Since the Broadway run of the play “The Deputy,” and since libelous novel Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwell, Pope Pius XII has been criticized for remaining silent toward the Holocaust — Even the Holocaust Museum in New York unjustly criticized Pope Pius XII for being silent during World War II. Many insinuate that this alleged silence make the pope complicit in the Nazi crimes.

The fact of the matter is that the pope was far from silent, speaking out against Naziism on more than 55 occasions. He directly played a role in saving more Jews — several hundreds of thousands — than any other person during the Holocaust, more than Raoul Wallenberg or even Oskar Schindler of the acclaimed Schindler’s List.

Many Jewish leaders at the time payed homage to the pope for his heroic effort:

“The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe.”

New York Times, Christmas Day 1941

“A study of the words which Pope Pius XII has addressed since his accession leaves no room for doubt. He condemns the worship of force and its concrete manifestations in the suppression of national liberties and in the persecution of the Jewish race.”

London Times, October 1, 1942

“When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the pope was raised for the victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out on the great moral truths above the tumult of daily conflict.”

Golda Meir, then Israeli delegate to the UN

“The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion, which form the very foundation of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world.”

Rabbi Isaac Herzog, chief rabbi of Israel

“I told [Pope Pius XII] that my first duty was to thank him, and through him the Catholic Church, on behalf of the Jewish public for all they had done in the various countries to rescue Jews�?�. We are deeply grateful to the Catholic Church.”

Moshe Sharett, later Israel�??s first foreign minister

Perhaps the most eloquent statement comes from Albert Einstein:

“Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks….

“Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly.”

Albert Einstein, Time Magazine, December 23, 1940

In his new book The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis (Regnery, 2005), Rabbi David G. Dalin presents extensive documentation culled from Church and State archives throughout Europe that demonstrate how the “anti-papal polemics of ex-seminarians like Garry Wills and John Cornwell (author of Hitler’s Pope), of ex-priests like James Carroll, and or other lapsed or angry liberal Catholics exploit the tragedy of the Jewish people during the Holocaust to foster their own political agenda of forcing changes on the Catholic Church today.”

For those interested in reading truth and fact rather than misinformation and slanderous accusation:

1. The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis (Dailin)
2. The Pius War: Responses to the Critics of Pius XII (Doino)
3. Hitler, the War and the Pope (Rychlak)
4. Pope Pius XII: Architect for Peace (Marchione)
5. A Righteous Gentile: Pope Pius XII and the Jews (Catholic League)
6. Did Pius XII Remain Silent? (Catholic Educator’s Resource Center)
7. Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust (A Catholic Response)