6. Bottai 2001, p. 148 (19 maggio 1939).
7. There is a large literature on the papal action against Action Française. Prévotat (2001) offers a thorough examination. Spadolini (1972, pp. 291–96) published Gasparri’s account of the battle.
8. ASMAE, APSS, b. 44, Pignatti a Ciano, 17 luglio 1939.
9. Pius XII also let the nuncio know that, as secretary of state, he had done all he could to prevent Pius XI from protesting the appearance of the swastika during Hitler’s visit to Rome, but to no avail. ASMAE, APSS, b. 43, Tamaro, R. Legazione d’Italia, Berna, al R. Ministero degli Esteri, telespresso n. 3461/1236, 21 luglio 1939.
10. Papin 1977, p. 67.
11. Parsons 2008, p. 92.
12. Ventresca 2013, pp. 153–54, 166.
13. ACS, MI, DAGRA, b. 1320, Roma, 11 novembre 1940.
14. Salvatore Costanza, “Gli eterni nemici di Roma,” La Difesa della razza 2:16 (20 giugno 1939), p. 30; Mario de Bagni, “Cristo e i cristiani nel talmud,” La Difesa della razza 2:14 (20 maggio 1939), pp. 8–9; Carlo Barduzzi, “Cattolici e giudei in Francia,” La Difesa della razza 2:14 (20 maggio 1939), pp. 26–27; Cassata 2008, p. 127.
15. On April 1, four days after Mussolini made his request, Pope Pius XII addressed a congratulatory telegram to General Franco. “Raising our heart to God, We rejoice with Your Excellency for Catholic Spain’s greatly desired victory.” The new pope concluded by offering his blessing to Franco and the Spanish people. Franzinelli 1998, p. 173. Two weeks later the pope followed up with a radio broadcast to the Spanish people, saying, “With immense joy We address ourselves to you, most beloved children of Catholic Spain, to express our paternal congratulations for the gift of peace and the victory with which God has deigned to crown the Christian heroism of your faith and charity, shown in such great and generous suffering.” Fattorini 2007, p. 104.
16. ARSI, TV, b. 28, fasc. 2228, Tacchi Venturi a Luigi Maglione, 28 marzo 1939. The Italian ambassador expressed his own delight with the new pontiff following his meeting with him in mid-November. The pope, he told Ciano, “said that our country gives him great satisfaction. He praised the Italians’ spirit of religiosity, morality, and hard work, insisting on declaring himself satisfied with everything.” Casella 2010, p. 343.
17. Antonio Messineo, in CC 1940 IV, pp. 216–19. The letter of complaint, from Giorgio Del Vecchio, and Tardini’s reply, are discussed by Sale (2009, p. 149), based on correspondence found in the archives of the journal.
18. ADSS, vol. 9, 1974, n. 289, Tacchi Venturi au Cardinal Maglione, 10 août 1943.
19. ADSS, vol. 9, 1974, n. 296, Cardinal Maglione au Père Tacchi Venturi, 18 août 1943.
20. ARSI, TV, 36, n. 2660, Tacchi Venturi a Umberto Ricci, 24 agosto 1943. This letter is also published in ADSS vol. 9, annex to n. 317.
21. ADSS, vol. 9, 1975, n. 317, Tacchi Venturi au Cardinal Maglione, 29 août 1943.
22. Caretti 2010, pp. 148–49.
23. ADSS, vol. 9, n. 368, Cardinal Maglione, notes, Vatican, 16 octobre 1943.
24. Gilbert 1985, pp. 622–23; http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005189. The Jews in Italy during the war included approximately 35,000 native Italian Jews and 10,000 recent refugees from Nazi-controlled areas. The estimate of conversions in Italy in the period 1938–43 is from “Jews in Italy 04: Holocaust Period 1938–1945,” Encyclopaedia Judiaca online, http://www.geschichteinchronologie.ch/eu/it/EncJud_juden-in-Italien04-holocaust1938–1945-ENGL.html.
