‘Sparks Fly’ ... Whoopi Goldberg Claims Holocaust Was ‘Not About Race’

[tabibito]

Two issues here, careful of the New Testament bias to negate the responsibility of Rome in the conviction and crucifixtion of Jesus. Rome was in control, and the reality is that Jesus was convicted and crucified under Roman Law for treason against Rome and inciting rebellion for claiming to be the 'King of the Jews.

It is a responsibility that the Jews (by current definitions) themselves admit to. At the time of writing the gospels, the term "Jews" did not (ingroup) apply to all Hebrews. They were a distinct sect alongside the Herodians, Samaritans (by contrast with Samarians, who were not necessarily of Hebrew stock), Essenes, and probably etc so forth and so on. That "Jews" came to be interchangable with "Hebrews" is a rolling historical development unforeseen by the Gospels' authors.

I have no problem with what was described above as the Jewish treatment of the Christians, but my point is overwhelmingly clear in the previous post. There is no reasonable comparison between the conflicts between Jews and Christians in the early history of Christianity, and the persecution, ethnic cleansing and pogroms in Europe by Rome and later European nations against the Jews that lead up to and greatly contributed to the Holocaust..

The decision to systematically annihilate the entire Jewish race was a distinctly Nazi party programme. A Jewish descendant was on the Nazi hit list whether or not he was a practicing Jew, Christian, or (presumably) some other religion, or atheist. The churches, by contrast, were more intent on stamping out the religion Jewish faith - [until the late 1960s/ early 70s, "religion" was essentially interchangable with denomination, though extending also to Jews and Muslims].

While various churches at various times in various localities attempted to suppress and eliminate Jews in their own locality, it was not systematic. On occasion, the attempt to eliminate the Jews in a given locality on orders from the "mother church" was ignored and even actively resisted by the local churches. In short, the church did not engage in a general pogrom or holocaust. The atrocities committed by the churches are nowhere near the same scale as the Nazi pogrom.

[[Yes ... yes, the foregoing is a very superficial account of a set of very complex issues.]]

[rogue06]

Huh?!? I was referring to the scale difference of the degree of the persecution, ethnic cleansing of Jews in Rome and Europe as compared what Jews did to Christians and other Eastern instances of persecution, ethnic cleansing and pogroms.

If that is the case it would serve you well to pay attention to what you're responding to.

They were nearly exterminated by various Near Eastern empires but I guess that doesn't count.

Not on the scale in the history of Rome and Europe for ~2000 years.

[shunyadragon]

It is a responsibility that the Jews (by current definitions) themselves admit to. At the time of writing the gospels, the term "Jews" did not (ingroup) apply to all Hebrews. They were a distinct sect alongside the Herodians, Samaritans (by contrast with Samarians, who were not necessarily of Hebrew stock), Essenes, and probably etc so forth and so on. That "Jews" came to be interchangable with "Hebrews" is a rolling historical development unforeseen by the Gospels' authors.



The decision to systematically annihilate the entire Jewish race was a distinctly Nazi party programme. A Jewish descendant was on the Nazi hit list whether or not he was a practicing Jew, Christian, or (presumably) some other religion, or atheist. The churches, by contrast, were more intent on stamping out the religion Jewish faith - [until the late 1960s/ early 70s, "religion" was essentially interchangable with denomination, though extending also to Jews and Muslims].

While various churches at various times in various localities attempted to suppress and eliminate Jews in their own locality, it was not systematic. On occasion, the attempt to eliminate the Jews in a given locality on orders from the "mother church" was ignored and even actively resisted by the local churches. In short, the church did not engage in a general pogrom or holocaust. The atrocities committed by the churches are nowhere near the same scale as the Nazi pogrom.

[[Yes ... yes, the foregoing is a very superficial account of a set of very complex issues.]]

I consider your description either a bit naive or a whitewash as to what the reality of history of the treatment of Jews in Europe. For example the most feared time of Jews all over Europe was Easter the time of the Passion Plays where Jews were labeled 'Christ Killers.' This is continuous over hundreds of years.

