Second World War that is also called World War II started in 1939 and was finished in 1945. It is considered to be one of the biggest and the most serious wars in the history because it involved many major countries and was characterized by the opposition of two military alliances such as the Axis (Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (Soviet Union, the United Kingdom. France and the United States of America) that were fighting against the aggression of the Axis. In total, more than 100 million people from 30 different countries participated in the World War II. Though the most countries were involved in this conflict, there were also some nations that decided to remain neutral and not to choose sides. One of those nations was the Vatican – a small country located on the territory of Italy and governed by the Pope.
It is still quite controversial, what was the role of the Vatican and its neutral position during the Second World War, especially regarding the role of the Pope, and historians have different opinions and points of view regarding this question. Despite the fact that the Pope had negative feelings against fascism and Nazist, he decided to be impartial and neutral in order to protect the Church. It is possible to say that the primary goal of the Vatican neutrality was the intention of the Pope to protect the citizens of the Vatican, which is the main advantage of its neutrality. Moreover, the Vatican impartiality also allowed the Pope to gather essential information and coordinate the provision of assistance to the war prisoners. Under the direction of the Pope, air-raid shelters were constructed in the Vatican in order to keep archival papers safe and provide a shelter to Allied Diplomats. While talking about advantages of the neutrality of Vatican, it is worth mentioning the Vatican radio – a mass media that significantly contributed to the war. The neutrality of the Vatican allowed the radio to function properly and distribute important information. During the five years of the World War II, the Vatican radio was mostly concerned with the transmission of the information about the civilians involved in the war, war prisoners and missing soldiers. In total in the war period the Vatican Radio sent 1 240 728 messages, which involved in total 12 105 hours of the broadcast time – equal to eight hours daily. The Vatican Radio was especially active in 1940, when it was used for distribution of information about terrorization of the Polish and Jewish people. Usually radio broadcasts were given in several languages including Italian, English, German, Polish, Russian and Ukranian. In general it is possible to say that since the Vatican was not involved in the war, the Vatican Radio remained a qualitative source of news and information. Moreover, impartiality of the Vatican made the Radio neutral and reliable, where only the objective and accurate information without any shadow of propaganda. (Phayer 25)
However, despite all good actions of the Pope Pius XII, his neutral position was also criticized both by ordinary people and by the leaders of other countries. Most of all, the Pope was accused of ignoring Nazis’ actions against Jews, which led to their massive murder. For example, in 1938 a number racial laws were enacted by Benito Mussolini, according to which Jew lost most of their civil rights, and some of them, especially foreign Jews, were expelled from Italy. (Millar 123) Nevertheless, the ignorance of the Vatican regarding Jews was also quite controversial. Thus, the defenders of the Vatican and the Pope claimed that actually the Vatican was trying to help Jewish people in spite of its official neutrality and there are several examples of the Vatican’s extended aid to Jewish population. For example, in 1942 the Pope protested against the plan of Slovakia to deport 8000 of Jews to death. Other protests were initiated by the Vatican in France, when children of Jewish parents, who had been already deported, were going to be sent to Auschwitz. Furthermore, the Vatican had also issued documents to many Jews, according to which they had an opportunity to pass as Christians, and, as a result, thousands of Jewish people have found shelters and refugee places in parish houses, convents and monasteries throughout the whole Europe, including Rome. In general, though the Pope Pius XII was criticized a lot for his impartiality, he enabled to save with the help of his silent rescue campaign around 800 000 lives of Jewish people. (Perry 140)
Summarizing all the mentioned and described above about the position of the Vatican during the Second World War, it becomes obvious that the Vatican and the Pope Pius XII did not choose sides. Despite the fact that it allowed the Vatican to remain neutral, to protect the local citizens and to provide aid to others, especially war prisoners and Jews, its neutral position also brought many problems later both to the country and the Pope Pius. Thus, in the middle of the Second World War, the pressure on the Vatican has increased. The Polish ambassador to the Vatican Kazimierz Papee continued to insist on the Pope’s speaking out and explaining the Vatican’s position. In spring 1942 he even complained to the secretary of the state that the Pope did not condemn the most recent the wave of terror in Poland initiated by Germany. Later he also reported that the attitude of the Polish population regarding the Pope had been reserved an become almost hostile since the Polish people did not have any more patience because of the Vatican’s silence and neutrality. However, Poland was not the only one nation unsatisfied with the Vatican’s and the Pope’s position: almost all European countries, except Germany, expressed the same opinion and claimed about their lost fair in the Vatican. Therefore, some scholars and historians share the opinion that it would be better for the Vatican to choose sides and the Pope Pius XII should not have taken a neutral side in order save the reputation of the Church and the Holy See. However, choosing a side was a dreadful dilemma for the Pope Pius XII. In both cases, either the Vatical chose the Axis or the Allies, it would it and the Pope certain negative consequence. Since the Soviet Union sided with France and England against Germany, it meant that the Vatican would have to be allied with the biggest and the most powerful communist country, which was against the principles of the Catholic Church. Moreover, the Pope Pius XII and the Vatican considered Communism as the one of the biggest threats both for the society and for the Catholic Church because communism and its Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin antireligious. Therefore, by being neutral, the Pope was trying not to create problems for German soldiers to fight against the Soviet Union and its communist regime. At the same time, there were, of course some benefits that the alliance with the Soviet Union would give to the Vatican. It is necessary to remember that the Soviet Union appeared to be one of the most powerful nations of that time that finally won the war. Therefore, the alliance of the Vatican with the Soviet Union would definitely strengthen the position of it and the Pope on the European and Internationa arena. In regarding the Vatican’s possible alliance wtih Germany, it was also controversial because if it sided with Germany, it meant that the Vatican and the Pope officially supported fascism and the holocaust. Moreover, the alliance of the Vatican with Germany would make Catholic Poland expendable. (Perry 140)
Work Cited
Millar, Ruth. Saskatchewan Heroes and Rogues. Canada: Coteau Books. 2004. Print
Perry, Marvin. World War II in Europe: A Concise History. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print
Phayer, Michael. The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965. Bloomington: The Indiana University Press, 2000. Print
