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The Resource The Pope and Mussolini : the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe, David I. Kertzer

The Pope and Mussolini : the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe, David I. Kertzer

Creator
Summary
  • Analyzes the relationship between Pius XI and the notorious Italian dictator, tracing how after coming into power in the same year they forged covert ties to one another to consolidate power and pursue political goals
  • "The Pope and Mussolini tells the story of two men who came to power in 1922 and together changed the course of twentieth-century history. In most respects, they could not have been more different. One was scholarly and devout, the other thuggish and profane. Yet Pius XI and 'Il Duce' had many things in common. They shared a distrust of democracy and a visceral hatred of Communism. Both were prone to sudden fits of temper and were fiercely protective of the prerogatives of their office. ('We have many interests to protect, ' the Pope declared, soon after Mussolini seized control of the government in 1922.) Each relied on the other to consolidate his power and achieve his political goals. In a challenge to the conventional history of this period, in which a heroic Church does battle with the Fascist regime, Kertzer shows how Pius XI played a crucial role in making Mussolini's dictatorship possible and keeping him in power. In exchange for Vatican support, Mussolini restored many of the privileges the Church had lost and gave in to the pope's demands that the police enforce Catholic morality. Yet in the last years of his life--as the Italian dictator grew ever closer to Hitler--the pontiff's faith in this treacherous bargain started to waver. With his health failing, he began to lash out at the Duce and threatened to denounce Mussolini's anti-Semitic racial laws before it was too late. Horrified by the threat to the Church-Fascist alliance, the Vatican's inner circle, including the future Pope Pius XII, struggled to restrain the headstrong pope from destroying a partnership that had served both the Church and the dictator for many years. The Pope and Mussolini brims with memorable portraits of the men who helped enable the reign of Fascism in Italy: Father Pietro Tacchi Venturi, Pius's personal emissary to the dictator, a wily anti-Semite known as Mussolini's Rasputin; Victor Emmanuel III, the king of Italy, an object of widespread derision who lacked the stature--literally and figuratively--to stand up to the domineering Duce; and Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, whose political skills and ambition made him Mussolini's most powerful ally inside the Vatican, and positioned him to succeed the pontiff as the controversial Pius XII, whose actions during World War II would be subject for debate for decades to come."--Jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xxxiii, 549 pages
Contents
  • Rome, 1939
  • The Pope and the dictator. A new pope ; The march on Rome ; The fatal embrace ; Born to command ; Rising from the tomb ; The dictatorship ; Assassins, pederasts, and spies ; The pact
  • Enemies in common. The savior ; Eating an artichoke ; The return of the native son ; Cardinal Pacelli hangs on ; Mussolini is always right ; The Protestant enemy and the Jews ; Hitler, Mussolini, and the Pope ; Crossing the border ; Enemies in common ; Dreams of glory
  • Mussolini, Hitler, and the Jews. Attacking Hitler ; Viva Il Duce! ; Hitler in Rome ; A surprising mission ; The secret deal ; The racial laws ; The final battle ; Faith in the King ; A convenient death ; A dark cloud lifts ; Heading toward disaster
Isbn
9780812993462
Instance
Label
The Pope and Mussolini : the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe
Title
The Pope and Mussolini
Title remainder
the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe
Statement of responsibility
David I. Kertzer
Title variation
Pope & Mussolini
Title variation remainder
the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
  • Analyzes the relationship between Pius XI and the notorious Italian dictator, tracing how after coming into power in the same year they forged covert ties to one another to consolidate power and pursue political goals
