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[[Pius XII]] assumed the papacy in 1939. In the build up to war he sought to act as a peace broker. As the [[Holy See]] had done during the pontificate of [[Benedict XV]] (1914–1922) during [[World War One]], the [[Holy See|Vatican]] under, [[Pius XII]], pursued a policy of diplomatic neutrality through [[World War Two]]—Pius XII, like Benedict XV, described the position as "impartiality", rather than "neutrality."<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/462400/Pius-XII/236596/Early-pontificate Encyclopædia Britannica Online - ''Pius XII''] 2 May 2013</ref> Pius XII's relations with the Axis and Allied forces may have been impartial, but early in the war he shared intelligence with the Allies about the German Resistance and planned invasion of the Low Countries and lobbied Mussolini to stay neutral.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/462400/Pius-XII/236596/Early-pontificate Encyclopædia Britannica Online - ''Pius XII'']; web 2 May 2013</ref>
[[Pius XII]] assumed the papacy in 1939. In the build up to war he sought to act as a peace broker. As the [[Holy See]] had done during the pontificate of [[Benedict XV]] (1914–1922) during [[World War One]], the [[Holy See|Vatican]] under, [[Pius XII]], pursued a policy of diplomatic neutrality through [[World War Two]]—Pius XII, like Benedict XV, described the position as "impartiality", rather than "neutrality."<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/462400/Pius-XII/236596/Early-pontificate Encyclopædia Britannica Online - ''Pius XII''] 2 May 2013</ref> Pius XII's relations with the Axis and Allied forces may have been impartial, but early in the war he shared intelligence with the Allies about the German Resistance and planned invasion of the Low Countries and lobbied Mussolini to stay neutral.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/462400/Pius-XII/236596/Early-pontificate Encyclopædia Britannica Online - ''Pius XII'']; web 2 May 2013</ref>


In the winter of 1939/40, the Bavarian lawyer and reserve 'Abwehr' officer [[Josef Müller (CSU politician)|Josef Müller]], acting as an emissary for the early German military opposition against Hitler then centered around General [[Franz Halder]], the chief of staff of the German army, contacted Monsignore [[Ludwig Kaas]], the exiled leader of the German Catholic [[Centre Party (Germany)|Zentrum]] party, in Rome, hoping to use the Pope as an intermediary to contact the British.<ref>Chadwick, 1988, pp. 86-87</ref> Kaas put Müller in contact with Father [[Robert Leiber]], who personally asked the Pope to relay the information about the German resistance to the British.<ref name="c87">Chadwick, 1988, p. 87</ref>
In the winter of 1939/40, the Bavarian lawyer and reserve 'Abwehr' officer [[Josef Müller (CSU politician)|Josef Müller]], acting as an emissary for the early German military opposition against Hitler then centered around General [[Franz Halder]], the chief of staff of the German army, contacted Monsignore [[Ludwig Kaas]], the exiled leader of the German Catholic [[Centre Party (Germany)|Zentrum]] party, in Rome, hoping to use the Pope as an intermediary to contact the British.<ref>Chadwick, 1988, pp. 86-87</ref> Kaas put Müller in contact with Father [[Robert Leiber]], who personally asked the Pope to relay the information about the German resistance to the British.<ref name="c87">Chadwick, 1988, p. 87</ref> Müller had known Pacelli (Pius) from Pacelli's time as nuncio in [[Munich]] and they had stayed in contact.<ref> Robert Ventresca, Soldier of Christ, p.159</ref>


