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Hitler, the War, and the Pope
Perhaps no modern day leader of the Roman Catholic Church has sparked as much controversy as Pope Pius XII, the Bishop of Rome during World War II. Was he a Nazi sympathizer? Or did he vehemently oppose Hitler's regime? Professor Ron Rychlak gives a full exploration of the back-ground facts, including discussions of history, religion, politics, diplomacy and military tactics.
470 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2000
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About the author
Ronald J. Rychlak
16 books8 followersProfessor Ronald J. Rychlak is the Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada Lecturer and Professor of Law. He has been on the faculty since 1987. He currently serves as the university’s Faculty Athletic Representative, and he is the former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. He is a graduate of Wabash College (BA, cum laude) and Vanderbilt University (JD, Order of the Coif). Prior to joining the faculty, Ron practiced law with Jenner & Block in Chicago, and he served as a clerk to Hon. Harry W. Wellford of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ron is an advisor to the Holy See’s delegation to the United Nations and a member of the Mississippi Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He is on the committee appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to revise the state’s criminal code, and he serves on the editorial board of The Gaming Law Review. He is also on Advisory Boards for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Ave Maria School of Law, and the International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute. In 2006 the Society of Catholic Social Scientists awarded him the Blessed Frederic Ozanam Award for Social Action, and in 2007 he was an honoree at the U.S. Holocaust Museum for his work with on inter-faith dialogue.
Prof. Rychlak is the author or co-author of eight books, including Real and Demonstrative Evidence: Applications and Theory (3rd ed., 2012). Lawyers Weekly USA called it a “very valuable resource for lawyers looking to stay on top of their changing world.” The Weekly Standard called his book, Hitler, the War, and the Pope(2nd ed., 2010), “the best and most careful of the recent works [on the church during World War II], an elegant tome of serious, critical scholarship.” His latest book Disinformation (WND Books, 2013) is co-authored with the highest ranking Soviet Bloc intelligence officer ever to defect. Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey called it a “remarkable book [that] will change the way you look at intelligence, foreign affairs, the press, and much else.” Ron has also contributed chapters to several books and entries to several encyclopedias. He has been published in the Mississippi Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, The Stanford Environmental Law Journal, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other periodicals and journals.
Ron is an advisor to the Holy See’s delegation to the United Nations and a member of the Mississippi Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He is on the committee appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court to revise the state’s criminal code, and he serves on the editorial board of The Gaming Law Review. He is also on Advisory Boards for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Ave Maria School of Law, and the International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute. In 2006 the Society of Catholic Social Scientists awarded him the Blessed Frederic Ozanam Award for Social Action, and in 2007 he was an honoree at the U.S. Holocaust Museum for his work with on inter-faith dialogue.
Prof. Rychlak is the author or co-author of eight books, including Real and Demonstrative Evidence: Applications and Theory (3rd ed., 2012). Lawyers Weekly USA called it a “very valuable resource for lawyers looking to stay on top of their changing world.” The Weekly Standard called his book, Hitler, the War, and the Pope(2nd ed., 2010), “the best and most careful of the recent works [on the church during World War II], an elegant tome of serious, critical scholarship.” His latest book Disinformation (WND Books, 2013) is co-authored with the highest ranking Soviet Bloc intelligence officer ever to defect. Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey called it a “remarkable book [that] will change the way you look at intelligence, foreign affairs, the press, and much else.” Ron has also contributed chapters to several books and entries to several encyclopedias. He has been published in the Mississippi Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, The Stanford Environmental Law Journal, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other periodicals and journals.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 23, 2015
I believe that like many others, I was drawn to this book in light of the recent attempts to rewrite history from the perspective that Pope Pius XII was somehow "Hitler's Pope." With a mixture of excellent scholarly research, an avalanche of unbiased data from around the globe and good old fashioned sound arguments, the author takes the aforementioned attempts and renders them preposterous. Time and again we are shown that the pope was unquestionably praised for the humanitarian work he did throughout World War II from Catholic and non-Catholic circles alike. At every step, the pope and his subordinates attempted to save lives, whosoever they might have been. In the end, he risked his own personal safety in staying at the Vatican, as Nazi plots were devised to have him "removed for his own safety." The incredible amount of research done did have the side effect of more citations and glances into the notes than I necessarily wanted to do, but each time I did dig deeper, I found even more well-written arguments and supporting documentation. I especially enjoyed the end of the book, in which the author, keenly aware of the arguments espoused by those who wish to disparage the memory of Pope Pius XII, succeeds in answering the charges now posthumously laid at his feet. The way in which the author shines a light on the bald-faced duplicity of a particularly recent anti-Pius book to support its arguments is particularly enlightening. It might not have the sexy cover art of some of the books it seeks to counter but if your goal is substance over style, give it a read!
