Church of Spies

The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler

By: Mark Riebling

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The Vatican's silence in the face of Nazi atrocities remains one of the great controversies of our time. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him "Hitler's Pope". But a key part of the story has remained untold.

Pius ran the world's largest church, smallest state, and oldest spy service. Saintly but secretive, he skimmed from church charities to pay covert couriers and surreptitiously tape-recorded his meetings with top Nazis. When he learned of the Holocaust, Pius played his cards close to his chest. He sent birthday cards to Hitler - while secretly plotting to kill him.

Church of Spies documents this cloak-and-dagger intrigue in shocking detail. Gun-toting Jesuits stole blueprints to Hitler's homes. A Catholic book publisher flew a sports plane over the Alps with secrets filched from the head of Hitler's bodyguard. The keeper of the Vatican crypt ran a spy ring that betrayed German war plans and wounded Hitler in a briefcase bombing.

The plotters made history in ways they hardly expected. They inspired European unification, forged a US-Vatican alliance that spanned the Cold War, and challenged Church teachings on Jews. Yet Pius' secret war muted his public response to Nazi crimes. Fearing that overt protest would impede his covert actions, he never spoke the "fiery words" he wanted.

Told with heart-pounding suspense, based on secret transcripts and unsealed files, Church of Spies throws open the Vatican's doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy. The result is an unprecedented audiobook that will change perceptions of how the world's greatest moral institution met the greatest moral crisis in history.

©2015 Mark Riebling (P)2015 Random House Audio

Well written historical account

Well written historical account of what happened behind the scenes during WWII. The pope’s public silence was not compliance when you understand what was going on behind the scenes.This was like Schindler’s List on steroids!!!

Truth finally re Pius XII vs Nazis in WWII

Finally, real historical facts countering the big lie re Pius XII vs the Nazis in WWII. Compelling facts told in a dramatic narrative. Wonderful.

A Thriller and A History

By far one of the best books I've listened to in a long time. The narrator is perfect, and the story is gripping.

Impressive story of courage

While at times confusing in rapid switches of dates and locations, it’s a wonderful story of courage and perseverance in the face of unprecedented attack. Especially the hand of Joseph Muller in the German Resistance.

Church of Spies - Background for Film Valkyrie

I enjoyed this book because is touched on the difficult decisions leaders had to make in WWII about publically supporting groups at risk in Nazi Germany. Speaking out may have not been the correct decisions since it only drew more attention to the groups attempting to subvert the Third Reich and who were assisting Jews and Christians out of the SS and Gestapo view. Even the decision of the FDR to push for unconditional surrender pf Germany may have prolonged the war versus getting the sympathetic leadership to assassinate Hitler and sue for peace if they thought that Germany would be portioned and horribly punished for Hitler's action. Finally, it showed that Germany was not a monolith culture of Nazism. As in all conflicts, the range of people in Germany went from true Nazi believers to people doing their duty to the Fatherland to neutrals and fence sitters to the those of the underground resistance.

Great, too-little-told story of the Church.

Highly recommended book about how the Catholic Church fought the evils of Nazism during WWII.

Pope Pius XII in Plot to Assassinate Hitler

This thoroughly documented account of the role of the Vatican and Pope Pius XII in collaborating with the German Catholic underground has many fascinating details. Of particular ethical interest is the Catholic argument for the legitimacy of tyrannicide.

A Very Compelling Story!

This a very fascinating story, and it is well-told by the author. The reader does a great job with pace and inflection to keep the listener engaged. The book itself tells the heroic tale of people within the Catholic Church who resisted Nazi Germany during World War II. It's a masterful rebuttal to books such as "Hitler's Pope" that try to demonize Pius XII.

Wow

This book had me captivated from word one. I never looked into the Vatican response to Hitler and I was fascinated to learn about it!

Very interesting!

it was a little difficult to keep track of all the German and Italian names, but the story(true) was fascinating! I admire these men so much for what they did and what they went through!