EPILOGUE
1. Santarelli 1991; Romersa 1983, pp. 269–73.
2. Ciano had spent the last months as Mussolini’s ambassador to the Holy See.
3. Moseley 1999, pp. 176–247.
4. A huge literature has been spawned dealing with Mussolini’s last days. My account here is based largely on Milza (2000, pp. 935–47) and Bosworth (2002, pp. 410–12). It seems that the letter Mussolini was reported to have written from Como to his wife may have been a later invention of Rachele’s. On this, see Luzzatto 1998.
5. Innocenti 1992, pp. 116–17.
6. Pardini 2007, pp. 439, 455–59; Festorazzi 2004, pp. 260–61.
7. Innocenti 1992, pp. 169–70.
8. NYT, March 19, 1956, p. 31. The Washington Post (March 19, 1956, p. 26) reported that, while the Jesuit died a forgotten man, it was he who had “engineered the Lateran Pact” in 1929.
9. Gemelli’s eulogy for the pope, published in his journal, Vita e pensiero, offered the most Fascist interpretation possible of Pius XI’s sympathies. The obituary ended, rather jarringly, with a paean not to the man it was supposed to be eulogizing but to Mussolini, recalling “the gratitude that Italian Catholics owe to the incomparable Man, whom Pius XI called the Man Providence had him meet.” Ranfagni 1975, p. 216. Father Coughlin, for his part, engaged in a similar attempt to give the most pro-Fascist possible image to Pius XI following his death. “Pius XI Saved Western Civilization from Reds, Declares Fr. Coughlin,” BG, February 12, 1939, p. 8; “Coughlin Says Pope Was Europe’s Savior,” NYT, February 13, 1939, p. 2. With Allied troops chasing the Germans out of Rome in June 1944 and continuing their march north, Father Gemelli, and many like him, desperately tried to convince the victors that he had never been a Fascist. In July, speaking with Don Domenico Rigoni, an old acquaintance from the days before Mussolini’s rise to power, he trotted out arguments that he would soon use with anyone who would hear them: if he had done anything to please Mussolini and the other Fascist leaders, it was only because he was forced to do so to protect the Catholic University; he was really an anti-Fascist, a Christian Democrat. Don Rigoni stopped him. “No, my friend. You were a Fascist and it’s useless for you to deny it.” ACS, MI, FP “Gemelli,” Milano, 10 luglio 1944.
10. Bocci 2003, p. 505.
11. Mysteriously, the papers of the commission dealing with Gemelli subsequently went missing. On Gemelli’s struggle to keep his position following the war, and the support given him by the Vatican, see Parola 2003.
12. Phillips 1952, pp. 231–33.
13. Ventresca 2013.
14. Cornwell 1999.
REFERENCES
Note: All references to contemporaneous newspapers, magazines, and journals are cited in full in the endnotes.
Agostino, Marc. 1991. Le pape Pie XI et l’opinion (1922–1939). Rome: Ecole française de Rome.
Alvarez, David. 2002. Spies in the Vatican: Espionage and Intrigue from Napoleon to the Holocaust. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press.
Amal, Oscar L. 1985. Ambivalent Alliance: The Catholic Church and the Action Française, 1899–1939. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Annuario Pontificio per l’anno 1940. 1940. Vatican City: Tipografia Vaticana.
Aradi, Zsolt. 1958. Pius XI, the Pope and the Man. New York: Hanover House.
Aubert, Roger. 2000. “Le Cardinal Mercier aux conclaves de 1914 et de 1922.” Bulletin de la Classe des lettres et des sciences morales et politiques 11:165–236.
Baima Bollone, Pierluigi. 2007. La psicologia di Mussolini. Milan: Mondadori.
Baratter, Lorenzo. 2008. Anna Maria Mussolini: L’ultima figlia del Duce. Milan: Mursia.
Baudrillart, Alfred. 1996. Les carnets du cardinal Baudrillart (20 novembre 1935–11 avril 1939). Edited by Paul Christophe. Paris: Éditions du Cerf.
