Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 25. (1972) - Festschrift für Hanns Leo Mikoletzky
HOLLAENDER, Albert E. J.: Offiziere und Prälaten. Zur Fuldaer Bischofskonferenz, August 1945
202 Albert E. J. Hollaender his disposal any time he wished. To my surprise he informed me that Cardinal Innitzer of Vienna is at present on a visit to Rome. He thought the Russians had given him a special plane. I suggested that the Americans had probably put pressure on the Russians to permit the visit. His Eminence said that he had heard a rumour to this effect, but added that he could not be sure * 7). A propos this point of visiting Rome to which all Bishops at some time or other referred during my talks with them, Capt. Kenny thought that the American policy was quite straightforward and that they (the Americans) could see no objection to the Bishops visiting Rome either „ad limina“ or privately. He thought it good policy from every point of view. WarGuilt (Page 1, para 3 (iv)). When talking to those Bishops I had known personally before the war I mentioned the subject of war guilt. I told them that I thought it essential from a strategic point of view that hey should impress this fact on their clergy and respective flocks. They admitted a general war guilt but would not blame the wholef) German nation for the atrocities. As I expected, Bishop von Galen was adamant on this. Nevertheless the following sentence appears in the document the Hierarchy has addressed to Control Council, a copy of which was handed to me at the end of the Conference. .Thereby the bishops know well that the Control Council has begun its government at the end of a terrible war in the course of which the former rulers of Germany became guilty of the worst and most unhuman crimes by which they covered the German name with dishonour. Regarding this the bishops are thankful that the Communiqué of Potsdam and the lately published messages of the Allied Supreme Commanders have not got the perception that the whole German people is to be looked upon as a union of criminals and to be treated accordingly. Rather they had for purpose to find out the real guilty in an ordinary proceeding and then to punish them and to help the other German people to rebuild their lives on a new basis and to retake their place in the society of nations.1 ApostolicNuncio (Page 1, para 3 (i)). (i) Most of the German Bishops take the same attitude towards Monsignore Orsenigo, the Apostolic Nuncio. He is liked personally and I noticed seemed on very friendly terms but they regard him as an appeaser both from his attitude to the Nazis in Berlin as Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps or from his fascist leanings in Italy. They regard him as a weak character „who has missed the boat“, and they cannot understand why he has not been recalled. They think his mission ended and that he should return to Rome if necessary on his own initiative. Some of the Bishops would like a non-Italian Nuncio. They had all heard of the Archbishop Rommel rumour and would welcome an American f) unterstrichen LW. 7) Es ist bedauerlich, daß die Romreise Kardinal Innitzers, deren unmittelbare Veranlassung möglicherweise in seinen Differenzen mit dem Vatikan über die von Pius XII. geforderte automatische ,Übernahme' des am 5. Juni 1933 mit der Dollfuß-Regierung abgeschlossenen, aber nicht vor dem 1. Mai 1934 ratifizierten Konkordats durch die Zweite Bundesrepublik Österreich zu suchen ist, in der jüngsten Biographie des Kardinals, Viktor R e i m a n n Innitzer: Kardinal zwischen Hitler und Rom (Wien 1967) völlig unerwähnt bleibt.
