Pope Pius XII: Hitler's pope? The Holocaust was a devastating time, causing an incredible number of deaths, so much pain, agony and turmoil for so many innocent victims. Is it possible that a single voice could have had such an impact that it could have saved millions of people? Could Pope Pius XII really have made such a difference? Should he have intervened? What are the facts? Although the Vatican's policy is to remain neutral in world affairs to avoid further conflict, the Pope should have done more to help the Jews and the many others unjustly persecuted; If he had intervened and spoken out, the Holocaust could have been contained to the extreme to which it escalated. Yes, Pope Pius XII apologized, but apologizing is not always enough. Who was Pius XII? We have all heard the horror stories of the massacres carried out in Europe by Hitler and the power-hungry Nazi regime. We were given facts, fictions debunked, and of course, many people all formed their own opinions on all the facts presented to us. However, have you really thought everything through? Have you ever thought that a single voice could have such an impact on an entire population, that the whole thing could be avoided? At this time, the Church was the most powerful institution still standing that was not under German control at the time (Goldhagen 12). The Pope at that time was Pius XII and he had an influence on over 400 million Catholics (Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust). Although Pius XII was not pope at the very beginning of the Holocaust, he was elected pope on March 2, 1939 (Gutman 1135). Once elected, Pope Pius XII was the moral voice of the national churches across the European continent, including Germany and was considered ...... middle of paper ...... rative enterprise, nd Web. February 3, 2014. “The Vatican and the Holocaust: Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust.” » Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, nd Web. February 2, 2014. Pius XII, Pope. “Pope Pius XII calls for charitable peace.” Pope Pius XII calls for charitable peace. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, nd Web. February 3, 2014. Gutman, Israel. Holocaust Encyclopedia. New York: Macmillan Pub., 1990. Print. Goldhagen, Daniel Jonah. A moral assessment: the role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and its unfulfilled duty of reparation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Print. Ventresca, Robert. Soldier of Christ: The Life of Pope Pius XII. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2013. Print.Thomas, Gordon. The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's secret plan to save the Jews from the Nazis. New York: Thomas Dunne, 2012. Print.