Ever since his rise to power Hitler continued to treat the Catholic Church inside the Reich as he thought fit, regardless of her protestations, but always keeping in mind the fact that it had great influence in other countries and could be made to serve his political aims within, as well as outside, Germany.
Measures within the Reich were bent on centralizing an the spirit and cultural energies of the nation into one solid Nazi block; and the Catholic Church, like any other institution, had to submit V a greater or lesser extent. But continual friction was bound to result when the Church, a spiritual Totalitarianism itself, was brought into such close contact with the political Totalitarianism of the Nazis. Although the Church and Nazism had the same formidable enemies to fight-Bolshevism, Soviet Russia, democracy, etc.-their hostility to each other in certain definite fields provoked continual clashes. The most common cause of dissension was the vital issue as to which of the two should educate the German Youth. Nazism claimed the right and could enforce it.
A typical instance of Hitler's power to enforce his claim was shown when he ordered all Catholic parents in Munich to send their children to a Nationalist school, whether they wished it or not. The Catholic Hierarchy protested as usual, but the pupils of the Catholic schools, in virtue of the vote, fell from 36,464 to 19,266; while pupils in the Nazi schools rose from 33 to 65 per cent. The same methods were used throughout Germany.
But Hitler's hostile measures and "persecution" of the Church were prompted, not only by his determination to control all the energies of the German people, but also that he might compel the Church to serve him in his political design, either in Germany itself or elsewhere. Other instances of similar "persecutions" were the trials of the monks. Early in the summer of 1936 the Vatican learnt that 276 monks of the Franciscan Order, in Westphalia, were arrested on charges of sodomy. After about ten trials the Pope suppressed a province of the Franciscan Order "for irregularities." In spite of this the trials continued, and numerous other Orders were affected. The impartial American World Almanac for 1939 affirms that "up to October 1938 more than 8,000 Catholic monks and lay brothers had been arrested."
The Pope wrote an encyclical, Mit Brennender Sorge (March ,1937), in which he insisted on a Christian conception of God, the position of the Church and the Papacy and the part that they must play; and he complained that Hitler was not observing the terms of the Concordat. Hitler replied by asking the Pope to order the Cardinal Mundelein, of Chicago, to discontinue his accusations at the trials of the monks were founded on forgery. The Pope refused.
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Yet, notwithstanding all this, and the protests to Hitler, the Vatican continued to support his regime.
For the real cause of this partnership it is necessary to go back to the earlier policy of the Catholic Church, which was dictated by the fear of Bolshevism. A real and world-wide campaign against it had begun by this time (1936). The Church had initiated a holy crusade. To be successful in this campaign she needed the help of Fascism and Nazism, whose hatred for Communism was equal to her own.
The picture of the world for the Catholic Church by 1936 was not very bright. Bolshevism was making headway inside and outside Europe. In France the Popular Front had come into being; in Spain, after the most Catholic Monarchy had been swept away, a "Red Republic" was ruling that "most Catholic country." In Latin America Socialist and Bolshevik ideas were daily gaining ground. Something had to be done lest they spread farther. Pastoral letters, the Catholic Press, and the Pope's fulminations against Bolshevism were not sufficient. The strength of the temporal Powers had to come to the rescue. And who could better and more willingly give help than the Fascist and Nazi countries? Fascist Italy, and, above all, Nazi Germany, had to be kept on friendly terms with the Vatican for that purpose and no other! Therefore it was necessary to put up with mild persecutions and demands by Nazism and Fascism provided they guaranteed that Bolshevism was kept under in Italy and Germany as well as abroad.
It is an interesting fact that, while persecution of every kind on the widest scale was taking place in Germany, the Vatican was still calling for war against Russia because of "its religious persecutions." After having tried all means to restrain the Nazis from persecuting the Church, and using all means for the suppression of the monks' trials, the Vatican adopted another method. It approached Hitler with the suggestion that they should combine for a crusade against Bolshevism, first in Europe, and then eventually in Russia. But first, Europe had to be made safe from the Red Peril. The crusade must start in Red Spain.
