Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Issue So So Book
Review: Hitler's Pope This book is an attack on the reputation of the Pope Pius the XII. The book is of some topical interest as there are currently moves on foot to make Pius a saint, something that is being resisted by Israel and some members of the Jewish Community. This led to the setting up of the Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission to examine the record. The book makes the following allegations: (a) Pius as a Papal diplomat was involved in a policy of developing bilateral relationships with a number of governments to increase papal power. The treaties which were the result led to a weakening of democratic forces in a number of countries and allowed reactionary governments to triumph. (b) Pius was involved in the decision of the German Catholic Party to support Hitler's Enabling Act the instrument which ended democracy in that country and was the basis of the Nazi state. Further he was also involved in the decision of the party to go out of existence and thus a check was removed from the Nazi government. (c) That Pius refused to speak out except in the most obscure way to protest against the killing of the Jews. This decision was probably the result of Pius's anti-Semitism. (d) That Pius had the opportunity to save Jews in the war. There are two instances that of Rome and Hungary. In the first case Pius did nothing with regard to the second he did little. (e) Pius developed cordial relations with Croatia a German puppet state which was not only involved in criminal actions against its own population but was clearly committed to overt anti-Semitism. The book fails to establish the first two allegations but makes a strong case for the rest. Pius became pope in 1939. Although he was an important official it would seem clear that the previous pope Pius the XI had been responsible for the policy of developing treaties with conservative states which allowed for papal control of church appointments in exchange for a withdrawal from politics. The slightly hysterical and sensational tone of the book is illustrated by an early suggestion that Pacelli (the future Pius XII) by negotiating a treaty with Serbia over its Catholic population before the first world way may have so inflamed Austrian sensibility that it was one of the factors which led to the war. This of course was clearly wrong. With regard to the concerns about the silence of the church during the Second World War the facts however seem to be beyond question. The Pope made one statement condemning the Nazi policy of genocide. That was a vague statement in 1942 that did not mention the Jews by name and was non-specific in the extreme. Apart from that nothing was said. Cornwell the writer suggests that this could be due to Pacelli's personal anti-Semitism. He quotes a letter written by Pacelli just after the war when he was living in Germany. Pacelli lived through a workers rebellion and had some contact with the leftist elements when they tried to take his car. In the letter Pacelli writes about the rebellion in a way which was typical of the time. That is that there was a close relationship between Jews and Bolshevism. The letter is reflective of stereotypes that would have been at home in a Nazi publication. (Pius's racism is also supported by his request to the Americans not to garrison any black troops in the Vatican.) It is however hard to believe that this was the deciding reason why the Pope remained silent during the Second World War. The church at that point was in a difficult position. In Mexico in the twenties a left wing government had persecuted it and made being a priest punishable by death. Germany under Bismark had tried to crush the church as had the French republic. Pius would have known that if he had actively spoken out that their could have been repercussions. He personally could have been arrested and probably more importantly for him the institution that he had devoted his life to the church could have come under threat. These sorts of dilemmas probably provide a more convincing reason for his silence than crude anti-Semitism. Never the less the Church is meant to be more than a boys club or a political party. It is meant to do things that are right rather than which will lead to it surviving. Cornewell in fact quotes a number of examples of how some active opposition under the Reich was successful. As late as 1944 a number of demonstrations by the spouses of Jewish people in Berlin led to the release of 2,500 Jews. The protest by some church members also led to the winding back of some of the campaigns to execute mentally impaired people. As Cornwell argues half of the German army and one quarter of the SS were Catholics. A more active policy by the church may well have led to significant numbers of Jews being saved. In fact the Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission has recently refused to give Pius a clean bill of health and has requested access to more material from the Vatican archives. The book is somewhat sensationalized as is illustrated by the title. It would be hard to suggest in reality that Pius was Hitler's man but a title such as that sells copies and generates publicity from the church. Never the less it raises some real questions about a man who seems to have fallen far short of the high requirements of his office.
