German historian, Michael Hesemann, said this week that Vatican archives reveal how Pope Pius XII may have saved 200,000 Jewish lives by secretly securing visas to help them escape Nazi Germany. (Sydney Morning Herald, 8 July 2010)

Other historians, it seems, are not convinced, preferring  the “Hitler’s Pope” tag sometimes thrown at Pius XII.

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Time magazine, 23 December 1940, quoted Jewish scientist, Albert Einstein, saying, “When the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing they always boasted of devotion to truth: but, no, the universities were immediately silenced. Then I looked to the newspaper editors, who in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom, but they, like the universities, were silenced . . . .

“Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth.

I had never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I felt a great admiration and affection because the Church alone had the courage and persistence to stand for truth and moral freedom . . . .”

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The New York Times editorial, 25 December 1941, said: “The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas. He is about the only ruler left on the continent who dares to raise his voice . . . .”

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In 1945, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Isaac Herzog, praised Pius XII for his “life-saving efforts on behalf of Jews during the Nazi occupation . . . .”

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Rome’s Chief Rabbi, Israel Zolli, actually became a Catholic in 1945, taking the name Eugenio – the Pope’s Christian name – at his baptism.

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In 1955, Israel’s Philharmonic Orchestra performed a Beethoven Symphony before Pius XII “in appreciation and thankfulness for the great work of humanitarian aid performed by Your Holiness in rescuing large numbers of Jews during the Second World War.”

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When Pius XII died in 1958, Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, wrote, “When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi horror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims . . . we mourn a great servant of peace.”