Pope compares Ukrainian suffering to WWII Nazi death operation
- Pontiff goes off-script while speaking to Polish pilgrims, as Poland recently commemorated the anniversary of Operation Reinhard
- It was the code name for a secret operation by the Germans in a part of Poland that included territory now in Ukraine
Pope Francis on Wednesday compared the war in Ukraine to a Nazi operation that killed some two million people, mostly Jews, in the first years of World War Two.
Speaking to Polish pilgrims at his weekly general audience, Francis noted that the Catholic University of Lublin, in Poland, had recently commemorated the anniversary of Operation Reinhard.
It was the code name for a secret operation in a part of occupied Poland which the Germans called the “General Government” area, that included territory now in Ukraine.
“May the memory of this horrible event arouse intentions and actions of peace in everyone,” he said, specifically mentioning the operation, saying it was one of “extermination”.
He then went off script to add: “And history is repeating itself. We see now what is happening in Ukraine.”