———. 2003. Les carnets du cardinal Baudrillart (26 décembre 1928–12 février 1932). Edited by Paul Christophe. Paris: Éditions du Cerf.
Baxa, Paul. 2006. “A Pagan Landscape: Pope Pius XI, Fascism, and the Struggle over the Roman Cityscape.” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 17:107–24.
Bedeschi, Lorenzo. 1973. Don Minzoni il prete ucciso dai fascisti. Milan: Bompiani.
Bendiscioli, Mario. 1982. “Paolo VI (Giovanni Battista Montini).” In Dizionario storico del movimento cattolico in Italia, vol. 2. Edited by Francesco Tranello and Giorgio Campanini, pp. 448–53. Milan: Marietti.
Beyens
, Eugène-Napoléon. 1934. Quatre ans à Rome, 1921–1926; fin du pontificat de Benoît XV—Pie XI—les débuts du fascisme. Paris: Plon.
Biffi, Monica. 1997. Mons. Cesare Orsenigo nunzio apostolico in Germania (1930–1946). Milan: NED.
Binchy, David A. 1970. Church and State in Fascist Italy. London: Oxford University Press.
Biocca, Dario. 2012. “Casa Passarge: Gramsci a Roma (1924–6).” Nuova storia contemporanea 26 (1):17–36.
Blet, Pierre. 1996. “Le Cardinal Pacelli, secrétaire d’état de Pie XI.” In Achille Ratti pape Pie XI: Actes du colloque organisé par l’École française de Rome, Rome 15–18 mars 1989. Edited by Philippe Levillain, pp. 197–213. Rome: École française de Rome.
Bocchini Camaiani, Bruna. 1989. “Chiesa cattolica italiana e leggi razziali.” Qualestoria 17:1:43–66.
Bocci, Maria. 2003. Agostino Gemelli rettore e francescano: Chiesa, regime, democrazia. Brescia: Morcelliana.
Bosworth, R. J. B. 2002. Mussolini. London: Arnold.
———. 2011. Whispering City: Modern Rome and its Histories. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.
Bottai, Giuseppe. 1949. Vent’anni e un giorno. Milan: Garzanti.
———. 2001. Diario: 1935–1944. Edited by Giordano Bruno Guerri. Milan: Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli.
Bouthillon, Fabrice. 1996. “D’une théologie à l’autre : Pie XI et le Christ-Roi.” In Achille Ratti pape Pie XI: Actes du colloque organisé par l’École française de Rome, Rome 15–18 mars 1989. Edited by Philippe Levillain, pp. 293–303. Rome: École française de Rome.
Brendon, Piers. 2000. The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s. New York: Knopf.
Bressan, Edoardo. 1980. “Mito di uno stato cattolico e realtà del regime: Per una lettura dell’Osservatore romano alla vigilia della Conciliazione.” Nuova rivista storica 64:81–128.
Calimani, Riccardo. 2007. Storia del pregiudizio contro gli ebrei. Milan: Mondadori.
Canali, Mauro. 2004a. Le spie del regime. Bologna: Il Mulino.
———. 2004b. Il delitto Matteoti. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Cannistraro, Philip V., and Brian R. Sullivan. 1993. Il Duce’s Other Woman. New York: Morrow.
Canosa, Romano. 2009. Pacelli: Guerra civile spagnola e nazismo. Rome: Sapere 2000.
Caracciolo, Nicola. 1982. Tutti gli uomini del Duce. Milan: Mondadori.
Caretti, Paolo. 2010. “Il corpus delle leggi razziali.” In A settant’anni dalle leggi razziali. Edited by Daniele Menozzi and Andrea Mariuzzo, pp. 117–57. Rome: Carocci.
Carnahan, Ann. 1949. The Vatican: Behind the Scenes in the Holy City. New York: Farrar, Straus.
Casella, Mario. 1996. “Pio XI e l’Azione Cattolica Italiana.” In Achille Ratti pape Pie XI: Actes du colloque organisé par l’École française de Rome, Rome 15–18 mars 1989. Edited by Philippe Levillain, pp. 605-40. Rome: École française de Rome.