[tabibito]

I consider your description either a bit naive or a whitewash as to what the reality of history of the treatment of Jews in Europe. For example the most feared time of Jews all over Europe was Easter the time of the Passion Plays where Jews were labeled 'Christ Killers.' This is continuous over hundreds of years.

What you consider my comments to be obviously isn't based on an examination of the actual historical record, and misses the point that I labelled the church actions as atrocities. Here it is again -
"The atrocities committed by the churches are nowhere near the same scale as the Nazi pogrom."
That comment is similar to your "near Eastern empires" did not engage in atrocities on the "same scale as Rome and Europe." In fact the church did engage in atrocities on the same scale as the ancient near Eastern empires, nowhere near the same scale that the Nazis.

[Diogenes]

Its's strange how shunyadragon is attacking Christianity while ignoring Whoopi's downplaying of the Holocaust that would otherwise be considered Holocaust denial. If I were running interference for Whoopi as Shuny is doing, I would certainly be called a Neo-Nazi and an anti-Semite.

[shunyadragon]

What you consider my comments to be obviously isn't based on an examination of the actual historical record, and misses the point that I labelled the church actions as atrocities. Here it is again -
"The atrocities committed by the churches are nowhere near the same scale as the Nazi pogrom."
That comment is similar to your "near Eastern empires" did not engage in atrocities on the "same scale as Rome and Europe." In fact the church did engage in atrocities on the same scale as the ancient near Eastern empires, nowhere near the same scale that the Nazis.

First your not responding to the hundreds of years of the 'Passion Plays all over Europe. Of course the death toll in any one city or town pogrom was 'only' in the hundreds or thousands. This went on for hundreds of years. It is well established that by the time of the Holocaust the population of Germany and other countries were sympathetic to the Holocaust. France shipped large numbers of Jews to Germany.

[tabibito]

First your not responding to the hundreds of years of the 'Passion Plays all over Europe. Of course the death toll in any one city or town pogrom was 'only' in the hundreds or thousands. This went on for hundreds of years. It is well established that by the time of the Holocaust the population of Germany and other countries were sympathetic to the Holocaust. France shipped large numbers of Jews to Germany.

France shipped large numbers of Jews to Germany - now if you could show that churches took part in shipping Jews to Germany you might have a case.
You would also do well to take note of the fact that I am not exactly a fan of the churches before you decide that I am engaging in some kind of apologetics exercise.

[shunyadragon]

France shipped large numbers of Jews to Germany - now if you could show that churches took part in shipping Jews to Germany you might have a case.
You would also do well to take note of the fact that I am not exactly a fan of the churches before you decide that I am engaging in some kind of apologetics exercise.

Christians did this and wide spread turning backs on the Holocaust. I do not believe that the churches were active in speaking out and objecting to the Holocaust with some notable exceptions.

The Lutheran Church and Pope were unbelievably silent during WWII, but some Dutch Bishops did speak out. The

Source: https://origins.osu.edu/history-news/catholic-church-and-holocaust?language_content_entity=en

. . . Pope Pius XII, who was reluctant to denounce the Nazis for fear they would attack the Church, the Dutch bishops spoke out, even though they had been warned of the consequences. Despite the threat to their fellow Catholics, the Dutch bishops did not turn their backs on the Jews.

© Copyright Original Source

Source: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state

Protestant Churches in Nazi Germany

The largest Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s was the German Evangelical Church, comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called "free" Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches.

Historically the German Evangelical Church viewed itself as one of the pillars of German culture and society, with a theologically grounded tradition of loyalty to the state. During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or "German Christians." The "German Christians" embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national "Reich Church" and supported a "nazified" version of Christianity.

The Bekennende Kirche—the "Confessing Church"—emerged in opposition to the “German Christians.” Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church's allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the "German Christians" remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or "church struggle" within German Protestantism—an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a "nazified" church, those who opposed it, and the so-called "neutral" church leaders whose priority was the avoidance both of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state.

