THE PERSECUTION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE THIRD REICH

An anonymous German Catholic, well placed within the church hierarchy, (and purportedly to have been encouraged by Pope Pius XII) used his position to compile documents as evidence of the National Socialist Party’s campaign to destroy Catholicism and of the official Vatican response to events and propaganda of the time.

The U.S. national Catholic journal of opinion, Commonweal, featured the book shortly after publication in 1941, saying “Here are the writings and speeches of the Pope and the German hierarchy, the official decrees and instructions of the Government, and the speeches and teachings of the [Nazi] Party. The cumulative weight of this testimony is sufficient to establish the German persecution as the worst, because it is the most efficient, of modern times.”

Writers at America magazine, the Roman Catholic journal of opinion and commentary, also recognized the importance of this volume soon after it was published: “Complete and devastating . . . The facts are authentic and incontrovertible. The documents are likewise authentic and thoroughly substantiated. . . . To anyone who thinks there is no persecution of the Catholic Church in Germany, we recommend this volume.”