Der erste Stellvertreter

Two representatives of God stood against fascism: One was Pope Pius XII, who publicly remained silent about the Holocaust. His predecessor, Pius XI (1922-1939), was considered the true representative of Christ, standing on the side of the persecuted Jews and confronting Hitler through the encyclical 'Mit brennender Sorge.' In the gripping story of the Vatican's secret relations with the fascist leadership, it becomes clear that while Mussolini and Pius XI hated each other, they nonetheless supported each other for reasons of power preservation. The uneducated, unbelieving Duce and the God-fearing cleric entered into a fateful pact. It was only with the introduction of the racial laws in 1938 and the increasing closeness to Nazi Germany that Pius XI began to realize with whom he had made this pact. When he died, his successor Eugenio Pacelli was able to continue this pact. David Kertzer's groundbreaking work.