The most famous members of the Confessing Church were the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed for his role in the conspiracy to overthrow the regime, and Pastor Martin Niemöller, who spent seven years in concentration camps for his criticisms of Hitler. Yet these clergymen were not typical of the Confessing Church; despite their examples, the Protestant Kirchenkampf was mostly an internal church matter, not a fight against National Socialism. Even in the Confessing Church, most church leaders were primarily concerned with blocking state and ideological interference in church affairs. Yet there were certainly members of the clergy and laity who opposed and resisted the regime, including some who aided and hid Jews.

The Roman Catholic Church in Nazi Germany

The Catholic Church was not as sharply divided by different ideological factions as the Protestant church, and it never underwent an internal Kirchenkampf between these different factions. Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue during the Nazi rise to power, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders in Germany and at the Vatican. In addition, the Catholic Centre Party had been a key coalition governmental partner in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s and was aligned with both the Social Democrats and leftist German Democratic Party, pitting it politically against right-wing parties like the Nazis.

Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. The Centre Party was dissolved as part of the signing of a 1933 Concordat between the Vatican and Nazi governmental representatives, and several of its leaders were murdered in the Röhm purge in July 1934.
SummaryClick here to copy a link to this section



Catholic clergy and Nazi officials give the Nazi salute


Catholic clergy and Nazi officials, including Joseph Goebbels (far right) and Wilhelm Frick (second from right), give the Nazi salute. Germany, date uncertain.

• Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München

In both German churches there were members, including clergy and leading theologians, who openly supported the Nazi regime. With time, anti-Nazi sentiment grew in both Protestant and Catholic church circles, as the Nazi regime exerted greater pressure on them. In turn, the Nazi regime saw a potential for dissent in church criticism of state measures. When a protest statement was read from the pulpits of Confessing churches in March 1935, for example, Nazi authorities reacted forcefully by briefly arresting over 700 pastors. After the 1937 papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge ("With burning concern") was read from Catholic pulpits, the Gestapo confiscated copies from diocesan offices throughout the country.

The general tactic by the leadership of both Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany was caution with respect to protest and compromise with the Nazi state leadership where possible. There was criticism within both churches of Nazi racialized ideology and notions of "Aryanism," and movements emerged in both churches to defend church members who were considered "non-Aryan" under Nazi racial laws (e.g., Jews who had converted). Yet throughout this period there was virtually no public opposition to antisemitism or any readiness by church leaders to publicly oppose the regime on the issues of antisemitism and state-sanctioned violence against the Jews. There were individual Catholics and Protestants who spoke out on behalf of Jews, and small groups within both churches that became involved in rescue and resistance activities (for example, the White Rose and Herman Maas).

After 1945, the silence of the church leadership and the widespread complicity of "ordinary Christians" compelled leaders of both churches to address issues of guilt and complicity during the Holocaust—a process that continues internationally to this day.

© Copyright Original Source

[rogue06]

Its's strange how shunyadragon is attacking Christianity while ignoring Whoopi's downplaying of the Holocaust that would otherwise be considered Holocaust denial. If I were running interference for Whoopi as Shuny is doing, I would certainly be called a Neo-Nazi and an anti-Semite.

Neo-Nazi and anti-Semite!

It seemed like you needed that.

[Mountain Man]

Its's strange how shunyadragon is attacking Christianity while ignoring Whoopi's downplaying of the Holocaust that would otherwise be considered Holocaust denial. If I were running interference for Whoopi as Shuny is doing, I would certainly be called a Neo-Nazi and an anti-Semite.

I'm a bit surprised he hasn't yet pulled out the "Hitler was a Christian" canard, although he seems to be edging closer to it.

[tabibito]

Christians did this and wide spread turning backs on the Holocaust. I do not believe that the churches were active in speaking out and objecting to the Holocaust with some notable exceptions.

The Lutheran Church and Pope were unbelievably silent during WWII, but some Dutch Bishops did speak out. The

Source: https://origins.osu.edu/history-news/catholic-church-and-holocaust?language_content_entity=en

. . . Pope Pius XII, who was reluctant to denounce the Nazis for fear they would attack the Church, the Dutch bishops spoke out, even though they had been warned of the consequences. Despite the threat to their fellow Catholics, the Dutch bishops did not turn their backs on the Jews.

© Copyright Original Source

Source: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-german-churches-and-the-nazi-state

Protestant Churches in Nazi Germany

The largest Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s was the German Evangelical Church, comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most of Germany's 40 million Protestants were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called "free" Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches.

Historically the German Evangelical Church viewed itself as one of the pillars of German culture and society, with a theologically grounded tradition of loyalty to the state. During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or "German Christians." The "German Christians" embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national "Reich Church" and supported a "nazified" version of Christianity.

The Bekennende Kirche—the "Confessing Church"—emerged in opposition to the “German Christians.” Its founding document, the Barmen Confession of Faith, declared that the church's allegiance was to God and scripture, not a worldly Führer. Both the Confessing Church and the "German Christians" remained part of the German Evangelical Church, and the result was a Kirchenkampf, or "church struggle" within German Protestantism—an ongoing debate and struggle for control between those who sought a "nazified" church, those who opposed it, and the so-called "neutral" church leaders whose priority was the avoidance both of church schism and any kind of conflict with the Nazi state.

The most famous members of the Confessing Church were the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed for his role in the conspiracy to overthrow the regime, and Pastor Martin Niemöller, who spent seven years in concentration camps for his criticisms of Hitler. Yet these clergymen were not typical of the Confessing Church; despite their examples, the Protestant Kirchenkampf was mostly an internal church matter, not a fight against National Socialism. Even in the Confessing Church, most church leaders were primarily concerned with blocking state and ideological interference in church affairs. Yet there were certainly members of the clergy and laity who opposed and resisted the regime, including some who aided and hid Jews.

The Roman Catholic Church in Nazi Germany

The Catholic Church was not as sharply divided by different ideological factions as the Protestant church, and it never underwent an internal Kirchenkampf between these different factions. Catholic leaders were initially more suspicious of National Socialism than their Protestant counterparts. Nationalism was not as deeply embedded in the German Catholic Church, and the rabid anti-Catholicism of figures such as Alfred Rosenberg, a leading Nazi ideologue during the Nazi rise to power, raised early concerns among Catholic leaders in Germany and at the Vatican. In addition, the Catholic Centre Party had been a key coalition governmental partner in the Weimar Republic during the 1920s and was aligned with both the Social Democrats and leftist German Democratic Party, pitting it politically against right-wing parties like the Nazis.

Before 1933, in fact, some bishops prohibited Catholics in their dioceses from joining the Nazi Party. This ban was dropped after Hitler's March 23, 1933, speech to the Reichstag in which he described Christianity as the “foundation” for German values. The Centre Party was dissolved as part of the signing of a 1933 Concordat between the Vatican and Nazi governmental representatives, and several of its leaders were murdered in the Röhm purge in July 1934.
SummaryClick here to copy a link to this section



Catholic clergy and Nazi officials give the Nazi salute


Catholic clergy and Nazi officials, including Joseph Goebbels (far right) and Wilhelm Frick (second from right), give the Nazi salute. Germany, date uncertain.

• Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München

In both German churches there were members, including clergy and leading theologians, who openly supported the Nazi regime. With time, anti-Nazi sentiment grew in both Protestant and Catholic church circles, as the Nazi regime exerted greater pressure on them. In turn, the Nazi regime saw a potential for dissent in church criticism of state measures. When a protest statement was read from the pulpits of Confessing churches in March 1935, for example, Nazi authorities reacted forcefully by briefly arresting over 700 pastors. After the 1937 papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge ("With burning concern") was read from Catholic pulpits, the Gestapo confiscated copies from diocesan offices throughout the country.

The general tactic by the leadership of both Protestant and Catholic churches in Germany was caution with respect to protest and compromise with the Nazi state leadership where possible. There was criticism within both churches of Nazi racialized ideology and notions of "Aryanism," and movements emerged in both churches to defend church members who were considered "non-Aryan" under Nazi racial laws (e.g., Jews who had converted). Yet throughout this period there was virtually no public opposition to antisemitism or any readiness by church leaders to publicly oppose the regime on the issues of antisemitism and state-sanctioned violence against the Jews. There were individual Catholics and Protestants who spoke out on behalf of Jews, and small groups within both churches that became involved in rescue and resistance activities (for example, the White Rose and Herman Maas).

After 1945, the silence of the church leadership and the widespread complicity of "ordinary Christians" compelled leaders of both churches to address issues of guilt and complicity during the Holocaust—a process that continues internationally to this day.

© Copyright Original Source

What Christians were doing in Nazi Germany was putting their lives on the line, getting arrested, getting executed. What the churches were doing was another matter entirely. Even with your own citations portraying the fact, you still cannot discern the difference.

[rogue06]

Christians did this and wide spread turning backs on the Holocaust. I do not believe that the churches were active in speaking out and objecting to the Holocaust with some notable exceptions.

The Lutheran Church and Pope were unbelievably silent during WWII, but some Dutch Bishops did speak out.

A case can certainly be made that more could have and should have been done, but this is pure historical revisionism. Let's take a look at Pope Pius XII for instance...


Sir Martin Gilbert, a Jewish historian who wrote extensively about the Holocaust credited Pius XII with numerous actions which saved Jews and another Jewish historian, rabbi David G. Dalin, has proclaimed that Pius XII ought to be declared khasidi umót ha'olám ("righteous of the world's nations"), a title bestowed by Israel to non-Jews who risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis.

The first Chief Rabbi of Ireland and later Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, sent Pius XII a personal message of thanks in 1944 that said:

"The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for us unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of divine Providence in this world."

And a year later said:

"The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion, which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world."

Likewise Israel Zolli, chief rabbi in Rome from 1940 to 1945 and converted to Catholicism taking the name "Eugenio" in honor of Pius XII, wrote that:

"The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for us unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world"

And

"What the Vatican did will be indelibly and eternally engraved in our hearts. ... Priests and even high prelates did things that will forever be an honor to Catholicism."

The Jewish theologian and Israeli diplomat to Milan in the 1960s, Pinchas Lapide concluded his review of Pius XII's wartime activities with the following words:

"The Catholic Church, under the pontificate of Pius XII, was instrumental in saving the lives of as many as 860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands."

And declared

"No Pope in history has been thanked more heartily by Jews."

Raffaele Cantoni, best known for his efforts in saving Italian Jews from the Holocaust as head of the Italian Jewish community's wartime Jewish Assistance Committee and who would subsequently become the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities declared that "six million of my co-religionists have been murdered by the Nazis, but there could have been many more victims had it not been for the efficacious intervention of Pius XII." In 1946 his organization sent an official message of thanks to Pius XII:

"The delegates of the Congress of the Italian Jewish Communities, held in Rome for the first time after the Liberation, feel that it is imperative to extend reverent homage to Your Holiness, and to express the most profound gratitude that animates all Jews for your fraternal humanity toward them during the years of persecution when their lives were endangered by Nazi-Fascist barbarism. Many times priests suffered imprisonment and were sent to concentration camps, and offered their lives to assist Jews in every way. This demonstration of goodness and charity that still animates the just, has served to lessen the shame and torture and sadness that afflicted millions of human beings."

