Scan barcode
A review by scribepub
Church of Spies: The Pope's Secret War Against Hitler by Mark Riebling
Mark Riebling provides the first fully satisfactory portrait of the most elusive and certainly the most divisive pope in modern history. He provides an entirely new, but thoroughly evidence-based explanation [of] the principal enigma in the history of modern Catholicism: its silence on the Shoah.
Sam Harris, Author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
Mark Riebling’s work on Vatican espionage makes an invaluable contribution [to] the scholarship on the wartime Church.
Michael Burleigh, Author of The Third Reich: A New History
[A] revealing history of Pius’ wartime dealings with the German resistance to Nazi rule … Readers will be surprised at the steady stream of anti-Hitler conspiracies, several of which reached the point where dates were set and bombs assembled.
Military History
Riebling, an expert on secret intelligence, compellingly explores the papacy’s involvement in espionage during World War II … This book has much to surprise, especially the many German officers, separately and together, involved in attempts on Hitler’s life … Pius, vilified by critics who believed he ignored Germany’s atrocities, comes off as a politically savvy man who realized his interference would precipitate Hitler’s mortal overreaction against German Catholics. Not only a dramatic disclosure of the Vatican’s covert actions, but also an absorbing, polished story for all readers of World War II history.
Kirkus
Clandestine organizations are hard to reconstruct and Riebling has mined an impressive array of archival sources to tell this fascinating story.
Library Journal
Mark Riebling takes readers into the seldom-explored mysterious world of Vatican espionage with a deeply researched and fresh account that reads like a spy thriller. The crackling narrative of Church of Spies delivers an important and compelling addition to the debate over the legacy of Pius XII, the most powerful and complex Pope of modern times.
Gerald Posner, Author of God’s Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican
While the Pope hesitated to publicly provoke Hitler in foolhardy way, he had no hesitation in secretly opposing the Third Reich and its crimes. The record of the assistance Pius XII provided, through his representatives, to the German resistance, and the actions they took, under his guidance, is extraordinary. Without minimizing the complicity of individual Christians, or the role of Christian anti-Semitism, Mark Riebling shows that the Vatican took a very powerful stance against the Nazis. It is especially important for Jewish people — and I am Jewish myself — that this information is now being gathered for all to see.
Sir Martin Gilbert, Official Biographer of Winston Churchill
This gripping book, the product of extensive and fine-grained historical research, should change the course of the “Pius Wars”, if both critics and defenders of Pius XII take its evidence seriously.
George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
In Church of Spies, Mark Riebling provides a groundbreaking and riveting account of Pope Pius XII’s secret war against Hitler. This richly documented book makes an important contribution to contemporary scholarship about Pius XII and to our understanding of the historical legacy of his pontificate.
Rabbi David Dalin, Author of The Myth of Hitler’s Pope
Church of Spies is an incredible book. It is authentic, documented history that reads like a great action novel. Bonhoeffer, Stauffenberg, the pope, and others plotted to kill Hitler and end the war. Riebling takes us inside their meetings (sometimes held among excavations under Vatican City) and meetings of Hitler and his top advisors. The story that emerges is at times terrifying, tragic, and yet ultimately heroic. This is a book not to be missed.
Ronald J. Rychlak, Author of Hitler, the War and the Pope
Mark Riebling has set himself a high bar in turning conventional wisdom on its head. He has taken on one of the most controversial and polarizing issues in the history of World War II: the role of the wartime Vatican in fighting the Nazis. By combining new archival material with a lively and convincing narrative he has created a new account of a secret war previously overlooked. This is a highly original contribution to intelligence history.
Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, Burgwyn Chair in Military History, Virginia Military Institute
Church of Spies captured my attention. It is a remarkable piece of research. It fills out much of the story that was known mainly in skeletal form. It makes the past come alive.
Vincent A. Lapomarda, Author of The Jesuits and the Third Reich
Riebling shows that the Vatican's wartime campaign against Hitler was far more extensive than previously thought.
Australian Jewish News
[M]eticulously researched …reveals why Hitler fell apart in those dying months of World War II, the day after reading about the Gestapo’s investigation of his assassination attempt.
Joanna McCarthy, Newcastle Herald
This is a very interesting and informative book about the most controversial period in the Church’s recent history … Perhaps the most uplifting message from this book is that, apart from Pius himself, there were many courageous people in Germany and Italy who devoted their lives to try and stop the evil.
