The Popes Against the Jews
The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism
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Narrated by:
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Arthur Morey
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By:
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David I. Kertzer
About this listen
A groundbreaking historical study based on documents previously locked in the Vatican’s secret archives: The Popes Against the Jews graphically shows how the Catholic Church helped make the Holocaust possible.
Pope John Paul II, as part of his effort to improve Catholic-Jewish relations, himself called for a clear-eyed historical investigation into any possible link between the Church and the Holocaust. An important sign of his commitment was the decision to allow the distinguished historian David I. Kertzer, a specialist in Italian history, to be one of the first scholars given access to long-sealed Vatican archives.
The result is a book filled with shocking revelations. It traces the Vatican’s role in the development of modern anti-Semitism from the 19th century up to the outbreak of the Second World War. Kertzer shows why all the recent attention given to Pope Pius XII’s failure to publicly protest the slaughter of Europe’s Jews in the war misses a far more important point. What made the Holocaust possible was groundwork laid over a period of decades. In this campaign of demonization of the Jews - identifying them as traitors to their countries, enemies of all that was good, relentlessly pursuing world domination - the Vatican itself played a key role, as is shown here for the first time.
Despite its focus, this is not an anti-Catholic book. It seeks a balanced judgment and an understanding of the historical forces that led the Church along the path it took.
Inevitably controversial, written with devastating clarity and dispassionate authority, The Popes Against the Jews is a book of the greatest importance.
©2007 David I. Kertzer (P)2021 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Without sanctimony or melodrama but with meticulous documentation, David I. Kertzer tells a sickening story. The Popes Against the Jews is at once the calm, patient lesson of a born history teacher and an iron to burn scars in the mind." (Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography)
"David Kertzer's provocative new book challenges the widely accepted distinction between Catholic anti-Judaism and modern anti-Semitism. He moves beyond recent attacks on the Vatican's record during WWII, indicting not just Pius XII but the entire tradition out of which he emerged. Many will disagree with Kertzer's conclusions, but no one will be able to ignore this disturbing history of the Papacy and the Jews in the modern era." (Brian Porter, Associate Professor of History at the University of Michigan and author of When Nationalism Began to Hate)
"Once again Kertzer has produced impressive evidence of the part played by the papacy in the growth of anti-Semitism in the twentieth century. Painful as his historical narrative may be for Catholics, it is a necessary prelude to a true reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Judaism." (John Cornwell, author of Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII)
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A wonderful account of two amazing lives and their impact on us all!
- By Lesia Petrizio on 01-25-18
By: Paul Kengor
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The Reformation
- A History
- By: Diarmaid MacCulloch
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 36 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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At a time when men and women were prepared to kill - and be killed - for their faith, the Protestant Reformation tore the Western world apart. Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch's award-winning history brilliantly recreates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians - from the zealous Martin Luther and his 95 Theses to the polemical John Calvin to the radical Igantius Loyola, from the tortured Thomas Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II.
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Excellent
- By Eli Shem Tov on 05-15-17
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Protestants
- The Faith That Made the Modern World
- By: Alec Ryrie
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
- Length: 20 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dazzling global history that charts five centuries of innovation and change, Alec Ryrie makes the case that Protestants made the modern world. Protestants introduces us to the men and women who defined and redefined this quarrelsome faith. Some turned to their newly accessible bibles to justify bold acts of political opposition, others to support a new understanding of who they were and what they could and should do. Above all, they were willing to fight for their beliefs.
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A secular history protestantism.
- By SakuraHB on 07-19-17
By: Alec Ryrie
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The Islamic Enlightenment
- The Struggle Between Faith and Reason: 1798 to Modern Times
- By: Christopher de Bellaigue
- Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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This absorbing account of the political and social reformations that transformed the lands of Islam during the 19th and early 20th centuries offers a game-changing assessment of the Middle East. Beginning his account in 1798, de Bellaigue demonstrates how the Middle East has long welcomed modern ideals and practices, including the adoption of modern medicine, the emergence of women from seclusion, and the development of democracy.
