Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII

Rating:
Summary: Pius Was No Saint!
Review: John Cornwall began his research into the life of Pius XII with the blessings of the vatican and the intentions of exonerating him of charges that he was complicit in the Holocaust. By the time he concluded his research, he had completely changed his conclusion. This book is a devastating indictment of a man who was spiritual leader of millions and yet failed in his moral duty during the worst moral crisis in human history. To call Pius "Hitler's Pope" is hyperbolic and not fair. Pius was not pro-Nazi or facist. Nevertheless, Cornwall's review of his life reveals a man steeped in Cannon law, deeply antisemetic and ardently anti-communist. As Cornwall shows, Eugenio Pacelli, first as a vatican lawyer, then as papal nunciate to Berlin during the Hitler's rise to power, seemd less concerned with the spirituality of Catholics under hsi charge and more concerned with protecting the prerogative of Rome over the German church. Indeed, enahncing the secular power of the Vatican over the local churches seems to have been Pacelli's life obsession. In this way he behaved no differently from any other diplomat protecting his nation's interest. But Pacelli was a priest, not a secular diplomat. As Cornwall shows, Pacelli had an
obligation to strenghten German catholic resistance to Hitler. Instead, his concordat with Germany essentially neutered the Catholic Democratic party which was strong enough that it might have blunted Hitler's rise or at least his complete destruction of the rule of law. By the time Pacelli became Pope it was too late.
Cornwall does not argue that Pius was complicit in the murder of European Jewry. Nor does he imply that Pius's anti-semetism made him indifferent to the magnitude of Hitler's crimes. But what
he does reveal is that the Vatican did much much less than it could have both to save Jewish lives on an individual basis and
more importantly, to bring the scope and magnitude of Hitler's crimes to light while there was still time to do something about it. A concerted Vatican campaign for ALlied action might have had an effect. In the end, Cornwall's Pius does not come across as "Hitler's Pope" but as a flawed very human and certainly unheroic man. He effectively counters Vatican propoganda that Pius saved thousands of lives and did all he could. He makes a clear case why Eugenio Pacelli, a man who had the moral authority of the entire Catholic Church acted more as a Machievallien prince than the Holy Father Catholics expect. Quite clearly, this man should
never be canonized. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Cornwell's own opinion for sure
Review: It often infuriates me when people will believe anything that they read, see or hear. Oftentimes not even finding out if what the person is saying is true or not. In taking a position on something one should look into what both sides have to say. Then and only then can someone come to a decision whether one is right and one is wrong. Obviously they both cannot be right and therefore one must be wrong. This book defenitely shows signs of Cornwell's own opinions the way that he attacks Pius XII. If one correctly remembers history he will recall that it was the Catholic Church who first stood against Hitler, before even the United States became involved. A quite famous person noted this during the period and did not hesitate to show his appreciation:

"The Catholic Church was the only one to raise its voice against Hitler's attack on freedom. Until that period the Church had never attracted my attention, but today I express my great admiration and my profound attachment to this Church which alone had the boundless courage to fight for moral and spiritual freedom." Albert Einstein (himself a Jew)

I would suggest to people to consider the source before jumping to conclusions about things. A great movie that shows a small part of what the Catholic Church did during WWII is "The Scarlet and the Black" but this is not just a movie, it is based on a true story.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Extraordinary
Review: The most striking thing about this book is how Cornwell is able to show great admiration for Catholicism and many in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, while at the same time reveal a "moral outrage" with those -- even at the highest level -- who have tainted and abused the power vested by the Church in them. Very nuanced and insightful. Beware of anyone who suggests that this book is in any way anti-catholic.

