The Vatican’s Role During World War Two

Since the Second World War, the Catholic Church's Pope Pius XII has frequently been criticized and targeted for supposedly ignoring the plight of Jews escaping from persecution at the hands of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Pius XII is a continuously controversial figure, with many different perspectives on the impact of his papacy, and the role of the Catholic Church during the Second World War. This paper looks to address the controversies surrounding Pius XII's actions as pope during the war, the misconceptions surrounding his role, and the role of the Catholic Church during the Second World War as a whole.