From Our Readers

The World Since 1914

Thank you for the series of articles on “The World Since 1914.” (March 8 to June 22, 1987) At school we were always taught history from around William the Conqueror’s time but never up-to-date world affairs. I’ve never really understood the reasons and events behind World War II, which occurred in my early childhood. The “fear” you wrote of was very real and was felt even by young children.

C. L., England

Your series of articles “The World Since 1914” was simply fantastic! On leafing through the magazine that contained Part I, it was the article that least attracted my attention, but when I decided to read it, I just could not stop and went on to read Part II, which was on hand, lamenting that the subsequent numbers were still not available. Never before had I taken such interest in happenings of bygone years.

J. E. S. J., Brazil

The Catholic Church and Hitler

On behalf of the more than 50 million Catholics of the United States, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights would like to express its astonishment and disappointment at the gross calumny against the Church in your issue “Religion in Politics​—Is This God’s Will?” (April 22, 1987) The cover bears a photograph of a member of the Catholic hierarchy shaking hands with Hitler. The crude implication is that the Nazi movement, and its attempted genocide against the Jews and others, had the full cooperation and blessing of the Catholic Church. This false and irresponsible accusation appears explicitly on page 6, where it is alleged that Catholic clergymen offered the Nazi regime “support or at least coexistence.” As a matter of fact, the Vatican did attempt to negotiate peace with Hitler in the early days of Nazi Germany when it was still reasonable to hope that its excesses could be moderated. As the Nazi tyranny unfolded, the resistance of the Catholic Church increased. Not only do the editors of Awake! owe Catholics an apology for asserting otherwise; they owe it to their readership to set the record straight.

During his recent visit to Germany, Pope John Paul II tried to emphasize the opposition of the Catholic Church to Nazism. According to accounts, he listed many clerical and lay Catholics who opposed the Nazis. But according to “The New York Times” (May 4, 1987), this “effort has drawn criticism from some Catholics, however, who accuse the Pope of distorting the fact that few Catholic leaders actually resisted Nazi tyranny, beyond struggling to save church prerogatives.” Even Jesuit priest Rupert Mayer, whom the pope beatified for speaking out against the Nazis, was interned in the Benedictine abbey of Ettal under an agreement between Nazi leaders and the church hierarchy, for whom the Jesuit’s outspokenness had become an embarrassment, according to the “Times.” One Jesuit priest! Why did not the pope honor scores of Catholic bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, plus thousands of Catholic priests, for their opposition to the Nazis? Because the vast majority did not resist Nazism!​—ED.