Rating: 
Summary: An Fascinating account of a complex figure
Review: The subject of the Pope's behaviour during the 2nd World War is a very sensitive topic. As the author notes, hundreds of millions world wide believe the Pope to Christ's vicar on Earth. The Pope's behavior while one of the most monsterous crimes humanity has ever witnessed is thus a highly personalised topic for many. John Cornwell treats the topic with care and a balanced approach. I'm no expert on the subject, and my knowledge of the Church's relations with the Nazi regime restircted to general readings I've made about WW2 and the holocaust, but I've been impressed with the research and study of the author. His knowledge is rich, both in understanding and analysing historical event and documents (be it the Vatican Canon Law, Hitler's rise to power or international relationship during the war), and with regards to ancedotes and personnal information (He comments, amoung other things, about discussions between Pius XII and both T.S. Elliot and Orson Wells). Perhaps the most fascinating of Cornwell's insights is his interpretation of Pius XII's actions as part of the trends in the modern Roman Catholic Church. Cornwell forwards a powerful arguement about the struggle of the church between modernisation and pluralism and the more traditional, authoriterian forces with in the church. Those, at least, ring true to me in light of recent decleration, such as the document on the Church's relations with the Jews. The only weakness I could find was Cornwell's minimal consideration of the arguement that, had the Pope spoken out, many more would have suffered. This seems like a strong arguement for Pius XII's silence, and while it is mentioned, a more detailed analysis of it would have been welcome. Clearly, though, Pius XII did not feel the same about Communist Russia, which he justifiably apposed fiercely, as Cornwell aknowledges. Eugenio Pacelli's character is very complex and hard to decipher, and I think that this book is an important step in comprehending him and his actions. I would recommand this book to anyone interested in the Roman Catholic Church, The Nazi regime, World War 2 or the holocaust - in short, to everyone.
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Summary: Cornwell's version of the truth.. as he sees it.
Review: I am a year 12 student in Australia and as a part of our Year 12 History curriculum we are required to complete a special study on a historical topic of our choice. After much badgering from my teacher i read Cornwell's book and compared it in historical accuracy and bias to many other auhtor's works on the subject (Marchione, Blet etc.) i was both shocked and appalled at Cornwell's so called "findings" it disgusted me that such a book was even to be published under the title of non-fiction as it is almost entirely fraudulent and a fallacy. He "attempted to write the first scholarly and honest appraisal of Pius XII" when all he really did was to write a harsh incrimination of the person and work of Eugenio Pacelli, that has already been criticised by world-reknown scholars of the subject. Did Cornwell really find shocking documents within the bowels of the Vatican proving that Pius XII helped Hitler come to power? Actually...no. Outraged scholars claim that author John Cornwell has not produced any new information on which to base his findings but has instead twisted and distorted previously published materials in order to cast a dark shadow on the man whose sainthood cause has been introduced. Sister Marchione and others claim that Cornwell's work reveals a much larger target than Pope Pius XII, one that includes the Church at large, and the papacy. Reading an excerpt of Cornwell's work certainly reveals an agenda that seems to go much deeper than Pope Pius XII's World War II policies. He seems obsessed with many aspects of the Pope that other scholars are not concerned with; the Pope's eating habits, his wardrobe, his pale complexion, even the decomposition of his body, all apparently in an attempt to paint a portrait that will support his allegations. Few reading Cornwell's account of his "investigation" would guess that his thesis of Pius XII's anti-Semitism is based on so little and such insubstantial evidence. By saying that he "ransacked" Pius' files, Cornwell suggests that he discovered many new, previously unpublished documents to build his "shocking" picture of Pius. He may well have done a good deal of research, but he has made no new contribution whatsoever - except in his partial and tendentious interpretation of evidence discovered by others. I find it terrible to realise that Cornwell's book has led so many to believe that Pope Pius was an anti-semitic monster, it is not only indecent journalism but an injustice towards a man who saved more jews during the second World War than Oskar Schindler and Roul Wallenberg. Now i may not be a scholar, or even a devout Christian but all the research i have done leads me to believe that although i am only 17 and have not even set foot in the vatican, i could write a more truthful account than Cornwell. For those in the pursuit of truth, which is certainly not what Cornwell offers, visit the website "Not Hitler's Pope"
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Summary: Typical Conspiracy Trash
Review: Many other reviewers have pointed out the basic fallacies and distortions in the book; the scholarship could charitably be called sophomoric. It is a supreme example however of the sort of muddle-headed innuendo that currently passes as intellectual argument. Doesn't anyone understand how to build an argument anymore? Does everyone take every assertion at face value without even a glimmer of curiosity for how the case is constructed? Using this books level of argument, someone could probably put together a pretty sympathetic portrait of Hitler; as long as they ignore the inconvenient pieces. If they just forgot to mention things like precipitating a world war or attempting to systematically exterminate entire races, Hitler probably wouldn't seem like such a homicidal despot. I cheerfully acknowledge that some reviewers might have different opinions on the validity of Mr. Cornwell's 'facts' and the conclusions he draws. But until he or someone can put together a researched, reasoned, and intellectually honest case, it remains opinion (in this case poorly supported) and nothing more. For it to be objective truth (and yes Virginia, there is such a thing) it's got to stand up to a far harsher consideration than many seem to give it here.
