New Review: The Myth of Hitler’s Pope

The following is a brief excerpt from a review posted on PopandPolitics.com:

When one mentions World War II, most people think of the Holocaust because of its monumental impact on the lives of millions of people. And if one were to play a word association game with the Holocaust, people would probably offer responses such as Jews, Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, and gas chambers.
What people might not offer as a response or even think about are the actions of the Catholic Church in respect to that tragic event. They certainly wouldn’t offer as a typical response the Holy See of that era, Pope Pius XII — sometimes referred to as Hitler’s Pope.

Rabbi David G. Dalin has written an interesting book which concerns the life of Pope Pius XII and his hotly debated role in the attempted genocide of Europe’s Jews. “The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis” (Regnery Publishing), lays out two parallel arguments. The main thesis is that Pope Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, condemned Nazism, Hitler, and anti-Semitism at large. This runs counter to many critics who charge that Pius condoned HItler and was a Nazi sympathizer. The second argument is broader and puts forth the reasoning that throughout history, the papacy has been a friend to the Jews when the world persecuted and murdered them.

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