"The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler" is a sobering work that offers readers a nuanced perspective on one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century. Kertzer's meticulous research, compelling narrative, and insightful analysis make this book essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the intersections of religion, politics, and morality during World War II.

David I. Kertzer's "The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler" is an emotionally intelligent and compelling examination of a deeply controversial figure in history. This book, grounded in extensive research from newly opened Vatican archives, offers a nuanced and detailed exploration of Pope Pius XII's complex role during World War II and the Holocaust.

Kertzer's narrative is both spellbinding and unsettling, as it delves into the moral ambiguities and choices faced by the Pope amidst the horrors of war. His painstaking research brings to light how Pius XII often favored the preservation of the Catholic Church's power over taking a firm moral stance against the atrocities committed by the Nazis and Fascists. There were times when I felt anger and sadness whilst reading this book.

"The Pope at War" is a testament to Kertzer's skillful blending of historical fact with emotional depth, offering a narrative that is as informative as it is thought-provoking. It's a crucial read for those interested in understanding the intricate intersections of religion, politics, and ethics during one of history's darkest hours.

This work is not just a historical account; it's an emotional journey into the heart of human conflict and the weighty decisions that shape our world. Its emotional intelligence and detailed research make it a standout piece of historical literature.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this period, in the war and in moral choices.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Kertzer makes the post hoc argument that Pope Pius XII made calculated decisions to protect the power of the Catholic Church at the expense of not making a strong moral stand against the Holocaust. Worth the read if you are interested in the topic, but not the single volume on the topic.

The Pope at War by David I. Kertzer is an essential work of history writing that uncovers new details on Pope Pius XII and the role of the Catholic Church during WWII. The newly unsealed papers confirm what many long suspected about the Pope's actions during the war.

Many thanks to the author, publish, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

SHAME!SHAME!SHAME!
NOT A WORD ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWS OR THE CRIMES OF THE NAZIS DURING THE WAR.. In 1942 he was notified by the Cardinal of Warsaw that the Nazis has already exterminated over two million Jews. The Pope's reaction, "any complaints by me would only make it worse". People were being rounded up like cattle off the streets and being shot wholesale or shipped to Concentration Camps to be killed, what could be "worse".

The truth is that even though he was asked to condemn of excommunicate those Catholics who worked with the perpetuation of the Shoah were never threatened by the Pope for what they did. His biggest fear was that those countries that were liberated by the Russian Communists would take away the Church's ability to continue Catholic Education and to take away the wealth of the Church. He never showed a bit of compassion for the plight of the Jews which he never mentioned except to say that the "Nazis were persecuting 'some' minorities 'unfairly'.

Out of the goodness of his heart, he did try to protect those who had agreed to be baptized. But he never castigated the Germans or Italians when the "Nuremberg" laws were enacted, even when the Germans were rounding up the Jews of Rome right in front of the Apostolic Palace.

The topic of the book was compelling, but at points I the narrative momentum slowed down.

On the whole, the book makes a compelling case for history to have a negative perception of Pope Pius XII. This is especially important in light of all of the other challenges that church has had over the years because it paints a portrait of an institution that sells the gospel, but really is just another bureaucracy.

David I. Kertzer https://davidikertzer.com is the author of more than a dozen books. The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler was published in 2022.

I categorize this book/novel as G. On 2 March 1939, Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli was elected Pope. He took the name Pius XII. His election came at a dark and tumultuous time in World History. With Vatican City nestled in Rome, the church was influenced by Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. After the German Wehrmacht took over Italy in 1943, they also exerted a great deal of pressure on the Pope.

Because Pacelli spoke fluent German and had served as Apostolic Nuncio to Germany from 1920 to 1930, he was believed to be favorable toward the Third Reich. His predecessor Pius XI had been an outspoken critic of Fascism and oppression. Cardinal Pacelli had attempted to exert a moderating influence on Pius XI.

Most consider Pius XII to have been a weak leader. He certainly was in a precarious position in Vatican City. Secret negotiations were conducted with Germany’s Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. Pius XII condemned the Jews but never spoke out against Germany for their policies.

