The 20th century was a tragic one – the only century ever to have two “world wars.” German President Adolph Hitler rightly is demonized for many horrors of World War II. But, amazingly, another man often is blamed for much of it, too. Or, at the very least, Pius XII, pope from 1939 through 1958, is blamed for not trying to prevent the killings of

Catholics object to portrayal of pope in Holocaust play at UMD. The 20th century was a tragic one – the only century ever to have two “world wars.” German President Adolph Hitler rightly is demonized for many horrors of World War II. But, amazingly, another man often is blamed for much of it, too. Or, at the very least, Pius XII, pope from 1939 through 1958, is blamed for not trying to prevent the killings of 6 million European Jews.

The character assassination of this truly great pope came as a result of a bizarre play written in 1963 by Rolf Hochhuth. It was called “The Deputy.” It portrayed Pius as a coward who was influenced by Hitler himself. It inspired other works, such as the 1999 book, “Hitler’s Pope,” written by John Cornwell, which was based on weak and spurious “documentation and research.”