{"product_id":"church-of-spies-the-pope-s-secret-war-against-hitler-9780465022298","title":"Church of Spies: The Pope s Secret War Against Hitler","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChurch of Spies: The Pope s Secret War Against Hitler\u003c\/strong\u003e by Riebling, Mark. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780465022298.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVatican silence on Nazi crimes is fiercely debated. History has accused wartime pontiff Pius the Twelfth of complicity in the Holocaust and dubbed him \"Hitlers Pope.\" But a key part of the story has remained untold.\n\nPius ran the worlds 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 plotting to overthrow him.\n\nChurch of Spies documents this cross-and-dagger intrigue in shocking detail. Gun-toting Jesuits stole blueprints to Hitlers homes. A Catholic book publisher flew a sports plane over the Alps with secrets filched from the head of Hitlers bodyguard. The keeper of the Vatican crypt ran a spy ring that betrayed German war plans and wounded Hitler in a briefcase bombing.\n\nThe plotters made history in ways they hardly expected. They inspired European unification, forged a U.S.-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.\n\nTold with heart-pounding suspense, based on secret transcripts and unsealed files, Church of Spies throws open the Vaticans doors to reveal some of the most astonishing events in the history of the papacy.\n\"[E]xciting.... deals fairly with the popes theological and political rationale.... thoroughly documented with primary sources... Church of Spies is the best account of the subject to date. Amen!\" - CIA Studies in Intelligence (Unclassified Edition)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45253702746165,"sku":"ByrdShop_0465022294","price":28.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780465022298_8c595c15-0028-4fe2-845d-a372b739f297.jpg?v=1779946466","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/church-of-spies-the-pope-s-secret-war-against-hitler-9780465022298","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}