Re: Habemus Papa
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=t18B vAlign=top colSpan=2>Israel mentions new pope's past, hopes he will act against anti-Semitism</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=t11B vAlign=top colSpan=2>By Haaretz Service and News Agencies</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, a longtime guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy, was elected the new pope Tuesday evening in the first Roman Catholic conclave of the new millennium. In response to his election, Israel wrapped a positive statement around a barb concerning Ratzinger's youthful affiliation with the Nazi's Hitler Youth.
Ratzinger, who chose the name Pope Benedict XVI and called himself "a simple, humble worker," also served in the German army during World War Two.
"Israel is hopeful that under this new papacy, we will continue to move forward in Vatican-Israel relations and we are sure that considering the background of this new pope, he, like his predecessor, will be a strong voice against anti-Semitism in all its forms," said a statement from Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
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Membership in Hitler Youth
Ratzinger was six years old when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. He was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth and served in a German Army anti-aircraft unit during World War Two.
Though it has never been suggested that Ratzinger was involved in Nazi atrocities, his WWII history contrasts with that of his predecessor, the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who participated in anti-Nazi activities. In 1986, John Paul II was the first pope to visit a synagogue.
Ratzinger's father, who was a police officer in Bavaria, opposed the Nazis and his efforts to restrain Hitler's "Brown Shirts" in his jurisdiction forced the Ratzinger family to move homes a number of times.
Ratzinger's father left the police force in 1937 and the family moved to a staunchly Catholic city in the Bavaria region. Joseph Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth at the age of 14, shortly after Nazi authorities made membership in the organization mandatory. However, he shortly left the Hitler Youth to study in a Catholic seminary.
Two years later, Ratzinger was drafted into a German anti-aircraft unit defending a BMW factory that manufactured airplane engines. The factory made use of forced labor from the Dachau concentration camp.
Ratzinger claims he never once fired a weapon and says his rifle was not even loaded during the period of his service.
He was sent by the German army to Hungary where he lay tank traps and witnessed how Jews were send to death camps. Ratzinger fled the German army in April 1944 and spent a number of weeks in a prisoner of war camp.
He and his brother, a retired priest, claimed they were unable to oppose the Nazis.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/567037.html
