Hitlers Pope [Hardcover]

 

 

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In an interview in The Bulletin (Philadelphia, Sept. 27, 2008), the author of Hitler's Pope stated that since the publication of his book, his views have changed, noting:

_______
"While I believe with many commentators that the pope might have done more to help the plight of the Jews, I now feel, 10 years after the publication of my book, that his scope for action was severely limited and I am prepared to state this," he said. "Nevertheless, due to his ineffectual and diplomatic language in respect of the Nazis and the Jews, I still believe that it was incumbent on him to explain his failure to speak out after the war. This he never did."
_________

Others would argue that the author's insistence that Pope Pius XII should have taken a more public stance against Nazism has never made much sense. The Pope lived in Vatican City, a militarily indefensible neighborhood in Fascist Rome. Any time he wanted, Hitler could have sent German troops already in Italy to silence the Pope. In spite of that, the Vatican's open opposition to Nazism compares favorably to that of Switzerland, protected by its mountains and an army that included virtually all adult Swiss males, and Sweden, protected from invasion by icy cold waters and Hitler's need to ensure that nothing happened to his supply of Swedish iron ore.

Instead of making a public statement that would have been sneered at by Hitler and flashed across the front pages of newspapers in the US and UK for a single day and then faded into oblivion, Pope Pius XII did far more good in secret, issuing orders and encouraging others to protect European Jews. Scholars, obsessed themselves with mere words on paper, attach too much value to them. Deeds are better. And having done nothing wrong, the Pope had nothing to explain after the war.

One final note. The assumption that Pope Pius XII could accomplish much by making a single statement before he would be kidnapped and perhaps killed by Nazi soldiers assumes that the Europe of the 1940s was the Europe of the Middle Ages. That's far from true. For centuries, secularists and academia had labored to undermine the Pope's authority, even over Catholics. They can't suddenly turn around and say, "Oh, we've made a mess of things. Why don't you speak up and straighten them out?"

A case in point. Today's popes are often attacked for criticizing something quite similar to Nazi anti-Semitism. Using almost identical arguments, unborn babies are dehumanized and killed. Anyone who criticizes the Pope, or indeed any Catholic, for denouncing abortion has no right to criticize the Pope of World War II, even if he did only one tenth as much as he actually did to save Jews.

The Catholic church, I might add, did for more to save Jews than Europe's much vaunted universities. According to one account I read, half of Rome's Jews found shelter in the Catholic facilities. Pope Pius XII even issued secret orders allowing Catholic nuns to hide Jews deep within nunneries in places that were off limits to anyone who wasn't a member of the order. How many Jews found refugee in the university campuses of Europe? How many secret orders to hide Jews were issued by university presidents? I don't know of a single one. Perhaps the author of Hitler's Pope should devote himself to a new book entitled Hitler's Professors.

--Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

In an interview in The Bulletin (Philadelphia, Sept. 27, 2008), the author stated that since the publication of this book, his views have changed, noting:

_______
"While I believe with many commentators that the pope might have done more to help the plight of the Jews, I now feel, 10 years after the publication of my book, that his scope for action was severely limited and I am prepared to state this," he said. "Nevertheless, due to his ineffectual and diplomatic language in respect of the Nazis and the Jews, I still believe that it was incumbent on him to explain his failure to speak out after the war. This he never did."
_________

Others would argue that the author's insistence that Pope Pius XII should have taken a more public stance against Nazism has never made much sense. The Pope lived in Vatican City, a militarily indefensible neighborhood in Fascist Rome. Any time he wanted, Hitler could have sent German troops already in Italy to silence the Pope. In spite of that, the Vatican's open opposition to Nazism compares favorably to that of Switzerland, protected by its mountains and an army that included virtually all adult Swiss males, and Sweden, protected from invasion by icy cold waters and Hitler's need to ensure that nothing happened to his supply of Swedish iron ore.

Instead of making a public statement that would have been sneered at by Hitler and flashed across the front pages of newspapers in the US and UK for a single day and then faded into oblivion, Pope Pius XII did far more good in secret, issuing orders and encouraging others to protect European Jews. Scholars, obsessed themselves with mere words on paper, attach too much value to them. Deeds are better. And having done nothing wrong, the Pope had nothing to explain after the war.

One final note. The assumption that Pope Pius XII could accomplish much by making a single statement before he would be kidnapped and perhaps killed by Nazi soldiers assumes that the Europe of the 1940s was the Europe of the Middle Ages. That's far from true. For centuries, secularists and academia had labored to undermine the Pope's authority, even over Catholics. They can't suddenly turn around and say, "Oh, we've made a mess of things. Why don't you speak up and straighten them out?"

