Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
Person 31 May 1885-13 May 1963 · 77 years old · show in timeline

Alois Hudal (1885 to 1963): Bishop and rector of the Anima in Rome, author of "Die Grundlagen des Nationalsozialismus" and escape helper for Nazi perpetrators; his successor asked survivors for forgiveness in 2023

Alois Hudal headed the German-speaking priests' college of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome. His work "Grundlagen des Nationalsozialismus" appeared in 1936. After the war he helped Nazi members and war criminals to escape. His papers contain hundreds of letters asking for help, including from former SS members such as Walter Reder and Herbert Kappler and from Charlotte Wächter. In 2023 the current rector asked survivors for forgiveness: "Hudal helped the hangmen."

Life dates
31 May 1885-13 May 1963 (77 years old)
Country
Italy, Austria
Institutions
Santa Maria dell'Anima
Category
Agreements with dictatorships, Escape aid for war criminals
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. Vatican News calls him an escape helper for Nazi members and war criminals. His papers contain hundreds of letters asking for money and help, among them from the former SS members Walter Reder and Herbert Kappler and from Charlotte Wächter, widow of Otto Wächter, who died in Rome in 1949. The rector said in 2023 that the documents contain the names of the worst criminals against the Jewish people.
    Evidence: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, Abstract
    „requesting financial and logistical assistance during and after the war“
    Rektorat (und Nachlass) Alois Hudal, 1922-1963, RG-40.046 (Findbuch), Abstract. Original
    Evidence: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, Abstract
    „as well as Charlotte Wächter, the widow of Otto Wächter“
    Rektorat (und Nachlass) Alois Hudal, 1922-1963, RG-40.046 (Findbuch), Abstract. Original
    Evidence: Vatican News, Einleitung
    „der Tätigkeit als Fluchthelfer für NS-Angehörige und Kriegsverbrecher“
    Deutsche Gemeinde Rom: Bitte um Vergebung für Versagen Hudals, Einleitung. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. In 2019 the historian Sachslehner expressed surprise that there had never been a public condemnation of Hudal; Church and politics had remained silent.
    Evidence: Österreichische Bischofskonferenz, katholisch.at (Kathpress), Hauptteil
    „hat den Weg gewählt, zu schweigen“
    Wien: Neues Buch über umstrittenen Bischof Hudal erschienen, Hauptteil. Original

Background

Course of events

  1. Hudal was born on 31 May 1885 and died on 13 May 1963. The Holocaust Memorial Museum gives him as rector of the Anima from 1923 to 1952, Vatican News from 1937 to 1952.
    Evidence: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, Abstract
    „Bishop Alois Hudal (May 31, 1885“
    Rektorat (und Nachlass) Alois Hudal, 1922-1963, RG-40.046 (Findbuch), Abstract. Original
    Evidence: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, Biographical Information
    „from 1923 to 1952“
    Rektorat (und Nachlass) Alois Hudal, 1922-1963, RG-40.046 (Findbuch), Biographical Information. Original
    Evidence: Vatican News, Hauptteil
    „von 1937 bis 1952 als Rektor amtierenden Bischofs“
    Deutsche Gemeinde Rom: Bitte um Vergebung für Versagen Hudals, Hauptteil. Original

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. According to Kathpress, Hudal has been highly controversial at the latest since "Grundlagen des Nationalsozialismus" of 1936 and his aid to escapees. The historian Sachslehner points to antisemitic statements as early as after the First World War.
    Evidence: Österreichische Bischofskonferenz, katholisch.at (Kathpress), Hauptteil
    „Hudal gilt spätestens seit seiner Publikation "Grundlagen des Nationalsozialismus" von 1936 und seines Einsatzes als Fluchthelfer für Nationalsozialisten als höchst umstrittener Kirchenmann.“
    Wien: Neues Buch über umstrittenen Bischof Hudal erschienen, Hauptteil. Original

Response of the Church

  1. In 2023 the current rector of the Anima asked Holocaust survivors for forgiveness for Hudal's failure and said: "Hudal helped the hangmen." The archive documents, opened in 2006, were digitised and handed to the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
    Evidence: Vatican News, Hauptteil
    „Hudal half den Henkern.“
    Deutsche Gemeinde Rom: Bitte um Vergebung für Versagen Hudals, Hauptteil. Original
    Evidence: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives, Acquisition information
    „in 2023“
    Rektorat (und Nachlass) Alois Hudal, 1922-1963, RG-40.046 (Findbuch), Acquisition information. Original

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Church document
    Vatican News: Deutsche Gemeinde Rom: Bitte um Vergebung für Versagen Hudals, 1 January 2023. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Church document
    Österreichische Bischofskonferenz, katholisch.at (Kathpress): Wien: Neues Buch über umstrittenen Bischof Hudal erschienen, 1 January 2019. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Scholarly literature
    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives: Rektorat (und Nachlass) Alois Hudal, 1922-1963, RG-40.046 (Findbuch), 1 January 2023. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
Change log (1)

The change log is kept in German only.

  • : Aufgenommen

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.