Remember WWII, Pope Tells Austria : Pontiff Begins Visit, Will See Waldheim and Visit Death Camp

Pope John Paul II today urged Austrians to remember their World War II past as he began a controversial trip that includes meetings with President Kurt Waldheim and a visit to a former Nazi death camp.

Waldheim, under bitter attack from Jews and shunned by most Western leaders for his alleged complicity in Nazi war crimes, led the official government welcoming delegation for the Roman Catholic leader.

Waldheim, in his own greetings, denounced “intolerance, intransigence and hate among nations, religions and classes” but made no direct comments about the dispute over his past as a German army officer.

The white-robed pontiff’s special Alitalia DC-9 aircraft touched down at Vienna’ Schwechat Airport during a light shower.

‘Indelible Mark’

In comments delivered in German, John Paul mentioned that his second trip as Pope to Austria will include a visit to the site of the former Mauthausen death camp.

He said such places recall “times of hardship which have left their indelible mark.

“Let us, when we meet, bring before God not only the great and burdensome legacy of the past but also the joys and sorrows of the present,” the pontiff said.

Many Austrians claim that they were victims of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi rule, and the nation’s events marking the 50th anniversary of the 1938 annexation with the Third Reich have sparked a renewed round of soul-searching.

The Polish-born pontiff drew the ire of Jews when he received Waldheim a year ago at the Vatican, an audience the Pope later defended as “necessary” because Waldheim came as a democratically elected president. The Vatican says the Pope’s meetings with world leaders do not imply his support for an individual or political system.

‘Pastoral, Not Political’

“This is not a political visit. It is a pastoral visit. He (the Pope) was invited by the bishops,” said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro.

Today, six American Jews demonstrated outside Waldheim’s office to show their displeasure with the Pope’s decision to meet with him.

“Do not embrace Waldheim, no!” said Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, N.Y.