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John Cornwell

Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII Paperback – Illustrated, April 29, 2008

by John Cornwell (Author)

396 ratings

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The “explosive” (The New York Times) bestseller—now with a new introduction by the author

When Hitler’s Pope, the shocking story of Pope Pius XII that “redefined the history of the twentieth century” (The Washington Post ) was originally published, it sparked a firestorm of controversy both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Now, award-winning journalist John Cornwell has revisited this seminal work of history with a new introduction that both answers his critics and reaffirms his overall thesis that Pius XII, now scheduled to be canonized by the Vatican, weakened the Catholic Church with his endorsement of Hitler—and sealed the fate of the Jews in Europe.

Print length

464 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

April 29, 2008
Dimensions

5.53 x 1 x 8.4 inches
ISBN-10

014311400X
ISBN-13

978-0143114000
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Redefines the entire history of the Twentieth Century.”--The Washington Post

“Explosive…makes a case that is very difficult to refute.”--The New York Times BooK Review

“A devastating indictment of Pius as guilty of moral treachery.”--The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Scathing.”--Time

About the Author

John Cornwell is in the department of history and philosophy of science at Cambridge University. He is a regular feature writer at the Sunday Times (London) and the author and editor of four books on science, including Power to Harm, on the Louisville Prozac trial, as well as Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII and Breaking Faith: Can the Catholic Church Save Itself?

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Illustrated edition (April 29, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014311400X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143114000
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.53 x 1 x 8.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #233,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #28 in Holocaust Biographies
- #478 in Jewish Holocaust History
- #815 in WWII Biographies

Customer Reviews:
396 ratings

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3 star		8%
2 star		2%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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JPB

Hitler's Pope a Biased and Wrong-headed Book

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2018

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Anyone who reads this book must study the book in the light of Ronald Rychlak's more comprehensive and much better documented Hitler , the War and the Pope. One emerges from the comparison with a clear sense that Cornwell has a axe to grind. His book is both an attack on Vatican theology and the character of Pius XII . It claims that it shows that Pius XII was anti-semitic culturally as well as doctrinally and suggests that if Pius were more collegial and less authoritarian Pius would have been more demonstrative in his denunciation of Hitler than he was Pius might have not only saved his reputation but helped in the downfall of Hitler.Rychlak shows that he actually listened to his bishops and produces evidence to show that his Bishops in Germany had urged moderation. Was this not collegial ? So did Pius XII's informants in Poland, Cornwell would have had the Church become an outspoken opposition group to Hitler and try to make the Catholic Church act as a spear-head of a rebellion within Germany.It is also seems clear that many Catholics in Germany would have sided with Hitler. Hitler would have invaded the Vatican, killed or kidnapped Pius sent all the Jews Pius was hiding directly or indirectly to concentration camps and more Jewish lives would have been lost. Untold numbers of Catholics opposed to Hitler would have been rounded up and sent there as well. From 1940 and onward the Pope had through his own network of spies made participated in schemes to have Hitler assassinated! Furthermore the Vatican surrounded by Hitler's ally Mussolini and hardly in a position to foment an active opposition to Hitler. Communication such as it was would have ceased altogether between the Vatican and the outside world.After reading Cornwell one should also read Reibling's excellent Church of Spies to learn about in more detail what steps Pius did make to rid the world of Hitler. I am not a Catholic but fair is fair. Hitler's Pope is if not quite malicious in conception by comparison with Rychlak's Hitler the War and the Pope ( who makes no secret of his Catholicism) is demonstrably unfair, wrong-headed, biased and poorly documented.

54 people found this helpful

Helpful

Conchscooter

A Disturbing Story

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2021

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This biography answers as definitively as possible the questions surrounding Pius XII's relationship with the Nazi's. Well written, exhaustive and pulls no punches. The title says it all, the story behind the title explains the Pope's anti communist paranoia that led him to surrender the moral high ground in the Holocaust. A reminder that the end never justifies the means and we see more of that thinking in the religious communities in the US today unfortunately. A salutary lesson is written and explained here very clearly.

5 people found this helpful

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Vince Paddon

Lies!

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2019

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Defamation!

15 people found this helpful

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David Katcoff

Well written, thoroughly researched, fascinating

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021

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The title is actually more ominous-sounding than the story. The reality was not that Pius was an overt Nazi actively working to abet the Holocaust, but that his silence and passivity as a personage of moral weight, were definitely a help in the Nazi extermination program.
Pius was in many ways a man of his time, as the Catholic Church had not yet absolved the Jews of collective guilt for crucifying Christ in Vatican II, and the Jews were long anathematized and at times actively persecuted by the Church. The concept of civil and basic human rights as universal values had not yet permeated the globe; fascism was alive and well in Europe.
There is no getting away from the moral abdication of the Pope, as he was steadfastly silent, no matter what, even when the Nazis occupied Rome and the German commander did not want the death squads to take away the Jews.
It was, instead, the heroism and kindness of many of the Catholic clergy, and especially the Italian people, that shines through as a beacon in this dark period. For example, when the Nazi death squads finally arrived in Rome, the Jews were ordered to pay an impossible sum in gold for their salvation. When they couldn't cough it up, dozens of ordinary Romans stepped forward and donated their family jewelry to help defray the cost. And there is no denying that many Jews were saved by being secreted into convents and other Catholic institutions. It was also true that the Italians, even the soldiers, refused to harm the Jews during the war.
Writing in "Mein Kampf", Adolf Hitler explained that his antisemitism stemmed from the anti-Jewish parts of the Christian sacred texts, and not racism. Books like this show the evil consequences of evil ideology. The author should be canonized.

One person found this helpful

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Newton Dean

Excellent historical documentation

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020

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This was a gift for my brother-in-law, who has a strong faith. But he also likes to read the true histories of various religious groups and individuals. He loves this book. I read it many years ago and found it fascinating and well researched. Don't buy it if you expect your spiritual leaders to be perfect.

4 people found this helpful

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J. Beghin

Well researched and scholarly

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2020

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Well researched but tedious to read. Informative on the Catholic Church complicity in the genocide of WWII.

4 people found this helpful

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Apollonius

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019

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Excellent work!

6 people found this helpful

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Joshua

Very

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2018

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Interesting and well written

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

John Peter Claver Toalster

The author selects his vocabulary with the intention of setting ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 27, 2014

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The author selects his vocabulary with the intention of setting Pius XII In an unfavourable light. What he has succeeded in doing, in my opinion, is in showing a man who, in his anxiety to resist the efforts of Communism in Russia, Mexico and Spain to destroy his Church, made an alliance with a power which, although hostile to Communism, was equally hostile to the Church of Rome and indeed to all forms of religion, and thereby rendered himself powerless to make an effective stand against it.

9 people found this helpful

Mr R D Hunter

Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

Excellent book. Well researched and thoughtfully written. Devastating PR for the Catholic Church.

2 people found this helpful

StanthemanRetoma

Eye-opening viewpoint on history and the church

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2016

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lengthy reviews aplenty - good read, disturbing, challenging but worth every page. Confess to having to read some bits over and over again to fully take in what's being claimed. If we don't learn from history we are destined to repeat.......

3 people found this helpful

judith pauline bradley

New condition book at a good price.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2019

Verified Purchase

I liked the speed in sending the book and started to read it immediately. Fascinating reading. A book to keep.

sheila preston

Wll worth reading!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

An excellent book by an acclaimed author, who had access to Vatican archives.

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