Excerpt from Hitler, the War, and the Pope by Prof. Ronald Rychlak
Th e nation of Slovakia (carved out of the defunct Czechoslovakia) came under Nazi rule on March 16, 1939.
Nuremberg race laws were introduced in that country on September 9, 1941. Two days later Monsignor
Burzio, the Vatican’s Chargé d’Aff aires in Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia), went to see President Tiso
in order to stress “the injustice of these ordinances which also violate the rights of the Church.”1 Shortly
thereafter, Slovakia’s representative to the Vatican received a written protest from the Holy See that these laws
were “in open contrast to Catholic principles.”2 Several other protests followed.3
When Jews were deported from Slovakia in 1942, the Vatican Secretary of State immediately fi led a protest
with the Slovakian government.4 On March 21, 1942, a pastoral letter was read by episcopal order in all
Slovak churches. Th e letter spoke of the “lamentable fate of thousands of innocent fellow citizens, due to no
guilt of their own, as a result of their descent or nationality.”5 Under direct orders from Pius XII, the Slovak
Minister to the Holy See was summoned and requested to take immediate action with his government.6 Th e
Vatican also instructed the chargé d’aff aires in Bratislava once again to contact Tiso and seek relief.7 Catholic
prelate Paval Machàcek, vice president of the Czechoslovak State Council, said in a broadcast to the Slovak
people: “It is impossible to serve simultaneously God and the devil. It is equally impossible to be at the same
time a good Christian and an anti-Semite.”8
Pope Pius XII weighed in on the matter with a letter, dated April 7, 1943, to the Slovak government:
Th e Holy See has always entertained the fi rm hope that the Slovak government . . . would never proceed
with the forcible removal of persons belonging to the Jewish race. It is, therefore, with great pain that the
Holy See has learned of the continued transfers of such a nature from the territory of the republic. Th is pain
is aggravated further now that it appears . . . that the Slovak government intends to proceed with the total
removal of the Jewish residents of Slovakia, not even sparing women and children. Th e Holy See would fail
in its Divine Mandate if it did not deplore these measures, which gravely damage man in his natural right,
mainly for the reason that these people belong to a certain race.9
Th e following day, a message went out from the Holy See instructing its representative in Bulgaria to take
steps in support of Jewish residents who were facing deportation.10
On May 5, 1943, a message went out from the Vatican’s Secretary of State to the representative in Slovakia
condemning “the forcible removal of persons belonging to the Jewish race . . . Th e Holy See would fail in its
Divine Mandate if it did not deplore these measures, which gravely damage man in his natural right, merely
for the reason that these people belong to a certain race.”11
Shortly thereafter, the secretary of the Jewish Agency for Palestine met with Archbishop Roncalli, “to thank
the Holy See for the happy outcome of the steps taken on behalf of the Israelites in Slovakia.”12
On September 20, 1944, the Vatican again instructed its representative in Bratislava to intervene for the Jews.13 Th at
same month, the Jewish Chronicle (London) editorialized that “Th e Pope’s action is . . . a striking affi rmation of
the dictum of one of the Pope’s predecessors that no true Christian can be an anti-Semite.”14 Jewish communities
around the world soon recognized that the Vatican was an advocate in favor of Jews in Slovakia.15
By October 1944, deportations were back underway, and many Jews were in hiding. Tiso reported to the
Vatican on October 26: “In spite of all protests the German security forces continue transfer of Jews to Germany.”16 A telegram drafted under the name of the acting Secretary of State bears corrections in Pius
XII’s handwriting. It directed the Chargé d’Aff aires to:
Go at once to President Tiso and, informing him of His Holiness’s deep sorrow on account of suff erings which
very large numbers of persons “contrary to principles of humanity and justice” are undergoing in that nation
on account of their nationality or race, in the name of the August Pontiff bring him back to sentiments and
resolutions in conformity with his priestly dignity and conscience.17
Between 1941 and 1944, the Vatican sent four offi cial letters and made numerous oral pleas and protests
regarding the deportation of Jews from Slovakia.18
In November 1944, the Holy See dispatched a note expressing “deep sorrow” and hope that the Slovak
government would assure that “Jews who are still in the territory . . . may not be subjected to even more severe
suff erings.” Th e note concluded:
Th e Holy See, moved by those sentiments of humanity and Christian charity that always inspire its work in
favor of those who are suff ering, without distinction of religion, nationality or race, will continue also in the
future, inspite of the growing diffi culties of communications, to follow with particular attention the fate of
the Jews of Slovakia, and will do everything in its power to bring them relief.19
Tiso ultimately managed to slow down the deportation of Slovakian Jews,20 but due to his collaboration with
the Nazis (albeit under pressure from Hitler), the Slovaks hanged him after the war.
