A special mission : Hitler's secret plot to seize the Vatican and kidnap Pope Pius XII / Dan Kurzman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kurzman, Dan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Catholic Church.

International relations.

Germany--Foreign relations--Catholic Church.

Germany.

Catholic Church--Foreign relations--Germany.

Political kidnapping.

Pius XII, Pope, 1876-1958.

Pius.

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945).

Vatican City--Strategic aspects.

Vatican City.

Physical Description:

xvii, 285 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Da Capo Press, [2007]

Summary:

When Hitler learned in September 1943 that his ally and friend Mussolini had been toppled from power in Italy, he flew into a rage. He ordered German troops into Rome and outlined "a special mission" to SS General Karl Wolff, who had been Heinrich Himmler's chief aide. The mission: to seize the Vatican and kidnap Pope Pius XII.

With German troops occupying Rome, and plans under way to deport Rome's Jews to Auschwitz as part of "The Final Solution," Wolff and other officials played a dangerous game-one that would change lives, reputations, and history. While the conspirators, who realized that Germany might lose the war, stalled Hitler's plot, they approached Pius, hoping to convince him that his silence about the impending roundup of Jews could save his life and the treasures of the Vatican, and possibly soften the blow against the Jewish community. The pope's decision, in the face of Hitler's plan, would change the course of history.

This tale of intrigue and betrayal is one of the most extraordinary episodes of World War II. Dan Kurzman was the first journalist to interview General Wolff following his release from prison after the war. And this is the only book to tell the full, behind-the-scenes story of the plot against the Vatican and its far-reaching consequences.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Prelude to Madness 5

Chapter 2 Wolff in the Wolf's Lair 11

Chapter 3 The Plotters 18

Chapter 4 Flirting with Treason 39

Chapter 5 Fighting for Hitler's Ear 48

Chapter 6 The Only Way to Save Germany 63

Chapter 7 Closer to Himmler than to Himmel 74

Chapter 8 A Wandering Dog 82

Chapter 9 A Prisoner of Sorts 89

Chapter 10 Out of Fear of Men 95

Chapter 11 Living with God and the Devil 105

Chapter 12 A Blueprint for Massacre 115

Chapter 13 An Agonizing Dilemma 120

Chapter 14 The Art of Examining Walls 135

Chapter 15 A Question of Priority 145

Chapter 16 Eve of Desperation 160

Chapter 17 "But They Promised Me" 177

Chapter 18 A Bargain in Blood 193

Chapter 19 The Mathematics of Murder 197

Chapter 20 The Path to the Vatican 211

Chapter 21 The Odd Couple 220

Chapter 22 Meeting a New Conqueror 224

Chapter 23 Saved from the Noose 232.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-268) and index.

ISBN:

9780306814686

0306814684

OCLC:

85019092