Book cover of The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958

Book description

The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958 examines the most momentous years in papal history. Popes Benedict XV (1914-1922), Pius XI (1922-1939), and Pius XII (1939-1958) faced the challenges of two world wars and the Cold War, and threats posed by totalitarian dictatorships like Italian Fascism, German National Socialism,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Papacy in the Age of Totalitarianism, 1914-1958 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Pollard is a masterful storyteller, and I particularly appreciate his ability to transcend his own feelings and prejudices in order to tell an objective tale about Catholicism during the dark age of fascist and communist dictatorships.

My favourite part of the book is the sober assessment of the papacy’s role when surrounded by totalitarianism and total warfare. He has little time for the myth of Hitler’s pope but is fair when it comes to the Vatican's far-from-happy flirtation with the Ustaše fascist regime in Croatia.

The other element I am chiefly impressed with is Pollard's ability to tell a global…

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