Why read The Pope at War?

Book cover of The Pope at War: The Secret History of Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler

Book description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The most important book ever written about the Catholic Church and its conduct during World War II.”—Daniel Silva

“Kertzer brings all of his usual detective and narrative skills to [The Pope at War] . . . the most comprehensive account of the Vatican’s relations to…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Pope at War as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ambrogio A. Caiani

Author

Whether Pius XII collaborated with Fascism and Nazism during the 1940s remains controversial.

Pope Francis’ decision to open the Vatican’s files relating to the Second World War in March 2020 has been game-changing. David Kertzer was the first scholar to access these files and publish an in-depth study on Pope Pacelli’s role during WWII.

The result has been both moving and disturbing in equal measure. Kertzer reveals in his lyrically written book the Pope’s disturbing willingness to negotiate with Hitler and Mussolini, maintaining a rigid diplomatic silence on the atrocities they committed. Despite this, Pius XII was often willing to…

From Ambrogio's 3 favorite reads in 2023.