With Poland overun but France and the Low Countries yet to be attacked, the German Resistance sought the Pope's assistance in preparations for a coup to oust Hitler. Colonel [[Hans Oster]] of the Abwehr sent Munich lawyer and devout Catholic, [[Josef Müller (CSU politician)|Josef Müller]], on a clandestine trip to Rome to seek Papal assistance in the developing plot by the German military opposition to oust Hitler.<ref name="John Toland p.760">John Toland; ''Hitler''; Wordsworth Editions; 1997 Edn; p.760</ref> The Pope's Private Secretary, [[Robert Leiber]] acted at the intermediary between Pius and the Resistance. He met with Müller, who visited Rome in 1939 and 1940.<ref name="Peter Hoffmann p.161 & 294">Peter Hoffmann; The History of the German Resistance 1933-1945; 3rd Edn (First English Edn); McDonald & Jane's; London; 1977; p.161 & 294</ref>
With Poland overun but France and the Low Countries yet to be attacked, the German Resistance sought the Pope's assistance in preparations for a coup to oust Hitler. Colonel [[Hans Oster]] of the Abwehr sent Munich lawyer and devout Catholic, [[Josef Müller (CSU politician)|Josef Müller]], on a clandestine trip to Rome to seek Papal assistance in the developing plot by the German military opposition to oust Hitler.<ref name="John Toland p.760">John Toland; ''Hitler''; Wordsworth Editions; 1997 Edn; p.760</ref> The Pope's Private Secretary, [[Robert Leiber]] acted at the intermediary between Pius and the Resistance. He met with Müller, who visited Rome in 1939 and 1940.<ref name="Peter Hoffmann p.161 & 294">Peter Hoffmann; The History of the German Resistance 1933-1945; 3rd Edn (First English Edn); McDonald & Jane's; London; 1977; p.161 & 294</ref>

Revision as of 07:03, 19 September 2013

File:Joseph mueller.jpg
Josef Müller was sent to Rome in 1939 by the German Resistance, to seek assistance from the Pope in a plot to overthrow Hitler.[1]
File:PiusXII12.jpg
Pope Pius XII secretly acted as an intermediary between the German Resistance and the Allies, during preparations for the coup.

Pius XII served as Pontiff during World War Two and maintained links to the German Resistance against Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. Although remaining publicly neutral, Pius advised the British in 1940 of the readiness of certain German generals to overthrow Hitler if they could be assured of an honourable peace, offered assistance to the German resistance in the event of a coup and warned the Allies of the planned German invasion of the Low Countries in 1940.[2][3][4]

The Pope and the Resistance

Pius XII assumed the papacy in 1939. In the build up to war he sought to act as a peace broker. As the Holy See had done during the pontificate of Benedict XV (1914–1922) during World War One, the Vatican under, Pius XII, pursued a policy of diplomatic neutrality through World War Two—Pius XII, like Benedict XV, described the position as "impartiality", rather than "neutrality."[5] Pius XII's relations with the Axis and Allied forces may have been impartial, but early in the war he shared intelligence with the Allies about the German Resistance and planned invasion of the Low Countries and lobbied Mussolini to stay neutral.[6]

In the winter of 1939/40, the Bavarian lawyer and reserve 'Abwehr' officer Josef Müller, acting as an emissary for the early German military opposition against Hitler then centered around General Franz Halder, the chief of staff of the German army, contacted Monsignore Ludwig Kaas, the exiled leader of the German Catholic Zentrum party, in Rome, hoping to use the Pope as an intermediary to contact the British.[7] Kaas put Müller in contact with Father Robert Leiber, who personally asked the Pope to relay the information about the German resistance to the British.[8] Müller had known Pacelli (Pius) from Pacelli's time as nuncio in Munich and they had stayed in contact.[9]

With Poland overun but France and the Low Countries yet to be attacked, the German Resistance sought the Pope's assistance in preparations for a coup to oust Hitler. Colonel Hans Oster of the Abwehr sent Munich lawyer and devout Catholic, Josef Müller, on a clandestine trip to Rome to seek Papal assistance in the developing plot by the German military opposition to oust Hitler.[10] The Pope's Private Secretary, Robert Leiber acted at the intermediary between Pius and the Resistance. He met with Müller, who visited Rome in 1939 and 1940.[11]

The Vatican considered Müller to be a representative of Colonel-General von Beck and agreed to offer the machinery for mediation.[12][13] Oster, Wilhelm Canaris and Hans von Dohnányi, backed by Beck, told Müller to ask Pius to ascertain whether the British would enter negotiations with the German opposition which wanted to overthrow Hitler. The British agreed to negotiate, provided the Vatican could vouch for the opposition's representative. Pius, communicating with Britain's Francis d'Arcy Osborne, channelled communications back and forth in secrecy.[12] The Vatican agreed to send a letter outlining the bases for peace with England and the participation of the Pope was used to try to persuade senior German Generals Halder and Brauchitsch to act against Hitler.[10]

