The Pope’s Dilemma: Pius XII Faces Atrocities and Genocide in the Second World War by Jacques Kornberg (review)

University of Toronto Professor Emeritus Jacques Kornberg in The Pope’s Dilemma: Pius XII Faces Atrocities and Genocide in the Second World War has crafted a masterfully researched, carefully argued, highly readable, and scholarly monograph that adds greatly to the historical literature concerning Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. Expressing an interesting and rather novel conclusion to a hotly debated contemporary historical issue, Kornberg has made a significant contribution to the literature.

In his monograph, consisting of an extremely helpful and enlightening introduction, seven chapters and an insightful conclusion, Kornberg concludes that Pope Pius XII’s moral failure to act and speak more publicly against the Holocaust was a matter of “calculated acquiescence” (8). His analysis begins by explaining how during the 1960s the reputation of Pope Pius XII shifted from one of great admiration, even beyond Catholic circles, to one of great suspicion of his inadequate response to the Holocaust. The theatrical production, “The Deputy,” (Rolf Hochhuth, 1963), combined with the new openness of Catholicism to the world in the post-Vatican II era, generated significant historical research into the role of Pius XII before and during World War II. Kornberg begins his examination by exploring the 1933 Concordat, signed when Pius (Eugenio Pacelli) was Vatican Secretary of State. Consistent with his theme throughout the monograph, Kornberg concludes that the Concordat, which largely accommodated to Nazi Germany, was signed to maintain the Pope’s (Pius XI at the time) spiritual authority over German Catholics.

Kornberg uses two chapters to review the actions of Pius XII toward belligerent nations during the War. In keeping with a general policy, Pope Pius XII left it to national episcopacies to speak or not protest against the Holocaust. In Slovakia and Croatia the Pope’s priority was to maintain spiritual authority over Catholics. In Vichy France the Pope’s policy was equally indirect and tepid. In Italy the key issue for Pope Pius was the preservation of Rome. In Poland Kornberg suggests the Pope was most willing to drop his caution, referring to the nation and its people as victims of aggression and occupation, yet he navigated his priorities with great care. It was easier to appease Catholics engaged in war crimes by publicly saying nothing than to speak on behalf of the victims.

Kornberg enhances his argument by comparing Pius XII’s actions and his Jewish sentiments to other popes. He concludes that Pius’s actions and views were mainstream for the Holy See; accommodation to governments no matter the kind of state or its ruling ideology was chosen as a lesser of two evils. The author looks at the Armenian genocide and the tragedy of World War I during the pontificate of Benedict XV, and the invasion of Ethiopia by Italy in 1935 during the reign of Pius XI, seeking comparisons with Pius XII. In each case pragmatic public silence was chosen, although backdoor political moves were attempted.

In the final chapter and conclusion Kornberg addresses various rationales given by historians to Pius XII’s lack of public outcry and presents his own thesis. He reviews theories posited by other historians, including Pius’s perception of Communism as a greater evil than Nazism, fear that his actions would bring retaliation and greater misery to the victims, his priority to protect the institutional Church, and his desires to be a diplomatic mediator. He concludes, however, agreeing with Kevin Spicer, CSC, that the Pope’s rationale, (while possibly misguided) was theological: to speak out publicly against Catholics who supported Hitler could prompt them to abandon the Church and under the prevailing theological perspective of the day, lead to the loss of their salvation. He concludes, “To put it plainly: in the case of Pope Pius XII, religion trumped civic and political morality” (266).

Kornberg’s method in this monograph is scholarly, refreshing, and innovative. He admits that much...