The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's Secret Plan to Save Jews from the Nazis

This revelatory account of how the Vatican saved thousands of Jews during WWII shows why history must exonerate "Hitler's Pope"

 

Accused of being “silent” during the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII and the Vatican of World War II are now exonerated in Gordon Thomass newest investigative work, The Pope's Jews. Thomass careful research into new, first-hand accounts reveal an underground network of priests, nuns and citizens that risked their lives daily to protect Roman Jews.

"Sometimes referred to as 'Hitler's Pope,' Pope Pius XII has long been accused by Jews and Christians of standing by silently while Hitler killed millions of Jews. Drawing upon Vatican archival material available to only a few scholars (the rest of the archive will not be opened till 2020) and interviews with survivors and Vatican insiders, Thomas (Gideon's Spies) firmly challenges this long-standing view. Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli learned of the Nazi threat to the Jews and devised a plan for their well-being. Any Vatican denunciation of the Nazi tyranny would, he believed, provoke more Nazi reprisals against the Jews. But, according to Thomas, he continued working behind the scenes to save as many Jews as possible; he instructed his archbishops to apply for visas for 'non-Aryan Catholics' to help Jews escape. Once installed as Pope Pius XII, Pacelli urged archbishops to condemn Nazi crimes against Jews and authorized cardinals to issue baptismal certificates for their protection. After his death, Golda Meir praised Pius for raising his voice for the victims. Because Thomas's argument goes against many historians' view of Pius XII, his book will ignite a contentious debate about the interpretation of his evidence and Pius's role during the Holocaust." Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.