The Pope's Cabinet: Pius XII's Secret War for Saving Jews

For the first time since World War II, the newly opened archives of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State reveal the crucial role Pius XII and the Holy See played in efforts to save Jews from capture and death during the war. Drawing from never-before-seen documents―letters, photographs, drawings, and newspaper articles―Johan Ickx answers questions that have swirled for decades, and through key topics and short stories, he discloses what really occurred, which is quite contrary to the dominant narrative.

Although numerous accounts exist on the subject, here you will find the authoritative untold history of the Church’s efforts, inspired by Pope Pius XII, to save the innocent. You will see records of the tireless efforts of cabinet members in heated back-room meetings to resist Nazi expansion and evidence of Pius XII’s diplomatic attempts to curb the Third Reich policies without filters or embellishments.

You will learn about Pius XII’s:

• Condemnations of totalitarianism and interventions for victims
• Methods for saving thousands of Jews from discovery and deportation
• Secret friendship with President Roosevelt to quell the rise of barbaric dictatorship
• Support for the Roman Escape Line to help the most persecuted
• Rejection of Marshal Pétain’s racial laws
• Organization of emergency baptisms to shield thousands of Jews from deportation
• The origin of Pope Pius XII's doctrine on the Jews

You will read the shocking details of Nazi persecution of Christians and attacks on the Cross, along with how the Nazis misconstrued the Holy Father’s writings. You will find out about the appalling actions of Slovakia’s Nazi government and how Pius XII repeatedly denounced them. Moreover, you will see Pius XII’s anguished restraint in remaining outwardly impartial to avoid detection and retaliation against the Jews―while working tirelessly to arrange hiding places and visas for Jews in Poland, Italy, Romania, Hungary, and the Holy Land.

Pope Pius XII shines as an example of “soft diplomacy at its hardest” in the darkest times of Nazi-occupied Europe. You will be captivated by the network of heroic individuals, including secret informants of the pope, who risked or gave their lives to rescue others. It is through their firsthand accounts, as unveiled in these documents, that we know today the true story of what happened.

Johan Ickx is a doctor in Church history from the Pontificia Università Gregoriana and the author of a book on the Vatican during World War I, La guerre et le Vatican; Les secrets de la diplomatie du Saint Siège (1914-1915). As Head of the Historical Archive of the Secretariat of State of the Vatican, he has orchestrated the digitization of the Vatican's World War II archives, ahead of their offi cial opening to researchers in March 2019.