The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler

"The Pope at War comes after a Brown University scholar plowed through thousands of pages of Vatican documents newly released by Pope Francis, and it helps us sort out the question of whether the pontiff was a silent collaborator with the dictators or a quiet conspirator against them — and whether by his silence he promoted antisemitism or whether by his actions he mounted a subtle campaign to aid the Jews at the hour of their greatest peril...The answer, David I."

"The role Pope Pius XII played during World War II has long been a subject of controversy...Under great pressure to align himself with the Allies or Axis powers, he chose silence and diplomatic neutrality...Some saw him as a heroic champion of the oppressed...Others thought he turned a blind eye to the killing of Jews and other vulnerable populations and did not use his moral authority to work for peace...Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David I."

"In this meticulously researched book, historian Kertzer, who has written extensively on modern papal history, makes good use of newly opened wartime archives, sealed since Pius XII's death in 1958...The evidence of Pius' silence in the face of repeated calls to stop the atrocities against the Jews and others by the Nazis and Fascists is absolutely damning...When Pius XI died in February 1939, the ever cautious, scholarly, German-speaking Pacelli became pope—and the best ally the two dictators could hope for."

"Drawing on recently unsealed documents from the Vatican archives, Pulitzer winner Kertzer delivers a devastating look at how Pope Pius XII put the preservation of the Catholic Church ahead of 'courageous moral leadership' during WWII...Kertzer also reveals that when tensions arose between Italian Fascists and the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the pope ordered it not to publish articles that were 'in apparent contrast with the supreme interests of the country'...Kertzer acknowledges that Pius XII initially had legitimate concerns that the Axis dictators would soon be in control of Europe, and therefore needed to tread lightly, but as the tide turned and evidence of atrocities mounted, his approach never changed...Scrupulous and authoritative, this is a damning case built by a master prosecutor."

"Among the book's many satisfactions is the wide net the author casts with ably drawn portraits of the German diplomats, Italian politicians, ambassadors and nuncios, cardinals and Vatican bureaucrats with whom the pope interacted."