The stance taken by the Catholic Church in occupied Europe during World War II remains a significant focal point of historical research. In the last ten years we have been confronted with a resurgence of the so-called 'Pius-war', the frequently emotional polemic surrounding the justification or absence thereof of the role of Pope Pius XII, the head of the Catholic Church at the time. The work presented here, however, focuses on the role of the local churches rather than that of the Pope and the Vatican. Its goal is to shed light more specifically on the position maintained by the Catholic bishops, clergy and faithful in a variety of European countries under occupation throughout the war. The local churches are approached from a political-social, institutional and ideological perspective. This collection of essays represents the results of a research project established under the auspices of the European Science Foundation entitled 'The Impact of National Socialist and Fascist Occupation in Europe' (1999-2005). Within the broader framework of the project, research into the aspect of Church and Religion was scribed more specifically to Team 2 'The Continuity of the Churches'. The team strove to reach as broad a spectrum possible, both with respect to the churches and religions in Europe (Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodoxy, and to a limited degree, Islam) as the various regions of the European continent (North, West, Central and (South) East). The present volume contains the research results presented in relation to the Catholic Church. Developments in Central and Eastern Europe are given priority, in particular in Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and Lithuania. In addition, a number of articles endeavour to shed light on developments in Western Europe as in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Austria. The goal of the present volume is to stimulate an ongoing comparative study of the attitude of the Catholic Church during the Second World War from a European perspective. Together with a parallel volume that deals with the Protestant and Orthodox churches, this approach can be extended to include other ecclesial denominations and religions in Europe. While significant differences exist between the various countries and denominations, several similar patterns of approach are also strikingly evident.

Despite the wealth of historical literature on the Second World War, the subject of religion and churches in occupied Europe has been undervalued – until now. This critical European history is unique in delivering a rich and detailed analysis of churches and religion during the Second World War, looking at the Christian religions of occupied Europe: Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Orthodoxy. The authors engage with key themes such as relations between religious institutions and the occupying forces; religion as a key factor in national identity and resistance; theological answers to the Fascist and National Socialist ideologies, especially in terms of the persecution of the Jews; Christians as bystanders or protectors in the Holocaust; and religious life during the war. Churches and Religion in the Second World War will be of great value to students and scholars of European history, the Second World War and religion and theology.

A tale of Nazi lives, mass murder, love, Cold War espionage, a mysterious death in the Vatican, and the Nazi escape route to Perón's Argentina,"the Ratline"—from the author of the internationally acclaimed, award-winning East West Street. "Hypnotic, shocking, and unputdownable." —John le Carré, internationally renowned bestselling author Baron Otto von Wächter, a lawyer, husband, and father, was also a senior SS officer and war criminal, indicted for the murder of more than a hundred thousand Poles and Jews. Although he was given a new identity and life via “the Ratline” to Argentina, the escape route taken by thousands of other Nazis, Wächter and his plan were cut short by his mysterious, shocking death in Rome. In the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, was he being recruited by the Americans or by the Soviets—or perhaps both? Or was he poisoned by one side or the other, as his son believes—or by both? With the cooperation of Wächter’s son Horst, who believes his father to have been “a good man,” award-winning author Philippe Sands draws on a trove of family correspondence to piece together Wächter’s extraordinary life before and during the war, his years evading justice, and his sudden, puzzling death. A riveting work of history, The Ratline is part historical detective story, part love story, part family memoir, and part Cold War espionage thriller.

In the wake of the devastating First World War, leaders of the victorious powers reconfigured the European continent, resulting in new understandings of nation, state, and citizenship. Religious identity, symbols, and practice became tools for politicians and church leaders alike to appropriate as instruments to define national belonging, often to the detriment of those outside the faith tradition. Religion, Ethnonationalism, and Antisemitism in the Era of the Two World Wars places the interaction between religion and ethnonationalism – a particular articulation of nationalism based upon an imagined ethnic community – at the centre of its analysis, offering a new lens through which to analyze how nationalism, ethnicity, and race became markers of inclusion and exclusion. Those who did not embrace the same ethnonationalist vision faced ostracization and persecution, with Jews experiencing pervasive exclusion and violence as centuries of antisemitic Christian rhetoric intertwined with right-wing nationalist extremism. The thread of antisemitism as a manifestation of ethnonationalism is woven through each of the essays, along with the ways in which individuals sought to critique religious ethnonationalism and the violence it inspired. With case studies from the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Croatia, Ukraine, and Romania, Religion, Ethnonationalism, and Antisemitism in the Era of the Two World Wars thoroughly explores the confluence of religion, race, ethnicity, and antisemitism that led to the annihilative destruction of the Second World War and the Holocaust, challenging readers to identify and confront the inherent dangers of narrowly defined ideologies.

