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HIS 10: Holocaust: Witnesses and evidence

Yr 7-12

What did the Allies know about Nazi plans for the Jewish people?  And how did they respond? And what was the Pope's position on the unfolding catastrophe in Europe?

The Pope: Can the Papacy be neutral in the face of Nazism?

In this documentary (Rated M, Mature audiences 15 and over) we learn not only about Papal decisions but the Pope's position regarding the political climate in Europe. Pius XI signs the Lateran Treaty with Mussolini, securing the Pope's safety in Fascist controlled Italy, with the Vatican having sovereign status as long as the Pope allowed the Dictatorship to rule unhindered. Meanwhile he relies on Cardinal Pacelli, residing in Germany, to inform him about Germany. Pacelli, who later becomes Pope Pius XII, trod his diplomatic role carefully when surrounded by the Catholic-hating Nazis. He signed the Reichskonkordat with the German Government which some view as making a pact with the enemy to not interefere in politics. The Nazis did not abide by the treaty and interfered with the Church's operations and activities. Many Catholic priests were sent to Dachau Concentration camp where 2500 died. A Papal Encyclical is released into Churches and read from the pulpit on Palm Sunday 1937 at great risk. Pacelli was reluctant to act decisively against Nazi Anti-Semitism despite the pressure from Archbishops to do so.

Truth and evidence at the end of Third Reich

  • Death of Hitler and other leaders
  • Death of Mussolini in Italy
  • Return of stolen artifacts and treasures after the War
  • Discovery and liberation of survivors in concentration camps by Allied forces
  • Collapse and destruction of Third Reich infrastructure
  • Evidence, monuments and buildings destroyed
  • Evacuation of camps; death marches
  • Red Cross witnesses
  • Refugees and re-homing of survivors
  • Israeal and Palestine
  • Nuremberg trials and other truths
  • Personal accounts, books, recordings, museums, source material