This approach was not the only advance made by the Vatican. Mussolini had also been contacted with this end in view; and he was asked to act as mediator and induce Hitler to end the hostilities directed against the Catholic Church. It was pointed out that if
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Hitler took part in the crusade against Bolshevism it would help him in his design upon the "clerical State," meaning Austria. But pri marily it was suggested that Hitler, Mussolini, and the Vatican should go to the aid of Franco and "crush the Red" in Spain. During these pourparlers the Vatican gave "assurances" to Hitler that when the time was ripe he would find a "not unfavorable sup port" for his claim to the annexation of Austria. His design to annex Austria had by no means been abandoned because the murder of the Austrian Chancellor Dolfuss had failed. In the offer of the Vatican, Hitler saw the opportunity to extend his prestige in Europe and to create a close alliance with Mussolini; but, above all, he saw the opportunity to test his newly built Army. He accepted the offer.
Immediately, the Vatican ordered all the Catholic Hierarchy of Germany to ask that Hitler should make good his acceptance and cease all form of hostility toward the Church. They were to tell him that the German Catholics and the German Church would be by his side in any campaign that he might undertake against Bolshe vism. The letter signed by the German bishops, and which was published in the Nazionale Zeitung of September 12, 1936, asked Hitler in plain language to allow Catholics to co-operate with him "in the fight against the ever-increasing threat to the world of Bolshevism, which shows its sinister hand in Spain, Russia, and Mexico."
They went farther. Besides repeating the words quoted above, and which the Pope himself had spoken only one week earlier when addressing priests and nuns from Spain, the German bishops made their meaning unmistakable by adding that Hitler should under stand that they wanted to support his war against Republican Spain as well as against Russia, and that "guns alone were not enough to fight the Bolshevik dragon; a sound lead is necessary to secure victory . . . ... With these words addressed to the arch-enemy of Bolshevism, there could be no mistake in the desire of the Vatican to start and support an ideological religious war.
But the trials of the monks and the incorporation of Catholic Youth into the Nazi organizations went on as before. Once again Mussolini asked Hitler to discontinue his hostility to the Church (The Times, November 4, 1936). Only a week later Cardinal Faul haber had an interview with Hitler and repeated in more precise
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terms that all the German bishops and clergy would support him in any enterprise against Bolshevism, and that the Vatican would use all its influence throughout the world for Nazi Germany provided Hitler would respect the Catholic Church within the Reich. The Cardinal asked, in particular, that the Catholic Church should retain control of her schools. Hitler was persuaded. But a few days later the Nazi Minister of Education induced Hitler to change his mind, as the Minister considered that Catholic support of the regime now was negligible (The Times, November 17, 1936). At the beginning of 1937 all the Catholic schools of Bavaria and other provinces were taken over by the Nazis.
Once more the Church had to submit, although with some protesta tions; but meanwhile Hitler was keeping his word about Spain and had begun to help Fascist Franco. The Vatican had to decide which was the greater service. Although occasionally protesting about the internal antagonism of Nazism to the Church, the Vatican and the German Hierarchy, to say the least, co-operated with Hitler and Mussolini in order to destroy its Red enemies and prevent other peoples from accepting democratic or Socialist rule.
While Hitler was rehearsing his new army in Spain, and Mussolini was sending hundreds of thousands of Fascist soldiers to fight for Franco, with the blessing of Catholic priests, Hitler, with the assistance of the Vatican, was completing his rape of Austria. This was prepared and committed with the collaboration of devout Catholic Austrians, including a cardinal who ordered the bells of Vienna to peal in welcome of Hitler's occupation, and with the final consent of the Vatican, which commanded Slovak Catholics to disrupt and weaken internally the Republic of Czechoslovakia.
Thus, in two years, he occupied two countries: Austria in 1938, and Czechoslovakia in 1939, on the eve of the outbreak of the Second World War. (See the chapter on Austria and the Vatican, and chapter on Czechoslovakia and the Vatican.)
The year 1939 dawned-a year of fate for many countries, and for the Vatican. In that year Albania was invaded by Fascist Italy, the Spanish Republic was finally crushed and Franco began his Catholic dictatorship; Czechoslovakia was strangled, Poland was invaded, and, finally, the Second World War was let loose upon the world.