I enjoyed the 16+ hours I spent reading this 641-page WWII-era history. While this was full of facts, the book was very readable. The book covered an aspect of WWII that I had not heard much about. The Vatican sealed the war period papers of Pius XII when he died in 1958. They were only opened in 2020. Many facts contained in this book only came to light then. I do like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

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When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, his papers were sealed in the Vatican Secret Archives, leaving unanswered questions about what he knew and did during World War II. He has become one of the most controversial Popes in history. When in 2020, his papers have finally been unsealed, his past becomes more apparent and what is revealed is astounding. You will have to read the book to find out the truth, and it will keep you guessing until the end.

This was a pretty solid book. It really hit hard on what the Pope's priorities were during WWII. He wasn't worried about morality. He was worried about the Catholic Church as an institution. He felt threatened by Mussolini and Hitler, but he was more worried about losing Nazi and fascist Catholics than anything else. The book relies heavily on newly released material from the Vatican, which makes it an excellent read.

Eye-opening narrative of an individual that had an incredible amount of power, and who could've changed the fate for so many people that died, but chose not to out of fear. This man was not brave, he was a wimp. This sort of behavior would've never been tolerated in today's age. I want to believe that Pope Francis would've never stayed docile had this happened now. Though, I admit, that may just be wishful thinking. I appreciate the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I would've given 5 stars had the length not been so long. I think the book could've been shorten to less than 300 pages (content-wise).

Even though we suspected some of the actions of Pope Pius XII during WWII, to have proof makes this a tough book to read. David Kertzer is the foremost authority on the Vatican and has delved into the recently unsealed files of Pope Pius XII. The information sheds light on the choices made by the church, choices that favored the power of the church and didn't do much to save lives. Not so hard to understand if one accepts that the RC church is a powerful business without all that much regard for the people who follow its teachings.
I'm glad I read it but it was unsettling to say the least. I had to consume it in small batches in order to absorb the information. My thanks to the publisher Random House and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Pope at War is a very tough read but that has everything to do with me being a Catholic and not how well written the book is.

There is a lot of debate about Pope Pius XII and his action (or inaction) during World War II particularly in regards to the Holocaust. While no one would read this book and consider Pius XII very brave, I don't think this work is a hit job either. David Kertzer meticulously details all of the politics, considerations, and challenges of being the pope during World War II. Pius XII did not have a love of Hitler, but his coziness with Mussolini alone is enough to sullen his name. Ultimately, the argument is that Pius XII tried to be a politician when he needed to be a moral leader.

This book is very readable even while being heavily sourced. Kertzer focuses on the things you need to know to understand the situation without bogging down the narrative.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Random House. The full review was posted to HistoryNerdsUnited.com on 6/7/2022.)

Pope Pius XII and WWII

When Pope Pius XII died in 1958 his archives were sealed. Now they have been opened and the picture they paint of Pius’ actions during WWII is not a pretty one. Although Jews were being killed and harassed by Hitler’s forces in Germany and Mussolini's in Italy, Pius XII apparently believed that his primary role was to protect his flock of Catholics and turn a blind eye to the atrocities.

Kertzer, one of the leading scholars on the Vatican, has spent years going through the thousands of pages documenting Pius XIIths time as pope. I believe Kertzer tries to be fair throughout the book, but it is not a pretty story. Pius comes across as a man weak both morally and in physical courage. He somehow seemed to believe that if he saved the power of Catholicism he would have a role in rebuilding the world after the war.

The book is extremely well done and very readable. It’s a long book, but I didn’t notice that. The story is intriguing and well-told. If anything, the book seemed almost too short. The story has a huge cast of characters, but because most of us are familiar with the actors in WWII, it wasn’t hard to follow.

If you’re a WWII buff, or just fascinated by one of the facets of the history of the Catholic church, this is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.

I received this book from Random House for this review.