Roman Sources for the History of American Catholicism, 1763–1939 is a comprehensive reference volume, researched and compiled by Matteo Binasco, that introduces readers to the rich content of Roman archives and their vast potential for U.S. Catholic history in particular. In 2014, the University of Notre Dame’s Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism hosted a seminar in Rome that examined transatlantic approaches to U.S. Catholic history and encouraged the use of the Vatican Secret Archives and other Roman repositories by today’s historians. Participants recognized the need for an English-language guide to archival sources throughout Rome that would enrich individual research projects and the field at large. This volume responds to that need. Binasco offers a groundbreaking description of materials relevant to U.S. Catholic history in fifty-nine archives and libraries of Rome. Detailed profiles describe each repository and its holdings relevant to American Catholic studies. A historical introduction by Luca Codignola and Matteo Sanfilippo reviews the intricate web of relations linking the Holy See and the American Catholic Church since the Treaty of Paris of 1763. Roman sources have become crucial in understanding the formation and development of the Catholic Church in America, and their importance will continue to grow. This timely source will meet the needs of a ready and receptive audience, which will include scholars of U.S. religious history and American Catholicism as well as Americanist scholars conducting research in Roman archives.

Was Pope Pius XII a Nazi Sympathizer? For almost fifty years, a controversy has raged about Pope Pius XII. Was the Pope who had shepherded the Church through World War II a Nazi sympathizer? Was he, as some have dared call him, Hitler's pope? Did he do nothing to help the Jewish people in the grips of the Holocaust? In a thoroughly researched and meticulously documented analysis of the historical record, Ronald Rychlak has gotten past the anger and emotion and uncovered the truth about Pius XII. Not only does he refute the accusations against the Pope, but for the first time documents how the slanders against him had their roots in a Soviet Communist campaign to discredit him and, by extension, the Church. "Let those who doubt but read Rychlak, follow his exquisitely organized courtroon-like arguments. What Professor Rychlak brings to the forum are facts, not rhetoric; dates, not conjecture; evidence, not slander.... The world owes Ronald Rychlak a debt for bringing the truth to light." -- Rabbi Eric A. Silver "In his well-crafted pages...the portrait that emerges is one of an extraordinary pastor facing extremely vexing circumstances, of a holy man vying against an evil man, of a human being trying to save the lives of other human beings, of a light shining in the darkness." -- John Cardinal O'Connor (1920-2000) Archbishop of New York (from the Foreword to the first edition) "I have read many books on Pius XII, and this is by far the most dispassionate in laying out the context, relevant facts, accusations, and evidence pro and con. The book is highly engaging because it is filled with so many little-known facts. The research has been prodigious. Yet the presentation is as down-to-earth as it would have to be in a courtroom.... This is a wonderfully realistic book." -- Michael Novak, George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy, American Enterprise Institute

This new study provides a concise, accessible introduction to occupied Europe. It gives a clear overview of the history and historiography of resistance and collaboration. It explores how these terms cannot be examined separately, but are always entangled. Covering Europe from east to west, this book aims to explore the evolution of scholarly approaches to resistance and collaboration. Not limiting itself to any one area, it looks at armed struggle, daily life, complicity and rescue, the Catholic Church, and official and public memory since the end of the war.

Winner of the Ernst Fraenkel Prize, Wiener Holocaust Library An Open Letters Monthly Best History Book of the Year A New York Post “Must-Read” In the most crucial phase of the Second World War, German troops confronted the Allies across lands largely populated by Muslims. Nazi officials saw Islam as a powerful force with the same enemies as Germany: the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Jews. Islam and Nazi Germany’s War is the first comprehensive account of Berlin’s remarkably ambitious attempts to build an alliance with the Islamic world. “Motadel describes the Mufti’s Nazi dealings vividly...Impeccably researched and clearly written, [his] book will transform our understanding of the Nazi policies that were, Motadel writes, some ‘of the most vigorous attempts to politicize and instrumentalize Islam in modern history.’” —Dominic Green, Wall Street Journal “Motadel’s treatment of an unsavory segment of modern Muslim history is as revealing as it is nuanced. Its strength lies not just in its erudite account of the Nazi perception of Islam but also in illustrating how the Allies used exactly the same tactics to rally Muslims against Hitler. With the specter of Isis haunting the world, it contains lessons from history we all need to learn.” —Ziauddin Sardar, The Independent

The Routledge History of the Second World War sums up the latest trends in the scholarship of that conflict, covering a range of major themes and issues. The book delivers a thematic analysis of the many ways in which study of the Second World War can take place, considering international, transnational, and global approaches, and serves as a major jumping off point for further research into the specific fields covered by each of the expert authors. It demonstrates the global and total nature of the Second World War, giving due coverage to the conflict in all major theatres and through the lens of the key combatants and neutrals, examines issues of race, gender, ideology, and society during the war, and functions as a textbook to educate students as to the trends that have taken place in how the conflict has been (and can be) interpreted in the modern world. Divided into twelve parts that cover central themes of the conflict, including theatres of war, leadership, societies, occupation, secrecy and legacies, it enables those with no memory of war to approach it with a view to comprehending what it was all about and places the history of this conflict into a context that is international, transnational, and institutional. This is a comprehensive and accessible reference volume for anyone interested in the most up to date scholarship on this major conflict. Chapter 18 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com