Hitler's Pope : The Secret History of Pius XII

This hugely controversial, bestselling history tells the story of Eugenio Pacelli, the man who was Pope Pius XII, and arguably the most dangerous churchman of modern times. As Vatican Secretary of State, Pacelli signed an agreement with Hitler in 1933 that protected the power of the Catholic Church in exchange for their complete withdrawal from politics. This act proved fatal. When he became Pope Pius XII, he continually refused to condemn the Nazis - even though he was one of the first European leaders to be made aware of the Final Solution. And even when Italian Jews were rounded up under the walls of the Vatican and transported to the death camps. His failure to criticize Nazism, especially when seen in the light of his patent anti-Semitism, is one of the great scandals of wartime. Using a wealth of new material, including Vatican documents, John Cornwell makes a firm and final indictment of Hitler's Pope's silence.