A Special Mission: Hitlers Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius the XII

How Hitler and Pope Pius XII plotted against one another as the lives of Romes Jews were held in the balance. How a high-ranking SS officer played a treacherous game of deception. How a popes silence saved the Vatican. In September, 1943, Adolf Hitler, Furious at the ouster of Mussolini, sent German troops into Rome and ordered SS General Karl Wolff, who had been Heinrich Himmlers chief aide, to occupy the Vatican and kidnap (and, perhaps, kill) Pope Pius XII. At the same time plans were being made to deport Romes Jews to Auschwitz, Wolff began playing a dangerous game: stalling Hitlers plot against the pope, whom he hoped would save him from the noose in case Germany lost the war. To save Pius, Wolff and fellow conspirators black-mailed him into silence when the Jews were rounded up, hoping that Hitler would rescind his order. This tale of intrigue and betrayal is one of the most important untold stories of World War II. Dan Kurzman was the first journalist to have interviewed General Wolff following his release from prison after the war. And this is the only book to tell the full behind-the-scenes story of the plot against the Vatican and its far-reaching consequences.

Author: Dan Kurzman

Language: English

Edition: First Printing

Binding: Hardcover

Pages: 304

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Publication Date: 2007-05-07