It would be a surprise if the Vatican archives on the actions of World War II-era Pope Pius XII tell us anything new. In 1980, Walter Laqueur wrote in his book "The Terrible Secret: Suppression of the Truth about Hitler's Final Solution" that he tried gaining access to the Vatican archives. Laqueur was told by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the Vatican's foreign minister at the time, that the archives would remain sealed but that all the relevant information could be found in the "Acts and Documents of the Holy See Relative to the Second World War," which was published in 11 volumes.
"If this is indeed the case, we can only assume that most of the messages, reports, letters, memorandums and the like, which were transmitted between the Holy See and his envoys across Europe, and foreign governments, have been lost. We can only hope and pray that this loss isn't final," Laqueur wrote caustically.
The main question is what Pius knew about the mass murder of the Jews during the Holocaust. His actions during the war are still a matter of dispute – what could he have done, and what did he actually do. In the early 1960s, German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's drama "The Deputy" first appeared in theaters. The play gained worldwide acclaim and effectively cemented Pius' reputation as a Nazi collaborator. It was a successful attack on the Catholic Church.
Perhaps Pius didn't collaborate in the classic sense of the term, but he certainly remained silent and did what was expected of a spiritual leader. Laqueur concluded that the Vatican had more information in real time than anyone else – except perhaps the exiled Polish government –about the Jewish genocide in Europe better than any other body. The man never uttered a word of protest, even when hundreds of Polish Catholic priests were sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. Hence it isn't surprising that he also failed to apply the full force of his moral authority as millions of Jews were being murdered. His silence was mostly cowardice, less so anti-Semitism; perhaps also faith that Hitler was working to annihilate Bolshevism and shouldn't be hindered in doing so.
It's quite likely that combing through the Vatican archives anew will even reveal that Pius helped a few Jews survive the Holocaust. Because current Pope Francis' is working against Israel on the diplomatic front, kissing the security fence in Bethlehem like prime minister hopefuls kiss the Western Wall – he needs to provide a symbolic gesture on the public relations front.
Opening its archives is a revolutionary act on the part of the Vatican. Researchers of the Vatican's behavior during the Holocaust can use other sources to access those reports Pius received, along with archived documents by intelligence agencies which undoubtedly intercepted those messages. Laqueur noted, meanwhile, that the most incriminating information was delivered by word of mouth and likely wasn't documented.
