Vatican Archives Opened; Letters From Jews Revealed
On April 24, 1940, Arthur Pick typed out a letter in crisp black ink and sent it to the Vatican. In the letter, which can now be read on the Vatican library website, he requested help from the pope in securing permission for both him and his wife, Pauline, to flee Italy and enter Brazil. While they were both of the Catholic faith, both had Jewish fathers and were classified as mixed race under Italian law. In his letter (translated from Italian), he writes, “Thanks to the goodness of Reverend Monsignor , I have been given the attached recommendation to which I permit myself to join my deep and devoted prayer in order that Your Excellency may benevolently care to extend to me and my wife His help to make it possible for us to...