The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust

The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust PDF Author: Wallace P. Sillanpoa
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351485229
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
In February 1945, Israele Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome's ancient Jewish community, shocked his co-religionists in Italy and throughout the Jewish world by converting to Catholicism and taking as his baptismal name, Eugenio, to honor Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) for what Zolli saw as his great humanitarianism toward the Jews during the Holocaust. Almost a half a century after his conversion, Zolli still evokes anger and embarrassment in Italy's Jewish community. This book is the first authoritative treatment of this astonishing story. What induced Zolli to embrace Catholicism will probably never be known. Nonetheless, by painstaking scholarly detective work, through interviews in Italy and elsewhere, through the unearthing of private papers not previous known to exist, and through the study of previous inaccessible archival materials, the authors have succeeded in explaining why Zolli left the Jewish fold and joined the Catholic Church. Like Zolli's rabbinical career, Pius XII's long pontificate tells us much about the Church of Rome and its relationship to the Jewish people, particularly with reference to the issue of conversion. The authors focus on the pontiff's World War II policies vis-A-vis the Jews, a subject that has been heatedly debated since Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy was performed in the early 1960s. What Pacelli knew abut the extermination of the Jews and when he knew it, what he said and failed to say, are given special attention in this book. Through the examination of previous scholarship and primary materials (including Pius XI's encyclical on race and anti-Semitism, Pacelli's behavior is evaluated to determine if Zolli accurately gauged the Holy Father's efforts to save Jews. This saga of the two Eugenios will interest historians of the Second World War and the Holocaust and students of history alike.

The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust

The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust PDF Author: Wallace P. Sillanpoa
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351485229
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Get Book

Book Description
In February 1945, Israele Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome's ancient Jewish community, shocked his co-religionists in Italy and throughout the Jewish world by converting to Catholicism and taking as his baptismal name, Eugenio, to honor Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) for what Zolli saw as his great humanitarianism toward the Jews during the Holocaust. Almost a half a century after his conversion, Zolli still evokes anger and embarrassment in Italy's Jewish community. This book is the first authoritative treatment of this astonishing story. What induced Zolli to embrace Catholicism will probably never be known. Nonetheless, by painstaking scholarly detective work, through interviews in Italy and elsewhere, through the unearthing of private papers not previous known to exist, and through the study of previous inaccessible archival materials, the authors have succeeded in explaining why Zolli left the Jewish fold and joined the Catholic Church. Like Zolli's rabbinical career, Pius XII's long pontificate tells us much about the Church of Rome and its relationship to the Jewish people, particularly with reference to the issue of conversion. The authors focus on the pontiff's World War II policies vis-A-vis the Jews, a subject that has been heatedly debated since Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy was performed in the early 1960s. What Pacelli knew abut the extermination of the Jews and when he knew it, what he said and failed to say, are given special attention in this book. Through the examination of previous scholarship and primary materials (including Pius XI's encyclical on race and anti-Semitism, Pacelli's behavior is evaluated to determine if Zolli accurately gauged the Holy Father's efforts to save Jews. This saga of the two Eugenios will interest historians of the Second World War and the Holocaust and students of history alike.

The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust

The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust PDF Author: Robert G. Weisbord
Publisher: Transaction Pub
ISBN: 9780887384165
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
In February 1945, Israele Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome's ancient Jewish community, shocked his co-religionists in Italy and throughout the Jewish world by converting to Catholicism and taking as his baptismal name, Eugenio, to honor Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) for what Zolli saw as his great humanitarianism toward the Jews during the Holocaust. Almost a half a century after his conversion, Zolli still evokes anger and embarrassment in Italy's Jewish community. This book is the first authoritative treatment of this astonishing story. What induced Zolli to embrace Catholicism will probably never be known. Nonetheless, by painstaking scholarly detective work, through interviews in Italy and elsewhere, through the unearthing of private papers not previous known to exist, and through the study of previous inaccessible archival materials, the authors have succeeded in explaining why Zolli left the Jewish fold and joined the Catholic Church. Like Zolli's rabbinical career, Pius XII's long pontificate tells us much about the Church of Rome and its relationship to the Jewish people, particularly with reference to the issue of conversion. The authors focus on the pontiff's World War II policies vis-à-vis the Jews, a subject that has been heatedly debated since Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy was performed in the early 1960s. What Pacelli knew abut the extermination of the Jews and when he knew it, what he said and failed to say, are given special attention in this book. Through the examination of previous scholarship and primary materials (including Pius XI's encyclical on race and anti-Semitism, Pacelli's behavior is evaluated to determine if Zolli accurately gauged the Holy Father's efforts to save Jews. This saga of the two Eugenios will interest historians of the Second World War and the Holocaust and students of history alike.

