People have been asking for decades whether he spoke plainly or remained silent. Did Pius XII condemn Hitler’s doctrine of blood and race? Did he denounce the Final Solution to the Jewish Question? It is a battleground not only for historians. The American historian and Pulitzer Prize winner David I. Kertzer has now uncovered the “sacred secret” of Hitler’s negotiations with the Pope. It is a world sensation. Kertzer and other historians answer the question: was it “clever” or was it “irresponsible silence” on the part of the Pope, who claims to be the Vicar of Christ on earth?

WRITER: Christian Feyerabend   DIRECTOR: Christel Fomm   CAMERA: Miro Thuring     EDITOR: Andreas Wüstefeld   NARRATOR: Hildegard Meier   COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Peter Allenbacher (arte)