Already a subscriber? Log in
Bill Proctor
Chislehurst, Kent
Pius and the Jews
Sir: Contrary to the assertions of Jeffrey Pike (Letters, 23 May) my view of Pope Pius XII is not one-sided but is supported by evidence and the testimonies of witnesses, many of them Jewish. Mr Pike is obviously unaware that Pope Benedict XVI has opened the secret Vatican archives from 1922 to 1939 (he will open them to 1947 when 16 million documents have been catalogued). Few historians have visited the pre-war archives. However, one who has, Dr Michael Hesemann, has found numerous documents that contradict the myth that Pius was anti-Semitic; some can be viewed on the Pave the Way Foundation website (www.ptwf.org).
Mr Pike repeats the slur that Pius was a coward, failing to take into account his duty to save lives rather than imperil them by theatrical gestures. Jewish historians Pinchas Lapide and David Dalin have noted that the appeals of the Dutch bishops simply ‘provoked the most savage of Nazi reprisals’. Bishop Clemens August von Galen, the ‘Lion of Munster’, wanted to denounce the persecution of Jews in Germany but the Jews in his diocese begged him not to say anything for fear of repercussions. The most effective action was taken by Catholics who either hid Jews or helped them to escape: the most famous of these, Angelo Roncalli, far from criticising Pius, said after the war: ‘I simply carried out the Pope’s orders.’
Pius did intervene directly when he judged it would bear fruit, and he saved hundreds of thousands of East European Jews at the moment of greatest danger. This may be why John Paul II wanted to make Pius a saint and why Pope Benedict was able to describe Pius as a noble pope who ‘spared no effort in intervening… either directly or through instructions given to other individuals or to institutions of the Catholic Church’.
Simon Caldwell
London NW6
Claiming goats
Sir: As a junior researcher at a rich ITV company in the 1960s I sat in a corridor with my own portable Olivetti typewriter on my knees doing research notes for various producers and directors. After a couple of months the typewriter ribbon was in shreds and I bought a new one for half a crown. I then turned in my first expenses with a receipt. These were refused on the grounds that the company was not going to buy a typewriter ribbon for a machine that did not belong to them.
I got my revenge a few years later when, as a director, I was working on a film in the Gambia. I wanted to film some crocodiles in a ‘sacred pool’ at a place called Berending. In order to tempt the beasts out of their lair I had to buy two goats from the village chieftain. The poor animals were then tethered beside the pool. When I got home I had the great pleasure of turning in my expenses, which, among many other items, contained the line, ‘Purchase of two goats from the chieftain of Berending village to tempt the sacred crocodiles out of their lair.’
The only response I had from the finance department was, ‘Where’s the receipt?’
Anthony Howard
The New Forest, Hampshire
Two wheels bad
Sir: I fully concur with Sarah Standing (Standing room, 23 May) regarding the menace of hooligan cyclists racing along the Embankment. When I was driving there a fortnight ago I had to perform an emergency stop because a dog ran out in front of me. A speeding cyclist who was ‘tailgating’ me crashed into the rear of my vehicle and was thrown right over the car before landing on the road. The dog (a dear Welsh terrier) was unhurt and my sturdy car received only modest damage, but it was all most unpleasant.
Moritz Frost
Oxford
Oakley’s tips
Sir: Robin Oakley has again demonstrated his modesty in his review of the stable he selected for the latest jumps season (The turf, 23 May). Yes, his stable won fewer races than expected and perhaps recorded a deficit of £115. But the figures he quotes are at the official starting price — often well below the actual price available. For example, he records the chaser Stan as a winner at 14-1. But I backed Stan from 10,000 miles away on Betfair at 27-1. This one result transformed Mr Oakley’s nominal deficit into a small profit — and there were other less spectacular variations. I look forward with confidence to his flat stable for 2009.
Billy Purves
Via email
The patience of the Taleban
Sir: I hope that David Kilcullen’s analysis of the present Afghan situation is correct (‘If we lose hearts and minds, we will lose the war’, 23 May), but I remember a TV interview with a Taleban ‘spokesman’ a year or so ago, who said, ‘You have watches, we have time.’
Michael Irwin
Cranleigh, Surrey
Also in Society
Also by The Spectator
Latest
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in