The Pope at War, page 58
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Myron Taylor to FDR, February 28, 1940, FDR Library, psfa 36, pp. 15–18; Tittmann 2004, p. 8; “Il Sommo Pontefice riceve in solenne udienza il rappresentante del Presidente degli Stati Uniti,” OR, February 28, 1940, p. 1. Taylor had been asked to raise another subject with the pope, although there is no record it came up in that first conversation. “Anti-Jewish feeling in Brooklyn, Baltimore and Detroit,” wrote the president in his instructions to Taylor, “is said to be encouraged by the church. You should point out that this only causes anti-Catholic feeling in return” (Conway 1975, p. 89n).
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
Appunto, Alfieri, February 29, 1940, ASDMAE, AISS, 1947–54, b. 227; also published in DDI, series 9, vol. 3, n. 409.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
Travaglini to Cardinal Lauri, January 1, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 29r–30r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 11
Lauri to Pius XII, January 2, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 31r. The accompanying note is found at f. 32r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12
The German-language document containing the text of the pope’s five points of January 3, 1940, is found at ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 63r–71r. At the top of a copy of the pope’s German-language document is the handwritten explanation, written in Italian: “Note given privately to Prince von Hessen January 3, 1940, at 6–6:15 p.m. and read and received by him without expressing any difficulty or objection.” ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 34r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 13
Travaglini to Lauri, January 4, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 35r; Montini note, January 4, 1940, part 1 is at f. 36r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 14
The pope’s reply to von Hessen, dated January 5, 1940, is found at ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 37rv. The record of the cardinal’s phone call, apparently prepared by Montini, dated January 8, is at f. 38r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 15
Travaglini to Lauri, February 5, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 39r–40r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 16
The typed note bears the title “Aufzeichnung,” with handwritten edits, apparently by the pope, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 45r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 17
Travaglini to Lauri, February 18, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 48r–50r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 18
The one memo published in those volumes containing a passing allusion to these negotiations, a note by Monsignor Tardini, appears in ADSS with the following sentence excised without any indication that anything is being deleted: “In fact, Travaglini had always said that, once the audience with the Pope was arranged, von Ribbentrop would have found a pretext to come to Italy.” Tardini notes, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 248v; the expurgated text is found at ADSS, vol. 1, n. 257.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 19
Cardinal Lauri to Pius XII, March 8, 1940, and Travaglini to Lauri, March 8, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 55r, 56r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 20
Tardini notes, March 9, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 246r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 21
Chapter 12: A Problematic Visitor
The quote is from Kershaw 1999, pp. 556–57. See Kershaw 1999, p. 774, for the attitude of other Nazi leaders to Ribbentrop.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
Ribbentrop conversation with Pius XII, March 11, 1940, memorandum, DGFP, series D, vol. 8, n. 668; Pirelli 1984, p. 256, diary entry for March 15, 1940; “La visita in Vaticano,” PI, March 12, 1940, p. 1; Ribbentrop udienza Pio XII, March 11, 1940, AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Stati e Corpo Diplomatico, posiz. 45, ff. 4–13.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Für den Empfang des deutschen Reichsaußenministers JOACHIM VON RIBBENTROP beim Heiligen Vater am 11.März 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 63r–71r. This German-language memo in preparation for the pope’s meeting was proceeded by an Italian-language memo covering the same ground prepared by the Secretariat of State office and given to the pope on the day before the meeting. “Appunto preparato dal Minutante per Sua Santità e l’Em. Cardinale Segretario di Stato in occasione della visita del Sig. von Ribbentrop, ministro degli esteri di Germania, dell’11 marzo 1940,” ff. 74r–76r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Bastianini 2005, p. 292.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
Tardini notes, March 11, 1940, ADSS, vol. 1, n. 257.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
Maglione notes, March 11, 1940, ADSS, vol. 1, nn. 258 and 259; Bastianini 2005, p. 292. Bastianini had served as undersecretary for foreign affairs until the previous October, and he would again during Mussolini’s last months in office.