Negotiations were tense, with a Western offensive expected, and on the basis that substantive negotiations could only follow the replacement of the Hitler regime. Hoffmann wrote that, when the Venlo Incident stalled the talks, the British agreed to resume discussions primarily because of the "efforts of the Pope and the respect in which he was held. Chamberlain and Halifax set great store by the Pope's readiness to mediate."[12] Pius, without offering endorsement, advised Osbourne on 11 January 1940 that the German opposition had said that a German offensive was planned for February, but that this could be averted if the German generals could be assured of peace with Britain, and not on punitive terms. If this could be assured, then they were willing to move to replace Hitler. The Pope admitted to "discomfort" at his role as mediator, but advised that the Germans involved were not Nazis. The British government had doubts as to the capacity of the conspirators. On 7 February, the Pope updated Osbourne that the opposition wanted to replace the Nazi regime with a democratic federation, but hoped to retain Austria and the Sudetenland. The British government was non-committal, and said that while the federal model was of interest, the promises and sources of the opposition were to vague. Nevertheless, the resistance were encouraged by the talks, and Muller told Leiber that a coup would occur in February. Pius appeared to continue to hope for a coup in Germany into March 1940.[14]

On 4 May 1940, the Vatican advised the Netherlands envoy to the Vatican that the Germans planned to invade France through the Netherlands and Belgium on May 10.[15] On May 7, Alfred Jodl noted in his diary that the Germans knew the Belgian envoy to the Vatican had been tipped off, and the Fuehrer was greatly agitated by the danger of treachery.[16] Following the Fall of France, peace overtures continued to emanate from the Vatican as well as Sweden and the United States, to which Churchill responded resolutely that Germany would first have to free its conquered territories.[17] The negotiations ultimately proved fruitless. Hitler's swift victories over France and the Low Countries deflated the will of the German military to resist Hitler. Muller was arrested during the Nazis first raid on Military Intelligence in 1943. He spent the rest of the war in concentration camps, ending up at Dachau.[18] Leiber remained the point of contact for communications with the Pope from Colonel-General Ludwig Beck in the lead up to the 1944 July Plot.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Anton Gill; An Honourable Defeat; A History of the German Resistance to Hitler; Heinemann; London; 1994; p.267
  2. ^ John Toland; Hitler; Wordsworth Editions; 1997 Edn; p. 760
  3. ^ William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; pp. 648–49
  4. ^ Joachim Fest; Plotting Hitler's death: The German Resistance to Hitler 1933–1945; Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1996 p. 131
  5. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Pius XII 2 May 2013
  6. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online - Pius XII; web 2 May 2013
  7. ^ Chadwick, 1988, pp. 86-87
  8. ^ Chadwick, 1988, p. 87
  9. ^ Robert Ventresca, Soldier of Christ, p.159
  10. ^ a b John Toland; Hitler; Wordsworth Editions; 1997 Edn; p.760
  11. ^ a b Peter Hoffmann; The History of the German Resistance 1933-1945; 3rd Edn (First English Edn); McDonald & Jane's; London; 1977; p.161 & 294
  12. ^ a b c Peter Hoffmann; The History of the German Resistance 1933-1945; 3rd Edn (First English Edn); McDonald & Jane's; London; 1977; p.160
  13. ^ William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; p648-9
  14. ^ Peter Hoffmann; The History of the German Resistance 1933-1945; 3rd Edn (First English Edn); McDonald & Jane's; London; 1977; p.160-163
  15. ^ William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; p. 716
  16. ^ William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; p. 719
  17. ^ William L. Shirer; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; Secker & Warburg; London; 1960; p. 750
  18. ^ Joachim Fest; Plotting Hitlers death:The German Resistance to Hitler 1933-45; Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1996 p.131
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