18
July 2014
JEWISH INTEREST
The Vatican and the Nazis
K’zohar Ha-Ivrit Cho-fesh – freedom or vacation
By Paul R. Bartrop, PhD
E
By Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin
S
ummertime, conjures the word ‘vacation.’ It is hot outside and humid, and the pace of life slows down. Many kids are enjoying their summer break and some of us are allowing ourselves to spend a few hours on the beach or maybe even the freedom to take a family trip. As we enjoy the break let us examine the Hebrew word for ‘vacation’ namely cho-fesh, a word which also means ‘freedom’ and ‘liberty.’ The Hebrew root ch.p.sh meaning ‘to be free’ or ‘set at liberty,’ is related to the ancient Ugaritic word hps where it means ‘freeman’ or ‘soldier.’ Interestingly, this root appears only twice in the Bible as a verb in reference to a female slave who was redeemed or freed (Lev 19:20), and only once as a noun with an unclear meaning (Ezk 27:20). However, as an adjective, chof-shi, meaning ‘freed’ or ‘liberated,’ is used seventeen times in the Text and usually in reference to freed slaves (Ex 21:2; Dt 15:12 and more). There are a few cases in which the adjective chof-shi describes people who are not enslaved yet free (Isa 58:6), as well as animals that roam freely (Job 39:5). An interesting case is the phrase chof-shi beIsrael translated to ‘free in Israel,’ and referring to a person exempt from royal levies (I Sam 17:25). It is only later, in the time of the Second Temple, that cho-fesh was used as a noun and meant ‘freedom’ (Ben Sirah 7:20). And, in the middle ages, the verb was more widely used to mean ‘liberated’ or ‘released.’ Many phrases have been coined
in Modern Hebrew where the noun chofesh or the adjective chofsi are at the center. We will mention but a few, starting with ha-chofesh ha-ga-dol, ‘the big vacation,’ which refers to the break from school that children enjoy during the summer. A commonly used phrase in Israel is chofesh ha-di-bur, meaning ‘free speech’ (the verb daber means ‘speak’). Yet another is chofesh p’ulah, meaning ‘freedom to act,’ ‘carte blanche’ (the verb pa-al means ‘act’). As an adjective we should mention the phrase chofshi mi-de-ah-gah meaning ‘free from worry’ (de-a-gah means ‘worry’), and also ahavah chofshit meaning ‘free love’ (ahavah means ‘love’), and, last but not least, be-chirah chof-shit, meaning ‘free choice’ (ba-char means ‘choose’). We will conclude our short survey with the well-known line from the Israeli national hymn: Lih-yot am cho-fshi be-ar-tzey-nu, which literally expresses the hope ‘to be a free people in our land.’ I wish all our readers a lovely summer. I hope all will have the opportunity to enjoy a chofesh na-im, ‘a pleasant vacation.’ May you have the chofesh, the ‘liberty’ to spend the time in the company of those you love, and may your break be chofshi mi-de-ahga, ‘carefree.’ Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin is a professor of biblical literature at Spertus College in Chicago and an adjunct professor of Hebrew and Bible at New College in Sarasota.
