Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler Youth, as membership was required for all 14-year old German boys after December 1939, but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism, believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith, according to biographer John L. Allen, Jr. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. In 1943 while still in seminary, he was drafted at age 16 into the German anti-aircraft corps. Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry, but a subsequent illness precluded him from the usual rigours of military duty. As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he deserted back to his family's home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established their headquarters in the Ratzinger household. As a German soldier, he was put in a POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the War in summer 1945. He reentered the seminary, along with his brother Georg, in November of that year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI#Early_life:_1927.E2.80.931951

then it is not good enough for christian money.

The secular zionists have gone so far as to allow a sign of shame(perhaps even paid for by the city of Jerusalem). The sign is right out side our holy old city walls where the bet hamikdash was (and will be). The sign is to welcome "his holiness the pope" what chutzpah, to call a Galach / nazi Holy. Have you all lost your minds? yet you are the same educated enlightened secular elite that love to mock rabbis and anything Jewish. Thank G-D he comes on Lag Ba omer when we connect to rabbi shimon bar yochai in unity and joy. Perhaps that is why G-d will have mercy on his children.

It takes one to know one! A brief visit to your website explains your knowledge of this matter. You are a Christian Missionary masquerading as a Jew! Thanks for the insight!

The Pope has extended his arms to Israel in friendship and Israel in turn will welcome him as a friend and honored guest. But there will be those who seek publicity and engage in hateful comments for their own purpose---the welfare of the current State of Israel is what is important and bigoted nuts in Israel do not care about anything except getting on TV and in the papers..How stupid!

I just hope a visit to Yad Vashem is not in Ratzinger's schedule... Let's not forget he was a proud member of HJ. Yimach shmam !!!

Look, the money you can keep, but you dare withhold the pasta and it's Jihad baby!!! Not even the pope is getting between me and my fettuchini.

Has it ever occurred to anyone that Pius' speaking out publicly against the Nazis might not have saved a single Jewish life, but could very well have cost the lives of who knows how many millions of Catholics? If anyone else had been the head of the Catholic church during that time and given that choice, what would or should they have done? I no longer subscribe to any religion, but had it not been for the Catholic nuns who hid us, along with innumerable escaped slave laborers – some of whom probably Jews - in convents and with good Catholics, my mother, brother and I would have been just three more statistics at Dachau. Before having to run, my 2 much older sisters had been “inducted” into the German Army without anyone's consent, because it needed cannon fodder. One of them was an anti-aircraft spotter at the Frankfurt airport, the other one a radio operator in Passau on the Russian front. Thanks to the help of a lot of people who didn't do a lot of useless yelling, but simply and quietly did what was right, we survived. And if you ever were to have asked my sisters to explain their “membership” in the Nazi military, they would have thought that you're stark-raving mad or trying to make a bad joke of some sort. I don't mean to sound flippant, but you simply had to have been there. Not that it made any sense even then, but you wouldn't have believed that demented horror show, if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes.

to acquire sovereignty over cites at expense of jewish state---give him tea and cakes and smiles only!

Yes Charles, we are quite aware that a few bishops and priests spoke out. That unfortunately changed nada. Pius never uttered a word before, during or after the Shoah. As such he represented hitler and the nazis in their quest to to kill ALL the Jews in Europe. Now Benedict decrees that Pius should be a saint of the Catholic church. His reps decided he should not come to the Yad Vashem as Pius was correctly defined there as Hitler's Pope and that would say that the papacy agrees with that definition. We are quite aware of your desire to whitewash Benedict's actions during the nazi reign. I merely ask you to read the responses the judges gave to the nazis at their trial in Nurenberg when they claimed they were merely following orders.

Isn't this the same guy that worked for the pope that signed an agreement with Nazi Germany? Isn't this the man who turned in the Jews who took refuge in the Catholic church to the Nazis? Why would he want to come to Israel? Why is he being allowed in to Israel?

Oh you mean the money they got from the Jews they turned over to the Nazis? You really want to get people angry? Keep flapping your obscene gums.

goyische kop

What you said regarding pius XII is maybe correct DURING the war . But he did'nt condemn the atrocities AFTER the war neither .

Memo to Bibi, Cut this 80,000 security force for the Poop out of the budget. Are you kidding me??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe things get garbled and lost with the passage of time.... "We share the grief of the world over the death of His Holiness Pius XII. . . . During the ten years of Nazi terror, when our people passed through the horrors of martyrdom, the Pope raised his voice to condemn the persecutors and to commiserate with their victims" (Golda Meir, Israeli representative to the U.N. and future prime minister of Israel). "With special gratitude we remember all he has done for the persecuted Jews during one of the darkest periods in their entire history” (Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress). Israeli Council Pinchas E. Lapide's 1967 book "Three Popes and the Jews" also throws a slightly different light on the actions of this particular pope than what was and is generally assumed. Cardinal Pietro Palazzini, a Righteous Gentile, according to Yad Vashem, stated that he was very specifically ordered by Pius XII to "save Jews." Hitler himself may have provided the best answer by ranting that the pope was nothing but a "mouthpiece for the Jewish war criminals." I'm not nuts about religion of whatever flavor. I just know who saved our asses. And if there is such a thing as Judgment Day, all of us had better hope to have earned some browny points for what we did right than forever beat ourselves over the head for what more and else we should and could have done.

