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ST 6291-01 Pope Pius XII. OBLIGATORY CREDIT - CAMERA PRESS/Yousuf Karsh. NOT FOR SALE IN: CANADA. SPECIAL PRICE APPLIES. Eugenio Pacelli, His Holiness Pope Pius XII, pictured by Yousef Yousuf Karsh. Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, was Papal Nuncio in Germany during the Twenties. In 1930 he returned to Rome as the newly appointed Vatican Secretary of State under Pius XI. After Pius XI died early in 1939, Pacelli became Pope Pius XII, six months before the outbreak of war in Europe. Historic opinion is divided over Pius XII, with many critics voicing concern at his lack of action against or opposition to the Nazi extermination of the Jews during World War II. (KEYSTONE/CAMERA PRESS/Yousuf Karsh)