The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome

On October 16, 1943, the Jews of Rome were targeted for arrest and deportation. The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome examines why―and more importantly how―it could have been avoided, featuring new evidence and insight into the Vatican’s involvement. At the time, Rome was within reach of the Allies, but the overwhelming force of the Wehrmacht, Gestapo, and SS in Rome precluded direct confrontation. Moral condemnations would not have worked, nor would direct confrontation by the Italians, Jewish leadership, or even the Vatican.

Gallo underscores the necessity of determining what courses of actions most likely would have spared Italian Jews from the gas chambers. Examining the historical context and avoiding normative or counterfactual assertions, this book draws upon archival sources ranging from diaries to intelligence intercepts in English, Italian, and German.

With antisemitism on the rise today and the last remaining witnesses passing away, it is essential to understand what happened in 1943. The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome grapples with this particular, awful episode within the larger, horrifying story of the Holocaust. Despite the inadequacy of memory, we must continue to attempt to make sense of the inexplicable.

Patrick J. Gallo was an adjunct professor of history and political science at New York University until his retirement. He is the author of nine books, including two classic works about the Italian American experience: Ethnic Alienation: The Italian-Americans and Old Bread, New Wine: Portrait of Italian-Americans. His published works also include For Love and Country: The Italian Resistance and Pope Pius XII, the Holocaust, and the Revisionists. His articles have appeared in the New York Times and scholarly journals. He was a scholar-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome, taught at Loyola University’s Rome Center, received New York University’s DAS Prize for Research as well as New Jersey Social Science Teacher of the Year, and was awarded NEH and Fulbright grants. Gallo has served as a consultant on Holocaust education, ethnic studies, intergroup relations, and the documentary Oro Macht Frei.