Pius XII, the Holocaust and the Revisionists : Essays

by GALLO PATRICK J. (ED)

• ISBN13: 9780786423743
• ISBN10: 0786423749
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-11-30
• Publisher: McFarland & Co Inc Pub

Summary

When Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli became Pope Pius XII in 1939, the Nazis had invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia and were poised to strike Poland. Jews and other minorities were already being sent to concentration camps, and the world was on the verge of another horrific war. The prevailing historical interpretation of the era was that Pius XII had a stated anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist policy; he tried to bring an end to the persecution and gave aid and comfort to those who were persecuted. Revisionist views, however, portray Pius XII as a silent, passive individual who ignored the treatment of Jews, Christians and other minorities-a man who could have stopped the holocaust and didn't. Through a series of articles and essays, the editor and eight contributors critique the works of revisionists who allege that Pius XII was sympathetic to the Nazis or unresistant to their atrocities. The essays discuss the roots of these views in the relentless Nazi and communist propaganda of the era, and the debate's revival after a 1960s stage play portrayed the pope as a leader afraid to speak out. By bringing intellectual rigor and responsibility to the issue, this work makes a solid contribution to the history of the papacy and to the biography of Pius XII.

Author Biography

Patrick J. Gallo is adjunct professor of political science at New York University and has authored 10 other books. He has been a scholar-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome, a Fulbright Scholar and an NEH Fellow.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(8)
Beyond The Deputy: Origins of the New Revisionism	9	(34)
Patrick J. Gallo
The Road to Dachau	43	(16)
Patrick J. Gallo
Pius XI, Pius XII, and the Fuhrer: Peter Godman Against Two Men of God	59	(6)
Matteo Luigi Napolitano
Pius XI's Hidden Encyclical: An Appraisal	65	(2)
George Sim Johnson
We Have Contended with Diabolical Forces	67	(12)
Patrick J. Gallo
The Pope and the Shoah	79	(5)
Justus George Lawler
The Pope Pius XII Controversy: A Review Article	84	(20)
Kenneth D. Whitehead
Interventions by the Pope and the Nuncio	104	(6)
Jeno Levai
To Halt the Dreadful Crime	110	(26)
Patrick J. Gallo
Zuccotti's Lack of Evidence	136	(14)
Ronald Rychlak
Via Rasella and the Ardeatine Massacre	150	(12)
Patrick J. Gallo
Constantine's Sword: A Review Article	162	(5)
Robert P. Lockwood
Goldhagen vs. Christianity	167	(14)
Ronald Rychlak
Epilogue: The End of the Pius Wars	181	(6)
Joseph Bottum
Chapter Notes	187	(26)
About the Contributors	213	(2)
Index	215