At the Vatican, early in 1939, the authoritarian Pope Pius XI
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died. There was no doubt as to who would be elected his successor. During the previous ten years the policy of the Vatican had been directed by Cardinal Pacelli, and that policy had to continue. It was no mere coincidence that the most ardent supporters of Pacelli, who were asking the other cardinals to vote for him, were headed by Cardinal Faulhaber, Cardinal Innitzer, Cardinal Hlond, of Poland (whose main dream was to march against Soviet Russia and dedicate that country to "the Sacred Heart of Jesus"), and Cardinal Schuster, of Milan.
Pacelli was elected Pope under the name of Pius XII. In pursuit of his set policy -the new Pope began a great campaign for peace. The Catholic Press was full of his words about peace, the freedom of nations, and the necessity for settling disputes without war.
But while he spoke thus, he acted in a very different way. He continued to be in close touch with Mussolini and Hitler, who needed the Church in order to carry out further their plans of conquest. The Nazi Government especially had been in close and frequent secret consultation with the Vatican about matters of which no one knew the exact purport. But it was noticed at the time that these pourparlers were very similar to those that had taken place during the betrayal of Austria and Czechoslovakia. Who was going to be the next victim? The rumbling of war was being heard continuously all over Europe, and many people feared that another act of ag gression was being planned.
In the late spring of 1939, after much consultation with Berlin, a letter was sent from the Pope's representative there, by special courier, to the Vatican (April 24, 1939). The letter was of such importance that no one in the Vatican, except the Pope's Secretary of State, was ever allowed to know the message it contained. The Pope closed himself in his study for two entire days, brooding over the reply, which finally he wrote with his own hand, so that none should know its nature.
The letter went to Berlin. Hitler was immediately informed of its contents. This was followed by feverish activity at the Vatican. During May and June interminable and highly secret correspondence was exchanged between the Nuncios at Berlin, Warsaw, and Paris, while various ambassadors, notably the German, Italian, French, and Polish, called with unusual frequency on the Pope or his Secre–
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tary of State, in either an official or an unofficial capacity. What was happening? What decision had the Pope taken?
To-day, at a distance of several years, it is possible to give a fair account of what was going on behind the scenes during that fateful period. [After the Second World War numerous documents came to light concerning the activities of the Vatican at this period, most of them finding their way into the hands of the Judges and Prosecution at the Nuremberg trial (1946), in addition to the many declarations by people who knew-for instance, M. Frangois Charles-Roux, former French Ambassador to the Holy See.]
The Pope had been informed of the war plans of Hitler to invade Poland. Hitler had told of his grand strategy and his ultimate aims. He had to risk a European war in order to achieve them, but they were worth it. The ultimate and main goal was the invasion of Soviet Russia. To do that, Hitler needed to occupy Poland. Czecho slovakia, the first bastion, which had half-opened the gates to Russia, was not enough. Poland, too, had to be put at the disposal of Germany. The Pope would have to use all his influence in persuad ing the Poles-who, in the disruption of Czechoslovakia, had so intimately co-operated with Nazi Germany-to settle matters with Hitler, first regarding the question of Danzig (at that time the great issue was Danzig and the Polish Corridor), and then by making secret treaties with Germany for the invasion of Russia.
If the Poles refused, Hitler would invade Poland. He asked the Pope, first, not to condemn the invasion, and secondly not to ask the Catholics in Poland to oppose it, but to rally them to a crusade against the Soviets. Hitler made two promises: he would, this time, respect all the privileges of the Church in Poland, -and, secondly, the occupation of Poland would be "temporary."
The Pope was faced by a tremendous dilemma. Here, at last, was the opportunity for which the Vatican had worked since the First World War, and for which it had been so busy setting up totalitarian reactionary regimes wherever possible: Bolshevism and its symbol, Soviet Russia, might be completely destroyed. That would mean not only the disappearance of a great country where Atheist Bolshevism ruled, but also the disappearance of a beacon of Communism for all the Communists of the world. Further, the other great dream of the Vatican-the absorption of the Orthodox Church by the Catholic Church -- might also come true.
