Overview

Collaborative effort by a number of the world's leading experts on the Holocaust. Lively, but not sensationalistic, this book is balanced but on the cutting edge of one of the most important debates in this field: how should Vatican policies during World War II be understood? Specifically, could Pope Pius XII have curbed the Holocaust by vigorously condemning the Nazi killing of Jews? Was Pius XII really 'Hitler's Pope', as John Cornwell's provocative book recently suggested? Or has he unfairly become a scapegoat when he is really deserving of canonization as a Roman Catholic saint instead? In Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust, well-informed scholars--including Michael Marrus, Michael Phayer, Richard L. Rubenstein and Susan Zuccotti--wrestle with these questions. The book has four main themes: (1) Pope Pius XII must be understood in his particular historical context. (2) Pope Pius XII put the well-being of the Roman Catholic Church--as he understood that well-being--first and foremost. (3) In retrospect, Pope Pius XII's priorities--understandable though they are--not only make him a problematic Christian leader but also raise important questions about post-Holocaust Christian identity. (4) Jewish and Christian memories of the Holocaust will remain different, but reconciliation can continue to grow. On all sides, relations between Christians and Jews can be improved by an honest facing of history and by continuing reflection about what post-Holocaust Christian and Jewish identities ought--and ought not--to mean.

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9780826475664

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John K. Roth is the Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights at Claremont McKenna College, where he taught from 1966 through 2006. His numerous books include Genocide and Human Rights: A Philosophical Guide (Palgrave Macmillan), Ethics During and After the Holocaust: In the Shadow of Birkenau (Palgrave Macmillan), and The Oxford Handbook of Holocaust Studies (Oxford University Press). In 1988, Roth was named U.S. National Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Carol Rittner is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and Raticoff Grossman Emeritus Professor of Holocaust Studies at the Richard Stockton University of New Jersey, USA.

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