Rating:
Summary: An ear-splitting silence
Review: Eugenio Pacelli was elected to be Pope Pius XII in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, and he died in 1958. Even before he became Pope he was involved in the political development in Europe, particularly when serving as papal nuncio in Germany and as Cardinal responsible for foreign affairs in Vatican City. Under his guidance a concordat was made with Hitler's Germany in which the influential, Roman catholic Center Party "voluntarily" (at the command of Rome) gave up its influence. Also during the war the role of Pius XII, the moral guide of a quarter of the world population at that time, is debatable at best. In particular his "ear-splitting" silence in view of the genocide on the Jews is astounding.

John Cornwell has written the portrait of a lonely man who made an enormous series of misjudgements and because of the omnipotence of the Pope (a position on which he had worked himself even before his pontificate) who became more and more estranged from worldly affairs. But he also describes Pius XII as a frightened man, who, as was tradition in his time, was a racist and who could not cope with the modernizing tendencies in the church.

A well-written, important book on a Pope whose canonization is apparently coming. After reading the book my impression is that this would absolutely not be deserved.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Try.
Review: Not the best research book I've read. The facts in Cornwell's book contrast with many others on the subject, whether they are supportive of Pius XII or not. He focuses too much on his opinion of how evil Eugenio Pacelli was as a person, frequently misquoting and manipulating events. His lack of sufficient endnotes is impressive, it seems he didn't really take advantage of the documents he supposedly had exclusively seen. I recommend instead Hitler, the War, and the Pope, by Ronald J. Rychlak.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on an awful pope
Review: Corwell's book is excellent. It's not likely that Pius XII could have changed the fate of European Jews, even if had demonstrated less benevolence towards nazi Germany, or half of his predecessor Pius XI's courage. But he must be remembered as a truly reactionary politician, a modest person, and a terrible pope. As a further reading I suggest Rosetta Loy's first-hand account of those years in Rome, "First Words: A Childhood in Fascist Italy" (trans. Gregory Conti, publ. Henry Holt).

Rating:
Summary: People are hating it for all the wrong reasons.
Review: John Cornwell, Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII (Viking, 1999)

I feel guilty abandoning this book. The subject matter is tailor made to suit my tastes, and so many reviews of the book have focused, incorrectly, on Cornwell's seeming obsession with attacking the Roman Catholic Church and his methods of research, that I couldn't imagine not liking it when I picked it up. But quite simply, Hitler's Pope is an unmitigated disaster.

This is not to say that many of its critics are not still incorrect in their assessment of Cornwell's work. A number of reviewers have stated that the book has already been refuted by "scholarly" sources (without providing any references or other evidence of same), saying that Cornwell's previously-unused
sources are, in fact, not secret at all (despite Cornwell's exhaustive list of sources, in which he repeatedly states that many of them were previously public-- another straw man built by Catholics with axes to grind), pointing out that Pius XII was honored by the Jews for his work in World War II (which, as should be obvious to anyone with half an ounce of logic in their bodies, has nothing to do with what he actually did during WW2, nor does it have anything to do with what Hitler did with his actions before WW2, etc.), or combinations of the above and other similar easily-dismissed attacks on Cornwall. All of them serve the purpose of drumming up more interest in the book and making people wonder what all the fuss is about, thus increasing the book's authorship. These critics, who I suspect mindlessly bash anything containing any anti-Catholic sentiment whatsoever, miss using the most effective arrow in their quivers. Putting aside all the sectarian nonsense that's been written about the book and its research methods, Cornwell's writing simply isn't all that good. Many assertions are made throughout that should have been footnoted that weren't, and conclusions are drawn that
aren't labelled as conclusions, so we've no idea whether they're conclusions drawn by Cornwell himself or drawn in his sources. Worse, the prose is dry as the paper upon which the book is printed.

Don't avoid Cornwell because he has an axe to grind against the Roman Catholic Church (assuming some fragment of that statement is actually true), avoid him because he's not a good writer. (zero)

Rating:
Summary: Anti-Catholic bigotry disguised as history
Review: This book is just another in an endless list of character assassinations of Pope Pius XII. It seems to have escaped Mr. Cornwell, who supposedly spent months in the "secret Vatican archives", that it was the Nazis and Nazism who were responsible for WWII and the Holocaust, not the Pope and Catholicism. Furthermore, he makes absolutely no allowance for the fact that Hitler was not someone who took advice, nevermind orders, from anyone let alone the Pope.