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On the other hand, Poland was a very Catholic country, ruled by a Catholic dictatorship and in intimate contact with the Vatican. Was it worth while sacrificing it for the ultimate purpose of destroy ing Soviet Russia? And would not the invasion of Poland precipitate a world war? Would France enter such a war? Would the Papal influence in French Catholic circles, in combination with all the other powerful elements favorable to Nazism and hostile to Soviet Russia, be able to counterbalance the influence of Great Britain? These were the considerations which the Pope had to study. Pius XII had to make the greatest decision of his career, and, like his predecessor, who had had to decide on whether or not to sacrifice all the great Catholic political parties in Europe and favor Fascism., the new Pope had to determine whether he should sacrifice a whole Catholic country, and perhaps also France and other countries, as well as take the responsibility of acquiescing to the outbreak of a world war, in order to achieve a goal which was of paramount interest to the future of the Church.
Pius XII accepted. He did, however, put forward three conditions:-
(1) That he should be allowed to make peace proposals and be given time to start a peace campaign in the diplomatic world; that all possible means should be taken to reach a compromise with Poland and the Western Powers.
(2) That, if the Vatican influence of Poland was of no avail, and the invasion of that country thus became necessary, Germany should inflict on Poland the least possible physical and moral damage, as far as was compatible with necessity; and, above all, that Germany should not persecute the Polish Catholics for their resistance, and that the interests of the Church should be com pletely safeguarded.
(3) That it should not be made known that the Vatican had discussed with Germany plans for the invasion of Russia. The Vatican, in its official capacity, would have no responsibility what soever for the whole matter, although it would exert pressure, first, to restrain France from fulfilling her pact with Russia, and, secondly, to raise legions of Catholic volunteers in all Catholic countries of the world for a crusade against the Soviets. That Germany should not ask the Church "in its capacity as the mother of all Christians,"
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or formally in its official capacity, to launch a "holy war" against Russia.
Once more Hitler promised all that the Vatican asked.
The Vatican began to exert pressure on the Polish Government, through the services of Cardinal Hlond, and in French Catholic circles, so that, if the worst should happen, the French would not enter the war against Germany. The negotiations failed, not because the Pope did not do his best to avoid war with Poland and the Western Powers, but because of the intransigence of Hitler, who had already determined to crush Poland, whether or not that country accepted his proposals.
And so, on September 1, 1939, Poland was invaded. Then, on September 3, in spite of all the forces that had worked against it, one of the most important of which was the Catholic Church, France declared war, followed by Britain. The Second World War had begun.
The Pope became almost ill, and for days it was feared that his health was impaired. But he kept his promise to Hitler. As several years before, with Austria and with Czechoslovakia, so now with Poland, instead of protesting to the world against the German attack, he remained completely dumb. Not a single word of condemnation, not a hint that Nazi Germany should have been, at least morally, condemned by the Seat of Catholic Morality.
Far from it. While the horror of the bombing of Warsaw was going on, and Catholic people were being massacred by the Luft waffe, German archbishops and bishops were praying Almighty God to protect the Third Reich, and to enlighten its leader. We will quote only one example of such prayers, which thousands of priests were ordered by Bishop von Galen, of Munster, to repeat after Mass. It begins thus:-
Let us pray for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff for the repulsion of Atheism and for the restoration to the Church of liberty and peace. Let us pray also that God may protect and bless oar people and our country.
It continues:-
... Protect us from every catastrophe, Omnipotent and Eternal God. Take our country under Thy protection.
... Enlighten our leaders with the light of Thy wisdom so that they may p195
recognize what is profitable to the nation and with Thy strength may do what is equitable.
Protect all the soldiers of our Army and keep them in Thy grace. Fortify those who are in combat...Protect our country, 0 Lord, from the attacks of enemies...etc.
The Pope's silence was in striking contrast to his attitude towards another invasion, which had taken place not long before-the in vasion of Finland by Communist Russia. The official organ of the Papacy, which, like the Pope himself, had not condemned a single Fascist or Nazi invasion, burst into a lofty moral condemnation when Russia entered Finland:-
After twenty years of Bolshevist tyranny, it now appears that Communism, which had already suppressed political liberty, stifled individuality, reduced work to the status of slavery, and erected violence into a system, has added a new pearl to its diadem . . . after hounding men it now hounds nations…(Osservatore Romano).