George Femia, Manly Daily
An exceptionally important work that skilfully blends human strengths and weaknesses with events that will continue to be argued for centuries to come … This is the most interesting book I have read in more than 10 years of reviewing. Buy it.
David Reed, Wamganui Chronicle
Sam Harris, Author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
Mark Riebling’s work on Vatican espionage makes an invaluable contribution [to] the scholarship on the wartime Church.
Michael Burleigh, Author of The Third Reich: A New History
[A] revealing history of Pius’ wartime dealings with the German resistance to Nazi rule … Readers will be surprised at the steady stream of anti-Hitler conspiracies, several of which reached the point where dates were set and bombs assembled.
Military History
Riebling, an expert on secret intelligence, compellingly explores the papacy’s involvement in espionage during World War II … This book has much to surprise, especially the many German officers, separately and together, involved in attempts on Hitler’s life … Pius, vilified by critics who believed he ignored Germany’s atrocities, comes off as a politically savvy man who realized his interference would precipitate Hitler’s mortal overreaction against German Catholics. Not only a dramatic disclosure of the Vatican’s covert actions, but also an absorbing, polished story for all readers of World War II history.
Kirkus
Clandestine organizations are hard to reconstruct and Riebling has mined an impressive array of archival sources to tell this fascinating story.
Library Journal
Mark Riebling takes readers into the seldom-explored mysterious world of Vatican espionage with a deeply researched and fresh account that reads like a spy thriller. The crackling narrative of Church of Spies delivers an important and compelling addition to the debate over the legacy of Pius XII, the most powerful and complex Pope of modern times.
Gerald Posner, Author of God’s Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican
While the Pope hesitated to publicly provoke Hitler in foolhardy way, he had no hesitation in secretly opposing the Third Reich and its crimes. The record of the assistance Pius XII provided, through his representatives, to the German resistance, and the actions they took, under his guidance, is extraordinary. Without minimizing the complicity of individual Christians, or the role of Christian anti-Semitism, Mark Riebling shows that the Vatican took a very powerful stance against the Nazis. It is especially important for Jewish people — and I am Jewish myself — that this information is now being gathered for all to see.
Sir Martin Gilbert, Official Biographer of Winston Churchill
This gripping book, the product of extensive and fine-grained historical research, should change the course of the “Pius Wars”, if both critics and defenders of Pius XII take its evidence seriously.
George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
In Church of Spies, Mark Riebling provides a groundbreaking and riveting account of Pope Pius XII’s secret war against Hitler. This richly documented book makes an important contribution to contemporary scholarship about Pius XII and to our understanding of the historical legacy of his pontificate.
Rabbi David Dalin, Author of The Myth of Hitler’s Pope
Church of Spies is an incredible book. It is authentic, documented history that reads like a great action novel. Bonhoeffer, Stauffenberg, the pope, and others plotted to kill Hitler and end the war. Riebling takes us inside their meetings (sometimes held among excavations under Vatican City) and meetings of Hitler and his top advisors. The story that emerges is at times terrifying, tragic, and yet ultimately heroic. This is a book not to be missed.
Ronald J. Rychlak, Author of Hitler, the War and the Pope
Mark Riebling has set himself a high bar in turning conventional wisdom on its head. He has taken on one of the most controversial and polarizing issues in the history of World War II: the role of the wartime Vatican in fighting the Nazis. By combining new archival material with a lively and convincing narrative he has created a new account of a secret war previously overlooked. This is a highly original contribution to intelligence history.
Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, Burgwyn Chair in Military History, Virginia Military Institute
Church of Spies captured my attention. It is a remarkable piece of research. It fills out much of the story that was known mainly in skeletal form. It makes the past come alive.
Vincent A. Lapomarda, Author of The Jesuits and the Third Reich
Riebling shows that the Vatican's wartime campaign against Hitler was far more extensive than previously thought.
Australian Jewish News
[M]eticulously researched …reveals why Hitler fell apart in those dying months of World War II, the day after reading about the Gestapo’s investigation of his assassination attempt.
Joanna McCarthy, Newcastle Herald
This is a very interesting and informative book about the most controversial period in the Church’s recent history … Perhaps the most uplifting message from this book is that, apart from Pius himself, there were many courageous people in Germany and Italy who devoted their lives to try and stop the evil.
George Femia, Manly Daily
An exceptionally important work that skilfully blends human strengths and weaknesses with events that will continue to be argued for centuries to come … This is the most interesting book I have read in more than 10 years of reviewing. Buy it.
David Reed, Wamganui Chronicle