page_title: Cesare Orsenigo
section_title: Early life and education
hierarchical_section_title: Cesare Orsenigo / Early life and education
caption_attribution_description: Title: Papst Pius XI.&#160; Extra information: Porträt von Papst Pius XI.&#160; People in the image: Pius XI.: Papst, # Additional information: * Ritratto di papa Pio XI, 1922. For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Factual corrections and alternative descriptions are encouraged separately from the original description. Additionally errors can be reported at this page to inform the Bundesarchiv. Alemannisch&#160;| Boarisch&#160;| беларуская&#160;| беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎‎&#160;| català&#160;| čeština&#160;| Deutsch&#160;| English&#160;| Esperanto&#160;| español&#160;| français&#160;| हिन्दी&#160;| hrvatski&#160;| italiano&#160;| 한국어&#160;| magyar&#160;| македонски&#160;| Plattdüütsch&#160;| polski&#160;| português&#160;| română&#160;| русский&#160;| slovenčina&#160;| slovenščina&#160;| suomi&#160;| svenska&#160;| українська&#160;| 中文（简体）‎&#160;| 中文（繁體）‎&#160;| +/− Original historic description:
context_page_description: Cesare Vincenzo Orsenigo was Apostolic Nuncio to Germany from 1930 to 1945, during the rise of Nazi Germany and World War II. Along with the German ambassador to the Vatican, Diego von Bergen and later Ernst von Weizsäcker, Orsenigo was the direct diplomatic link between Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII and the Nazi regime, meeting several times with Adolf Hitler directly and frequently with other high-ranking officials and diplomats.
  Orsenigo was close to Achille Ratti, the Archbishop of Milan, and was appointed to the Vatican diplomatic corps when Ratti was elected Pope Pius XI, as nuncio to the Netherlands, Hungary, and Germany.
  Orsenigo believed in the Italian fascist ideal and hoped the German variety would develop into something similar. He was a controversial figure among his contemporaries and remains the subject of historical criticism for his advocacy of "compromise and conciliation" with the Nazis, particularly in relation to The Holocaust. Pius XII has been criticized by several contemporaries and historians for not replacing Orsenigo as nuncio.
context_section_description: Orsenigo was born in Olginate, Italy. He attended a seminary in Milan and was ordained in 1896. He became a priest at San Fedele in Milan and Ecclesiastical Censor and Synodal Examiner. In 1912 , at the age of thirty-nine, he was appointed a canon of the cathedral of Milan. In August 1921, he was awarded Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy for philanthropic work.
caption: Pope Pius XI, a friend of Orsenigo in Milan who appointed him to all three of his nunciatures
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