This was followed by a most violent condemnation of Russia the Vatican, and from cardinals, bishops, and Catholics all the world. Then it happened that Soviet Russia forestalled Hitler and occupied almost half of Poland. That was a blow which the Vatican took with great dismay. But worse was to come: Nazi Germany had made a pact with Russia. The Vatican had been duly informed of the reasons, and the meaning of the pact. Nevertheless, the Pope protested. The Papal Nuncio in Berlin had a secret meeting with Ribbentrop, who told him that, as the original plan had miscarried (namely that in which Poland would have been occupied without the interference of France and Britain), it had become necessary to complete a temporary pact with Russia in order to deal first with the West. Only when the West had been made secure would Germany continue her plan for the invasion of Soviet Russia. The Vatican should try again to make France break her alliance with Britain and come to an understand ing with Germany.
The strain of those months, the torture of having to take moral reponsibility for matters of such tremendous importance, the partial failure of his plans, the fall of Poland, and the beginning of an-
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other world war, were too much for the Pope, who in November had a serious nervous breakdown.
In spite of all that had happened, Pius XII hoped, once more, to avoid a world war. The following month (December 1939) he formulated his famous five points, or conditions of peace. It was a highly idealistic plan, full of the wisdom of beautiful words about peace, compromise, and the freedom of nations. The plan was hailed by the Catholic Press throughout the world, as well as by the Press of many countries, as the best proposition to come from the peace-loving Vatican. But how could any thinking person re concile such beautiful words with the actual facts and with the policy that had been followed by the Vatican for so many years? The most important of the first five points read: "The right to life and freedom of all nations, big and small, powerful and weak." How could anyone reconcile this with the Vatican's acceptance and in many cases flagrant support-of aggressions and the destruction of nations, such as committed by Japan in China, by Fascist Italy in Albania, in Spain, and in Mexico by civil wars, by Hitler in Austria, Czechoslovakia, and now in Poland?
Moreover, how could anyone think that the Pope really meant the words on peace, which he repeated every Christmas and Easter, when he allowed the very pillars of the Catholic Church to support and praise those very men who let war loose upon the world?
How could the Pope explain his words about the rights of peoples when Cardinal Faulhaber, Archbishop of Munich, had ordered, and himself conducted, a solemn service of thanksgiving in Munich Cathedral, after the unsuccessful attempt on Hitler's life, to offer thanks to God that the life of the Fuehrer had been spared for Ger many and the world; and when all the Bavarian bishops had sent a joint message of congratulation to Hitler on his escape? (December 1939. See The Universe).
And why was the Pope silent during the invasion of Poland? Was not Poland a small country that had been unjustly attacked? But, at that time, the Pope did not condemn the attack on that country and the brutality of the actual conquest.
In January 1940, in the course of a broadcast, the Pope did mention Poland, and protested that he had learned of "infamy of all kinds," as well as "horrible and inexcusable excesses." But to whom was he referring? To the Russians. As far as Nazi atrocities
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were concerned, he made the mild remark that "outrages" were "not confined to the districts under Russian occupation." It is true that the Vatican went on protesting about Germany, but its complaints were, as usual, about breaches of the Concordat, with vague ac cusations of paganism and the like.
After the conquest of Poland the diplomatic activities of the Vatican switched over to the West, with particular regard to France. Steps were taken to contact the right people in France to ask for peace with Germany. But it was found impossible to take positive steps in this direction until the position changed, one way or the other.
[After the war it was disclosed that the Pope at this time was the locus-point of a peace plan which would have favored the Right and would have settled all Eastern European problems in Germany's favor. In addition to this, the Pope was exerting himself to bring about a compromise peace between the Allies and Germany, with a view to persuading the German leaders to call to the "blitz" on the Wes, and thus render easier a reconciliation between the belligerents. To make their peace plan more acceptable to the Western nations, the Vatican and the German leaders also contemplated the possibility of substituting Goebbels for Hitler as Nazi Fuehrer of Germany. “This in response to important German political and military circles." These negotiations took place at the end of 1939 and the beginning of 1940, the main objective of the Pope being by uniting the European nations to turn them to the East. (See Rude Pravo, Prague, January 24, 1946; also Osservatore Romano, Radio Vatican's broadcast, February 11, 1946. Many of these facts came to light during the Nuremberg trial, 1946, but were kept in the background.)