The Pope's Jews

The Pope's Jews PDF Author: Gordon Thomas
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250013550
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
This revelatory account of how the Vatican saved thousands of Jews during WWII shows why history must exonerate "Hitler's Pope" Accused of being "silent" during the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII and the Vatican of World War II are now exonerated in Gordon Thomas's newest investigative work, The Pope's Jews. Thomas's careful research into new, first-hand accounts reveal an underground network of priests, nuns and citizens that risked their lives daily to protect Roman Jews. Investigating assassination plots, conspiracies, and secret conversions, Thomas unveils faked documentation, quarantines, and more extraordinary actions taken by Catholics and the Vatican. The Pope's Jews finally answers the great moral question of the War: Why did Pope Pius XII refuse to condemn the genocide of Europe's Jews?

Did Pope Pius XII Help the Jews?

Did Pope Pius XII Help the Jews? PDF Author: Margherita Marchione
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 9780809144761
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
"While examining the often-repeated arguemnts both for and against Pope Pius XII, the book reveals his holiness, courage, goodness, intelligence, and concern for all humanity."--BOOK JACKET.

Before the Dawn

Before the Dawn PDF Author: Eugenio Zolli
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 1586172875
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
"This is the story of how the famous and revered Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, became a Christian and entered the Catholic Church after World War II. Zolli was a world-renowned Jewish leader, respected Scripture and Talmudic scholar, and noted authority on Semitic philology." "This classic work outlines the spiritual journey of Rabbi Zolli, through prayer, meditation on Scripture, and his lived experience, from devout Judaism to ardent Catholicism. He tells how he did not abandon his Jewish heritage; rather, he discovered the fullness of what God offered in Jesus and His Church. Zolli took the Christian name of Eugenio to honor Pope Pius XII (Eugenio was his baptismal name) for all he did to save the Jews during the war." "Before the Dawn covers highlights of his spiritual journey and includes some marvelous insights by Rabbi Zolli on Judaism, mysticism, the Law, and the Gospel. Zolli speaks of his journey not as a betrayal of the Synagogue but as a completion and fulfillment. He describes himself as becoming a "completed Jew" by recognizing Jesus Christ ("Rabbi Yeshua") as the Messiah and joining His Church. Zolli offers unique insights on the continuity between the Synagogue and the Catholic Church and many interesting insights into the Scriptures - including the New Testament - from an Orthodox Jewish perspective."--BOOK JACKET.

Pius XII and the Holocaust

Pius XII and the Holocaust PDF Author:
Publisher: Catholic League for Religious & Civil Rights
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description


A Question of Judgment

A Question of Judgment PDF Author: Joseph L. Lichten
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
In contrast to Rolf Hochhuth's play "Der Stellvertreter", defends Pope Pius XII in regard to his role in the Holocaust. Justifies the pope's failure to directly condemn Nazi persecution of the Jews on the grounds that it would have worsened the situation of the persecuted. Cites evidence of aid from the Vatican, via high- and low-level clergy and lay people, and via financial and other material help, to Jews in Hungary, Romania (including Transnistria), Slovakia, France, Germany and, especially, Italy. Mentions some important Vatican representatives who rescued Jews, including Archbishop Roncalli (later John XXIII). Stresses the pope's concern for justice and humanity toward Jews.

The Myth of Hitler's Pope

The Myth of Hitler's Pope PDF Author: David G. Dalin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1596981857
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Was Pope Pius XII secretly in league with Adolf Hitler? No, says Rabbi David G. Dalin, but there was a cleric in league with Hitler: the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini. As Pope Pius XII worked to save Jews from the Nazis, the grand mufti became Hitler’s staunch ally and a promoter of the Holocaust, with a legacy that feeds radical Islam today. In this shocking and thoroughly documented book, Rabbi Dalin explodes the myth of Hitler’s pope and condemns the mythmakers for not only rewriting history, but for denying the testimony of Holocaust survivors, hijacking the Holocaust for unseemly political ends, and ignoring the real threat to the Jewish people.

The Pope's Jews

The Pope's Jews PDF Author: Sam Waagenaar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 542

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Book Description


Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust

Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust PDF Author: Carol Rittner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474281567
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
This collaborative effort by a number of the world's leading experts on the Holocaust examines the question: how should Vatican policies during World War II be understood? Specifically, could Pope Pius XII have curbed the Holocaust by vigorously condemning the Nazi killing of Jews? Was Pius XII really 'Hitler's Pope', as John Cornwell suggested? Or has he unfairly become a scapegoat when he is really deserving of canonization as a saint? In Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust, scholars including Michael Marrus, Michael Phayer, Richard L. Rubenstein and Susan Zuccotti wrestle with these questions. The book has four main themes: (1) Pope Pius XII must be understood in his particular historical context. (2) Pope Pius XII put the well-being of the Roman Catholic Church, as he understood it, first and foremost. (3) In retrospect, Pope Pius XII's priorities, understandable though they are, not only make him a problematic Christian leader but also raise important questions about post-Holocaust Christian identity. (4) Jewish and Christian memories of the Holocaust will remain different, but reconciliation can continue to grow. On all sides, relations between Christians and Jews can be improved by an honest engagement with history and by continuing reflection on what post-Holocaust Christian and Jewish identities ought and ought not to mean.