———. 2000. “La crisi del 1938 fra stato e chiesa nella documentazione dell’archivio storico diplomatico del ministero degli affari esteri.” Rivista di storia della chiesa in Italia 54:1:91–186.
———. 2005. Stato e chiesa in Italia dalla conciliazione alla riconciliazione (1929–1931). Galatina: Congedo Editore.
———. 2009. Gli ambasciatori d’Italia presso la Santa Sede dal 1929 al 1943. Galatina: Congedo Editore.
Cassata, Francesco. 2008. “La Difesa della razza”: Politica, ideologia e immagine del razzismo fascista. Turin: Einaudi.
Casula, Carlo F. 1988. Domenico Tardini (1888–1961): L’azione della Santa Sede nella crisi fra le due guerre. Rome: Edizioni Studium.
Caviglia, Enrico. 2009. I dittatori, le guerre e il piccolo re: Diario 1925–1945. Edited by Pier Paolo Cervone. Milan: Mursia.
Ceci, Lucia. 2008. “ ‘Il Fascismo manda l’Italia in rovina’: Le note inedite di monsignor Domenico Tardini (23 settembre–13 dicembre 1935).” Rivista storica italiana 120:294–346.
———. 2010. Il papa non deve parlare: Chiesa, fascismo e guerra d’Etiopia. Rome: Laterza.
———. 2012. “The First Steps of ‘Parallel Diplomacy’: The Vatican and the U.S. in the Italo Ethiopian War (1935–1936).” In Pius XI and America. Edited by David Kertzer, Charles Gallagher, and Alberto Melloni, pp. 87–106. Berlin: LIT Verlag.
Centerwall, Bror. 1926. “An Audience with the Pope.” Living Age (May 22), pp. 408–411.
Cerruti, Elisabetta. 1953. Ambassador’s Wife. New York: Macmillan.
Chadwick, Owen. 1986. Britain and the Vatican During the Second World War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chaline, Nadine-Josette. 1996. “La spiritualité de Pie XI.” In Achille Ratti pape Pie XI: Actes du colloque organisé par l’École française de Rome, Rome 15–18 mars 1989. Edited by Philippe Levillain, pp. 159–70. Rome: École française de Rome.
Charles-Roux, François. 1947. Huit ans au Vatican, 1932–1940. Paris: Flammarion.
Chenaux, Philippe. 2005. “Il cardinale Pacelli e la questione del nazismo dopo l’enciclica ‘Mit brennender Sorge’ (1937).” Annali del Istituto storico italo-germanico in Trento 31:261–77.
Chiron, Yves. 2006. Pio XI: Il papa dei patti lateranensi e dell’opposizione ai totalitarismi. Cinisello Balsamo: Edizioni Paoline.
Ciano, Galeazzo. 1980. Diario 1937–1943. Edited by Renzo De Felice. Milan: Rizzoli.
———. 2002. Diary 1937–1943. Translated by R. L. Miller and U. Coletti-Perucca. Coedited by S. G. Pugliese. New York: Enigma Books.
Coco, Giovanni. 2009. “L’anno terribile del cardinale Pacelli “Archivum historiae pontificiae 47:143–276.
Confalonieri, Carlo. 1957. Pio XI visto da vicino. 3rd ed. Milan: Edizioni Paoline.
———. 1969. “Pio XI intimo.” In Pio XI nel trentesimo della morte (1939–1969): Raccolta di studi e di memorie. Edited by Carlo Colombo, Ernesto Basadonna, Antonio Rimoldi, and Virginio Rovera, pp. 21–58. Milan: Opera diocesana per la preservazione e diffusione della fede.
———. 1993. Pio XI visto da vicino. Cinisello Balsamo: Edizioni Paoline.
Conti, Fulvio. 2005. “Adriano Lemmi.” Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, 64:345–348.
———. 2006. “Massoneria e sfera pubblica nell’Italia liberale, 1859–1914.” In Storia d’Italia, Annali 21, La Massoneria. Edited by Gian Mario Cazzaniga, pp. 579–610. Turin: Einaudi.