A case in point. Today's popes are often attacked for criticizing something quite similar to Nazi anti-Semitism. Using almost identical arguments, unborn babies are dehumanized and killed. Anyone who criticizes the Pope, or indeed any Catholic, for denouncing abortion has no right to criticize the Pope of World War II, even if he did only one tenth as much as he actually did to save Jews.

The Catholic church, I might add, did for more to save Jews than Europe's much vaunted universities. According to one account I read, half of Rome's Jews found shelter in the Catholic facilities. Pope Pius XII even issued secret orders allowing Catholic nuns to hide Jews deep within nunneries in places that were off limits to anyone who wasn't a member of the order. How many Jews found refugee in the university campuses of Europe? How many secret orders to hide Jews were issued by university presidents? I don't know of a single one. Perhaps the author should devote himself to a new book entitled Hitler's Professors.

--Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

John Cornwell's "Hitler's Pope" is a convincingly written story of the papacy of Eugenio Pacelli (Pius XII) during WWII, a period when the Vatican was completely surrounded by the capital of Mussolini's fascist Rome. Unfortunately the word "story" has profound meaning here, and no matter how convincing a historical statement is, it has no meaning if untrue, and the lies in this book are plentiful and outrageous.

The very title (an unbelievable insult), and the accompanying cover photo of Pacelli walking past a German guard at attention (a lie of visual implication) give a glimpse of the literary chicanery lurking between the covers of this book. The offensiveness of the title speaks for itself - and contrary to what the author would have you believe, the photo was taken when Pacelli was the papal nuncio in Germany, BEFORE Hitler came to power. The soldier in the familiar "Nazi-style" helmet would stand at attention for the entrance and exit of all dignitaries.

The author states in no uncertain terms that Pacelli was a villainous scoundrel, who not only didn't do or say anything to help the Jews, but actually collaborated with the Nazis. Nowhere does he tell of this Pope's heroic, behind-the-scenes rescue of thousands of Jews from the nazis. And nowhere does he answer the two definitive questions begging for an answer, "What SHOULD the Pope have done?" and "What GOOD would it have done?" The author seems to imply that he could have called out the Swiss Guard, defeated both Mussolini and Hitler, and saved all the Jews, while publicly denouncing evil in the world. If you, good reader, are interested in fiction, by all means read this book. But if you think this is factual, you're being fooled by a very successful revisionist of history and the truth.

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1.0 out of 5 stars This book does not let facts interfere with a good story!
If you like to read books that spread lies then this one is for you. The author is not concerned with facts and just wants to make a buck by spreading lies. Read more

Published on May 19 2004 by Daniel Ruskoski

1.0 out of 5 stars How not to write history!
Ever since the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth published his play "Der Stellvertreter", pope Pius XII has been criticised because of his alleged silence over the... Read more

Published on Jan 9 2004 by herman simissen

4.0 out of 5 stars Catholics Receive Vindication
This book is very dry reading even for a son of two Holocaust survivors.
However, two things need to be mentioned: First, this book doesn't draw a clear line between helping... Read more

Published on Dec 11 2003 by Edward Saint-Ivan author of Th...

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who like history.
This book is quite clear on the real history of Pius XII, I believe the name in english is not quite fair, the translation to spanish ends up meaning "the true history of... Read more

Published on Nov 29 2003 by Roberto Macías

5.0 out of 5 stars Against papal authoritarianism, but not anti-Catholic
This is damning indictment of Pacelli (Pius XII), and the authoritarian aspects of the Papacy, but do not think this is book is anti-Catholic. Read more

Published on Nov 23 2003 by Dr D. Strickland

1.0 out of 5 stars Why are no favorable books or articles considered?
Cornwell's book is a slick effort to defame a Pope who risked everything to hide Jews in Roman monasteries and actually saved thousands. Read more

Published on Oct 24 2003 by Prof Dr Rainulf Stelzmann

1.0 out of 5 stars waste of paper
This book unfortunately falls into the realm of what is so frequently written and published today. Very poorly researched, grossly inaccurate and superficial. Read more

Published on Oct 18 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars a farcical attempt to reconstruct history
This book is a farce. The author is totally hyped up by the media who love nothing more than to pick on Catholics, the last group for whom it is still politically correct to hate... Read more

Published on Oct 6 2003 by matt

4.0 out of 5 stars Lessons from history
Very interesting book, not so much for what it says about Pius XII or the Catholic church - I'm not engaged with the Roman church so I don't know how relevant the book is for... Read more

Published on Oct 5 2003 by David Hawley

3.0 out of 5 stars Good parts were tough to find
This book would have been great if someone had edited out about half of it. There were some good parts but it they were hard to find. Read more

Published on Sep 1 2003 by Samuel C. Adams

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