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Hitler, the War, and the Pope Paperback – August, 2000

by Ronald J. Rychlak (Author)

52 customer reviews

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Was Pope Pius XII a Nazi Sympathizer?

For almost 50 years, a controversy has raged about Pope Pius XII. Was the Pope who had shepherded the Church through World War II a Nazi sympathizer? Was he, as some have dared call him, Hitler's pope? Did he do nothing to help the Jewish people in the grips of the Holocaust?

In a thoroughly researched and meticulously documented analysis of the historical record, Ronald Rychlak has gotten past the anger and emotion and uncovered the truth about Pius XII. Not only does he refute the accusations against the Pope, but for the first time documents how the slanders against him had their roots in a Soviet Communist campaign to discredit him and by extension, the Church.

Let those who doubt but read Rychlak, follow his exquisitely organized courtroom-like arguments. What Professor Rychlak brings to the forum are facts, not rhetoric, dates, not conjecture, evidence, not slander.... The world owes Ronald Rychlak a debt for bringing the truth to light. ---Rabbi Eric A. Silver

"In his well-crafted pages ... the portrait that emerges is one of an extraordinary pastor facing extremely vexing circumstances, of a holy man vying against an evil man, of a human being trying to save the lives of other human beings, of a light shining in the darkness."
--John Cardinal O Connor (1920-2000) Archbishop of New York (from the Foreword to the first edition)

"I have read many books on Pius XII, and this is by far the most dispassionate in laying out the context, relevant facts, accusations, and evidence pro and con. The book is highly engaging because it is filled with so many little-known facts. The research has been prodigious. Yet the presentation is as down-to-earth as it would have to be in a courtroom.... This is a wonderfully realistic book." ---Michael Novak
George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy,
American Enterprise Institute

"Despite his many brilliant accomplishments, perhaps no modern-day leader of the Catholic Church has triggered more controversies than Pope Pius XII. Some historians have argued that, in light of the Church s concerns about Communism, he was pro-Nazi during the 1930s. He has been accused of signing the Reichskonkordat as a signal to Adolf Hitler of Rome's favor; of dissuading Pope Pius XI from condemning Kristallnacht; and of remaining silent in face of proof that the Holocaust was taking place.

In this valuable book, Professor Ronald Rychlak sets the record straight. He paints a vivid picture of the social, political, and religious background against which the papacy of Pius XII took place. In so doing, Rychlak shows him to have been a man of singular wisdom and courage.

Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli was a brilliant student as a young man, fluent in several languages, with doctorates in theology and canon and civil law. He was elected to the papacy just six months before Germany's invasion of Poland sparked the Second World War in Europe.

"Rychlak has buried the myth under an avalanche of facts and demonstrated that Pacelli's reputation deserves to be what it was during the war when the New York Times more than once praised him as a lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent. Rychlak has done more than anyone else to set the record straight." --Professor Robert George McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Princeton University--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

Paperback: 548 pages
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor; 1st edition (August 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0879732172
ISBN-13: 978-0879732172
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #425 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Biographies > Popes & the Vatican
- #1287 in Books > History > World > Jewish > Holocaust
- #4218 in Books > History > World > Religious > Christianity

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4.4 out of 5 stars

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A trial-lawyer's brief

By Michael Novak on September 30, 2000

Format: Hardcover

Professor Rychlak teaches trial law at the Law School, and approaches the accusations against Pope Pius XII as a trial lawyer. I have read many books on Pius XII, and this is by far the most dispassionate in laying out the context, relevant facts, accusations, and evidence pro- and con-. The book is highly engaging because filled with so many little known facts. The research has been prodigious. Yet the presentation is as down-to-earth as it would have to be in a courtroom. Only in the appendix, in a detailed rebuttal to John Cornwell's duplicitous presentation, does Rychlak's contempt for poor work show through. This is a book anyone interested in a fair judgment must read. It offers many suggestions for further reading and research. Rychlak does not conclude that Pius XII was a saint, though he does show that he was ready for martyrdom. Pius XII himself worried that in following the course he did follow--condemning racist and genocidal theories and violent actions, and ordering religous houses to shelter victims and save as many as possible (as many as 860,000 by one Jewish estimate)--he did not go far enough. But he clung to his best practical judgment about what would save most, and imperil least, and trusted God for the rest. It is possible to say he could have done more. But it is also easy, especially in hindsight, knowing how events turned out and having research then not available. This is a wonderfully realistic book.