Conway, John S. 1968. The Nazi Persecution of the Churches 1933–1945. New York: Basic.
Coppa, Frank J. 1999. “Mussolini and the Concordat of 1929.” In Controversial Concordats. Edited by Frank J. Coppa, pp. 81–119. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press.
———. 2011. The Policies and Politics of Pope Pius XII: Between Diplomacy and Morality. New York: Peter Lang.
Cosmacini, Giorgio. 1985. Gemelli: Il Machiavelli di Dio. Milan: Rizzoli.
D’Alessio, Giulia. 2012. “The United States and the Vatican (1936–1939).” In Pius XI and America. Edited by David Kertzer, Charles Gallagher, and Alberto Melloni, pp. 129–54. Berlin: LIT Verlag.
De Begnac, Yvon. 1990. Taccuini Mussoliniani. Edited by Francesco Perfetti. Preface by Renzo De Felice. Bologna: Mulino.
De Cesaris, Valerio. 2010. Vaticano, razzismo e questione razziale. Milan: Guerini.
De Felice, Renzo. 1966. Mussolini il fascista. Turin: Einaudi.
———. 1968. Mussolini il fascista: L’organizzazione dello stato fascista, 1925–1929. Turin: Einaudi.
———. 1974. Mussolini il duce: Gli anni del consenso, 1929–1936. Turin: Einaudi.
———. 1981. Mussolini il duce: Lo stato totalitario, 1936–1940. Turin: Einaudi.
———. 1995. Mussolini il fascista: L’organizzazione dello stato fascista, 1925–1929, 2nd ed. Turin: Einaudi.
———. 2010. Mussolini il rivoluzionario, 1883–1910. Milan: Mondadori.
De Gasperi, Maria Romana. 2004. De Gasperi: Ritratto di uno statista. Milan: Mondadori.
De Grazia, Victoria. 1992. How Fascism Ruled Women. Berkeley: University of California Press.
De Rosa, Gabriele. 1958. Storia del Partito popolare. Bari: Laterza.
———. 1959. “Una lettera inedita di Cardinale Gasparri sul Partito Popolare.” Analisi e prospettive 1:568–73.
De Rosa, Giuseppe. 1999. La Civiltà Cattolica: 150 anni al servizio della Chiesa, 1850–1999. Rome: La Civiltà Cattolica.
De Rossi dell’Arno, Giulio. 1954. Pio XI e Mussolini. Rome: Corso.
De Vecchi, Cesare M. 1983. Il Quadrumviro scomodo: Il vero Mussolini nelle memorie del più monarchico dei fascisti. Edited by L. Romersa. Milan: Mursia.
———. 1998. Tra papa, duce e re: Il conflitto tra Chiesa cattolica e Stato fascista nel diario 1930–1931 del primo ambasciatore del Regno d’Italia presso la Santa Sede. Rome: Jouvence.
Deakin, F. W. 2000 [1962]. The Brutal Friendship: Mussolini, Hitler and the Fall of Italian Fascism. London: Phoenix Press.
Deffayet, Laurence. 2010. “Pie XI et la condemnation des Amis d’Israël (1928).” In Pie XI et la France. Edited by Jacques Prévotat, pp. 87–102. Rome: École française de Rome.
Del Boca, Angelo. 2010. La Guerra d’Etiopia. Milan: Longanesi.
Diggins, John. P. 1972. Mussolini and Fascism: The View from America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Duce, Alessandro. 2006. La Santa Sede e la questione ebraica (1933–1945). Rome: Edizioni Studium.
Durand, Jean-Dominique. 2010. “Lo stile di governo di Pio XI.” In La sollecitudine ecclesiale di Pio XI. Edited by Cosimo Semararo, pp. 44–60. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticano.
Ebner, Michael R. 2011. Ordinary Violence in Mussolini’s Italy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Eisner, Peter. 2013. The Pope’s Last Crusade. New York: Morrow.
The Pope and Mussolini Page 60
