A Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius XIIIn September, 1943, Adolf Hitler, furious at the ouster of Mussolini, sent German troops into Rome with plans to deport Rome's Jews to Auschwitz. Hitler also ordered SS General Karl Wolff, who had been Heinrich Himmler's chief aide, to occupy the Vatican and kidnap Pope Pius XII. But Wolff began playing a dangerous game: stalling Hitler's kidnap plot, while blackmailing the pope into silence as the Jews were rounded up. This tale of intrigue and betrayal is one of the most important untold stories of World War II, and A Special Mission is the only book to give the full incredible account of Hitler's kidnap plot and its far-reaching consequences. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
| 11 | |
The Plotters | 18 |
Flirting with Treason | 39 |
Fighting for Hitlers Ear | 48 |
The Only Way to Save Germany | 63 |
Closer to Himmler than to Himmel | 74 |
A CHAPTER 15 Question of Priority | 145 |
Eve of Desperation | 160 |
But They Promised Me | 177 |
A Bargain in Blood | 193 |
The Mathematics of Murder | 197 |
The Path to the Vatican | 211 |
The Odd Couple | 220 |
Meeting a New Conqueror | 224 |
A Wandering Dog | 82 |
A Prisoner of Sorts | 89 |
Out of Fear of Men | 95 |
Living with God and the Devil | 105 |
A Blueprint for Massacre | 115 |
An Agonizing Dilemma | 120 |
The Art of Examining Walls | 135 |
Saved from the Noose | 232 |
EPILOGUE | 240 |
Notes | 249 |
| 261 | |
About the Author | 269 |
| 271 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Adolf Adolf Hitler Allies Almansi American anti-Semitic apparently army arrest asked attack Badoglio Berlin bishops bombing Bormann British cabled Cardinal Catholic Chapter chief rabbi Christianity Church Colonel communists condemn diplomats Duce enemy Ernst von Weizsäcker especially Europe fascist fear felt Field Marshal Führer genocide German Gestapo ghetto gold Heinrich Heinrich Himmler Himmler Hitler Holy hoped Interviews with Dollmann Italian Italy Jewish Jewish leaders Jews Kaltenbrunner Kappler Karl Wolff Kersten Kessel kidnap plot kill knew later learned Maglione Mälzer massacre meeting military Möllhausen moral murder Mussolini Nazi Party occupied Rome October Pacelli papal peace Pius’s policies pontiff Pope Pius XII pope’s priest prison protest publicly Rahn Rasella Reich replied Ribbentrop Roman Jews Rome roundup sabotage secret seemed speak SS chief sure Tardini tion Tittmann told Top Nazi troops U.S. National Archives Vatican Vatican City Via Rasella wanted Zolli وو
Popular passages
Page 7 - My dear Duce, it's no longer any good. Italy has gone to bits. Army morale is at rock bottom. The soldiers don't want to fight any more. . . . The Grand Council's vote is terrific— nineteen votes for Grandi's motion, and among them four holders of the Order of the Annunciation! ... At this moment you are the most hated man in Italy. You can no longer count on more than one friend.