To think that Pius XII, who wasn't even elected Pope until 1939, could have prevented Hitler's rise to power is so ridiculous it almost doesn't merit a response. That's like saying the Archbishop of New York could have prevented George W. Bush getting elected president.

If you decide to read this book keep this one fact in mind. People like Cornwell and Gary Wills among others have one agenda. They disagree with the church on contemporary social issues(abortion, homosexuality, women priests etc). So, to try and discredit the church they publish pseudo-histories like this.

One of these days someone is going to write a book exposing the real villains behind Hitler's rise to power. Artists like Leni Refenstahl whose films glorified Hitler, university intellecuals who lent their prestige to the Nazis' half-baked racial theories and the myriad homosexuals who honeycombed the ranks of the Storm Troopers. When that book is published then the you-know-what is really gonna hit the fan.

If you are a reader who REALLY wants to find out what the Pope and the Church accomplished during the war read "The Defamation of Pius XII" by Ralph McInerny. You will get an even handed account that doesn't try and turn Pius XII into a saint but by the same token gives an honest rendering of the man's courageous actions during the War.

Rating:
Summary: Well-Researched, Sure to Upset
Review: John Cornwell's Hitler's Pope (The Secrect History of Pius XII) is poorly titled as the title will offend while simplifying a much more complex relationship described beautifully in the book. The author examines the actions of the Pope, including his important pre-Papal days in Germany, during the horrible times leading up to the Second World War and, more importantly, the actions (virtual non-actions) of the Pope during the Holocaust, adequately representing the papal side of the issue. Many will denounce these facts as anti-Catholic although the truth of the research stands up and has been substianted elsewhere. Ignoring history and its lessons dooms one to repeat it. This is an important and well-presented book on an aspect of a horrible time.

Rating:
Summary: Not the case for the prosecution
Review: John Cornwell, a respected British historian examines the diplomatic career of Cardinal Pacelli/Pio XII. The title is perhaps unfortunate and likely to inflame passions (it has, look at the other reviews) which is a mistake, as the book is really a rather careful examination of his long career. If Cornwell is too critical of Pius' Anti-Semitism (most Conservative Italians of his time were Anti-Semitic, and racist and homophobic , too, by the standards of 2001), in other areas he lavishes praise on the Pontiff, and is rather generous in his assesment of the Pope's conduct on the eve of the War. Clearly there are Catholics who prefer Pius XII to his successor, and clearly Cornwell is not one of them, but that does not make this book a mere polemic-- certainly it has more of scholarship than the purely parochial hagiography in circulation. In many ways his conclusions are not so different from those of the devout and conservative A. Rich:
1. An authoritarian, Pius thought that authoritarian governments were easier to deal with.
2. Pius hated and feared Communism, Socialism, and often, liberal democracy, which seemed to him to be about the same thing. Hence his relative coolness to the allies.
3. Pius was not a man who listened much to others. Consequently he was often unswayed by developing events. He ignored the German Bishops and the Zentrum leadership in the early '30's, and he continued to treat Hitler in '44 much as he treated him in '40, even as more opportunistic leaders trimmed their sails.
4. Given limited resources, he devoted most of his efforts to preserving the Church, going out of his way to help converts to Catholicism and a few individuals on his doorstep, but not sacrificing the Church in what might have been a useless endeavor to save an alien faith.
About the controversial title: it seems to be not uncommon among Italians... some years ago two Italian friends of mine referred to Pacelli as "The Pope of Hitler" and said this what he had often been called in Naples, their hometown. While Cornwell's bibliography is rich in Church materials, his coverage of(secular) German, Mexican and Spanish history could be much better- his reliance on the very biased Rops is inexcusable in a work of scholarship.