Curtis Hoxter, of the Conference on Material Claims Against Germany, and Moshe Sanbar, the former governor of the Bank of Israel, helped me navigate through the mass of information about German and Italian insurance companies during World War II and opened the door to how reinsurance might be the key to money ventures with the Vatican. Thanks also in this regard to Joseph Belth of the Insurance Forum, his 1998 monograph on Holocaust-era insurance issues was elucidating.
Elan Steinberg of the World Jewish Congress helped me through many difficult stages. His untimely death in 2012 at the age of fifty-nine is a great loss to his family and to the World Jewish Congress, as well as to those of us who counted him as a friend. I am sorry he did not live to see this book.
Lorenzo Zorza and Francesco Pazienza were generous with their time in discussing events that were decades old. Their perspective proved valuable, especially since they allowed me constantly to challenge their memories with documents and accounts of others.
I am especially indebted to René Brülhart, the Director of the Vatican’s enforcement division, the Financial Intelligence Authority. He demonstrated his independence inside the Vatican by being the only high-ranking official in the city-state to meet with me on the record. His perspective and firsthand account provided an invaluable look inside the church’s ambitious reform efforts of the past few years.
Michael Hornblow and Peter K. Murphy are two former U.S. diplomats who served in the American embassy to the Vatican. I am very grateful for their fresh perspective of what was going on inside the church during the 1980s. Special acknowledgment should be given to former prosecutor William Aronwald and FBI agent Richard Tamarro, who patiently reconstructed for me the criminal investigation that brought them inside the Vatican. The story would have been incomplete without them.
Carlo Calvi has lived in the shadow of his father’s death for decades. Nevertheless he answered my many queries without fail and shared documentation. I thank him for never losing faith that one day I would finish this book.
Some people gave assistance beyond their obligations or call of friendship. I would like to make particular mention of Mark Young in London; Michael Sanchez in Panama; Bishop Agustín Román in Miami; Father Richard J. Vigoa, Miami; Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Miami; Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Washington, D.C.; Ivan S. Fisher, New York; Jacopo Pierfederica, Rome; Claudio Sidoti, Miami; Mitchell Garabedian, Boston; Michael Schwartz, New York; David Alexander, New York; David Ness, London; Joan Lewis, Rome; Bill Cooke, Miami Beach; Elliot Welles, New York; Abraham Foxman, New York; Rabbis Marvin Heir and Abraham Cooper, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los Angeles; Charles Higham, New York; Glenn Garvin, Miami; Dr. Curtis Slipman, Miami; Ann Froelich, New York; Stanley Wertheim, Miami; and Italo Insolera, Rome. Paola Desiderio, Eleonora d’Este, and Patrizia Melloni were super on handling a lot of translation work under tight deadlines and sometimes unusual circumstances for interviews. Many thanks to Sam Pinkus for so carefully negotiating this book contract and to Steve Goldberg, Esq., for his sage legal advice. My apologies to anyone I omitted.
And a very special thanks to those who remain anonymous, particularly a brave contingent in Rome whose perseverance and dedication to the truth made it possible for me to understand what happened inside the Vatican during the past decade. I appreciate fully that no one wants their assistance to me to jeopardize their work or their family. My wife, Trisha, and I are forever grateful for the often prodigious and selfless assistance.
Brendan Howley, a very talented Canadian investigative journalist, has long been immersed in the world of Nazis, World War II, and the church. His assistance in research at the U.S. National Archives—where he uncovered some critical documents—combined with his unerring reporter’s instinct for the story, was essential. I was greatly aided by the constant debate in which he engaged me.
I was fortunate that a high school friend, Christopher Petersen, who had worked in the world of private finance, had not long ago retired. Once he said he was looking for something to do, I challenged the limits of our friendship by enlisting him in every phase of the book. Chris discovered an unknown talent for research and fact-checking. He compiled an archive of thousands of historical articles and academic papers, and created a timeline with supporting documentation that proved a valuable resource. At times an amateur editor and at other times someone simply to run an idea by, Chris was an untiring volunteer and indispensable part of this project.
Jonathan Karp, the President of Simon & Schuster, is a rarity in an industry known for taking few risks. He gave me an opportunity to pursue an ambitious two-century investigation of a behind-the-scenes look at power and money inside the Catholic Church. Few publishers would have made such a strong commitment without knowing in advance what the book would turn out to be. But Jonathan’s faith empowered me to find the evidence and uncover the story. I am indebted to him for that vote of confidence. And in an age when many authors complain about the lack of support from their publishers, I count myself very fortunate. Assistant Editor Brit Hvide was gracious and helpful in handling my many requests. Associate Art Director Christopher Lin designed a super cover. Elisa Rivlin’s legal vetting was meticulous. Copyeditor Fred Chase managed a comprehensive and very helpful review with little time. Senior Production Editor Mara Lurie helped me meet tight deadlines on a very demanding manuscript without creating extra anxiety. And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ben Loehnen, a dream of an editor. Ben believed in this ambitious project and championed it. And he turned out to be a remarkably skillful editor with a good eye for solid journalism. At times when the scope of the reporting or the breadth of the story seemed insurmountable, he somehow always had the right advice that kept me energized and focused. His ideas, comments, and edits made this an immeasurably better book.
It is not an exaggeration to say that my wife, Trisha, is a force of nature responsible for any of my success. She did far more than suffer patiently while I worked on this project. Instead, as an author in her own right, she is my incredibly resourceful partner, accompanying me on trips, sifting through archival files for days on end, and helping in every interview. The best information I uncover is often because Trisha has established a relationship of trust with an important source or somehow manages to ask just the key question at the right moment. Her judgment is unerring. Trisha’s commitment to the truth and her tremendous energy inspire me. When she grew up as a Jewish Londoner, it is unlikely she thought that one day she might marry an American Catholic. And beyond her imagination was that she would spend nearly a decade of her life delving into the wonderful mysteries of the Catholic Church and the Vatican. But to my eternal gratitude, she has done both. I get the credit because my name is on the cover. But I know this book is as much hers as mine.
Although God’s Bankers would not have been possible without the help of everyone listed above, I am ultimately responsible for what was done or left undone. I accept sole responsibility.
© DALE STINE
GERALD POSNER was one of the youngest attorneys ever hired by the Wall Street law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He is the author of eleven books, including New York Times bestsellers and one finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. Posner has written dozens of articles for national magazines and papers and has been a regular contributor to NBC, the History Channel, CNN, FOX News, CBS, and MSNBC. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, author Trisha Posner.
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Selected Bibliography
Books
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———. The Silence of Pius XII. Boston: Little, Brown, 1970.
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———. The House of Rothschild, Vol. 2: The World’s Banker, 1849–1999. New York: Viking, 1999.
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———. Pius XII and the Third Reich: A Documentation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966.
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———. The Pope and the Duce: The International Impact of the Lateran Agreements. New York: St. Martin’s, 1981.
Kertzer, David I. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.
———. The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe. New York: Random House, 2014.
———. The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican’s Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.
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