Similarly Dr. Leon Kubowitzky, the Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress, personally thanked Pius XII in Rome for his interventions on behalf of Jews, and the World Jewish Congress donated $20,000 to Vatican charities "in recognition of the work of the Holy See in rescuing Jews from Fascist and Nazi persecutions." Earlier rabbi Maurice Perlzweig, while representing the World Jewish Congress, wrote that "the repeated intervention of the Holy Father on behalf of the Jewish communities in Europe has provoked the profoundest sentiments of appreciation and gratitude from Jews throughout the world."

Rabbi Alexandru Șafran, chief rabbi of Romania (1940-1948), sent a note of thanks to the papal nuncio on April 7, 1944 that said in part:

"It is not easy for us to find the right words to express the warmth and consolation we experienced because of the concern of the supreme pontiff, who offered a large sum to relieve the sufferings of deported Jews. ... The Jews of Romania will never forget these facts of historic importance."

Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) for over 30 years, said, "No keener rebuke has come to Nazism than from Pope Pius XI and his successor, Pope Pius XII."

Lévai, Jenö, a Hungarian journalist who was commissioned by the Hungarian government to collect material on the persecution of the Jews from that country during WWII, testified at Adolf Eichmann's war crimes trial in Israel in 1961 that the Catholic Church "intervened again and again on the instructions of the Pope" and seven years later wrote that "the one person (Pius XII) who did more than anyone else to halt the dreadful crime and alleviate its consequences, is today made the scapegoat for the failures of others."

When Pius XII died in 1958 Golda Meir, then Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs and later Prime Minister of Israel, praised his work on behalf of the Jewish people delivering a eulogy to the United Nations, stating:

"We share the grief of the world over the death of His Holiness Pius XII. During a generation of wars and dissensions, he affirmed the high ideals of peace and compassion. During the 10 years of Nazi terror, when our people went through the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope raised his voice to condemn the persecutors and to commiserate with their victims. The life of our time has been enriched by a voice which expressed the great moral truths above the tumults of daily conflicts. We grieve over the loss of a great defender of peace."

Another Israeli Prime Minister, Moshe Sharett, also praised him upon meeting Pius XII after the war saying:

"I told him that my first duty was to thank him, and through him the Catholic Church, on behalf of the Jewish public for all they had done in the various countries to rescue Jews. "We are deeply grateful to the Catholic Church."

During the war (1943), Chaim Weizmann, who would become Israel's first president, wrote that "the Holy See is lending its powerful help wherever it can, to mitigate the fate of my persecuted co-religionists."

Also after Pius XII's death, William Zuckerman, in the Nov. 6, 1958 edition of the Jewish Post, wrote that no other leader "did more to help the Jews in their hour of greatest tragedy, during the Nazi occupation of Europe, than did the late Pope."

[tabibito]

A case can certainly be made that more could have and should have been done, but this is pure historical revisionism. Let's take a look at Pope Pius XII for instance...


Sir Martin Gilbert, a Jewish historian who wrote extensively about the Holocaust credited Pius XII with numerous actions which saved Jews and another Jewish historian, rabbi David G. Dalin, has proclaimed that Pius XII ought to be declared khasidi umót ha'olám ("righteous of the world's nations"), a title bestowed by Israel to non-Jews who risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis.

The first Chief Rabbi of Ireland and later Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, sent Pius XII a personal message of thanks in 1944 that said:

"The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for us unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of divine Providence in this world."

And a year later said:

"The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion, which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world."

Likewise Israel Zolli, chief rabbi in Rome from 1940 to 1945 and converted to Catholicism taking the name "Eugenio" in honor of Pius XII, wrote that:

"The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for us unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world"

And

"What the Vatican did will be indelibly and eternally engraved in our hearts. ... Priests and even high prelates did things that will forever be an honor to Catholicism."

The Jewish theologian and Israeli diplomat to Milan in the 1960s, Pinchas Lapide concluded his review of Pius XII's wartime activities with the following words:

"The Catholic Church, under the pontificate of Pius XII, was instrumental in saving the lives of as many as 860,000 Jews from certain death at Nazi hands."

