The Diplomacy of the Holy See Towards the International Committee of the Red Cross on the subject of Prisoners of War: 1939-1944

Journal title ITALIA CONTEMPORANEA
Author/s Jacopo Pili
Online First 12/14/2023 Issue 2024/304
Language Italian Pages 27 P. 1-27 File size 170 KB
DOI 10.3280/ic2024-15935
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The Geneva Convention of 1929 placed the Holy See at a disadvantage in relation to the Red Cross on the subject of aid for prisoners of war, and the attempt by Vatican humanitarian diplomacy to obtain recognition of the work of its Information Service by the belligerent countries during the Second World War was viewed with suspicion by the International Committee and some national Red Cross societies. Attempts made to establish cooperation between the Red Cross and the Vatican on the subject of prisoners of war were weakened by this competition and reciprocal mistrust: if the Icrc believed that the Holy See should limit its action to spiritual support, the latter sometimes regarded the Geneva-based organisation with suspicion. Despite this, forms of collaboration gradually emerged as the conict continued and the humanitarian emergency widened, laying the foundations for the future relationship between the two humanitarian actors.

Keywords: prisoners of war; Humanitarian diplomacy; Holy See; Red Cross; Second war world; humanitarism

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Jacopo Pili, Il dialogo tra Vaticano e Comitato Internazionale della Croce Rossa sulla questione dei prigionieri di guerra (1939-1944) in "ITALIA CONTEMPORANEA" 304/2024, pp 1-27, DOI: 10.3280/ic2024-15935