In attempting to implicate Pius XII in the atrocities carried out in the Nazi satellite states of Slovakia, critic
Daniel Goldhagen mentioned the work of Livia Rothkirchen, a respected authority on the annihilation of
Slovak Jewry, but he failed to mention that in documenting and appropriately condemning the savageries
committed by anti-Semitic Slavs, Rothkirchen emphasized that this was done in spite of, not because of, Pope
Pius XII.21 In fact, she concluded that the several letters of protest delivered by the Vatican during the years
1941–1944 “prove suffi ciently that the Vatican objected to the deportation of Jews from Slovakia.”22
Because he was a priest, some critics have argued that the Vatican supported Tiso, despite his collaboration
with the Nazis. Actually, the available evidence demonstrates just the opposite. On the day that Tiso was
chosen as the fi rst President of the Slovak Republic (September 26, 1939) the Vatican released a statement
expressing its “grave misgivings,” and warning that this move would corrupt the relationship between Church
and State. As reported in the New York Times:
Owing to Slovakia’s subservience to Germany it is not doubted that President Tiso will have to visit Berlin and
most likely be seen and even photographed with Chancellor Hitler, whom the Vatican regards as a persecutor
of Catholics . . . It was recalled in this connection that the Vatican, prompted by a similar consideration,
refused to sanction the appointment some months ago of a priest as Ambassador to the Holy See from a South
American Republic, and the candidate had to be withdrawn.23
Despite Pius XII’s concern that this move might have a Catholic priest pictured with Hitler, Tiso assumed
the offi ce in defi ance of the Pope, not with his support. As it was written during the war:
What followed was strictly according to the Nazi pattern. Persecution of the Jews and imprisonment of every
democratic voice; the creation of an Iron Guard to shoot down strikers and saboteurs; the Germanization of
the school system; the expropriation of property, the confi scation of grain and foodstuff s; and the dispatch
of Slovak youth to the Russian front. From Rome came the thunders of the Holy Father, denouncing these
outrages, but Tiso paid no heed to the voice of the Holy Father.24
In the Vatican, the Secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Aff airs (Msgr. Domenico Tardini) recorded in his notes of October 21 and 23, 1941, that if the pro-Nazi statements attributed to Tiso were actually
made by him, the Holy Father wanted his name to be removed from a list of praiseworthy prelates.25 Later, Tardini
wrote: “It is a great misfortune that the President of Slovakia is a priest. Everyone knows that the Holy See cannot
bring Hitler to heel. But who will understand that we can’t even control a priest?”26
1 Lapide at 138. In the Vatican, the Secretary of the Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Aff airs
(Msgr. Domenico Tardini) recorded in his notes of October 21 and 23, 1941, that if the pro-Nazi
statements attributed to Tiso were actually made by him, the Holy Father wanted his name to be
removed from a list of prelates designated for special praise. Notes de Mgr. Tardini, October 23, 1941,
Actes et Documents, vol. 5, p. 273, no. 123. Later, Tardini said: “It is a great misfortune that the President
of Slovakia is a priest. Everyone knows that the Holy See cannot bring Hitler to heel. But who will
understand that we can’t even control a priest?” Notes de Mgr. Tardini, July 13, 1942, Actes et Documents,
vol. 8, p. 598, no. 426.
2 Lapide at 138. See La Secrétairerie d’Etat à la Légation de Slovaquie, March 14, 1942, Actes et Documents,
vol. 8, p. 459, no. 305 (Vatican Secretary of State’s concern over expulsion of Jews from the Slovak
Republic).
3 E.g., Th e Apostolic Delegate (Cicognani) to the Acting Secretary of State, Feb. 26, 1944, in Foreign
Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1944, vol. I (General) at 995, United States Government
Printing Offi ce (Washington, 1966).
4 While Catholics did not face the same fate as Jews, the post-war Czechoslovak Offi cial Report for the
Prosecution and Trial of Major War Criminals documented Nazi eff orts to suppress Catholicism in this
area: At the outbreak of war, 487 Catholic priests were among the thousands of Czech patriots arrested
and sent to concentration camps as hostages. Venerable high ecclesiastical dignitaries were dragged to
concentration camps as hostages . . . Religious orders were dissolved and liquidated, their charitable
institutions closed down and their members expelled or else forced to compulsory labor in Germany.
All religious instruction in Czech schools was suppressed. Most of the weeklies and monthlies which
the Catholics had published in Czechoslovakia, had been suppressed from the very beginning of the
occupation . . . To a great extent Catholic church property was seized for the benefi t of the Reich. Offi ce
of United States Chief of Counsel at 283.
Lapide at 141.
See Le cardinal Maglione au chargé d’aff aires à Presbourg Burzio, March 9, 1943, Actes et Documents,
vol. 9, p. 179, no. 87 (Vatican direction to impede the deportation of 20,000 Jews from Slovakia).
7 See Le cardinal Maglione au chargé d’aff aires à Presbourg Burzio, March 9, 1943, Actes et Documents,
vol. 9, no. 87 (Vatican direction to impede the deportation of 20,000 Jews from Slovakia).
