History of the Catholic Church
After the Second World War began in September 1939, the Church condemned the invasion of Poland and the following 1940 Nazi invasions. In the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII directed the Church hierarchy to help protect Jews and Gypsies from the Nazis. While Pius XII has been credited with helping to save hundreds of thousands of Jews, the Church has also been accused of antisemitism. Other commentators have accused Pius of not doing enough to stop Nazi atrocities. Debate over the validity of these criticisms continues to this day.