With the role of papacy during WW2 being called into question constantly, this book provided a superb account of the war from the Catholic Church’s perspective and hopefully more light can be shed on this topic in the future.

Pope Pius XII has been a controversial figure since the end of WW2, seen as either the Pope who saved the Church from the Nazis, or one of moral failings for not condemning the Nazi atrocities, including the Holocaust. Pius XII’s archives were sealed after his death, compounding the issue. Pope Francis recently unsealed these records, and Mr. Kertzer had the opportunity to research these archives.

What emerges is an unflattering portrait of Pius XII. According to the archives, and unbeknownst to historians, he entered into a secret agreement with the Nazis, in which he would not criticize them, and in return, the Catholic Church in Germany would be left alone. This agreement was censored from a Vatican summary of the war years. Pius XII was also deferential to Mussolini.

Pius XII’s failure to condemn atrocities committed against the Jews is also examined at length in the book. He was only interested in saving those who had converted to Catholicism. Compounding this were the antisemitic views of many of his advisors, and others advisors who felt that condemning the atrocities would endanger the Church.

Incredibly well documented (1/3 of the book is made up of the citations), The Pope At War is a new look at Pius XII, making for both fascinating and grim reading.

My thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of this important book.

David Kertzer is a dedicated scholar, gifted writer of many award-winning books, and a man who steps back to see the whole picture in his areas of historical study. He has spent years in the Vatican archives researching his books, but not until 2020 were documents dealing with Popes Pius XI, Pius XII and World War II available; these particular documents had been sealed since 1958 until Pope Francis opened them for scholarly research. The Pope at War has a lot of pages - about 400 text and 200 notes and sources - but it doesn't FEEL like a long book when you read it. Professor Kertzer has spent so many years researching 20th century (and earlier) Italy, especially the workings of the Catholic Church, that the dramatis personae must seem like living, breathing people to him. And with his exceptional writing skills, he makes two popes, Hitler, Mussolini, and many other participants in the creation of World War II come to life for the reader of this book. Kertzer works hard to understand the motivations of these people rather than slap labels and over-simplified analyses on them. It is excruciating to visit the minds of sociopaths (and the period covered in this book had more than its share) but how and why they make their choices needs to be known when they are the shot callers of history.
Kertzer has studied especially whether the old accusations against Pope Pius XII were/are justified, i.e. whether he turned a blind eye while millions of Jews were tortured and massacred. Those who are pushing for the canonization of Pius (ironic name) insist that he did his best to save many Jewish lives. As Professor Kertzer discovers, this pope worked with much success to save the lives of Jews who had converted to Catholicism, asking Mussolini to treat them as equal to other "Aryan" - Pius' word - Christians. For some, this may indicate that the pope's apparent lack of concern for Jewish people was not "racial" in origin but rather spiritual. That is, their religious beliefs and practices made them unworthy of efforts by the Catholic church to intervene on their behalf with Fascist leaders. This is the stuff of nightmares.
Pope Pius XII hoped to become a "great pope" but rather than accomplishing that by being a great spiritual leader and moral compass in the world, he focused on appeasing Fascists (including Franco) out of fear that the destructive forces running amok in Europe would seize church properties and persecute Catholics, especially the clergy. He envisaged the end of the Catholic church entirely and thought he could manage tyrants. Rather, they managed him.
Pius was convinced that Communism was the greatest danger to Christianity. He believed that Europe's Fascist dictators would protect Christian Europe from being overrun by Communists. After all, Hitler was raised Catholic, and Franco and Mussolini were nominally members of the church, and Pius believed for too long that this would anchor them morally. According to his own definition of morality.
There is so much in this book to contemplate and apply to the present day, particularly, the war against Ukraine. Its lessons about the use and misuse of power and the abnegation of responsibility will give readers plenty to think about.

