The Pope and the Holocaust: Pius XII and the Secret Vatican Archives, by Michael Hesemann. Ignatius Press, 2022. 459 pages. Softcover, $19.95.
Of all of the twentieth-century popes, Pius XII is one of the most controversial, as for over sixty years, various figures from a wide swath of the political spectrum have criticized his stance on his actions during the Holocaust, saying that he stayed silent for too long and did not do enough to protect Jewish people. In response, other historians have argued that Pius XII’s record was smeared by the Soviets in the postwar era, and point to numerous examples to proclaim that Pius did as much as he could to help Jewish people, and spoke out as much as he could within the confines of a highly combustible geopolitical situation.
This book was released around the same time as David I. Kertzer’s The Pope at War, which was much more critical of Pius XII. Kertzer’s book received far more media attention upon its release than Hesemann’s, and while Kertzer believed that the demonization of Pius XII’s actions were too strong, he also believed that the pope deserved a certain amount of censure for not doing more sooner. For his part, Hesemann has some harsh words for Kertzer’s previous book, the Pulitzer-winning The Pope and Mussolini, criticizing Kertzer’s analysis and arguments. Looking at reviews of both books, people’s opinions of these works tend to be affected by their previous inclinations to condemn Pius XII or defend him, and people on differing sides of the historiographical debate are ready to accuse the opposing historians and their fans of cognitive bias and of overlooking critical evidence.
Indeed, there’s a lot more evidence today than there was just a decade ago. Grzegorz Gorny and Janusz Rosikon’s Vatican Secret Archives (reviewed in Gilbert! about a year ago) explained how a huge amount of formerly sealed files from the WWII were now being released, and that the historical consensus of Pius XII would likely be in flux as different historians brought their own perspectives to each topic, wrote their books, and debated their perspectives on the world intellectual stage.
Hesemann’s book draws heavily upon newly released sources, and paints a picture of Pius XII as an outspoken opponent of everything Hitler stood for long before he became pope, and argues that even some of his most controversial moves were the best that could be done in a terrible situation. Hesemann’s work is readable, well-organized, and interesting, and at places he makes it clear how his work reflects information found in newly released documents. His arguments are easy to follow, and he frequently voices his opinions on previous scholarship. This is a fine book for people who are just starting to study this subject, but as it mentions so many earlier books, it might help to familiarize oneself with some other works before reading this book if one is not aware of the historiographical debate. If one is well-versed and interested in this subject, then Hesemann’s work should be a must-read.
The Pope and the Holocaust is not likely to end the historiographical debate over the actions of Pius XII anytime soon, but it certainly a significant voice in the developing research over this issue, which is likely to generate controversy for decades to come, especially as more and more files are released from the Vatican Archives, and debated by scholars. Hesemann’s work is not going to quell the dissension, but it is going to be an important resource for people studying this topic, and it will be interesting to see how different scholars react and expand upon his work in the years to come.
This review originally appeared in Gilbert Magazine.