Meanwhile, the Vatican was continuing to urge Hitler to attack Russia, to which the invariable reply of Nazi Germany was that she first had to be secure in the West. The Nuncio in Paris had assured the Pope that if Germany should steer the war to the East, France would not move. He had had assurances of that from the highest and "certain quarters" had promised him that "actual armed hostilities against Germany might not be carried out at all" once Germany invaded Soviet Russia (December 1939). One of the main "authorities" who had been in the closest contact with the
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Nuncio was General Weygand, a most devout Catholic; also Marshal Petain and Laval (the latter held a Papal decoration).
Marshal Petain, also a good Catholic, had tried for years to sponsor Fascist armed movements, the most notorious of which was that of the "Hooded Men" (Les Cagoulards). While he was Ambassador in Madrid he had plotted with Laval, Weygand, and others in France, first, to prevent France from entering the war, and, secondly, to make France come to an agreement with Hitler. Petain negotiated with Hitler, through the Vatican, from the middle of 1939 to the middle of 1940. The Papal Nuncio in Madrid was one of the main intermediaries. Franco, too, helped in the plot, lending money and agents to Petain. One Spaniard helped Petain's secret negotiations more than any others. He was Senor Lequerica, Spanish Ambassador in France, who, during the Vichy regime, was so in fluential with Petain that he actually attended the first meetings of his Government.
Thus, for months the secret negotiations between Petain, Weygand, Laval, the Papal Nuncios in Paris and Madrid, Franco, Lequerica, and Hitler went on with varying success. Then Hitler made it known to the Vatican and the Catholic plotters that he could wait no longer. They must do something concrete. Pitain, when asked by the Papal Nuncio, told the latter to inform His Holiness “that there were good reasons to hope that the bloodshed between France and Germany would be avoided." (Quoted in a dispatch from the Italian Fascist Ambassador in Madrid, dated March 7, 1940.)
The Vatican made this answer known to Hitler (April 30, 1940). Hitler wanted more details, and a few days later decided to, get first-hand information, as he wanted to know "with certainty how far the French could really go in carrying out their intentions as communicated to him by the Vatican." He immediately sent to the Pope his Foreign Minister, who had been in very close contact with the Papal representative in Berlin. As Shirer says, in his Berlin Diary, "the Nuncio had been quietly paying visits to the Wilhelm strasse for weeks."
At the Vatican, Ribbentrop's visit was taken as a sure symptom that the war in the West had been avoided and that Hitler might be persuaded, at last, to take the war to the East. The official Papal organ, the Osservatore, which is usually so reticent and cool, was,
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for once jubilant in announcing the visit of Hitler's envoy. Ribbentrop had a meeting with the Pope at which no one else was allowed to be present. There were many rumors and speculations about the visit at the Vatican and in Europe.
The following day, March 12, 1940, Hitler sent a telegram to the
Pope, congratulating him personally on the first anniversary of his election to the Papacy.
But when Ribbentrop left Rome the Osservatore was very silent about it. What had happened?
Hitler had not considered the assurances of the Pope sufficient, and had made it known that he would invade the West first. As the Annual Register, a most impartial authority, says: "We know from Vatican sources that Ribbentrop told the Pope (March 11,1940) that German soldiers would be in Paris by June and in London by August." Hitler assured the Pope, however, that if "friendly elements" helped Germany's victory, he would be "very modest in his against the Allies, with special reference to France."
In the spring of 1940 Hitler had, meanwhile, attacked another weak and small country-Norway. It was invaded on a trans parently false pretext. The Pope was asked from many quarters to the invasion, especially as only a few months previously he had made known his famous five peace propositions, in which he referred particularly to the rights of the small nations.
