Posted on 06/23/2009 7:58:17 AM PDT by SEMPER GAUDETE
Document Names Pius XII as Co-Conspirator Against Hitler
Foundation to Publish New Evidence from Germany
NEW YORK, JUNE 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A foundation that promotes interreligious dialogue is publishing new documents from Germany that gives evidence of Pope Pius XII's work against Hitler during World War II.
Gary Krupp, president of the New York-based Pave the Way Foundation, affirmed this Sunday in a statement to ZENIT that despite accusations of being "pro-Hitler," the Pontiff was actively opposing the Nazi leader.
The foundation acknowledged the controversy surrounding the Pope's actions during Hitler's regime, and asserted that this is a "continued source of discord between Jews and Catholics."
Thus the organization launched a "thorough investigation to uncover documentary evidence and record eyewitness testimony" about the real story of Pius XII.
The president, himself a Jew, stated, "In the furtherance of our mission we are continuously working hard to locate and post as many documents possible of the war years in order to clarify the papacy of Pope Pius XII."
He added, "During a recent mission to Germany, along with our [foundation's] representative in Germany, Michael Hesemann, we discovered and posted many new unseen original documents on our Web site that may change the face of this entire controversy."
This evidence, the statement asserted, "seems to confirm that Pope Pius XII was an active enemy of Adolph Hitler."
Krupp explained that the Pope was "named as a co-conspirator in the assassination attempt on Hitler's life of July 20, 1944."
On the foundation's Web site, he added, is posted the image of the Kaltenbrunner Report to Adolf Hitler dated Nov. 29, 1944 on the background of the plot.
"The report specifically names Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, as being a party in the attempt," he said.
The president also noted the online posting of the actual affidavit of Heinrich Himmler's deputy and German commander in Italy, General Karl Wolff.
He reported: "Wolff testifies that he was ordered by Hitler to plan an invasion of the Vatican to kidnap Pius XII and seize the Vatican. This kidnapping plan has been discounted by many historians because of a lack of documented proof."
7,000 saved
Krupp said that another event that added to the controversy concerns the deportation of over 1,000 Jews who were taken from Rome and killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
He stated that the foundation posted the "original cable from German command in Berlin to SS headquarters in Rome, ordering the arrest of 8,000 Roman Jews to be taken, not to Auschwitz, but to the labor camp of Mauthausen."
Krupp continued: "Only a little over 1,000 were arrested after a successful papal intervention.
"We have confirmed the personal and direct action of Pope Pius XII to stop the arrests of the Jews in Rome Oct. 16, 1943. No evidence has yet turned up about why those arrested were taken to the death camp of Auschwitz rather than the labor camp."
He speculated, however, that "because of the successful papal intervention to stop arrests, the order to Mauthausen was countermanded by persons unknown and over 1,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz to their death in retribution."
After the arrests, Krupp noted, Pius XII sent a representative to appeal for the release of the 1,000 Jews, but "he was refused admittance."
The cable suggests the possibility that "the Church believed they could rescue these 1,000 victims and negotiate their release," he affirmed.
The president reported that the Pontiff "ordered that Jews of Rome were to be given sanctuary in Church properties and Catholic homes, suspending cloister rules so that men could be admitted to convents and women to monasteries throughout Europe."
"He literally hid over 7,000 Jews in one day," Krupp added.
He encouraged people to visit the foundation's Web site, to view the documents in order to "learn the truth and draw your own conclusions of the actions of the Holy See during the war."
--- --- ---
On the Net:
Pave the Way Foundation: www.ptwf.org
Foundation to Publish New Evidence from Germany
NEW YORK, JUNE 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A foundation that promotes interreligious dialogue is publishing new documents from Germany that gives evidence of Pope Pius XII's work against Hitler during World War II.
Gary Krupp, president of the New York-based Pave the Way Foundation, affirmed this Sunday in a statement to ZENIT that despite accusations of being "pro-Hitler," the Pontiff was actively opposing the Nazi leader.
The foundation acknowledged the controversy surrounding the Pope's actions during Hitler's regime, and asserted that this is a "continued source of discord between Jews and Catholics."
Thus the organization launched a "thorough investigation to uncover documentary evidence and record eyewitness testimony" about the real story of Pius XII.
The president, himself a Jew, stated, "In the furtherance of our mission we are continuously working hard to locate and post as many documents possible of the war years in order to clarify the papacy of Pope Pius XII."
He added, "During a recent mission to Germany, along with our [foundation's] representative in Germany, Michael Hesemann, we discovered and posted many new unseen original documents on our Web site that may change the face of this entire controversy."
This evidence, the statement asserted, "seems to confirm that Pope Pius XII was an active enemy of Adolph Hitler."
Krupp explained that the Pope was "named as a co-conspirator in the assassination attempt on Hitler's life of July 20, 1944."
On the foundation's Web site, he added, is posted the image of the Kaltenbrunner Report to Adolf Hitler dated Nov. 29, 1944 on the background of the plot.
"The report specifically names Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, as being a party in the attempt," he said.
The president also noted the online posting of the actual affidavit of Heinrich Himmler's deputy and German commander in Italy, General Karl Wolff.
He reported: "Wolff testifies that he was ordered by Hitler to plan an invasion of the Vatican to kidnap Pius XII and seize the Vatican. This kidnapping plan has been discounted by many historians because of a lack of documented proof."