8 Jacques Maritain, Atonement for All, Th e Commonweal, Sept. 18, 1942, at 509.
9 Holmes at 159–60; See Notes de Mgr. Tardini, April 7, 1943, Actes et Documents, vol. 9, p. 233, no. 136
(regarding the Holy See’s concern about the persecution of Jews in Slovakia).
10 Le cardinal Maglione au délégué apostolique à Sofi a Mazzoli, April 8, 1943, Actes et Documents, vol. 9,
p. 242, no. 141.
11 La Secrétairere d’Etat à la Légation de Slovaquie, May 5, 1943, Actes et Documents, vol. 9, p. 275, no.
176.
12 Le délégue apostolique à Istanbul Roncalli au cardinal Maglione, May 22, 1943, Actes et Documents, vol.
9, p. 306, no. 195. See also Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Positio, appendix 25 at 246 (protest by the Slovak Nuncio, made at the opportune time, led to partial success of delaying deportation). Denis
Barton, Fr. Tiso, Slovakia and Hitler (Church in History Information Center: Birkenhead, 1990) refutes
many accusations about the Catholic hierarchy in wartime Slovakia. Similarly, evidence of the Slovak
bishops’ appeals for Jews is found in the Tablet, June 12, 1943, at 283 and July 3, 1943, at 8. After the
war, the Tablet reaffi rmed that the Slovak bishops “did in fact, in accordance with the desire of the Holy
See, make most emphatic public denunciation of the persecution of the Jews.” Th e Tablet, February 15,
1947, at 108.
13 La Secretairerie d’Etat à la Légation de Slovaquie, September 20, 1944, vol. 10, p. 422, no. 328.
14 Th e Jewish Chronicle (London), Sept. 11, 1942.
15 Le cardinal Maglione au chargé d’aff aires à Washington Cicognani. February 16, 1944, Actes et Documents,
vol. 10, p. 134, no. 60 (directive regarding requests from the World Jewish Congress); Le cardinal
Maglione au chargé d’aff aires à Presbourg Burzio, April 22, 1944, Actes et Documents, vol. 10, p. 234, no.
159 (similar).
16 Lapide at 147.
17 Notes de Mgr. Tardini, October 28, 1944, Actes et Documents, vol. 10, pp. 461–62, no. 378 (Annex);
Robert A. Graham, Pius XII’s Defense of Jews and Others: 1944–45, in Pius XII and the Holocaust: A
Reader at 65–66 (emphasis added); Lapide at 147.
18 O’Carroll at 106.
19 Robert A. Graham, Pius XII’s Defense of Jews and Others: 1944–45, in Pius XII and the Holocaust: A Reader
at 66 (emphasis added).
20 Michaelis at 373. Th e survival of nearly 25 percent of the Slovakian Jews has been attributed to Vatican
pressure on Tiso. Lapide at 144.
21 See Livia Rothkirchen, Th e Destruction of Slovak Jewry (Yad Vashem: Jerusalem, 1961); Livia Rothkirchen,
Vatican Policy and the “Jewish Problem” in “Independent” Slovakia (1939–1945), VI Yad Vashem Studies
27–53 (1966); Livia Rothkirchen, Th e Churches and the “Final Solution” in Slovakia, in Judaism and
Christianity under the Impact of National Socialism 1919–1945 413–41 (Otto Dov Kulka and Paul
R. Mendes-Flohr, eds. 1987) (mentioning several papal interventions for Jews and contrasting them
favorably with the behavior of the local populace.) To the extent that deportations were minimized
in Slovakia, Rothkirchen credited the Pope. Commenting on the decision of the Slovak authorities to
suspend deportations in the spring of 1943, Rothkirchen said: “Th e impact of the Holy See at this phase
was undoubtedly a decisive factor. Th is was known and widely commented upon.” Id. at 419.
22 Rothkirchen, Th e Destruction of Slovak Jewry, at xxxiii; see also Lapide at 148; 358, n.28 (citing this
passage). In volume XV of Yad Vashem Studies, John Conway also states that the archival material
“confi rms the picture already drawn by such Jewish authors as Livia Rothkirchen and Pinchas Lapide.
Where the Nuncios were alert, and the governments susceptible to papal remonstrances, then the
interventions succeeded in delaying or reducing the deportations and other acts of persecution towards
the Jews.” See generally Th e Pius War at 271–73.
23 Tiso Chosen as First President of Slovakia; Vatican Frowns on Priest as head of State, New York Times,
October 27, 1939, at 1.
24 War Criminals and Punishment (Robert M. McBride and Company: New York, 1944) at 113.
25 Notes of Monsignor Tardini, October 23, 1941, Actes et Documents, vol. 5, p. 273, no. 123.
26 Notes of Monsignor Tardini, July 13, 1942, Actes et Documents, vol. 8, p. 598, no. 426.
Source: Pope Pius XII and World War II: The Documented Truth