„Az amerikai érdekek európai ügynöksége”? XII. Piusz keleti politikájának historiográfiai mérlege
“The European Agency of American Interests”? Historiographical Status Quo of Pius XII’s Eastern Policy

Summary/Abstract: This historiographical survey, focusing on the Ostpolitik of the Vatican after the Second World War and particularly its interaction with the policy of the United States towards Central and Eastern Europe, first summarises the changes and dynamics of the American policy between 1945 and 1958, then discusses various assessments of the Vatican’s actions, arranged around three key concepts that are fundamental to an understanding of Pius XII’s Ostpolitik. First of all, it examines questions associated with the concept of intransigence, that is how much the Vatican’s Ostpolitik was guided by the pope’s anti-communist principles and how these were manifested in practice. Second, it considers the historiographical treatment of problems centred around the concept of pragmatism, the extent to which Pius XII was able to conform to the Vatican’s tradition of entering diplomatic dialogue with its opponents to serve the interests of the faithful. Thirdly, it examines the assessment of Pius XII’s impartiality: what was more characteristic of Pius’s papacy – an attempt, in the Vatican tradition, to stand above the opposition of the two Cold War blocs or a commitment to the US and the Western world? The investigation of these three themes attempts to derive the main lessons from the historiographical debates and to determine the areas that the newly-opened Vatican sources might qualify, alter or add to our knowledge of Pius XII’s Ostpolitik.

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