![]() ![]() ![]() When the Vatican does decide to release archival documents, it is usually reserved solely for historians and scholars who need to to apply for access. The current pope decides when to open these documents. “But the Vatican doesn’t work that way.” Previously unopened archives are divided by papacy and when they are released, everything in the papacy is released at once. “Generally state archives and other kinds of archives have a rule that a certain number of years have to pass before they’ll open the material,” says Kertzer. When it comes to deciding to release documents, the Vatican operates differently than other archival systems. Starting in 1963, the Vatican began releasing an 11-volume collection of the pontiff’s wartime documents after a German play titled The Deputy, about the Vatican’s silence during the Holocaust, led to intense criticism from the general public. Pulitzer-Prize-winning author and historian David Kertzer, who has spent a large part of the last 25 years writing books on the history of the Vatican related to World War II based on archival material, says this is not the first time the Vatican has released previously undisclosed documents. The conversation surrounding the Vatican’s exact role during the Holocaust has a long and volatile history. At the same time, it will allow scholars and anyone interested to freely examine this special archival heritage from a distance.” In an article published to Vatican News, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher writes, “Making the digitized version of the entire ‘Ebrei’ series available on the internet will allow the descendants of those who asked for help to find traces of their loved ones from any part of the world. Letters consisting of requests for visas and asylum, information about deported family members and release from detention centers can all be found in the database. In 2020, this collection was made available to scholars, but only in June did the Vatican add a new series, entitled “ Ebrei,” or “Jews,” to their publicly accessible online database.Īnyone with a computer can now access the 170 files and nearly 40,000 volumes containing letters that Jews wrote to Pope Pius XII (the correspondence dates from 1939 to 1948) during World War II asking for help. These letters are a few of the thousands recently disentombed from Vatican archives and shared with the general public. It opened (translated from Italian), “ I beg you to take into consideration my letter from today and I permit myself to mention that I have already sent you up until now two letters of recommendation from Monsignor Maino and I am still waiting for a kind and favorable response.” On August 31, 1940, Pick sent yet another letter, this time in scribbled handwriting. In subsequent correspondence, Pick included an additional recommendation letter from Reverend Monsignor Maino. He mentioned his skills, explaining that he was a gardener and tractor driver and had additional experience in electrical work. ![]() Again, he emphasized his need for visas, explaining that while he and his wife are both devout Catholics, their half-Jewish status puts them in danger. In his letter (translated from Italian), he writes, “ Thanks to the goodness of Reverend Monsignor, I have been given the attached recommendation to which I permit myself to join my deep and devoted prayer in order that Your Excellency may benevolently care to extend to me and my wife His help to make it possible for us to immigrate to Brazil.”Īfter no response, Pick typed out another letter, in blue ink, referring to his prior correspondence. While they were both of the Catholic faith, both had Jewish fathers and were classified as mixed race under Italian law. In the letter, which can now be read on the Vatican library website, he requested help from the pope in securing permission for both him and his wife, Pauline, to flee Italy and enter Brazil. On April 24, 1940, Arthur Pick typed out a letter in crisp black ink and sent it to the Vatican.
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