The Pope at War

Praise

“A masterly character study of a flawed, tormented leader and a cautionary tale about the perils of both-sides-ism.”—The New Yorker

“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 the Nazi and fascist regimes before and during the war.”—The Washington Post

“Definitive.”—The Boston Globe

“David Kertzer has spent decades excavating the Vatican’s hidden history . . . winning a Pulitzer and capturing Hollywood’s attention. [His] new book . . . documents the private decision-making that led Pope Pius XII to stay essentially silent about Hitler’s genocide and argues that the pontiff’s impact on the war is underestimated. And not in a good way.”—The New York Times

“Remarkable.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A damning picture of a holy man who chose to remain silent about the mass destruction of European Jewry.”—Haaretz

“A highly readable, a character-driven history well-paced with textured personalities, and a wealth of granular detail . . . [Kertzer] rarely editorializes—the facts are numbingly powerful.”—National Catholic Reporter

“A riveting history and valuable lesson for our time about the perils of neutrality.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Combin[es] extraordinary documentation and elegant writing.”—BookPage

“A captivating account of palace intrigue . . . [his] revelations . . . make sense of a papal tenure often excused away by apologists and, until now, not fully understood by scholars.”—The Forward

“The most authoritative study yet [of Pius XII] . . . a searing indictment.”—HistoryNet

“Fascinating, horrifying . . . a damning portrait.”—Providence Journal

“Kertzer present[s] a highly unflattering evidence of the pope’s role during the Second World War and his silence regarding the Holocaust.”—Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler: A Biography

“With its compelling narrative, interesting and complex characters, strong plot, and beautiful writing, The Pope at War is the best historical nonfiction book I have ever read.”—Alan Lightman, author of Einstein’s Dreams

“With Kertzer’s magnum opus, the book on Pius XII is written, the dispute resolved, the case closed.”—James Carroll, author of Constantine’s Sword

“Brace yourself for a story full of horrors.”—Garry Wills, author of Why I Am a Catholic

“David I. Kertzer has outdone himself and crowned his extraordinary career with this volume on Pope Pius XII.”—Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Harvard University

“A magisterial new study of how the Vatican navigated World War II and why Pope Pius XII stayed silent in the face of the mass murder of Jews.”—Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of history and Italian studies, New York University