Curiously, the pope had sent instructions the previous evening to Maglione telling him that, should Ribbentrop in their meeting bring up the idea of having Franz von Papen replace Bergen as German ambassador to the Holy See, “it would be well to make him understand clearly that he does not seem the most appropriate person.” AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Stati e Corpo Diplomatico, posiz. 45, f. 8r. Franz von Papen was the German chancellor in 1932 and then became Hitler’s vice chancellor the following year. Even following Ribbentrop’s visit the pope worried that the Germans would replace Bergen with von Papen and sought out the opinion of Berlin’s Bishop Konrad von Preysing, referring to it in his letter, written in German on April 22, 1940, as “a matter of utmost confidentiality.” “Since this request will be made to the Holy See perhaps very soon as we have been told,” wrote the pope, “it will be useful if you could send Us a reply as soon as you receive this letter.” Indeed, the matter was so delicate that the pope instructed him to reply by a code: “The words ‘request for blessing on the occasion of a wedding’ will indicate that the agreement can be given,” instructed the pontiff, “the words ‘request for the blessing of a very sick person’ will indicate that it simply has to be denied.”
On April 30, the nuncio in Berlin sent a one-line cable to Maglione: “The bishop of Berlin is requesting the blessing of a very sick person.” The following day Bishop Preysing wrote directly to the pope to explain that he opposed the choice of von Papen because appointment of “this type of high-profile National Socialist will appear to be sanctioned by the Church.” Von Papen, feared the bishop, would create an entourage in Rome that would seek to spread the false opinion of close, harmonious relations between the National Socialist government and the Vatican. These documents are found at AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Diocesi, posiz. 306, ff. 114r–16r, 117r, 121r–23v.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
Relazione del colloquio avvenuto fra il Signor Ribbentrop e Monsignor Tiso, fatta da quest’ultimo a Monsignor [Michal] Buzalka, Vescovo Ausiliare di Tirnava il 7 agosto 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, f. 156r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 7
Grandi 1985, p. 562; Attolico to Ciano, March 9, 1940, DDI, series 9, vol. 3, n. 502. In his memoir the French ambassador to Italy made a similar point about the significance of Ribbentrop’s visit in dating Mussolini’s final move toward war. François-Poncet 1961, pp. 161–77.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 8
Rauscher 2004, pp. 337–38.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 9
The official Italian transcript of the March 10 meeting is found at ASDMAE, Gab., b. 1130A, UC-14, fasc. 2.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 10
The Italian transcript of the March 11 conversation is found at DDI, series 9, vol. 3, n. 524; the German memo on it is at DGFP, series D, vol. 8, n. 669.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 11
Orsenigo to Maglione, March 17, 1940, ASRS, AA.EE.SS., Pio XII, parte 1, Germania, posiz. 774, ff. 180r–82r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 12
Welles’s reports on his March 1 meeting with Ribbentrop and his March 2 meeting with Hitler are found in FDR Library, psfa 72, pp. 27–39, 45–55.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 13
At his March 16 meeting with the Duce and Ciano, it was Welles who learned the most important news. Germany, Mussolini told him, planned to conquer France within three or four months, and the Germans were confident Britain would soon crumble as well. The Duce also told the American that Hitler had asked him to come in two days’ time to the Brenner Pass for an urgent meeting. The German offensive, predicted the Duce, would take place very soon: “The minute hand is pointing to one minute before midnight.” The Duce’s parting remark gave Welles some grounds for hope that Italy might remain out of the fighting. “You may wish to remember,” Mussolini said, “that, while the German-Italian pact exists, I nevertheless retain complete liberty of action.” Welles’s report on his March 16 meeting with Mussolini is found at FDR Library, psfa 72, pp. 97–103. Further telegram correspondence reporting on the visit is found at FDR Library, psfa 36, pp. 60–75.