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Hitler, the War, and the Pope

By John J. Haas on December 27, 2002

Format: Hardcover

If you are looking for a well documented historical account of the situation between the Catholic Church and the Third Reich, you will find this book goes straight to the facts, names names, times, places, and events. This book completely shuns sensationalism, has impeccible research, and refutes inferior books such as 'Hitler's Pope' by John Cornwell.

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New book corrects injustice done to Pope Pius XII

By Father John Keane, SA on August 1, 2001

Format: Hardcover

Every once in awhile an extraordinary book appears and this is one of them. Rychlak, who is associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, has written a definitive popular history of the papacy of Pope Pius XII during the Nazi era. His work is an honest portrait of a decent man who vehemently opposed Adolf Hitler and his minions with courage and heroism.
Rychlak agrees that a great injustice has been done in our time to Pius XII by recent books which have attacked his character and his actions. It is significant that many of these books are authored by Catholics or by former Catholics-none by Jews. Rychlak, as an expert trial lawyer, has skillfully collected a massive body of evidence to vindicate the memory of Pius XII, leaving the reader free to make final judgment upon his character and integrety.
Rychlak points out that the real quarrel of "disaffected Catholics" is with the "Catholic theological principle of papal authority in matters of faith and morals." In the epilogue, he critiques a book written by a former Catholic, John Cornwell, who gave it the vile title of "Hitler's Pope," a book which spreads half-truths and insinuations that tarnish Pius XII's name and record.
Cornwell uses dubious material, like a play called "The Deputy" (1963), to portray the pope as "silent" in the face of the Holocaust; as an anti-Semite, and as a Nazi sympathizer. In effect,Cornwell's anti-Catholic bigotry becomes part of a larger effort to weaken the moral and cultural influence of the Catholic Church by undermining the credibility of the papacy. In the afterward, professor Robert P.Read more ›

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Brilliant case

By george todd on November 5, 2000

Format: Hardcover

The author-lawyer provides a superb case that illustrates the heroic work of Pius XII to save Jews. The documentation, research, and commentary are flawless. But even more impressive is the framework the author develops to explain the limits within which Pius XII and his diplomatic allies had to wage their campaign to oppose Nazism and to rescue the victims of this horror. The book also provides a magnificent rebuttal to John Cornwell's assault on Pius XII. He shows the distortions, malicious editing, and grave omissions which make the Cornwell book an embarrassment.

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The whole truth

By D. Stojic on October 26, 2005

Format: Paperback

Rychlak gives the reader the whole truth regarding the role of the Roman Catholic Church during WWII. Much can be said about this book but I draw attention only to his excellent and successsful defense of Aloysius Cardinal Stepinac. Stepinac was the Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia during WWII and did everything in his power to save Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis. He was later tried and convicted to 16 yrs prison by Tito's regime for alleged collaboration with the nazis, but in reality he was sentenced only because he refused to seperate the catholic Church in Croatia from the vatican to form a national croatian church. Rychlak brings cold hard facts to argue his case, something cornwall and others fail to do and instead rely on post WWII communist propaganda.

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Shining a Light on Truth

By Francis H. Sterling on September 24, 2000

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

Want to know the truth about what is arguably the greatest calumny of the century? Don't take anyone's opinion but rather face the drudgery of going over the facts. Want to keep the drudgery to a minimum and get the facts easily with all details in historical context and referenced so that you can check them for accuracy? Check out this beautifully written, scholarly, fully annoted and easy to read history. Think John Cornwell's book, "Hitler's Pope" that the media covered day and night might have been a teensy bit untrue? Read the Epilogue in this book and you will get not only detailed exposure of the lies, but Cornwell's history and motivation. Religious orthodoxy hampering your lifestyle? Want to strike the shepherd and scatter the flock? For heaven's sake don't read this book. What's the liklihood this important and truthful work will get media coverage like Cornwell's book? Are you kidding? Want to be inspired by the dramatic story of Eugenio Pacelli/Pius XII, one of the most savvy, noble, and courageous men of the twentieth century? Read Law Professor Rychlak's book. It's a masterpiece.

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