Opening of 'Hitler's Pope' Archive May Shed More Light on Roles of Vatican and Pius XII During World War II. She concluded that “the world's Jewish community owes him a great debt.” Pius XII did speak out . By Ann Rodgers-Melnick, Post-Gazette Religion Writer . United States - United States - World War II: After World War I most Americans concluded that participating in international affairs had been a mistake. Where his predecessor John Paul II had worked during the Second World War with the Polish underground to defeat the Nazis and save Jews, the former Cardinal Ratzinger had been a … A young woman asserted that Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, the Pope during World War II, had brought lasting shame on the Catholic Church by failing to denounce the Final Solution. As a result, relations with Latin-American nations improved substantially under Hoover, an anti-imperialist. ... Pope Pius XII, and the Roman Catholic Church during the Second World War (2009). The document is proof of the new Pope's qualification as an anti-aircraft "helper" in the Second World War. Several Catholic countries and populations fell under Nazi domination during the period of the Second World War (1939-1945), and ordinary Catholics fought on both sides of the conflict. The Catholic Social Science Review 14 (2009): 367-383. As a papal envoy to Germany from 1917 to 1929, Vatican Secretary of State in the 1930's, and Pope during World War II, Pius XII established a clear record of supporting the Jewish people against the Nazis. Hitler had assumed control of Germany in 1933. It is still kept in his file at Traunstein's Chiemgau school. World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. They sought peace through isolation and throughout the 1920s advocated a policy of disarmament and nonintervention. Since March 2, all the documents in the Vatican archives relating to the pontificate of Pope Pius XII are open for consultation by scholars who wish to study the history of the Church and the Vatican in that period. Cardinal Stepinac, Pope Pius XII, and the Roman Catholic Church during the Second World War. Last year I began to hear an odd retelling of the life of the youth who grew up to become Pope John Paul II. Who Was the British Prime Minister During World War II? What did Pope John Paul II do in World War II? It's not fair to say the future pope acquiesced to the Nazis . On 10 May 1916, Pope Benedict declared the image and Marian title of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as Patroness of Cuba at the written request of the soldier veterans of the Cuban War of Independence. However, the Archives of the Gendarmerie, the Vatican police force, is another historical source that shines a light on how the pope responded during the Second World War. Pope Pius XII in the Second World War By Mary Ball Martinez Since the 1960s, it has been increasingly fashionable to condemn Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) -- who was Pope from 1939 until 1958 -- for his alleged indifference to the fate of Europe's Jews during the Second World War. In a … Credit: Jimmy Sime/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Listen to Sir Martin on Pope Pius XII during the Second World War. Sunday, March 05, 2000. In July of that same year, he began not only persecuting Jews but also Christians. The Catholic Social Science Review 14 (2009): 367-383. To begin to understand Pius XII’s actions during World War II, we must remember the world in which he lived. A young man, a practicing Catholic, insisted that the case had never been proved. 18 Pages Posted: 5 Jun 2013.