The author demonstrates that the Italian Army deserves attention for its often humanitarian treatment of Italian Jews and other Jews. He also analyzes revisionist histories of Pope Pius XII and his alleged “silence,” arguing that revisionists were writing for a popular audience interested in sensation and scandal, and that this profitable trail attracted journalists and historians alike.
Focusing primarily on the roles played by the Vatican and the Royal Italian Army, this book also provides an overview of the travail of Italy’s Jewish community from the beginning of Mussolini’s anti–Semitic policies in the late 1930s, through the end of the German occupation in May 1945.

Charles T. O’Reilly has taught at Loyola University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the State University of New York at Albany as well as other universities. He is the co-author (with William A. Rooney) of The Enola Gay and the Smithsonian Institution. He lives in Wilmette, Illinois.

Charles T. O’Reilly
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 229
Bibliographic Info: appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2007
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3002-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1009-2
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

1. Italy’s Jewish Community      3

2. The Royal Italian Army and the Jews      13

3. The Vatican and the Pope      27

4. Papal “Silence” and “Fear of Communism”      75

5. Afterword      115

Appendix A: On Historiography      157

Appendix B: The Vatican Archives      179

Chapter Notes      191

Selected Bibliography      213

Index      219