The nunciature in Budapest in 1944 snatched tens of thousands
of Jews away from the Nazis. Monsignor Gennaro Verolino was there.
This is his first interview
by Giovanni Cubeddu
Monsignor Gennaro Verolino is already 98 years old
Monsignor Gennaro Verolino is already 98
years old. It’s enthralling to listen to the account of an eye-witness to the
years when the Nazis were pursuing the final solution. With the disarming
limpidity of his kindly look, Monsignor Gennaro, a whole life passed in the
Secretariat of State, from minutes-writer to nuncio, recounts today a story in
which he was the actor without ever seeking the stage, solely through carrying
out his duty as a Christian.
Monsignor Verolino in a photo of the period
In 1944 Hungary – which, despite severe
racial legislation, had up until then offered a relatively secure refuge to the
Jews escaping from Poland and Slovakia – was little by little occupied by
German troops and became one of the countries where the murderous Nazi
persecution raged most fiercely. Gennaro Verolino was there, secretary of the
nunciature directed by Monsignor Angelo Rotta, and, along with the diplomats of
the then neutral countries, worked to rescue as many Jews as possible from the
journey that would have taken them to die in Auschwitz or in Austria. In those
months of Nazi occupation, the nunciature drew up and distributed to Jews
between 25 and 30 thousand “letters of protection”, with which it was possible
to evade deportation. Last October the government of Stockholm
conferred on Monsignor Verolino the “Per Anger” award, named after the brave
Swedish ambassador resident in Budapest in those years. Monsignor Verolino opened up his Rome
house and his memories to us on 26 January, the day before the “day of
remembrace”, on the sixtieth anniversary of the entry of the Red Army troops
into Auschwitz. What relations did the nunciature have
with the Hungarian Jewish community? GENNARO VEROLINO: There weren’t
particularly special relations.But when it came to helping them, when there was need, the nunciature
intervened to save the Jews. We sent notes of protest to the government against
the persecutions and gave out certificates with which they managed to save
themselves, letters of protection, that is, in which we simply stated that the
bearer was under the protection of the nunciature. Thanks to those documents
the Jews were able to avoid being loaded on the convoys “officially” bound for
Germany, where, according to the Nazis, the Jews went to “work”. But how was it
possible to believe them, when old people of eighty years and small children
were being taken away! It wasn’t true but the Nazis wanted to hoodwink the
people. Often we managed to prevent those poor people leaving. Sometimes we
even sent lorries to bring back to Budapest some who were already on their way
to deportation. You went to the Nazi officials to ask
that the letters of protection from the nunciature would all be recognized as
being valid … VEROLINO: Yes; sometimes they created
difficulties, and then I went to talk to them, but most of all I asked help of
the local Hungarian authorities. Acting in this way we saved some more. The
Hungarian government was more accessible, it was easier to get listened to.
Certainly, in practical matters, they too had difficulties with the Nazis, but
it was the only way to do anything … Did anyone ever speak to you of
Auschwitz? VEROLINO: The nunciature did what it could
to get back those destined there, precisely because we feared the worst for
those poor people… The guards who escorted the deportees spoke, talked…
Naturally, the police and the Hungarian gendarmes didn’t confide in us
directly, but somehow we came to know just through the mediation of men of good
will. In what way did the Jews get in contact
with you to ask for help? VEROLINO: They came to the nunciature, the
doors were open to all, nobody was turned away. Whoever it was. We didn’t even
ask what religion a person was. They asked for that protection, and the
protection was given. Maybe there were also some who came to
spy on the activity of the nunciature… VEROLINO: Huum, there was no need for it… In a note Monsignor Montini asked you
how many letters of protection you had written. VEROLINO: It’s difficult to say because we
didn’t count them, but I’d say between 25 and 30 thousand. All produced by the
nunciature, in less than a year. How did they reach those for whom they
were destined? VEROLINO: They came to the nunciature to
get them. At that point we were doing nothing else apart from that, the
“letters”. All the other work was set aside, we thought only about writing the
text of the letters of protection: the name of the person was written and
underneath the protection of the nunciature, then the signature of the nuncio
followed, and that sufficed. Immense lines formed in front of the nunciature,
longer than those in front of the food stores. The queue for the certificates
was longer. Many Jews were directly lodged by you. VEROLINO: They lived with us in the
nunciature, they didn’t even go out, for fear of the Nazis. All our offices and
the rooms were made available, and the Jews lived with us all the time. And how did they come to lodge with
you? VEROLINO: They knocked at the door, they
asked protection, especially of the nuncio, and we helped them. Tens of thousands of letters just for
the Hungarian Jews… VEROLINO: For all the Jews who came. On
the form the personal data were written, and nothing else. There was a group of
Jewish volunteers – some of them were guests at the nunciature – who, working
in turns, helped type the text, and the nuncio signed papers all day long. You had, however, to insist that the
Hungarian episcopal hierarchy become more active… VEROLINO: The Hungarian bishops also tried
to save those poor people. I don’t recall that Monsignor Rotta publicly censured
the Hungarian bishops. The Hungarian Church was in agreement with the
nunciature, the bishops tried to do the best they could. Did the Hungarian bishops also send
Jews to you in the nunciature to get the certificates? VEROLINO: We didn’t ask anything. Whoever
wanted a certificate of protection received it. We simply asked for the
personal data necessary to draw up the form. It’s known that many Jews were baptized
in Hungary. VEROLINO: Yes, there were many, also
because there were many converted even before the war. And then, during the
persecution, many hoped to get better treatment. But the nunciature tried to
save everyone, without distinction of religion, baptized or not. In Budapest there were very many Jews who
got baptized, from early on, already many years before. But others got baptized during the war… VEROLINO: Obviously. When the persecution
began, some believed that it would be easier to save themselves by becoming
Christian. In reality that wasn’t true, because the Nazi laws took racial origin
into account. Were people also baptized who asked for
it only to save their lives? VEROLINO: Only when it had to do with
sincere conversions, did we baptize them. They were difficult decisions. VEROLINO: In those predicaments how can
one know? We are dealing with human matters, one tried to get at the truth,
sometimes one succeeded, sometimes not. When the Jews were closed in the ghetto
of Budapest, you attempted to save the children… VEROLINO: On that occasion also we sent
notes of protest to the government and tried to put these Jewish children in
religious houses. And in general the Hungarian government respected the places
where the Church had found refuge for those people. Did it ever happen that one of these
children was baptized? Do you recall if anyone complained about such things? VEROLINO: There wasn’t that problem then.