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fascinating story not told.elsewhere in one place
- By Joseph Sullivan on 11-30-21
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The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Revised and Updated
- The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation
- By: Justo L. González
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, presents a narrative history of Christianity from the early church to the dawn of the Protestant reformation. From Jesus' faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World.
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Throughly engaging
- By Scott Pursley on 12-15-16
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Hitler and the Holocaust [Modern Library Chronicles]
- By: Robert S. Wistrich
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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For over 50 years scholars and philosophers alike have attempted to make some sense of the Third Reich and its "Final Solution" campaign. Historian Robert Wistrich takes listeners on a guided tour through the death camps and meticulously details the events that led to this horrific tragedy and the lasting repercussions it had on the world community.
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Subperb and profound
- By John on 08-08-05
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Freethinkers
- A History of American Secularism
- By: Susan Jacoby
- Narrated by: Rich Miller
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason. In impassioned, elegant prose, celebrated author Susan Jacoby traces more than 200 years of secularist activism, beginning with the fierce debate over the omission of God from the Constitution.
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Essential history of free thought in America
- By Clark Savage on 11-27-17
By: Susan Jacoby
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Phantom Terror
- Political Paranoia and the Creation of the Modern State, 1789 - 1848
- By: Adam Zamoyski
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 22 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Phantom Terror explores this troubled, fascinating period, when politicians and cultural leaders from Edmund Burke to Mary Shelley were forced to choose sides and either support or resist the counterrevolutionary spirit embodied in the newly omnipotent central states. The turbulent political situation that coalesced during this era would lead directly to the revolutions of 1848 and to the collapse of order in World War I.
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Amazing
- By Mike Johnson on 07-14-15
By: Adam Zamoyski
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Heretics and Believers
- A History of the English Reformation
- By: Peter Marshall
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 35 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Centuries on, what the Reformation was and what it accomplished remain deeply contentious. Peter Marshall's sweeping new history argues that 16th-century England was a society neither desperate for nor allergic to change, but one open to ideas of "reform" in various competing guises. This engaging history reveals what was really at stake in the overthrow of Catholic culture and the reshaping of the English Church.
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A heavy read but well worth it.
- By chemtrooper on 12-02-18
By: Peter Marshall
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Hitler's True Believers
- How Ordinary People Became Nazis
- By: Robert Gellately
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Understanding Adolf Hitler's ideology provides insights into the mental world of an extremist politics that, over the course of the Third Reich, developed explosive energies culminating in the Second World War and the Holocaust. Too often the theories underlying National Socialism or Nazism are dismissed as an irrational hodgepodge of ideas. Yet that ideology drove Hitler's quest for power in 1933, colored everything in the Third Reich, and transformed him, however briefly, into the most powerful leader in the world.
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Fascinating listen
- By Amy Neff on 12-15-22
By: Robert Gellately
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The Reformation for Armchair Theologians
- By: Glen Sunshine
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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This listenable, accessible narrative story of the Protestant Reformation provides a solid grounding in the history of the Reformation and its leading ideas. The and the inclusion of "Questions for Discussion" and "Suggestions for Further Reading" make this book excellent for study groups, or as a refresher "course" for students - and even as a good starting point for those interested in the larger discipline of church history.
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Sunshine Shines Brightly!
- By LP on 03-14-16
By: Glen Sunshine
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God's Jury
- The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Cullen Murphy
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The Inquisition conducted its last execution in 1826-the victim was a Spanish schoolmaster convicted of heresy. But as Cullen Murphy shows in this provocative new work, not only did its offices survive into the twentieth century, in the modern world its spirit is more influential than ever.
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A balanced review based on new material
- By Sean on 05-15-12
By: Cullen Murphy
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Embracing Defeat
- By: John W. Dower
- Narrated by: Edward Lewis
- Length: 21 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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This illuminating study explores the ways in which the shattering defeat of the Japanese in World War II, followed by over six years of American military occupation, affected every level of Japanese society. The author describes the countless ways in which the Japanese met the challenge of "starting over", from top-level manipulations concerning the fate of Emperor Hirohito to the hopes, fears, and activities of ordinary men and women in every walk of life.
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Pulitzer Prize Winner!
- By KF on 10-09-07
By: John W. Dower
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What listeners say about The Popes Against the Jews
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- R. D. Ader
- 06-21-24
an important and comprehensive history of the diabolical motives of the Catholic Church.
a well researched treatise, derived from the secret archives of the Vatican, demonstrating not only the fallability of Pope's, but the core evil of their hubris.
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- L. Greene
- 05-28-21
We the People need to read this!
I am thankful someone has done some valuable research in the Vatican Archives & made it public knowledge. Now it is know for sure that it is not the Jews who want to rule the world but the Popes & their magisterium.
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1 person found this helpful
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- EaglesFan
- 04-30-23
A compelling work of brilliant scholarship
Any student of Holocaust history must read or listen to this book. It is a riveting expose of Vatican & papal anti-Semitism. The narration is outstanding.
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- Bruce Cline
- 04-09-24
Actively frightening
Eye-opening, disheartening, maddening, and sobering. And when read within the context of human’s willingness if not eagerness to hate anyone not like themselves, actively frightening.
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- Luhmeherin
- 05-16-21
Sad legacy of Catholicism
This book is a repudiation of all attempted whitewashing of catholic complicity in modern anti Semitism-including nazism
Kertzer brilliantly demonstrates that catholic anti Semitism was a product of a modern and virulent strain of church sanctioned anti semitism-led by popes, future popes and those close to the pope
Kertzer - using the Vatican’s own archives - traces many of the most caustic and inhumane anti Semitic tropes, including Protocols of the Elders of Zion, jewish domination, blood libels and jewish conspiracies-back to the church, which were either created by the church or promulgated by the church.
It is sad and hypocritical, though, sadly, not shocking, that an institution that preaches confession of sin as part of forgiveness cannot bring itself to confess its own sins.
A truly shameful history, the repercussion of which we continue to live with to this day.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Paul in Towson, MD
- 06-07-23
Shocking and Disheartening
I knew about the blood libel and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion but did not realize the Catholic Church’s active role in promoting these falsehoods. This book should give pause to those who want to return to pre-Vatican Ii “traditional” Catholicism.
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- Paul
- 03-05-22
A stunning expose.
I was born in Spokane, Washington in 1950 and educated in Catholic elementary and high schools. I have no memory of being exposed in daily life to anti-Semitism, and so it was stunning to listen to this overwhelming evidence of shameful conduct toward the Jewish people by church leaders. By the time I was 12 I had rejected Catholicism, but still had fond memories of my teachers. While I cannot blame them for what happened in the centuries leading up to at least 1945, I do feel shame at being associated, even without adult consent, with the church. This book was an awesome, if quite painful, experience. Brilliantly written and wonderfully read, I recommend it to everyone.
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- Peter Francis DeFazio
- 08-19-22
An objective assessment of one Christendom’s greatest moral failures
David Kertzer is a thorough, impassioned and objective researcher. He is also an excellent writer who is able to present these often disturbing and tragic historical narratives in a compelling manner. Christendom in general and the Catholic Church in particular has managed to reinvent itself in the post-WWII era without ever coming to terms or fully acknowledging its culpability in centuries worth of oppression of the Jewish people.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Shoe-Aholic
- 07-15-22
Don't Want to Believe It's True
Is this how my Catholic friends' families viewed us? We were the big boogie men.
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- KandyTrip
- 03-20-24
Very informative
The book is well thought out and gives a clear and knowledgeable view of the roll of the Holy See in modern antisemitism. It serves as a painful reminder that constant vigilance is always required.
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