Pius XI lives longer

[Nicole]

What if Pope Pius XI had lived a little bit longer? He was 82 at the time of his death (1939), but surely we can give him a few more years...

There would be some large effects... Pius XI was planning to give a speech to the cardinals condemning fascism, and had already published encyclicals condemning Naziism (one of his main complaints was violation of the concordat, but at least he condemned the Nazis). How would the Italians react to the giving of this speech? What would Pius XI do upon hearing news of the Holocaust?

 

[Martel]

How many more years exactly?

A year and his encyclical "Human Unity" would be published, which would have a serious impact on Catholic reactions toward racial laws in Europe (it was partly written in reaction to the new racial laws in Italy). Exactly how much impact it would have on preventing the Holocaust is vague; at best it would convince the devout to help hide Jews more than OTL. It also might mute racial policy against Czechs and Poles. Assuming he survived until 1941 and 1942, I suspect he would have been more active against the Final Solution than Pius XII, though how much action he might have taken is unclear. I'm not sure he would have risked the Vatican; then again he may have.

Pius's condemnation of the Nazis for violating the Concordat is part of his anti-Nazi policy (unlike his secretary of state and successor). He intended to use the Concordat as a means of defending civil society in the Nazi state and insuring that his bishops didn't get to cozy with the Nazis. They also allowed him to attack the Nazis while remaining on firm legal ground. Unfortunately, they had the appearance of a lawyer nitpicking insignificant issues while civilization fell.