JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012Communities <strong>of</strong> the Federative People’s Republic <strong>of</strong>Yugoslavia, Belgrade. This volume, the so-called ‘BlackBook’, documents Second World War atrocitiesthroughout former Yugoslavia, and includes manygraphic photographs. This book, which is a monumentto patient and difficult research and a great achievementfor its time, is presented from within the perspectives <strong>of</strong>Titoism. Since the demise <strong>of</strong> the Titoist regime, with allits paraphernalia <strong>of</strong> ideology and mythology, someaspects <strong>of</strong> it clearly need to be deconstructed and reexamined.8 While I propose the value <strong>of</strong> such an analysis primarilyvis-à-vis the development <strong>of</strong> an accurate historicalunderstanding <strong>of</strong> ‘psycho-politics’ within the territories<strong>of</strong> former Yugoslavia, that is to say, within the linguisticzones <strong>of</strong> Serbo-Croat, Macedonian and Slovenian,discussion <strong>of</strong> this kind would certainly be equally relevantto all other Slavonic languages, from Russian, Belarusian,Ukrainian and Bulgarian to Polish, Slovakian, and Czech.Apart from the Baltic countries (Latvia, Lithuania andEstonia), and Hungary and Romania, the mere naming<strong>of</strong> these languages itself delineates more or less all thezones <strong>of</strong> East Europe in which Jews lived before theShoah.9 Since the demise <strong>of</strong> Yugoslavia, the expression ‘Serbo-Croat’ is no longer ‘politically correct’ in any sense <strong>of</strong>that term. I use it here non-controversially in stricthistorical context. Its usage has been systematicallysuspended and necessarily superseded by the separatelinguistic designations ‘ Serbian’, ‘Bosnian’ and‘Croatian’, each <strong>of</strong> which claims and has its own identity,despite more points in common than differences from astrictly linguistic point <strong>of</strong> view.10 See Richard Burns, ‘Belgrade <strong>Jewish</strong> writers flourish’,<strong>Jewish</strong> Chronicle, London, 25 Nov 1988. For acomprehensive and detailed critical study <strong>of</strong> thecontribution <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> writers to Serbian life, see PredragPalavestra, <strong>Jewish</strong> Writers in Serbian Literature, tr.George Nikolic, Association <strong>of</strong> Serbian Writers Abroad(ASWA) & PEN, London, 2003.30
JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012EUGENIO PACELLI (POPE PIUS XII): WAS HECOMPLICIT IN THE HOLOCAUST (Part I)?*Leon ReichMy motivation in penning this paper was themuch-publicized debate regarding the proposedbeatification <strong>of</strong> Eugenio Pacelli, who becamePope Pius XII.As a Jew, I have been fascinated by thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> the Christian religion as an<strong>of</strong>fshoot <strong>of</strong> Judaism. If one deducts monotheism,the Ten Commandments and what Christians callthe Old Testament, from the Christian ethos, whatreally is left <strong>of</strong> Christianity? What is left <strong>of</strong> theconcept <strong>of</strong> Jesus Christ as the Messiah withoutthe Prophesy <strong>of</strong> Isaiah? An isolated concept <strong>of</strong>Christ as the Messiah without the <strong>Jewish</strong> contentsupporting it, cannot stand. I have been equallyfascinated by the pivotal role which the Churchplayed on the canvas <strong>of</strong> history over its twomillennia existence.Running parallel with the teaching orders <strong>of</strong>the Church and the contribution to knowledgeand education are the medical services throughthe nursing orders, particularly during the DarkAges from the 4 th to 11 th Centuries CE. Alongsidethese achievements, however, has been thepersecution <strong>of</strong>, amongst others, the <strong>Jewish</strong> people,upon whose philosophy rests Christianity’s veryfoundations.Throughout this process <strong>of</strong> impressivecontribution to humanity on the one hand and thehorrific persecution <strong>of</strong> non-believers on the otherthere have been immensely courageous individualdissidents standing out above the crowd.Throughout the ages, these unsung heroes riskedexclusion for themselves and their families fromtheir communities, even enduring suffering ordeath. For them the pursuit <strong>of</strong> justice, truth andtheir own integrity was more precious than lifeitself.This fierce intellectual honesty and powerfuldedication to their own integrity is what hasdriven the hundreds <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> RomanCatholics and others who have saved Jews, <strong>of</strong>tenat the risk <strong>of</strong> their own lives. High upon thisladder <strong>of</strong> distinction is the scholar and writer JohnCornwell, author <strong>of</strong> the book Hitler’s Pope: TheSecret History <strong>of</strong> Pius XII (1999). It is from thisstudy <strong>of</strong> Pope Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, thatLeon Reich is a Johannesburg businessman witha long record <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> communal service. Apopular speaker on <strong>Jewish</strong> communal platforms,he has served on the Executive <strong>of</strong> the SA ZionistFederation and was for many years President <strong>of</strong>the Grahamstown Hebrew Congregation.I have sourced the bulk <strong>of</strong> my information for thispaper. Other sources used include SolomonGrayzel’s A History <strong>of</strong> the Jews, The MoralReckoning (Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, 2002), TheRighteous (Martin Gilbert, 2002), Italians andthe Holocaust (Susan Zuccotti, 1987), History <strong>of</strong>the Holocaust (Yehuda Bauer, 2002) and TheMyth <strong>of</strong> Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII RescuedJews from the Nazis (Rabbi David G. Dalin,2005).The Roman Catholic Church is comparable toSodom and Gomorrah for the <strong>Jewish</strong> people. Thecourageous Catholics, who risked their lives tosave Jews, represent the Ten Holy Men who (hadthey been found) would have saved those cities.Over the centuries, the individual Catholic heroeswho swam against the stream <strong>of</strong> the majorityredeemed the good name and the integrity <strong>of</strong> theRoman Catholic Church.Under normal circumstances, I would neverconcern myself with whom the Vatican chose tobeatify. These however, are abnormalcircumstances. The reason, as will be argued, isthat Eugenio Pacelli personally bore a great deal<strong>of</strong> responsibility for the commencement <strong>of</strong> WorldWar I. He also bore responsibility for the demise<strong>of</strong> the Centre Party in Germany and the crushing<strong>of</strong> its media which influenced German attitudes,resulting in Germany becoming a dictatorship. 1Pacelli figuratively moved heaven and earth tosecure Hitler’s accession, even while knowingthat once he became a dictator, he would pursuehis antisemitic policy as reflected in Mein Kampf.For that reason alone, he shared responsibility forthe Holocaust, and it is important for all who seekthe truth about his role to clearly understand this.Pacelli is consistently accused <strong>of</strong> not tryinghard enough to save <strong>Jewish</strong> lives during WorldWar II. My belief is that this is so, but I would g<strong>of</strong>urther and assert that without Pacelli’sinterventions, in the face <strong>of</strong> advice to actdifferently, both World Wars would not havetaken place at all.If the Catholic Church were to beatify Pacelli,it would signify its association with his nefariouscontribution to human suffering. To my mind,both he and Hitler (himself Catholic-born) werepsychopaths. Both manipulated millions <strong>of</strong> people,which led to untold suffering, in pursuance <strong>of</strong>their objectives. There is one difference however:Hitler was far cleverer than Pacelli - a smarterpsychopath. He waited until the back <strong>of</strong> theCatholic Church was completely broken before31