was signed by signed by the then Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, and German Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen. The treaty provided much-needed recognition to Hitler’s dictatorship and granted it legitimacy.
Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli wanted less governmental interference in the affairs of the Church by the Nazi regime and disliked Communism, just like Hitler.
“The Reichskonkordat effectively removed the German Catholic Church from any continued role of opposition to Hitler. More than that, as Hitler told his cabinet on July 14, it established a context that would be ‘especially significant in the urgent struggle against international Jewry,” wrote James Caroll in his book ‘Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews.’
In May 2020, Germany’s council of Catholic bishops admitted that the Church was complicit in the actions of the Nazi regime during the Second World War.
