Jewish Affairs - South African Jewish Board of Deputies

More documents

Recommendations

Info

JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012He assisted in searching for news of the missingand the dead and managed funds for the reliefwork provided by the Holy See.Pacelli’s concern for the POWs certainly atteststo his humanity and compassion. In his regularreports to Gaspari, however, he never neglectedto reflect his activities in the best possible light(in which regard he was eminently skilled andexperienced). His skill in taking care of his owninterests extended to his arrangements when heleft Rome’s Stazione Termini en route to Munichto commence his term of duty in Germany in theinterests of the POWs. He commandeered hisown railway compartment plus an additionalsealed carriage containing sixty cases of groceriespressing four ministries into service at a cost of80 000 lire to the Holy See. This contained anenormous quantity of embargoed goods and allstation masters were placed on alert from Rome tothe Swiss border to ensure the safe and unhinderedprogress of his war rations.Following the sudden death of ArchbishopAversa of Munich in May 1917, Pacelli wasconsecrated as Archbishop of Sardi by BenedictXV in the Sistine Chapel. It was a privateceremony, attended by, amongst others, AchilleRatti, the Vatican Diplomat and librarian whowould become Pius XI five years later. DuringPacelli’s time in Germany, he vigorously setabout promoting Benedict XV’s peace plan. TheHoly Father was indeed tormented by Christianswaging war against each other and by Catholicskilling Catholics.On 30 June 1920, Pacelli presented hiscredentials to the Reich, as ambassador of theHoly See. He was the first diplomat to do so underthe Weimar Republican Government andperformed his duties with both charm anddistinction.Pacelli came to a Germany shamed andembarrassed by military defeat and whoseeconomy was on the brink of collapse. It wasinflation ridden and leaderless, and vulnerable torevolution and civil war. Here was an opportunityfor a cunning strategist to wring out a benefit forthe Vatican. It could appeal for moderate demands,lower compensation rates and lower interestcharges. It could encourage re-establishment ofdiplomatic links between former enemies andrecommend more agreeable borders for Germany.Before the war, Germany had donated morefunds to the Holy See than all the other Catholiccommunities of the world put together. The soonerGermany re-established its economy, the greaterthe fiscal benefit would be to the Church. TheCatholic population in Germany had reached 23million by 1930. This was approximately 35% ofthe nation, and was despite the fact that Germanyhad lost a considerable portion of its territory asa result of the war that had been heavily populatedby Catholics. The German Catholic communitywas energetic and creative. During the 1920s, forexample, monastic foundations increased from366 to 640, members of religious orders from7000 to 14 000 and members of women’s religiousorders from 60 000 to 77 000. There were some400 daily Catholic newspapers and 420periodicals. Two Catholic news and featureservices syndicated material nationwide and aCatholic cinema review Film-Rundschau. Ralliesof Catholic workers, scouts and other groupswere frequently held. Catholicism was by far thelargest single social group in the country. TheCatholic Centre Party had much to do with thestrength and unprecedented growth of Catholicismin Germany, and during the 1920s, provided fiveout of the country’s ten Chancellors.Adolf Hitler recognized at an early stage thepotential for Catholic resistance to NationalSocialism. In Mein Kampf, he stated that aconfrontation with the Catholic Church would bedisastrous, and knew he could never succeedwithout the Church’s cooperation.There was considerable antagonism towardsthe Nazis. How was it, then, that the much-fearedconfrontation between the Church and Nazismnever materialized? Hitler was cunning enough torealize that what the Catholic Church had incommon with the Nazi philosophy of dictatorshipwas its Code of Canon Law. Skillfully structuredby Gaspari and Pacelli in the years 1904-1917, iteffectively accorded the Pope total control, withthe power to make decisions over the heads ofboth clergy and laity without consultation. Thetrick was to establish common cause with thePapacy; this would create co-operation andeliminate resistance.Pacelli’s Role in Hitler’s Rise to PowerPacelli took up his position as CardinalSecretary of State on 7 February 1930. The powerof decision in the Church then rested with PopePius XI. However, the Pope was plagued byillness and increasingly entrusted more and moreof his major decisions to the Cardinal Secretary ofState in matters concerning international relations.This was perfectly natural as the portfolio ofCardinal Secretary of State is equivalent to that ofa Minister of Foreign Affairs.The crux of the whole discussion was whatwould be benefit to the Church. What, in otherwords, was to be the price of the latter’s silence?The terms of Article 21 of the Reichskonkordatsigned between the Roman Catholic Church andthe National Socialist Party on 20 July 1933included the concordat’s provision on Catholiceducation. This was the most important area ofthe treaty for the Church. Hitler was to protectand underwrite the cost of educating Catholicpupils and students in every kind of institutionfrom the commencement of primary level to theend of the secondary level. The Catholic diocesanauthorities were granted the right to examinereligious instruction in schools and to appoint anddismiss teachers. The Church therefore gained38
JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012control of education and the taxpayers, whoconstituted two-thirds Protestants and one-thirdCatholic, picked up the tab. The concordat wassigned by Franz von Papen on behalf of the Nazisand by Pacelli representing the Church.It should be borne in mind how Pacelli hadmaneuvered control of the Serbian Church, withthe tab being picked up by the government ofSerbia. Now he had maneuvered control ofeducation for the whole of Germany, at the expenseof the German taxpayer. In both cases the CatholicChurch gained control free of charge.According to Article 23 - and this was evenmore important - Catholic parents could demandthe provision of Catholic schooling where it didnot exist, depending on local conditions. Thisdemand for Catholic schooling did not only applyto Catholic pupils, but to those of any religiouspersuasion.It is for these supposed benefits that CardinalEugenio Pacelli sold the reputation of a mightyChurch, with all its dedicated pastors, thinkers,academics and fighters for justice and democracy,by acquiescing in the program of a fascistmurderer,On 25 July 1933, five days after the signing ofthe concordat, the Law Against Overcrowding ofGerman Schools and universities aimed atreducing the number of Jews studying at theseinstitutions was passed. The law - known as theNumerus Clausus Act - laid down a strict quotafor Jews of 1½% of school and universityenrolments. Pacelli, as Cardinal Secretary of State,had negotiated favorable rights for Catholics withthe self-same government that was simultaneouslytrampling on the rights of the Jewish minority.The Holy See and the German Catholic Churchwere thus drawn into complicity with a racist,antisemitic government. Three months before thesigning of the concordat, thousands of priestsacross Germany had already begun supplyingdetails of blood purity through marriage andbaptism registries for purposes of the NumerusClausus Act. The information was later used toenforce the Nuremberg Laws and ultimately forsending Jews to the death camps.The Protestant Churches also co-operated insupplying this information. However, in the caseof the Catholic Church, the culpability was fargreater because of the centralized application ofCanon Law, so skillfully crafted and enforced byPacelli. The excuse of not believing in activepolitics as Catholics, but using concordats withpolitical parties to advance their cause seemedthe perfect excuse. Just as Cardinal Tomas deTorquemada acted to ensure that the punishmentin the Spanish Inquisition were performed by theCivic Authority, so too did Eugenio Pacelli actduring the Holocaust. The history of the Churchenjoys a distinction for its macabre consistency.The Church is the manipulator, whilst the civicauthority, either Ferdinand and Isabella or AdolfHitler are the murderers.There were indeed courageous priests whotried to thwart the Nazis. One had to be extremelybrave to do so and they were in the minority. Thestory of how the mighty Catholic Church wassilenced and instead helped in catapulting Hitlerto power with Pacelli’s assistance will be told inthe second part of this paper.Notes1 Cornwell, J, Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII(Penguin, 1999), pp 131-9, 142-72 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichskonkordat. Cornwell,p146.3 http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/may/documents/hf_benxvi_spe_20010515_farewell-tel-aviv_en.html4 www.yourish.com/2006/06/14/14335 Rosen, D, ‘The Legacy of Pope John Paul II’, AmericanJewish Committee, 2 February 2004, http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=6390861&ct=10840136 http://www.nobeliefs.com/ChurchesWWII.htm7 catholicinsight.com/online/reviews/films/article_45.shtml8 Grayzel, S, A History of the Jews, p3669 Bauer, Y, A History of the Holocaust, Institute ofContemporary Jewry Hebrew, University of Jerusalem,with the assistance of Nili Keren, New York: FranklinWatts, c1982, 2001, p9210 Sources “Inquisition” Encyclopedia Judaica. “The SpanishInquisition Gates to Jewish Heritage”11 The Black Nobles were a small group of self-electedaristocrats who had continued to support the Pope, followingthe loss of their extensive lands in the struggle for the stateof Italy12 Quoted by Cornwell, p4213 Quoted in C. Falconi, Popes in the Twentieth Century,English translation, London 1967, p76; Cornwell, p47.14 Cornwell, p5115 Ibid, p5339
Page 6 and 7: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012A
Page 8 and 9: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012u
Page 10: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012D
Page 15: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012D
Page 20 and 21: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012e
Page 22 and 23: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012t
Page 24 and 25: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012T
Page 28 and 29: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012O
Page 32 and 33: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012C
Page 34 and 35: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012h
Page 36 and 37: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 20121
Page 38 and 39: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012a
Page 42 and 43: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012S
Page 46 and 47: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012o
Page 48 and 49: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012M
Page 50 and 51: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012s
Page 54: JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012I

Jewish Affairs - South African Jewish Board of Deputies

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?