  • "The Pope and Mussolini tells the story of two men who came to power in 1922 and together changed the course of twentieth-century history. In most respects, they could not have been more different. One was scholarly and devout, the other thuggish and profane. Yet Pius XI and 'Il Duce' had many things in common. They shared a distrust of democracy and a visceral hatred of Communism. Both were prone to sudden fits of temper and were fiercely protective of the prerogatives of their office. ('We have many interests to protect, ' the Pope declared, soon after Mussolini seized control of the government in 1922.) Each relied on the other to consolidate his power and achieve his political goals. In a challenge to the conventional history of this period, in which a heroic Church does battle with the Fascist regime, Kertzer shows how Pius XI played a crucial role in making Mussolini's dictatorship possible and keeping him in power. In exchange for Vatican support, Mussolini restored many of the privileges the Church had lost and gave in to the pope's demands that the police enforce Catholic morality. Yet in the last years of his life--as the Italian dictator grew ever closer to Hitler--the pontiff's faith in this treacherous bargain started to waver. With his health failing, he began to lash out at the Duce and threatened to denounce Mussolini's anti-Semitic racial laws before it was too late. Horrified by the threat to the Church-Fascist alliance, the Vatican's inner circle, including the future Pope Pius XII, struggled to restrain the headstrong pope from destroying a partnership that had served both the Church and the dictator for many years. The Pope and Mussolini brims with memorable portraits of the men who helped enable the reign of Fascism in Italy: Father Pietro Tacchi Venturi, Pius's personal emissary to the dictator, a wily anti-Semite known as Mussolini's Rasputin; Victor Emmanuel III, the king of Italy, an object of widespread derision who lacked the stature--literally and figuratively--to stand up to the domineering Duce; and Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, whose political skills and ambition made him Mussolini's most powerful ally inside the Vatican, and positioned him to succeed the pontiff as the controversial Pius XII, whose actions during World War II would be subject for debate for decades to come."--Jacket
Pace
Writing style
Award
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, 2015.
Awards note
2015 Pulitzer prize winner for biography/autobiography.
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
10246695
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1948-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Kertzer, David I.
Dewey number
322/.1094509042
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
Index
index present
LC call number
BX1377
LC item number
.K47 2014
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Pius
  • Mussolini, Benito
  • Fascism and the Catholic Church
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/titleRemainder
the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe
Label
The Pope and Mussolini : the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe, David I. Kertzer
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 499-510) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Rome, 1939 -- The Pope and the dictator. A new pope ; The march on Rome ; The fatal embrace ; Born to command ; Rising from the tomb ; The dictatorship ; Assassins, pederasts, and spies ; The pact -- Enemies in common. The savior ; Eating an artichoke ; The return of the native son ; Cardinal Pacelli hangs on ; Mussolini is always right ; The Protestant enemy and the Jews ; Hitler, Mussolini, and the Pope ; Crossing the border ; Enemies in common ; Dreams of glory -- Mussolini, Hitler, and the Jews. Attacking Hitler ; Viva Il Duce! ; Hitler in Rome ; A surprising mission ; The secret deal ; The racial laws ; The final battle ; Faith in the King ; A convenient death ; A dark cloud lifts ; Heading toward disaster
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xxxiii, 549 pages
Isbn
9780812993462
Lccn
2013019402
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, maps
System control number
(OCoLC)855362409
Label
The Pope and Mussolini : the secret history of Pius XI and the rise of Fascism in Europe, David I. Kertzer
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 499-510) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Rome, 1939 -- The Pope and the dictator. A new pope ; The march on Rome ; The fatal embrace ; Born to command ; Rising from the tomb ; The dictatorship ; Assassins, pederasts, and spies ; The pact -- Enemies in common. The savior ; Eating an artichoke ; The return of the native son ; Cardinal Pacelli hangs on ; Mussolini is always right ; The Protestant enemy and the Jews ; Hitler, Mussolini, and the Pope ; Crossing the border ; Enemies in common ; Dreams of glory -- Mussolini, Hitler, and the Jews. Attacking Hitler ; Viva Il Duce! ; Hitler in Rome ; A surprising mission ; The secret deal ; The racial laws ; The final battle ; Faith in the King ; A convenient death ; A dark cloud lifts ; Heading toward disaster
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xxxiii, 549 pages
Isbn
9780812993462
Lccn
2013019402
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations, maps
System control number
(OCoLC)855362409

Subject

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