Pius XII and the Jews (1939-1958)

The previously closed archival holdings related to the pontificate of Pius XII, i.e. from the years 1939 to 1958, have been accessible to researchers since 2 March 2020. The Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation is supporting Prof Hubert Wolf and his team undertake their work in the Vatican Archives by providing almost 250,000 euros in funding.

The primary focus is a question that has been heatedly debated for more than half a century: What did Pius XII know about the Shoa, and why did he not condemn it loud and clear? With the help of the funding, four further topics will be considered including: Pius XIIʼs handling of the question of guilt and his refraining from a clearer protest against Nazi crimes after the end of the war; the "rat line", i.e. the escape aid for Nazi criminals provided by representatives of the Church; and the attitude of the Holy See towards the founding of the State of Israel. A further aim is to study fundamental theological reflections on the relationship to Judaism, as they were later formulated by the Second Vatican Council in the declaration "Nostra aetate".

The newly accessible holdings in the Vatican Archives comprise more than 200,000 boxes, files and folders, each of which can contain up to 1,000 sheets of paper. Documents relating to the relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism are expected to be scattered in various archives. The project is running from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. It aims at developing an overview of the mountains of files and conduct initial case studies. The project can primarily build on the experience gained in the long-term projects "Book censorship by the Roman Inquisition and the Congregation of the Index" and the "Critical Online Edition of the Nuncial Reports of Eugenio Pacelli", both funded by the German Research Foundation.