1. Les procès des crimes de guerre nazis, le Vatican et la question de la justice après la guerre
Steinacher, Gerald
1. Les procès des crimes de guerre nazis, le Vatican et la question de la justice après la guerre - 2023.
29
Based on newly released archival evidence, this paper discusses the Vatican’s reactions to Nazi war crime trials and the papal alternatives to international criminal justice policies in the wake of World War II. Catholic leaders called for a rejection of Nazi teachings and a return to Christ and Christian values as a way to mend postwar society. At the same time, the Vatican and prominent Catholic leaders strongly condemned anything they perceived as either revenge or attributions of collective guilt, and they demanded forgiveness for perpetrators. By taking this stand, they also sought to strengthen the influence of Catholic teachings and the Church in society. Pope Pius XII’s response to the Nuremberg trials and denazification was also political, and it reflected the realities of the day. The pope was convinced that harsh denazification and ongoing purges would weaken Germany and therefore make the country, and Western Europe more broadly, easier prey to communism. After 1945, the Catholic Church unified around opposing, rather than calling for, punishment for wartime acts. Initially, the Vatican’s positions on culpability diverged from the Western Allies. But this changed with intensifying Cold War tensions. While the Church strongly challenged prosecuting Nazis and just as vigorously preached forgiving war criminals, its messaging conveyed implicit aims—urging global forward motion and leaving the past behind.
1. Les procès des crimes de guerre nazis, le Vatican et la question de la justice après la guerre - 2023.
29
Based on newly released archival evidence, this paper discusses the Vatican’s reactions to Nazi war crime trials and the papal alternatives to international criminal justice policies in the wake of World War II. Catholic leaders called for a rejection of Nazi teachings and a return to Christ and Christian values as a way to mend postwar society. At the same time, the Vatican and prominent Catholic leaders strongly condemned anything they perceived as either revenge or attributions of collective guilt, and they demanded forgiveness for perpetrators. By taking this stand, they also sought to strengthen the influence of Catholic teachings and the Church in society. Pope Pius XII’s response to the Nuremberg trials and denazification was also political, and it reflected the realities of the day. The pope was convinced that harsh denazification and ongoing purges would weaken Germany and therefore make the country, and Western Europe more broadly, easier prey to communism. After 1945, the Catholic Church unified around opposing, rather than calling for, punishment for wartime acts. Initially, the Vatican’s positions on culpability diverged from the Western Allies. But this changed with intensifying Cold War tensions. While the Church strongly challenged prosecuting Nazis and just as vigorously preached forgiving war criminals, its messaging conveyed implicit aims—urging global forward motion and leaving the past behind.
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