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ighty-one years ago this month, on July 20, 1933, Germany’s Nazi government signed an agreement with the Vatican. The Latin word ‘Concordat’ was appropriately employed on this occasion, as it involved a treaty entered into between the Vatican and a foreign government. Earlier, in 1929, Pope Pius XI had signed a Concordat with the Italy of fascist leader Benito Mussolini, so that of Dr. Paul Bartrop July 20, 1933, did not come as a complete surprise for many. The purpose of both these agreements was to guarantee the rights of the Pope’s Roman Catholic citizens in Italy and Germany, as well as the right of the Church to administer its own affairs and manage its own properties. As it would turn out, neither the Nazis in Germany nor the fascists in Italy were to uphold their end of these agreements. Throughout his pontificate, Pius XI spoke out against racism, anti-Semitism, unwarranted persecutions, totalitarianism and excessive nationalism. While not a philosemite, he was nonetheless a humanitarian, and saw the need to reach an accommodation with both dictators as a way to attain some measure of space within which to mitigate their excesses. He thus considered the Concordat with the Nazis as a way to protect Catholic rights in Germany. Whatever good might accrue beyond this, he felt, would be a bonus. However, this had a negative effect for the Jews of Germany. The Concordat legitimized the Third Reich in the eyes of the German Catholic hierarchy, and congregations all over Germany saw that they could square their consciences with the new regime and at the same time remain good Catholics. The international community, moreover, now had a different lens through which to view Nazism. In this way, the Concordat helped to pave the way for the much fuller Nazi takeover of all facets of German society during the period the Nazis referred to as Gleichschaltung or coordination. Pius XI eventually realized what he had unleashed and later condemned Nazism. On March 14, 1937, he issued the papal encyclical Mit brennender Sorge – “With Burning Anxiety” (sometimes translated as “Concern”). The document reproached the Nazis’ excesses, even though it made no explicit mention of the Jews. Five days later, on March 19, 1937, he issued a further encyclical Divini Redemptoris (“Divine Redeemer”), wherein he condemned communist persecutions in the Soviet Union, Spain and Mexico. One further encyclical, Humani Generis Unitas (“On the Unity of the Human Race”) was planned, though it was never promulgated owing to Pius’s death on February 10, 1939. It condemned anti-Semitism, racism and the Nazi persecution of Jews. Because it never went forward, it is sometimes referred to as “The Hidden Encyclical,” and the draft text remained secret until it was unearthed and published in France in 1995. Since learning of the draft encyclical, historians have been left wondering as to what effect it
might have had on Germany’s Catholics – and thereby, obviously, on Germany’s Jews – if it had seen the light of day before the outbreak of war in September 1939. History, of course, does not allow any alternatives. After the death of Pius XI, his successor, Eugenio Pacelli – who took the Throne of St. Peter as Pius XII – was to be much less conciliatory towards the Jews. He had earlier served as Papal Nuncio to Germany, and negotiated and signed the Concordat of July 20, 1933. He was intensely opposed to communism, was theologically conservative, and was a Germanophile – hardly qualifications suited to confront the Nazis over their anti-Semitic persecutions. As we know, controversy continues to surround his pontificate regarding the lack of any public condemnation of the Nazi assault and genocide of the Jews. Those who continue to defend him argue that the actions of the Vatican during World War II to give comfort and succor to Jews, much of it in secret, were all done with Pius XII’s knowledge, and that, had he chosen to speak out, their fate would have been even worse. Those who attack him for his public silence argue that had he chosen to speak out, given his position as the acknowledged moral voice of the Western world, it could possibly have lessened the tragedy since a worse fate for Jews other than what took place cannot be imagined. Complicating these issues is an at-times simplistic misunderstanding regarding his concern for the preservation of the Church, as well as the fate of Roman Catholics involved in all theatres of war. To this can be added his view of the ongoing struggle between Nazism and communism, which he saw as an atheistic force determined to destroy Christianity. Moreover, his own religious perspective regarding Jews saw them as a people antithetical to Christianity, and as a deicide community they did not deserve any special favors when the struggle against communism was, in his opinion, much more important for the future of humanity. What was not realized at the time was that Hitler – the former Catholic choirboy from Linz – had no intention of adhering to any agreements with the Vatican, as his attack on Rome in 1943 was to show. (This is to say nothing of the unrealized plot to kidnap Pius XII, often overlooked in historical analyses.) Knowing this, however, is not to let the Vatican off the hook. Eighty-one years ago this month the Concordat was signed, signaling to Hitler that the Catholic Church was prepared to turn a blind eye to his excesses. Ironically for the Church, this was to include the incarceration and murder of large numbers of dissenting Catholic priests at the hands of those same Nazis. The failure, if indeed there was one, could be put down to a severe lack of imagination at least, if not outright collusion at worst. The most fundamental questions, unfortunately, remain unanswered. Dr. Paul Bartrop is Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. He can be reached at pbartrop@fgcu.edu.
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