The heart-pounding history of how Pope Pius XII -- often labeled'Hitler's Pope'-- was in fact an anti-Nazi spymaster, plotting against the Third Reich during World War II. The Vatican's silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him'Hitler's Pope.'But a key part of the story has remained untold. Pope Pius in fact ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he sent birthday cards to Hitler -- while secretly plotting to kill him. He skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers, and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. Under his leadership the Vatican spy ring actively plotted against the Third Reich. Told with heart-pounding suspense and drawing on secret transcripts and unsealed files by an acclaimed author, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. Riebling reveals here how the world's greatest moral institution met the greatest moral crisis in history.

The Pope S Secret War Against Hitler

Riebling, Mark, author

Scribe Publications

Basic Civitas Books

United States, United States of America

September 29, 2015

New York, NY, 2015

Melbourne, 2015

1, PT, 2015

The Vatican's silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him “Hitler's Pope.” But a key part of the story has remained untold.
Pius ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers, and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. When he learned of the Holocaust, Pius played his cards close to his chest. He sent birthday cards to Hitler—while secretly plotting to kill him.
Church of Spies documents this cloak and dagger intrigue in shocking detail. Gun-toting Jesuits stole blueprints to Hitler's homes. A Catholic book publisher flew a sports plane over the Alps with secrets filched from the head of Hitler's bodyguard. The keeper of the Vatican crypt ran a spy ring that betrayed German war plans and wounded Hitler in a briefcase bombing.
The plotters made history in ways they hardly expected. They inspired European unification, forged a U.S.-Vatican alliance that spanned the Cold War, and challenged Church teachings on Jews. Yet Pius' secret war muted his public response to Nazi crimes. Fearing that overt protest would impede his covert actions, he never spoke the “fiery words” he wanted.
Told with heart-pounding suspense, based on secret transcripts and unsealed files, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. The result is an unprecedented book that will change perceptions of how the world's greatest moral institution met the greatest moral crisis in history.

The heart-pounding history of how Pope Pius XII--often labeled "Hitler's Pope"--was in fact an anti-Nazi spymaster, plotting against the Third Reich during World War II The Vatican's silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him "Hitler's Pope." But a key part of the story has remained untold. Pope Pius in fact ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he sent birthday cards to Hitler--while secretly plotting to kill him. He skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers, and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. Under his leadership the Vatican spy ring actively plotted against the Third Reich. Told with heart-pounding suspense and drawing on secret transcripts and unsealed files, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. Riebling reveals here how the world's greatest moral institution met the greatest moral crisis in history

History Has Accused Wartime Pontiff Pius The Twelfth Of Complicity In The Holocaust And Dubbed Him Hitler's Pope. Riebling Shows That, In Reality, Pius Ran The World's Largest Church, Smallest State, And Oldest Spy Service. Skimming From Church Charities To Pay Covert Couriers, And Surreptitiously Tape-recording Meetings With Top Nazis, Pius Played Sent Birthday Cards To Hitler-- While Secretly Plotting To Kill Him. Fearing That Overt Protest Would Impede His Covert Actions, He Muted His Public Response To Nazi Crimes. Darkness Over The Earth -- The End Of Germany -- Joey Ox -- Tyrannicide -- Someone To Kill Him -- Luck Of The Devil -- The Black Chapel -- Absolute Secrecy -- The X-report -- Warnings To The West -- The Brown Birds -- Forging The Iron -- The Committee -- Conversations In The Crypt -- Shootout In The Cathedral -- Two Bottles Of Cognac -- The Siegfried Blueprints -- The White Knight -- Prisoner Of The Vatican -- It Must Happen -- Holy Germany -- The Trove -- Hell -- The Gallows -- A Dead Man -- The Emerald Lake. Mark Riebling. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Pope Pius XII is perhaps the most detested pope in modern history, vilified for allegedly appeasing Hitler and betraying the Jewish people by remaining silent during the Holocaust. But this conventional narrative is not the full story.
In Church of Spies , the intelligence expert Mark Riebling draws on a wealth of recently uncovered documents to argue that, far from being Hitlers lackey, Pius was an active anti-Nazi spymaster. He directed a vast network of Vatican operativespriests and laypeople alikewho partnered with the German resistance, tipped the Allies off to Hitlers invasions of France and Russia, and involved themselves in three separate plots to assassinate Hitler.
A fast-paced and gripping tale of secrecy, danger, and self-sacrifice, Church of Spies takes readers from hidden crypts beneath the Vatican to Nazi bunkers in Germany to chart the true legacy of Piuss secret war. Although these revelations do not excuse Piuss public silence during the war, they provide us with a deeper understanding of the man reviled by so many.

viii, 375 pages ; 25 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 331-357) and index
Darkness over the earth -- The end of Germany -- Joey Ox -- Extraordinary affairs -- The Pope is very interested -- Luck of the devil -- The Keller affair -- Absolute secrecy -- The X-report -- Warnings to the West -- The brown birds -- Forging the iron -- Conversations in the crypt -- Prague fatale -- A bottle of cognac -- The Siegfried blueprints -- Interrogations -- Prisoner of the Vatican -- D-Day -- X-Day -- The trove -- Hell -- The gallows -- Shoot them all! -- We cherished the hope

Prologue
Darkness over the Earth
The End of Germany
Joey Ox
Tyrannicide
Someone to Kill Him
Luck of the Devil
The Black Chapel
Absolute Secrecy
The X-Report
Warnings to the West
The Brown Birds
Forging the Iron
The Committee
Conversations in the Crypt
Shootout in the Cathedral
Two Bottles of Cognac
The Siegfried Blueprints
The White Knight
Prisoner of the Vatican
It Must Happen
Holy Germany
The Trove
Hell
The Gallows
A Dead Man
The Emerald Lake
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Notes
Sources
Index

2023-06-28