This review is rather misguided, the reviewer seems to be trying to draw attention away from the core of Hitler's Pope.

The reviewer gives over much of the space to talking about how Jews had a higher survival rate in Catholic countries then elsewhere. But the review ignores how the book spells out that such actions occured despite the church's central authority not because of it.

The review trys to draw a connection between The Deputy and this book, ignoring the fact that the book talks about this play and largly disagrees with the view of the play.

The reviewer trys to convice you that if Pacelli had taken action, that it would have resulted in his death and the death of more Jews. But the book makes clear just how misguided this thinking is, it's just as likely that direct action against the Papacy by the Nazis would have resulted in the collapse of the Nazi government. Hitler went to great lengths to keep the church from taking action exactly because he feared the church.

Finally, the review tries to ridicule the books coverage of Pacelli's early actions in Serbia. This ridicule misses the point though, the author never actually accused Pacelli of causing WWI. It is noteworthy though, first for it's irony value, since it shows how Pacelli had an indirect hand in causing both WWI and WWII. Second, it demonstrates a pattern of thinking that dominates Pacelli's life. Pacelli went ahead with the concordant despite warning that signing such an agreement while tensions where high might be unwise.

Jay