Once again the Pope remained dumb. But, as in the case of Finland, he replied through the official Osservatore. What was this reply? That there were only 2,619 Catholics in Norway, and that “the Holy See must keep in mind the 30,000,000 German Catholics in its activities" (Osservatore--quoted by the New York Times on April 17, 1940).
After the invasion of Poland by Germany and by Russia, and after the invasion of Norway, relations between Nazi Germany and the Vatican became rather strained so far as the German internal situation was concerned. That was chiefly a reflection of German treatment of Polish Catholics, the shooting of priests, the arrest of bishops-everything which Hitler had promised he would not do.
Not many weeks after the visit of Ribbentrop to the Vatican, Hitler and Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass, in order to plan the invasion of the West and Mussolini's stab in the back to France.
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The Vatican was kept well informed, and, seeing once again that Hitler meant what he said, it began to make friendly exchanges with him, keeping in mind the event "of a German success." The contacts with the French Catholic reactionary circles were resumed, and plans for setting up a provisional Government after the defeat of France were drafted. (For more details about France, see Chapter 26, "France and the Vatican.") The discussions went well, and Hitler and the Pope once more co-operated in the shaping of the things to come.
While all these activities were going on behind the scenes, Nazi Germany, at the beginning of 1940, decided that Catholic priests, monks, etc. should not be exempt from military service, as had been decided in the Concordat. Cardinal Faulhaber, of Munich, protested, not about the invasion of Norway, but about the abolition of religious teaching in the professional schools for boys of fourteen to seventeen years of age. At that time it was reckoned that, since 1933, 20,000 Catholic schools, with over 3,000,000 students, had been closed.
Yet, in spite of such friction between the Catholic Church and Hitler, the relations of the Catholic Church and Nazism began to improve with the succession of German military victories. As the Manchester Guardian wrote, on May 24, 1940:-
The National Socialist State has, it seems, been able to reach a new under standing with the Catholic leaders.... In spite of the persecution of laymen and priests by the Nazis, in spite of all the attacks upon the Christian religion, new hopes have been raised among the German Catholics as a result of these negotiations.
What was the reason of this sudden change? Nazi Germany was winning the war. It appeared to be a matter of weeks. The Pope ordered all the German Hierarchy to stop criticizing the German Reich, but to support it. The forecasts of the Vatican, as well as of many other political circles, had proved right: Germany had won in the West, the Western Powers had been completely routed. Hol land, Belgium, and France had capitulated and had been occupied by German troops, while England fell back to lick her wounds on her little islands.
This time the Pope took the step of writing letters to the Queen of Holland and the King of Belgium. Did these letters contain
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words of condemnation of Hitler's crime? By no means. The Pope simply deprecated, in a mild way, that these sovereigns' countries had been invaded "against their will." Apart from that, the letters were mere messages of condolence. Against the attack on France by Germany and, later, by Fascist Italy, the Pope again did not utter a single word of condemnation.
Mussolini declared-and many responsible people in various parts of Europe and America thought the same-that the defeat in the West meant that the Second World War had ended with a final German victory.
That was something on which the Vatican had counted. The New "Greater Reich" had an even greater interest for the Pope than, perhaps, for many other heads of States. The interests of the Catholic Church were being furthered. The Pope immediately opened up negotiations with Hitler. Thanks to Nazism, three more countries had got rid of Socialism and Communism: Belgium, Holland, and, above all, France. That was something for which to be thankful. The Vatican ordered the German Hierarchy to say prayers of thanks giving in all German Catholic Churches for the Fuehrer (Universe, August 1940).
While the German Catholic churches were echoing with prayers of thanks and invocations for the preservation of Hitler, three Ger man bishops went quietly to Rome and had long conferences with the Pope and his Secretary of State (Basler Nachrichten, October 5, 1940). They discussed the best way in which the Church could enter into a really "close partnership with the victorious Third Reich." On their return, the great Conference of all Bishops and Archbishops of Germany met at Fulda. It was stated in Vatican circles, as well as in Berlin, that the Conference had to decide im portant issues, in view of the fact that the three bishops had brought back with them direct instructions from the Pope himself.