Welles next met with the Italian king. Asked his view of the Duce, whom he had been meeting twice a week for many years, the king called him “a very great man.” When Welles pleaded with the king to do all he could to keep Italy out of the war, Victor Emmanuel demurred. In Italy, he said, the monarch has little power. He was equally dismissive of the American’s attempt at flattery. When Welles told him how impressed he was with the devotion and admiration Italians felt for their king, Victor Emmanuel shook his head and, with a wry smile, replied, “My English is getting rusty and I don’t know how to phrase exactly what I mean, but I am afraid the impression you have obtained is not true.” One thing was clear to Welles: the timorous king was not going to be of any help. FDR Library, psfa 72, pp. 80–87.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 14
According to Taylor’s Italian-speaking assistant, Harold Tittmann, when he met with the pope, Pius XII always began by speaking to him in English, proud of his knowledge of the language, but then soon, with evident relief, fell back on Italian for the rest of the conversation. Tittmann 2004, p. 93.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 15
Welles’s report on his March 18 meeting with the pope is found at FDR Library, psfa 72, pp. 107–111; d’Ormesson final report, October 28, 1940, MAEC, Guerre Vichy, 550.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 16
“L’incontro Mussolini-Hitler al Brennero,” L’Italia, March 19, 1940, p. 1.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 17
“La partenza di Hitler,” L’Italia, March 19, 1940, p. 1. The official German memo of the conversation is found at DGFP, series D, vol. 9, n. 1. “L’incontro al Brennero del Capo del Governo italiano col Cancelliere Hitler,” OR, March 18, 1940, p. 1; Ciano 1980, p. 408, diary entry for March 18, 1940; Grandi 1985, p. 565; Rauscher 2004, p. 340; Navarra 2004, p. 46.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 18
Welles report on his March 19, 1940, meeting with Ciano, FDR Library, psfa 72, pp. 118–23; Welles final report to FDR on European trip, March 1940, FDR Library, psfa 72, pp. 125–33.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 19
Visani 2007, pp. 77–78; Ciano 1980, pp. 414–15, diary entry for April 2, 1940.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 20
Hitler to Mussolini, April 9, 1940, Hitler phone message for Mussolini, April 10, 1940, and Mackensen to German Foreign Ministry, April 11, 1940, DGFP, series D, vol. 9, nn. 68, 82 and 86.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 21
Petacci 2011, pp. 312–14, diary entry for April 11, 1940.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 22
Ciano 1980, p. 418, diary entry for April 11, 1940.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 23
Chapter 13: An Inopportune Time
Ribbentrop to Mackensen, May 7, 1940, DGFP, series D, vol. 9, n. 205; Hitler’s letter to Mussolini is at n. 212; Mussolini to Hitler, May 10, 1940, is at n. 232; Ciano 1980, p. 427, diary entry for May 10, 1940; Bottai 1989, p. 190, diary entry for May 12, 1940; Di Rienzo 2018, p. 315.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 1
The pope’s April 12 letter to Mussolini is found at ASDMAE, Gab., b. 189, UC–73, fasc. 1. The pope also arranged for L’Osservatore Romano to publish an article clarifying that when the pope invoked the desire for peace, he was referring not to a peace of the weak but rather, as Mussolini himself kept insisting, a peace “based on justice.” Alfieri enthusiastically reported on the OR article (“L’invito del papa”) to Ciano, sending him the clipping. Alfieri to Ciano, April 21, 1940, ASDMAE, AISS, b. 113.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 2
Mussolini letter to Pius XII, April 30, 1940, ASDMAE, AISS, b. 176; also found in ADSS, vol. 1, n. 290; Ciano 1980, p. 422, diary entry for April 28, 1940.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 3