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Summary: The Joys of Libel
Review: There are many deceptive books dealing with controversial historical incidents. But the deceit here begins even before the argument about Pius XII does. The cover claims that Pius XII is "Hitler's Pope," but the book never makes such an absurd argument for a man who was clearly a bitter opponent of Hitler. The cover photo shows Pius XII surrounded by German troops, as if this were during the Hitler regime. In fact, the photo was taken years before under the Weimar Republic. The author claims to be a devout Catholic who was astonished at what he found in the archives about Pius XII. In fact, he is an ex-Catholic who had previously called for the abolition of all organized religion and who had publicly condemned Pius XII years before he began his alleged archive research. The serious historical works of Marchione, Blet, and Ryschlack have refuted the nonsensical libels in this work. But the source of this anti-Catholic deception (and its acclaim by otherwise sober reviewers) raises serious questions about religious prejudice in elite American culture.
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Summary: Not Pius XII
Review: This unscholarly book is not really about Pius XII at all. The author, an ex-Catholic and opponent of all religion, reveals his true purpose at the end. He rants against John Paul II, the resugence of Catholicism, and the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. He claims that his research found new information on Pius XII. In fact, he found nothing new in his very brief research. As many professional historians have pointed out, many of his sources are second-hand popularizations, written by critics of Pius XII. What evidence he does have he distorts. He suppresses the many condemnations of Nazi anti-Semitism delivered by the future Pius XII when he was secretary of state, the hundreds of diplomatic interventions by Pius XII (which saved tens of thousands of Jewish lives), the praise of Pius XII's rescue work during World War II by hundreds of Jewish leaders and organizations. To blacken the pope's reputation, the author unconvincingly tries to tease out certain remarks of the Pope as evidence of prejudice. When Pius condemns the Jewish leader of a Communist mob that threatened him in 1919, Cornwell claims to see evidence of anti-Semitism. But the remark was no more anti-Semitic than saying John Cornwell is British is somehow anti-British. The charges against Pius XII become absurd when the author claims that as a young man, this future pope caused the outbreak of World War I! The book will delight the upper-middle class who despises the Church's defense of human life and human love in our current cultural wars. But history it's not. An informed reader will only gaze with amusement at Cornwell's effort to strain evidence of prejudice from the most minute remarks while he simply ignores the thousands of documents showing Pius's opposition to anti-Semitism and his repeated efforts to rescue the persecuted Jews.
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Summary: The study of Christianity is not for the faint of heart!
Review: I first listened to Hitler's Pope read by David Case, the book educates. To say I enjoyed the book is hardly the word. I did not take delight in the history revealed therein but I have learned much. It was a horrible time for everyone in Europe, times that steal our compassions out of fear. John Cornwell has done a masterful job with this history, presenting the character of his subjects in all their strengths and warts as it were. I would recommend this book to all serious students, a must read history of Christianity then and now. The book is now on my library shelf; no reference library would be complete without it. Johanna Stephens
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Summary: Not Secret, Not History
Review: This is a deceptive book from beginning to end. The author claims to have "secret" information on Pius XII gained from his archival research. In fact, there is nothing new here. Cornwell clearly didn't spend the amount of time in the Vatican Archives as he claimed. Many of his "sources" are popularized, secondary sources. This does not meet the minimum for serious history. The author gives a completely distorted picture of Pius XII. He systematically ignores Pacelli's (future Pius XII) speeches against Nazism in the mid-1930's. The Lourdes and Budapest speeches were widely praised at the time for their clear denunication of anti-Semitism. Since the public statements of Pius XII are so clearly anti-Nazi (and were attacked as such by the Nazi press), the author is reduced to teasing out hearsay statements and armchair psychologizing on Pius's motives.
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Summary: Pius who?
Review: The odd thing about this book is that it's not about Pius XII and the Shoah at all. The author, an angry ex-Catholic, clearly resents John Paul II and the current state of the Catholic church. To achieve his goals, he has to show that the papacy itself is a corrupt institution, so we're back to poor Pius XII. The technique is easy: suppress all the evidence (quite massive) of Pius XII's efforts to save the Jews, then magnify all the evidence (quite meager) of Pius XII's reticence to speak publicly about the issue. The New York Times, which ran at least 20 articles detailing the Vatican's interventions against the Nazis during World War II, certainly documented no silence. The result is a tirade against Catholicism. Good rhetorical rage, bad history.
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Summary: Unhistory
Review: Facts: 1-Before his death, the Israeli Philharmonic gave a special concert in Rome to honor Pius XII for saving thousands of Jews from the Nazis. 2-The Grand Rabbi of Rome during World War II praised Pius XII for heroically saving Jewish lives from the Nazis. 3-At the death of Pius XII, Golda Meir and many other Israeli leaders praised Pius XII as a savior of the Jews. 4-After his death, the Israeli government planted 800,000 trees in the Negev as a tribute to the estimated number of Jews saved by Catholic agenices under the direction of Pius XII. Hitler's Pope? No, Hitler's determined enemy.
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