What had been going on meanwhile between the Vatican and Hitler in diplomatic fields? Hitler and the Pope were conducting secret negotiations for a new Concordat. Hitler had asked the Vatican to exert all its influence over the Catholics of the three conquered countries, to rally them to the support of the new Governments and occupation authorities. In exchange, Hitler promised to give a special position of privilege to the Church, not only in Ger many, but wherever the German armies conquered.
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The talks included discussions on the status of the Apostolic Nunciatures at The Hague and in Brussels. At Fulda, all the German bishops and archbishops were told (and gave their approval) that they should rally to Hitler, and should also "endeavor to bring a more close support of the German Catholic body for the victorious Germany and for its Great Fuehrer." In addition to this, they had to prepare plans by which all the hierarchies in countries under the protection of the Third Reich would, in future, co-operate with the German Hierarchy and eventually be amalgamated with it into one unique body.
It was also decided that the first step towards this last plan should be taken at the next Congress of the German Hierarchy, and that the meeting of the German bishops and archbishops-which, in the past, had been held year after year in Fulda-should be held &n the very centre of the Greater Reich, as a symbol of union with it. This last point was expressly made known by the Pope himself.
Other minor (but nevertheless important) problems were also discussed and approved. A typical example was the approval of the Official Organ of German Catholics, Der Newe Wille (The New Will), the editorship of which, significantly enough, was given to the Field Bishop of the Armed Forces. This was a blatantly pro Nazi imperialistic paper, which urged German soldiers to fight and conquer for Hitler. The only reservation made by the bishops was that "it should comply with certain conditions"; that is, it should not bear any "contradictions" to the precepts of the Catholic Church.
The plan for a Concordat was, of course, unanimously approved. It was pointed out that, while negotiations were going on between the Holy See and the German Reich, the Catholic Hierarchy should "make itself indispensable to the nation for the victorious conclusion of the war." After that they decided on an immediate declaration of loyalty to Hitler: "After the completion of the German victory, special ceremonies of gratitude to the German troops and of loyalty to Hitler will be announced."
But the Vatican, fearing the effect on the Catholics of the various invaded countries, and, above all, of Great Britain and the United States of America, ordered the German bishops (contrary to the usual procedure) not to issue any, declaration on the proceedings and results of the meeting. While the German bishops were passing
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these resolutions in support of Hitler's war, the declared, during an allocution, that he was "passionately interested in peace, but not in that shabby substitute for peace, which consists in absence of war" (broadcast to North America in English by ',Vatican Radio in August, 1940).
The benefits apportioned to the 'Catholic Church by the Nazi victory had begun to show concrete results. In place of the demo cratic Socialist Governments, totalitarian and, what is more, Catholic Governments were being set up. Strong Catholic authoritarian parties came into being and were steering their nations against the -arch-enemy, Communism: Rexism. in Belgium, the various Fascist parties in France, and, above all, the authoritarian Catholic Corporate State set up by the most devout Catholic, Marshal Petain, who began immediately to restore the privileges of the Church which had been withdrawn by the wicked democratic republicans before the defeat of France.
In January 1941 all the German archbishops and bishops met again; and this time (as had been decided at Fulda) they met in Berlin. On this occasion all the Austrian bishops were also present in the Nazi capital. They reached "very important decisions." They issued a joint pastoral letter, forecasting final victory for Nazi Ger many. In the letter they said "the impending final fight for freedom of the German people will require great sacrifices from everyone, 'but the victory of German Arms will guarantee peace for many years to come." This statement was read in all Catholic churches in Germany. It also said: "The German bishops further express the hope that the Catholic Church shall be allotted a share in the internal reconstruction of the Greater Reich for, amongst other reasons given, the Church is entitled thereto, in view of the 50 per cent increase in the number of church-goers in war-time, particularly on the part of the soldiers."
But, in spite of all this whole-hearted support, Hitler began to play his old game again. Flushed with his military victory, he wanted no less than to bring into being a National Christian Church, by first crushing the Catholic as well as the Protestant Churches.
Bishops asked the Vatican to intervene, to stop the Government's religious campaign. But the bishops were careful to add that they would not for a moment "say anything that would turn aside the energies of the people or prejudice their devotion to their