April 2, 2016
In "Hitler, the War and the Pope" Ronald Rychlak, a law professor, seeks to refute the allegation that Pius XII supported the Nazi genocide of Europe's Jews. This work is not history. No effort is made to place events in their context. It is a defense pleading in which specific charges are refuted.
Pius XII intensely disliked the Nazis from the time he first became aware of them in the 1920's when he was the papal nuncio to Germany and vigorously denounced them in his 1937 encyclical "Mit brennender sorge". During WWII, Pius XII tacitly supported the activities of many of his priests and nuns who hid Jews in Nazi occupied countries or in other cases operated networks to smuggle them to countries where they would be safe. Pius XII himself allowed roughly 5,000 Roman Jews to escape the extermination camps by giving them shelter at his summer residence the Castel Gandolfo.
Pius XII, however, was very frightened of the Nazis and did not criticize them openly for fear of reprisals against his priests and nuns. Rychlak argues that Pius XII was simply being sensible. Had he provoked Hitler, the retaliation would likely have been so severe that it would have ended all the various activities being conducted to hide and protect Hitler's intended victims.
Rychlak undoubtedly makes the case that Pius XII did not support Hitler. His effort to show that Pius XII's opposition was pragmatic rather than excessively timid is less successful. Those who people that Pius XII should have vigorously denounced Hitler in public are entitled to their point of view. There is not justification, however, for saying that Pius XII supported the Nazis.
Pius XII intensely disliked the Nazis from the time he first became aware of them in the 1920's when he was the papal nuncio to Germany and vigorously denounced them in his 1937 encyclical "Mit brennender sorge". During WWII, Pius XII tacitly supported the activities of many of his priests and nuns who hid Jews in Nazi occupied countries or in other cases operated networks to smuggle them to countries where they would be safe. Pius XII himself allowed roughly 5,000 Roman Jews to escape the extermination camps by giving them shelter at his summer residence the Castel Gandolfo.
Pius XII, however, was very frightened of the Nazis and did not criticize them openly for fear of reprisals against his priests and nuns. Rychlak argues that Pius XII was simply being sensible. Had he provoked Hitler, the retaliation would likely have been so severe that it would have ended all the various activities being conducted to hide and protect Hitler's intended victims.
Rychlak undoubtedly makes the case that Pius XII did not support Hitler. His effort to show that Pius XII's opposition was pragmatic rather than excessively timid is less successful. Those who people that Pius XII should have vigorously denounced Hitler in public are entitled to their point of view. There is not justification, however, for saying that Pius XII supported the Nazis.
July 16, 2015
The author provides exceptional details to refute charges made by other authors that Pope Pius XII favored Hitler and Nazism in the 1930s and during World War II. He refutes very well charges that the Pope did not help Jews during WWII and could have done more to protect Christians and others under Hitler's thumb as the war in Europe began. His chapter notes are expansive; some of the detailed material in the chapter may have been better relegated to the Notes section simply to streamline the narrative and provide only essential facts and statements. The book's organization is chronological and easy to follow. The author stays on task and discusses important issues related to this time in history.
February 11, 2014
Ronald Rychlak does an excellent job of providing the reader with a chronological progression of both Hitler's rise in Germany and Pius XII consistent opposition to his Nazi ideology. Each claim is responsibly backed and references listed are accessible to the reader. Very well done.
October 15, 2024
Published in 2000 Professor Rychlak has written a thoroughly researched account of Pius X11's Pontificate during World War 2.
Contrary to some previous, bias accounts of Pius's leadership during the War, Professor Rychlak relied on numerous contemporaries who supported the Pope's tireless efforts on behalf of Jews trapped in occupied Europe.
Pope Pius X11's assaults began in 1963 by German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's play,'Der Stellvertreter'. Hochhuth depicted the Pope as "indifferent toward Nazi atrocities."
But well founded research, through this book, has dispelled Mr. Hochhuth's interpretation of Pius X11.
Contrary to some previous, bias accounts of Pius's leadership during the War, Professor Rychlak relied on numerous contemporaries who supported the Pope's tireless efforts on behalf of Jews trapped in occupied Europe.
Pope Pius X11's assaults began in 1963 by German playwright Rolf Hochhuth's play,'Der Stellvertreter'. Hochhuth depicted the Pope as "indifferent toward Nazi atrocities."
But well founded research, through this book, has dispelled Mr. Hochhuth's interpretation of Pius X11.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews