Historian: Pius XII complicit in plots to assassinate Hitler

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In a new book, historian and intelligence specialist Mark Riebling makes the case that Pope Pius XII aided plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II.
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In Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler, Riebling asserts that “Pius was complicit in a variety of plots, initiated by patriotic, anti-Nazi Germans, to assassinate Hitler and replace the Nazi regime with a government that would make peace with the West,” George Weigel wrote in a review.
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catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=26481
 
George Weigel’s short note (not, strictly speaking, a review) about Mark Riebling’s new book can be read online at *First Things (link below). There were several plots by Army officers against Hitler, and Weigel singles out one of the obstacles they all faced:

Riebling shows that another difficulty in gathering sufficient manpower behind any plot was the difference between Catholic and Protestant German generals: the Catholics, tutored by Thomas Aquinas, had a theological rationale for morally defensible tyrannicide, while the Protestants, mired in a Lutheran theory of state authority, had no such moral compass; quite the opposite, in fact.*

firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/10/pius-xii-co-conspirator-in-tyrannicide
 
There is no question that Pius XII would have welcomed the overthrow of the Hitler regime. Could he have done even more? Perhaps. But that would have meant even more Catholic bishops and priests murdered. Pius himself would have been killed or kidnapped by the Nazis.
 
PaulfromIowa said:
There is no question that Pius XII would have welcomed the overthrow of the Hitler regime. Could he have done even more? Perhaps. But that would have meant even more Catholic bishops and priests murdered. Pius himself would have been killed or kidnapped by the Nazis.
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Pius’s name was thrown through the mud by a 1960’s Communist Play that, through concerted propaganda of Commies and their willing dupes in the media, set up a false narrative of his papacy that lives to this day.

The Truth is only now catching up.
 
First he was considered Hitler’s Pope for doing too little, now he’s considered “complicit” in plots to assasinate Hitler.

Sounds like no matter he did, it was really really wrong.
 
SWolf said:
Pius’s name was thrown through the mud by a 1960’s Communist Play that, through concerted propaganda of Commies and their willing dupes in the media, set up a false narrative of his papacy that lives to this day.

The Truth is only now catching up.
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I had this discussion only last week with Jehovah’s Witnesses. When it became clear that I wasn’t accepting their claims to historicity, the conversation turned to the blacker periods of Church history. They weren’t buying what I was saying. I challenged them to reexamine history in the interest of truth, and we politely parted ways. I admitted that we certainly were guilty of bad things, but that the situation in WW2 was perhaps a bit more complex than they were aware of.
 
I have read fairly extensively on Hitler and WWII. Several of his biographers documented numerous plots to assassinate him, but this is the first I’ve heard of any involvement or support by Pius XII. I, for one, would have to see a lot more evidence.

(For those who are interested, the attached link goes to a 42-minute documentary on YouTube that details 42 different assassination plots.)

youtube.com/watch?v=ogVyN05sRcc
 
DaveBj said:
… I, for one, would have to see a lot more evidence.
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Mark Riebling’s book might be a rewarding place to start looking. George Weigel says:

… Church of Spies, which is based on exhaustive archival research (including a close reading of the Nuremberg trial transcripts), demonstrates that the plot mentioned in Chadwick’s book was not the only such enterprise, and that Pius XII’s closest aide, Father Robert Leiber, SJ, was the key liaison between the Pope and the various plotters, working in discreet tandem with a German Catholic lawyer, Dr. Josef Mueller. …

firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/10/pius-xii-co-conspirator-in-tyrannicide
 
BartholomewB said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveBj View Post
… I, for one, would have to see a lot more evidence.

Mark Riebling’s book might be a rewarding place to start looking. George Weigel says:

… Church of Spies, which is based on exhaustive archival research (including a close reading of the Nuremberg trial transcripts), demonstrates that the plot mentioned in Chadwick’s book was not the only such enterprise, and that Pius XII’s closest aide, Father Robert Leiber, SJ, was the key liaison between the Pope and the various plotters, working in discreet tandem with a German Catholic lawyer, Dr. Josef Mueller. …

firstthings.com/web-exclu…in-tyrannicide
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I did not intend to intimate that there was no evidence, only that I have not seen it yet. I have just purchased the Kindle edition, and I look forward to being enlightened 😃
 
DaveBj said:
I did not intend to intimate that there was no evidence, only that I have not seen it yet. I have just purchased the Kindle edition, and I look forward to being enlightened 😃
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Please let us know your opinion of the book when you finish reading it. I would like to order a couple of copies for some history buffs I know, but only if the evidence is solid.
 
lax16 said:
Please let us know your opinion of the book when you finish reading it. I would like to order a couple of copies for some history buffs I know, but only if the evidence is solid.
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I read one review on the Amazon site (5 stars); he pointed out that there are 100 pages of end notes. That’s pretty solid documentation.
 
Based on my readings, Hitler was known for cancelling trips at the last minute. He also had a double. I doubt any Pope would be complicit in such a thing. Hitler was getting more wary as time passed as well.

I’ll wait for more information.

Ed
 
edwest2 said:
Based on my readings, Hitler was known for cancelling trips at the last minute. He also had a double. I doubt any Pope would be complicit in such a thing. Hitler was getting more wary as time passed as well.

I’ll wait for more information.

Ed
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There was a 13-part series of 45-minute programs (without commercials) on Hitler’s security apparatus – Hitler’s Bodyguard. The eps are available on YouTube. His security was a lot tougher than a lot of people realized, especially as he got more paranoid.
 
DaveBj said:
I have read fairly extensively on Hitler and WWII. Several of his biographers documented numerous plots to assassinate him, but this is the first I’ve heard of any involvement or support by Pius XII. I, for one, would have to see a lot more evidence.

(For those who are interested, the attached link goes to a 42-minute documentary on YouTube that details 42 different assassination plots.)

youtube.com/watch?v=ogVyN05sRcc
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Thought passing through my mind is that secret plots tend not to leave a lot of evidence.
 
St_Pancake said:
Thought passing through my mind is that secret plots tend not to leave a lot of evidence.
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Exactly what I was thinking. It’s the same reason Netanyahu can try to pin the Holocaust on the Palestinians when it suits his purposes, just as others have tried to lay blame at the feet of the Catholic Church. This story about Pius XII has the ring of though, in my opinion.
 
Exiled_Child said:
Exactly what I was thinking. It’s the same reason Netanyahu can try to pin the Holocaust on the Palestinians when it suits his purposes, just as others have tried to lay blame at the feet of the Catholic Church. This story about Pius XII has the ring of though, in my opinion.
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True. It also helps the narrative when the accused ‘plotters’ are all dead. 😉
 
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