Hull to Phillips (transmitting text of FDR messages to Phillips and to Mussolini), April 29, 1940, FRUS 1940, vol. 2, pp. 691–92; Phillips to Hull, May 1, 1940, FRUS 1940, vol. 2, pp. 693–95. As for the coordination with the pope, Taylor reported to FDR: “The Pope, pledging us to secrecy advised me on Friday last [April 26] that he had fulfilled his duty of parallel action by direct handwritten message to Mussolini aimed at non-belligerency for Italy.” Taylor to FDR, April 30, 1940, FRUS 1940, vol. 2, pp. 692–93. Phillips’s memo of meeting with Ciano, May 2, 1940, is found at FRUS 1940, vol. 2, p. 699; Phillips to FDR, May 2, 1940, FDR Library, psfa 401, p. 71; Mussolini to FDR, May 2, 1940, FRUS 1940, vol. 2, p. 698. Mussolini informed the German ambassador of Roosevelt’s approach and his own response. In the future, Mussolini told Mackensen, he would no longer meet with the American ambassador nor with any ambassador other than him. Mussolini also wrote to Hitler the day he received Roosevelt’s message, sending him a copy of it along with a copy of his response—a response Hitler received before the president did. Characterizing Roosevelt’s plea as having a “threatening character,” Mussolini added that he felt the “rather drastic tone” of his own response had been called for. Along with his presidential correspondence, the Duce also sent Hitler a copy of the pope’s recent plea for peace and his response to the pontiff. Hitler got back to him quickly. “I find your replies to the Pope and Roosevelt also marvelous.” Mackensen to German Foreign Ministry, May 1, 1940, DGFP, series D, vol. 9, n. 185; Mussolini to Hitler, May 2, 1940, DGFP, series D, vol. 9, n. 190; Hitler to Mussolini, May 3, 1940, DGFP, series D, vol. 9, n. 192.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 4
As accounts of such violent encounters began to flood the Vatican, Pius XII told Maglione to send a coded telegram to the nuncios abroad to let them know what had happened. Memo, May 14, 1940, AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Stato Città Vaticano, posiz. 63, f. 27r; Mons. Micara, Brussels, to Maglione, May 10, 1940, ADSS, vol. 1, n. 297; Tardini 1961, p. 123; “Messaggi del Santo Padre ai Sovrani del Belgio, dell’Olanda e del Lussemburgo,” OR, May 12, 1940, p. 1.
“After having burned all the copies of L’Osservatore Romano,” reported the director of Bologna’s Catholic newspaper, L’Avvenire d’Italia, on May 11, “they burned ours as well. Coming to the offices of the newspaper they seized the entire run of the press…burning it on the public street.” AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Stato Città Vaticano, posiz. 63, f. 329r. Maglione summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Italian embassy to the Vatican on May 12 to complain about the violence committed against the Vatican paper and threatened a public protest if it continued. Memo, May 13, 1940, AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Stato Città Vaticano, posiz. 63, ff. 31r–32r. On May 14 he followed this up by sending a note to many of the nuncios and apostolic delegates to inform them of the violence committed against the newsstands selling copies of the May 12 edition of L’Osservatore Romano (ADSS, vol. 1, n. 315). The French texts of the pope’s three messages are found in ADSS, vol. 1, nn. 301–3. Accounts of the violence against the Vatican paper were coming from much of the country. “I am saddened to have to report that here in L’Aquila,” wrote the Aquila archbishop on May 13, “for the past three days the copies of L’Osservatore Romano have been seized, torn up, and burned, by order, it seems of this Federal Secretary [of the Fascist Party].” That the orders came from on high was also the opinion of Monsignor Montini, who replied, “Evidently the difficulties caused for the distribution of L’Osservatore Romano are the result of orders coming, inexplicably, from the upper hierarchies.” AAV, Segr. Stato, 1940, Stato Città Vaticano, posiz. 63, ff. 36r, 35r.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 5
D’Aroma 1957, p. 296; Ciano 1980, p. 429, diary entry for May 12, 1940.
BACK TO NOTE REFERENCE 6
