Letter: Lobkowicz on February 1943 Meeting with the Pope
Excerpt from a letter sent by the NDH ambassador to the Vatican, Prince Erwin Lobkowicz, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb. It recounts his meeting with Pope Pius XII in early 1943.

 

I visited the Cardinal Secretary of State to deliver the Poglavnik's letter for the Holy Father along with an artistically printed Latin translation of the Ustase Principles, according to the regulations for delivering items from sovereigns to the Holy Father. In this formality of the protocol, which I was warned about, it can be seen that the Vatican indeed considers the Poglavnik a sovereign. The Cardinal leafed through the book with great interest, expressing his amazement as to how we can print such pretty things.

The Holy Father was obviously pleased by this sign of attentiveness. The Holy Father was especially interested about the work of the Ustase Youth, about which he was told various things by my oldest daughter.

... Further on in the conversation the Holy Father told me that he regrets that everyone cannot recognize who is the primary, the singular and the true enemy of Europe and why, indeed, one truly common Crusade War against Bolshevism cannot be started. ...

 

:: filing information ::
Title: Letter: Lobkowicz on February 1943 Meeting with the Pope
Source: Trial of Lisak, Stepinac, Salic, et al, Zagreb 1946, p. 332. Quoted in Novak, Viktor. Magnum Crimen, p. 893 (First Edition, Zagreb). Translated by Sinisa Djuric.
Date: February 9, 1943 Added: February 12, 2004