Overview

Accused of being ""silent"" during the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII and the Vatican of World War II are now exonerated in Gordon Thomas' newest investigative work, ""The Pope's Jews"". Thomas' careful research into new, first-hand accounts reveal an underground network of priests, nuns and citizens that risked their lives daily to protect Roman Jews. Investigating assassination plots, conspiracies, and secret conversions, Thomas unveils faked documentation, quarantines, and more extraordinary actions taken by Catholics and the Vatican. ""The Pope's Jews"" finally answers the great moral question of the War: Why did Pope Pius XII refuse to condemn the genocide of Europe's Jews?

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9780312604219

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Many may find fault with the pope's decision to keep silent and not single out by name the Nazis or their crimes; however, Thomas is convincing in his revelations about the pope's secret work and relays how complex and sensitive these issues were for everyone involved at the time. Any World War II history buff or Holocaust researcher will find this book an important balance to existing historical scholarship. -- Library Journal on The Pope's Jews The reputation of Pius XII, pope from 1939 to 1958, has been subjected to criticism for the pontiff's alleged silence about the Holocaust. The best-known Pius-bashing title is Hitler's Pope, by John Cornwell (1999). In this rebuttal to Cornwell and other critics, Thomas recounts the period of maximum danger for the Vatican during WWII, from September 1943 to June 1944, when German forces occupied Rome, and Hitler sought to kidnap the pope. He also tried to capture the city's Jewish population, an operation that largely fizzled from the Nazi point of view, with most Jews eluding the dragnet (although about 1,200 did not). How the rest were saved is Thomas's main case for Pius, which he makes by narrating activities of local Jewish leaders, Vatican prelates, and German officers. When the SS sprang its trap, thousands of Jews had received shelter in Rome's churches, convents, and the Vatican itself. Suggesting that Pius was responsible for this, Thomas presents an earnest defense while sketching Rome's menacing atmosphere during the Nazi occupation. Pair this title with Ralph McInerney's Defamation of Pius XII (2001). -- Booklist on The Pope's Jews Gordon Thomas's new book The Pope's Jews: The Vatican's secret Plan to Save the Jews from the Nazis, is one of the few books that accurately reflects the truth of the terrible years of the War II based on primary source documented evidence rather than unsupported accusations. He logically assembles the jig saw puzzle of evidence and analyzes

Literally impossible to put down. -- The New York Times on Gideon's Spies <br><br> Tells it like it was--and like it is. --Meir Amit, former Director General of Mossad on Gideon's Spies A compelling read, with any number of disturbing revelations. -- FHM on Gideon's Spies Authoritative history of Britain's spy services by a veteran who has been writing about the Great Game for fifty years [and a] well-written page-turner that demystifies the notoriously foggy wilderness of mirrors. -- Kirkus Reviews on Secret Wars A fine depiction of the multifaceted context of this cause celebre. -- Kirkus Reviews on Operation Exodus

Author Information

GORDON THOMAS is a bestselling author of forty books published worldwide, and a leading expert on the often sinister world of secret intelligence. He lives in England.

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