The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome

Patrick J. Gallo

• Publisher: Purdue University Press
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781612497884
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Holocaust History
• Index: History

On October 16, 1943, the Jews of Rome were targeted for arrest and deportation. The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome examines why—and more importantly how—it could have been avoided, featuring new evidence and insight into the Vatican's involvement. At the time, Rome was within reach of the Allies, but the overwhelming force of the Wehrmacht, Gestapo, and SS in Rome precluded direct confrontation. Moral condemnations would not have worked, nor would direct confrontation by the Italians, Jewish leadership, or even the Vatican.

Gallo underscores the necessity of determining what courses of actions most likely would have spared Italian Jews from the gas chambers. Examining the historical context and avoiding normative or counterfactual assertions, this book draws upon archival sources ranging from diaries to intelligence intercepts in English, Italian, and German.

With antisemitism on the rise today and the last remaining witnesses passing away, it is essential to understand what happened in 1943. The Nazis, the Vatican, and the Jews of Rome grapples with this particular, awful episode within the larger, horrifying story of the Holocaust. Despite the inadequacy of memory, we must continue to attempt to make sense of the inexplicable.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Chief
• 2. Germany’s Fanatic Determination to Fight
• 3. I’ll Go Right into the Vatican
• 4. I Wanted to Make an Air Drop in Rome
• 5. The Worst Horrors of the Nazi Regime
• 6. Do Not Worry
• 7. Like a City of the Dead
• 8. The Reincarnation of the Dying Corpse
• 9. I Have a Special Mission for You
• 10. A Final Solution to the Jewish Question
• 11. We Must Disperse the People
• 12. The Byzantine Christ
• 13. If You Pay, No Harm Will Come to You
• 14. We Had the Moral Right
• 15. Keep Out of All Questions Concerning Jews
• 16. Like Autumn Leaves Lay Waiting
• 17. Los! Raus! Schnel!
• 18. It Is Simply Impossible to Refuse
• 19. Let’s Go Make a Few Phone Calls
• 20. Train X70469
• 21. Numbers 1581–158639
• 22. These Jews Will Never Return to Their Homes
• 23. He Is No Longer Our Rabbi
• 24. A Connection to the Pope
• 25. We Have Contended with Diabolical Forces
• 26. I Was Only an Executor of Orders
• Epilogue: I Must Go Back and Tell
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author