Actes et documents du Saint-Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre mondiale
Actes et documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale (English translation of the title: Acts and documents of the Holy See relating to the Second World War ), often abbreviated as: ADSS , is an eleven-volume publication of a collection of historical documents of the Vatican, compiled by the historians and Jesuit fathers Pierre Blet (France), Angelo Martini (Italy), Burkhart Schneider (Germany), and Robert Graham (USA), initiated in 1964 by Paul VI. and published between 1965 and 1981 .
This publication is a rare exception to the unwritten rule of the Vatican that 75 years must pass after the death of a pontiff (here it would be Pius XII ) before his archives can be opened. This advance publication came in response to the 1963 published and controversially discussed drama The Deputy by Rolf Hochhuth .
None of the documents - most of them are in Italian - have been translated. The introductions to the eleven volumes and the brief descriptions of the documents are in French. One volume has been translated into English.
Five volumes deal with World War II in chronological order. Four volumes deal with the humanitarian activities of the Holy See during the war in chronological order. One volume contains the letters of Pius XII. with German bishops before and during the war, including v. Preysing. The last volume deals with documents relating to Poland and the Baltic States.
The editors describe the document collection as representative, but critics consider it to be incomplete. Noteworthy missing documents are among others the correspondence 1943–1944 between Pius XII. and the Berlin Bishop Konrad Preysing , the letters and documents relating to Bishop Alois Hudal and most of the documents relating to Eastern Europe.
As editors, the four Jesuit Fathers have also edited other publications that are to be understood as derivations or summaries of this source edition. The publication by Pierre Blet: Pope Pius XII. and the Second World War. From the files of the Vatican.
literature
- Pierre Blet : Pope Pius XII. and the Second World War. From the files of the Vatican. Translated from the French by Birgit Martens-Schöne, Schöningh, Paderborn 2000, ISBN 3-506-71903-3