In July 1933 the Nazi government reached an agreement with the Papal Secretary of State, Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII). The agreement guaranteed the right of German citizens to profess and practise religion, the freedom of the Church to administer itself and its property. It also protected the role of the Church in education. The Church, in return, agreed that priests should not take part in politics. This balance between State and Church was to last till 1945. Critics against the Concordat argued that it also assured the Church's silence during the Holocaust.