Our principle was to save people respecting the religion of each one. The
protection we gave was exclusively civil, it was protection from the Nazis, who
wanted to take them away. The children protected by the nunciature in the
institutes were for the most part with their parents, furnished with a letter
of protection. At the time, the government set up a
Central Jewish Committee. Nuncio Rotta wrote in his notes that this Committee
«endeavors to sacrifice first of all» baptized Jews «to satisfy the demands of
the government». VEROLINO: Baptized Jews sometimes suffered more than the
others. I don’t remember what that Committee did.
I’m sorry I can’t reply to everything. Were baptized Jews also sent to
Auschwitz… VEROLINO: But of course! The Nazis made no
distinction of religion, they said that “it’s the race, the lineage that we’re
fighting, not the religion”. Did you have threats to the nunciature
from the Nazis? VEROLINO: Not directly, I know that what
we did was discussed a lot, the press also talked about it. But thanks be to
God, nothing happened. Did you ever fear for your life? VEROLINO: To tell the truth the problem
never occurred to me. I tried to do my duty and, thanks be to God, I never
found myself in danger. Ah, yes, I did it with pleasure, because it was a right
thing, and if I had to start over I’d do the same. The thanks expressed at the time by
Jewish organizations for the work of Pius XII and of the Holy See are well
known. Have you ever wondered why criticism of Pope Pacelli came afterwards? VEROLINO: Human things go that way. First
there is approval and then disapproval. I don’t know what to say to you. One
would have to ask those who criticize. Certainly the Church and our nunciature
tried to do their duty and I believe they did it well. When were you ordained a priest? VEROLINO: In 1928. In 2003 you celebrated the
seventy-fifth anniversary of your priesthood… VEROLINO: They’re a great many years, I
was very young, I was just twenty-two and a few days when I was ordained. Why did you choose the seminary?
PERSECUTION. A Jewish couple from the ghetto in Budapest shows the yellow star imposed on them by the government in April 1944
VEROLINO: I had an uncle, the brother of
my mother, who was a priest, an excellent priest. Perhaps his example inspired
me. As a youngster I was in the diocesan seminary of Acerra, in the province of
Naples, and then in Posillipo, in the regional seminaryof Campania, for the last two years of
middle school, for high school and then for studies in philosophy and theology.
How did you come to the Secretariat of
State? VEROLINO: I was ordained
very young and couldn’t yet exercise all the functions of a priest, therefore
so as not to waste time I went to Rome to study canon and civil law at the
Apollinare. Since my professors were at the Secretariat of State, they
remembered their student and called me. Do you remember your
first experience at the Secretariat of State? Who did you have your first
contacts with? VEROLINO: With Monsignor
Montini, then with Cardinal Ottaviani. Do you remember what they
said to you? VEROLINO: Montini was very
kind and very good, as also was Ottaviani. You saw many popes during
your lifetime. Which one do you remember best, or consider closest to you? VEROLINO: What can I say,
all of them seemed very good and persons of great virtue and intellectual
preparation. To say that this or that one was better, is very difficult… To remain with the
historical topic, what memory do you have of Pius XII? VEROLINO: Very good. I went
to visit him a few times, while I was still a young secretary, and he always
received me with great respect and great goodness. A personal question.
After so many years of priesthood, how do you say your prayers? VEROLINO: I say mass as one
must say it. One prays according to the liturgy approved by the Church. In general
I continue to say mass in Latin. And to which saint are
you most devoted? VEROLINO: Saint Gennaro, my
protector… ah, yes, a great saint, bishop and martyr… Cardinal Sodano wrote a
personal note to thank Monsignor Verolino once again. In Nazareth there is a
school run by Franciscan friars where the 749 little students wrote a letter of
thanks to Monsignor Gennaro, who donated to them the entire sum of money from
the prize awarded to him last October by the Swedish government. At the award ceremony, two
Hungarian Jews who had survived thanks to him, were also present (one was
Giorgy, the lad who accompanied him during the journeys with the lorry to pull
those already destined for the annihilation camps off the train). When they
came forward, with tears of gratitude, Monsignor didn’t say anything, but made
the sign of the cross and patted them.
