Catholics Confronting Hitler: The Catholic Church and the Nazis

Bartley (The Gospel Jesus) explores the Catholic Church's response to Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany within the Nazi regime through the end of World War II. The account is both thematic and roughly chronological, with chapters on the tensions around race laws and religion in prewar Nazi Germany, the Vatican's status within fascist Italy, attempts to broker peace in Europe, the invasion of Poland, Catholic faith in wartime Europe, and opposition to Hitler and the Holocaust. Throughout, Bartley considers both the strengths and limits of Catholic anti-Nazi words and actions as the institutional church attempted to retain political neutrality, even as its leadership, including Popes Pius XI and Pius XII, spoke and took action in opposition to race laws and wartime atrocities. On balance, he concludes, Catholics "have every reason to feel proud" of the papacy's response to the Third Reich; some readers may question this generous interpretation. Bartley draws on a wide variety of English-language print resources, including published diaries, letters, memoirs, official church documents, and the work of other scholars. These sources are clearly cited throughout and gathered in a convenient bibliography for readers wishing to investigate further. This is a sound introduction to a thorny topic that provides few definitive conclusions but will spur readers on to deeper questions. (Oct.)