|PIC1|Soon historians will finally be able to access the Vatican Archives from the time of the Papacy of Pius XI (1922-1939). The archives may allow historians to gain a much greater insight into the attitude of the Vatican to the rise of Nazism.

Aside from this there could also be a new wealth of information on the Catholic Church’s view on the Spanish Civil war from 1936-39.

The successor to Pius XI, Pius XII has long stood accused of acquiescing during the holocaust in which approximately 6 million Jews are believed to have been killed.

However the key records that could be contained in the archive of Pius XII will still remain closed. Many rabbis and Jewish historians requested that these key records become available when Pope Benedict XVI was elected.

The role of the Catholic Church in the years before the Second World War, has long been a clouded issue. Thus historians have long wanted greater access to archives in order to throw some more light on the issue.

|AD|Inside the archives are records of all Papal decrees, encyclicals as well as the diplomatic correspondence of the Vatican.

Since the 19th century, when the majority of records were opened, records of individual papacies have been released at irregular intervals.

The late Pope John Paul II announced in 2003 that he would release the papers concerning the relationship between the Vatican and Germany in the years preceding the Second World War.

Those wishing to access the collection in the Vatican face strict rules, including a ban on ballpoint pens.

According to the Associated Press, among the material to be released will be an encyclical commissioned by Pius XI denouncing racism and the violent nationalism of Germany.

Pius died before releasing the encyclical, which never became public. The encyclical was entitled “Humani Generis Unitas”, or “The Unity of the Human Race.”