[2] On 30 April 1939, on the eve of the German invasion of Poland,[contradictory] Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Maglione sent a message—worded by Mussolini and personally approved by Pius XII—to Cortesi supporting the return of Danzig to Germany.

[3] The following day Pius XII issued a "last appeal in favor of peace" entreating the "governments of Germany and Poland do their utmost to avoid every incident and abstain from taking any step capable for worsening the present tension".

[6] Cortesi's relaying of Pius XII's proposal to give Danzig to Germany was long remembered in Poland, particularly when the Communist government came into conflict with the pope after the war.

[9] Although Pius XII said that he would not formally recognize the government-in-exile (then in Paris) until he received a full report from Cortesi, Kazimierz Papée, the ambassador from Poland, remained accredited to the Holy See.

[10] Pius XII recognized the government-in-exile "with as much formality as is possible under the circumstances" on October 7, aided by the "convenient fact" that Cortesi was due to retire and could not return to Warsaw in any case.