GKC wrote:
As I first thought when I first saw it; seems like I should pick it up.
The book doesn't really say much that hasn't been known for decades, it just goes into a lot more detail than any other source. It's been known for a while that Pius had a connection to the German Catholic resistance and that he was aware of and seemed to approve of their plans to assassinate Hitler, but what wasn't known was just how extensive the ties were, how much the Pope knew of their activities, and how closely coordinated they were. The plans to assassinate Hitler all relied very closely on the Vatican willingness to grant official recognition to and establish diplomatic ties with, any anti-Nazi regime that might arise out of a successful attempt to kill Hitler.
Step one was Kill Hitler
Step two was: lead a coup to topple the Nazi regime and establish a new regime
Step three was to get the Pope to officially recognize the new regime and establish full diplomatic relations, thereby encouraging the American government to follow suit
Step four was to use the new legitimacy resulting from step three to sue the Allies for peace, ask for terms of German surrender and end the war
The entire plan could never have worked without step three, getting Papal approval was considered more important than getting American approval, because it was assumed that the Pope could persuade Roosevelt to agree to accept the new government if he did it first.
According to the book, Pius knew far more about efforts to accomplish about steps one and two than anyone previously guessed. He knew, for example, of Stauffenberg's plot, well before the attempt was made on Hitler's life.