And declared

"No Pope in history has been thanked more heartily by Jews."

Raffaele Cantoni, best known for his efforts in saving Italian Jews from the Holocaust as head of the Italian Jewish community's wartime Jewish Assistance Committee and who would subsequently become the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities declared that "six million of my co-religionists have been murdered by the Nazis, but there could have been many more victims had it not been for the efficacious intervention of Pius XII." In 1946 his organization sent an official message of thanks to Pius XII:

"The delegates of the Congress of the Italian Jewish Communities, held in Rome for the first time after the Liberation, feel that it is imperative to extend reverent homage to Your Holiness, and to express the most profound gratitude that animates all Jews for your fraternal humanity toward them during the years of persecution when their lives were endangered by Nazi-Fascist barbarism. Many times priests suffered imprisonment and were sent to concentration camps, and offered their lives to assist Jews in every way. This demonstration of goodness and charity that still animates the just, has served to lessen the shame and torture and sadness that afflicted millions of human beings."

Similarly Dr. Leon Kubowitzky, the Secretary General of the World Jewish Congress, personally thanked Pius XII in Rome for his interventions on behalf of Jews, and the World Jewish Congress donated $20,000 to Vatican charities "in recognition of the work of the Holy See in rescuing Jews from Fascist and Nazi persecutions." Earlier rabbi Maurice Perlzweig, while representing the World Jewish Congress, wrote that "the repeated intervention of the Holy Father on behalf of the Jewish communities in Europe has provoked the profoundest sentiments of appreciation and gratitude from Jews throughout the world."

Rabbi Alexandru Șafran, chief rabbi of Romania (1940-1948), sent a note of thanks to the papal nuncio on April 7, 1944 that said in part:

"It is not easy for us to find the right words to express the warmth and consolation we experienced because of the concern of the supreme pontiff, who offered a large sum to relieve the sufferings of deported Jews. ... The Jews of Romania will never forget these facts of historic importance."

Rabbi Louis Finkelstein, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) for over 30 years, said, "No keener rebuke has come to Nazism than from Pope Pius XI and his successor, Pope Pius XII."

Lévai, Jenö, a Hungarian journalist who was commissioned by the Hungarian government to collect material on the persecution of the Jews from that country during WWII, testified at Adolf Eichmann's war crimes trial in Israel in 1961 that the Catholic Church "intervened again and again on the instructions of the Pope" and seven years later wrote that "the one person (Pius XII) who did more than anyone else to halt the dreadful crime and alleviate its consequences, is today made the scapegoat for the failures of others."

When Pius XII died in 1958 Golda Meir, then Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs and later Prime Minister of Israel, praised his work on behalf of the Jewish people delivering a eulogy to the United Nations, stating:

"We share the grief of the world over the death of His Holiness Pius XII. During a generation of wars and dissensions, he affirmed the high ideals of peace and compassion. During the 10 years of Nazi terror, when our people went through the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope raised his voice to condemn the persecutors and to commiserate with their victims. The life of our time has been enriched by a voice which expressed the great moral truths above the tumults of daily conflicts. We grieve over the loss of a great defender of peace."

Another Israeli Prime Minister, Moshe Sharett, also praised him upon meeting Pius XII after the war saying:

"I told him that my first duty was to thank him, and through him the Catholic Church, on behalf of the Jewish public for all they had done in the various countries to rescue Jews. "We are deeply grateful to the Catholic Church."

During the war (1943), Chaim Weizmann, who would become Israel's first president, wrote that "the Holy See is lending its powerful help wherever it can, to mitigate the fate of my persecuted co-religionists."

Also after Pius XII's death, William Zuckerman, in the Nov. 6, 1958 edition of the Jewish Post, wrote that no other leader "did more to help the Jews in their hour of greatest tragedy, during the Nazi occupation of Europe, than did the late Pope."

Interesting. The stoy about Rome's lack of action would seem to be revisionist history at its finest.