Yes they have said this you wrote , maybe refering to those Jews who were hidden at the Vatican , or at those 4000 + hidden in vatican's properties . Don't forget that diplomats and politicians use more "diplomatic" words . But there are facts , no openly said word during and after the war . Many hundreds , if not thousands , nazi who received help from the Vatican , if not more [ diplomatic passports ? ] to flee to south America .

You don't know what your talking about...No one forced Jews to live separately ..it was always Jews who didn't want to live amongst the populace of the nations they intruded upon... You've got it wrong..as for the Inquisistion...you only know what you're taught...it was always political, money and power....and unfortunately the Church and Spain decided to take back their country.. Wish the US would do the same.. TATA

Tell us where you read this nonsense. Was it "Mein K(r)ampf"?

This character Wolpe is an ignoramus - not a rabbi - who is willing to sell any BS in order to pursue his extremist agenda of expanding the borders of the state. As a group, Lubavitch will say anything to sell their ideas - this buffoon is prepared to say worse things than usual.

The B'rit Hadashah says to love our enemies, forgive our enemies, and pray for our enemies. That's the difference in believing in Yeshua and anything else.

Now that the visit is officially over- I hope everybody goes back to their own business- and we can all forget about the useless discussions where the same old stories have been regurgitated about the pope being a Nazi, etc. You MEN, remember when you were 14? It has been too long? Ratzinger was forced to join the Hitler Jugend- the choice was .... do or die- there is not one Iota of truth that the present Pope is an anti-semite, it just suits your general image to make him so.- as of course are all Europeans, Christians etc... Benedict did not decree that Pius should be a saint- get your facts straight- I suppose this is just a waste of time: talking to people who are devoid of reason, full of hate, unreasonable- not willing to do proper research before flooding the net with hateful statements..... you are always talking about apologizing and forgiving- everybody else that is - except you-? For religious people you have an huge amount of hatred towards everybody- not sure this a commandment anywhere... It is totally amazing to read the TBs- gives a really great image to Israel- about 2 rational TBs to 40 hate TBs- Oh, well, next week its the Hamas' turn again- they had a break during the Pope's visit.

thank you Mr. Hartley, you are one of the few who dares come forward in this mudfight- and take a stand and speak the TRUTH. Truth is the one thing that has mostly been missing in all the TBs. There has been so many accusations it is sickening. Even some of the rabbis joined in - writing libelous accusations - totally wrong, unjust. Those are supposed to be the spiritual leaders.? What gives a person the right to do this? Money? I am watching this from Europe and it is not pretty- the Israeli public here has sunk to a unprecented level of primitive writing. Of course I notice many of the writers, in fact, most of them here- from the US- . Is this the moral support group? I think this visit has brought out the worst in people. A book should be written about all the false statements written up in these TBs- but then it would be called 'antisemitic'- wouldn't it?

First of all , don't take those hatefilled people as being representative of the Israelis . This ben is maybe Jewish , but not Israeli . And Mrs Hartley is not Jewish at all , but she writes differently of course . I told it you already , it's disgusting for me to see all those lies and distortions written here , on all the subjects , not only the Pope . Of course for hatefilled people what a great subject , a Pope of german origin , member of this organisation , He can't be good with such a background . He did'nt resist , not everyone had the possibility nor the courage to do it , and at age 14 ? . Regarding Pius XII , there were Catholics who opposed persecution of the Jews . Look only at what happened to Holland . They suffered , it did'nt save any Jew , but at least , their bishop showed some courage . The same with French bishops . But pius remained silent , even AFTER the war , when there was'nt any danger for Catholics anymore . Is this a libelous accusation ? Look also at all the talkbacks on every subject , you will see hate , lies , distortions . Not only adressed at the Pope , that's the way tb's are , worldwide i think . Don't become hatefilled too . Asking if it is money , not very nice .

Speaking of hatred Lisa should not be a topic from your pen. After all, it is specifically the hatred spawned by Christianity towards the Jew which caused the Shoah to be fact. It is what your ancestors caused to be placed in the new testament which led to the crusades causing the death of thiousands of Jews in Europe, That same hatred led to the Spanish Inquisition leading once again to the deaths of thousands of Jews. The Nazis under the leadership of Hitler carried out that hatred to the nth degree. Once again, the basis of that hatred was the new testament. You Lisa have shown exactly how anti-semitic people change facts to suit their hatred of the Jew. The Jew Lisa did not write your new testament. The Jew did not ask for your hatred and the Jew will not bow to your hatred. Lisa if you find the facts too much for your sensitive soul, I suggest you return to reading your own European literature which is feeding your own frenzy of hatred.

Charlie, I am a JEW and I don't need a half assed apology to Lisa for my posts. I wrote the truth. Christianity is the basic cause for hatred of the JEW. If Lisa finds the truth unpalatable, that's her problem. The Popes have throughout history spouted and taught hatred towards the Jew. The current occupant of the Vatican has yet to prove his respect for the Jew and for Judasim. If you want to kiss his ring, enjoy yourself. Again Charlie, don't speak for me. I am very capable of speaking for myself.

and your fascination for kissing at low level , you need some education , try to know the difference between smart and educated , giving and taking , and so on . Try also to read this pope's last speech here , but you wo'nt , can't or don't want to , understand . I told it already to you , i prefer to talk to smart and educates people , you are NOT in those categories .