A Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius XII
In 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...
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The shocking and incredible story behind Hitler’s “special mission” to kidnap Pope Pius XII-kill him, if necessary-and the surprising result of its failure
Preface ixAcknowledgments xiiiPrologue 1Prelude to Madness 5Wolff in the Wolf's Lair 11The Plotters 18Flirting with Treason 39Fighting for Hitler's Ear 48The Only Way to Save Germany 63Closer to Himmler than to Himmel 74A Wandering Dog 82A Prisoner of Sorts 89Out of Fear of Men 95Living with God and the Devil 105A Blueprint for Massacre 115An Agonizing Dilemma 120The Art of Examining Walls 135A Question of Priority 145Eve of Desperation 160"But They Promised Me" 177A Bargain in Blood 193The Mathematics of Murder 197The Path to the Vatican 211The Odd Couple 220Meeting a New Conqueror 224Saved from the Noose 232Epilogue 240Notes 249Bibliography 261Index 269About the Author 285