7,000 saved
Krupp said that another event that added to the controversy concerns the deportation of over 1,000 Jews who were taken from Rome and killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
He stated that the foundation posted the "original cable from German command in Berlin to SS headquarters in Rome, ordering the arrest of 8,000 Roman Jews to be taken, not to Auschwitz, but to the labor camp of Mauthausen."
Krupp continued: "Only a little over 1,000 were arrested after a successful papal intervention.
"We have confirmed the personal and direct action of Pope Pius XII to stop the arrests of the Jews in Rome Oct. 16, 1943. No evidence has yet turned up about why those arrested were taken to the death camp of Auschwitz rather than the labor camp."
He speculated, however, that "because of the successful papal intervention to stop arrests, the order to Mauthausen was countermanded by persons unknown and over 1,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz to their death in retribution."
After the arrests, Krupp noted, Pius XII sent a representative to appeal for the release of the 1,000 Jews, but "he was refused admittance."
The cable suggests the possibility that "the Church believed they could rescue these 1,000 victims and negotiate their release," he affirmed.
The president reported that the Pontiff "ordered that Jews of Rome were to be given sanctuary in Church properties and Catholic homes, suspending cloister rules so that men could be admitted to convents and women to monasteries throughout Europe."
"He literally hid over 7,000 Jews in one day," Krupp added.
He encouraged people to visit the foundation's Web site, to view the documents in order to "learn the truth and draw your own conclusions of the actions of the Holy See during the war."
--- --- ---
On the Net:
Pave the Way Foundation: www.ptwf.org
Now, if we can just get him to take on the ayatollas and Achmed-didjerdog.
There might be a temporal problem with that.
Thanks, I try so hard.
[Regarding a conspiracy to oust or assasinate Hitler] Oster found a valuable recruit in a Munich lawyer, Josef Muller, who had detested Hitler for years. Muller--a devout Catholic--made a clandestine trip to Rome early that October with the connivance of Oster, his object to discover if the British were prepared to make peace with an anti-Nazi regime. He met Pius XII and found him willing to act as an intermediary. The Pope's secretary sounded out the British minister and was informed that Great Britain was not adverse to making a "soft peace" with an anti-Hitler Germany.He reported: "Wolff testifies that he was ordered by Hitler to plan an invasion of the Vatican to kidnap Pius XII and seize the Vatican. This kidnapping plan has been discounted by many historians because of a lack of documented proof."Muller was empowered to take this information orally back to Germany but begged for something in writing that would prove to the Abwehr and military commanders that this peace proposal was authorized by the Holy Father himself. Surprisingly, the Vatican agreed and a letter was written by the Pope's private secretary outlining the main bases for peace with England.
The Oster group was cheered. Of all their attempts to make contact with the West, this was the most promising. Perhaps the Pope's promise of participation would at last induce Brauchitsch to take an active part in the conspiracy. But the army commander-in-chief was not impressed. (p 589)
[Regarding failed assasination attempts] The Pope, who had yet to explicitely condemn Germany's liquidation of Poland, sent his special personal congratulations. But Hitler doubted his sincerity. "He would much rather have seen the plot succeed," he told a group at dinner and, when Frank protested that Pius XII had always been a good friend of Germany, added "That's possible but he's no friend of mine."(p 594)
[Regarding the advance into Italy] At a midnight conference Hitler issued more instructions. The 2nd Parachute Division was to prepare a jump in the capital area. "Rome must be occupied. Nobody is to leave Rome and then the 3rd Panzer Grenadier Division moves in." Someone wanted to know if the exits to the Vatican should be occupied. "That doesn't matter," said Hitler, "I'll go right into the Vatican. Do you think I worry about the Vatican? We'll take that right off. All the diplomatic corps will be hiding in there. I don't give a damn; if the entire crew's inthere, we'll get the whole lot of swine out. Afterwards, we can say we're sorry. We can easily do that. We've got a war on." (p 748)From the thread The Catholic Church and Nazi Germany: an exhaustive survey of John Toland's biography of HitlerEarly that June Pius XII secretly addressed the Sacred College of Cardinals on the extermination of the Jews. "Every word We address to the competent authority on this subject, and all Our public utterances," he said in explanation of his reluctance to express more open condemnation, "have to be carefully weighed and measured by Us in the interests of the victims themselves, les, contrary to Our intentions, We make their situation worse and harder to bear." He did not add that another reason for proceeding cautiously was that he regarded Bolshevism as a far greater danger than Nazism.
The position of the Holy See was deplorable but it was an offense of omission rather than commission. The Church, under the Pope's guidance, had already saved the lives of more Jews than all other churches, religious institutions, and rescue organizations combined, and was presently hiding thousands of Jews in monasteries, convents, and Vatican city itself. (p 760)
Fascinating stuff.
Thanks for the post.
Of course Pope Pius XII was not a Nazi enabler. In fact he helped rescue hundreds of thousands of Jews from the Nazi death camps. The problem is the liberals have already assassinated the Pope’s reputation in their efforts to undermine the Catholic Church. They did the exact same thing to Sen. Joe McCarthy in their efforts to silence and discredit anti-communists trying to root out communist infiltration into our government and national security. The liberal/left has mastered the dark art of smear and attack and does done it many times against people like Judge Bork.
Dangit, I spotted this document last month on PTWF’s website. I could have scooped Zenit.
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