Holy Silence

Take a fresh look at a topic that has sparked controversy for decades. During the years leading up to WWII, what was the Vatican's reaction to the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany? After the war began, how did the pope respond to the horrors of the Holocaust? In telling that story, "Holy Silence" focuses on American officials who worked behind the scenes to influence the Vatican's actions.

As Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s, the Vatican negotiated a treaty with Nazi Germany aimed at protecting the Catholic Church in that country.

Throughout the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt increasingly recognized the political benefits of winning over Catholic voters in the United States.

In 1938, John LaFarge, a Jesuit priest from New England, was directed by Pope Pius XI to draft a papal encyclical that would denounce anti-Semitism and Adolf Hitler's campaign against the Jews.

In 1940, President Roosevelt sent industrialist Myron Taylor to the Vatican in an effort to persuade Pope Pius XII to speak out against Nazi Germany and in favor of the Allies.

As news began to emerge of the mass murder of Jews across Europe, Pope Pius XII continued to maintain his position of silence and neutrality.