This meticulously researched book by Pulitzer-prize-winning David Kertzer is definitive on Pope Pius XII's controversial relations with Hitler and Mussolini. Making extensive use of newly opened archives, there can now be no doubt about the damning moral choices that the Pope made when it came to appeasing Hitler and closing his eyes to the Holocaust. Apologists might say that he had no choice because communism also posed an existential world threat, plus, it's easy to judge in retrospect. However, one only has to look at his contemporary, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, who was the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Sheptytsky not only spoke out publicly against both communism and Nazism, he hid Jews in his own library. Pius XII had the choice, but he took the weak way out.

I was given an advance reading copy (arc) of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. Controversy has always surrounded Pope Pius XII for his role during World War II. Until recently, the Vatican's files concerning the war years were closed. Pope Francis made them available in 2020. Author David Kertzer (a Pulitzer Prize Winner) took advantage of this new information and reconstructed the events involving Pope Pius, Mussolini and Hitler. It was a complex relationship to say the least and it's hard to simply judge this Pope for what he did or didn't do. Unlike his predecessor who spoke out against the Fascists and the Nazis, Pope Pius was obviously intimidated by both the German and Italian leaders. It seemed he did his best to keep the peace, but at the expense of ignoring the atrocities ordered by Hitler and Mussolini. It seems that the Pope was initially convinced that Germany would win the war and he definitely wanted to stay on Hitler's (and Mussolini's) good side because of that. He seemed to think that Facism and Nazism were better than having Communism take over. He was certainly in a unique position to influence world leaders, which he did not do. Author Kertzer did a fine job of researching and constructing what happened at the Vatican (and Italy in general) as Hitler rose to power. There were secret meetings, official letters, and many, many compromises. I have to admit that sometimes it was hard to read because of the subject matter. There were a few times that I actually had to put the book down and walk away so I could regroup. Kertzer's narrative is clear and precise. I found it very disappointing that the Pope would take a backseat during such turbulent times, but then again, he is not here to defend his lack of action. So we will never quite understand why he did what he did. I highly recommend this book for anyone who might be interested in World War II history, Vatican City, or Italy itself. A very good read.

We like to think that our religious leaders are people of faith who are not afraid to speak against worldly powers of oppression and destruction. We expect a moral vision and example from them, that they will even risk their lives to do the right thing. You won’t find that leader in these pages. Pope Pius II was primarily concerned with protecting his flock of Catholics. He heard the heartbreaking stories of the rounding up and extermination of Jews. But he would take a stand. By staying neutral, insisting the church had no political voice, he fantasized being able to broker peace at the end of the war.

David I. Kertzer’s book on Pope Pius XI, The Pope and Mussolini, won the Pulitzer Prize. At his death in 1939, the outspoken Pope Pius XI was replaced by Pope Pious XII, the preferred choice of Germany, as he had lived in German and spoke the language fluently. Unlike his predecessor, Pope Pius XII determined to do nothing that would bring repercussions to Catholicism. He went out of his way to not upset Hitler or Mussolini. He silenced the Vatican press, insisted the church had no interest in politics, and even preached that heads of state were God-ordained.

Pope Pius XII’s archives have been finally opened and Kertzer’s study of thousand of pages of these documents, and other government declassified documents, brought about startling revelations.

Mussolini needed the pope and the halo of Catholicism, and the pope cooperated. H truly believed that the Nazis would win the war and rule Europe. He didn’t want Catholics to be victims of fascist wrath.

Catholic oppressions of Jews was ingrained with practices that kept them separated, impoverished, and unable to exert power. The Nazis claimed they weren’t really doing anything that the Catholics weren’t already doing. Somehow, they skipped over the death camps.

Perhaps the pope did protect some Catholics from fascist repercussion. The Polish Catholics pleaded for him to intervene. His acquiescence allowed Hitler free reign in his crusade of genocide of all Jews. The pope fought to protect baptized Jews, but remained silent even when the Nazis came for Rome’s own Jewish population.

It’s a broad history with a large cast that takes us into the complicated relations between Italy, Germany, and the Vatican.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Amazing research giving a balanced account of a very nebulous situation. The author keeps you interested in the developing story. Sometime it was difficult to remember who was who without flipping back and forth to the list of participants, but a very well written, informative book