Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy

Under His Very Windows: The Vatican and the Holocaust in Italy is a book (2000, Yale University Press) by Susan Zuccotti. It describes the actions of the Vatican and Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust, claiming the Church stayed neutral even with the full knowledge of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis. The book details what the author perceives as the Catholic Church's anti-Semitic bias ranging from Jesuit publications to contemporary accounts by survivors of death camps.

In 2002, the book won the National Jewish Book Award, in the category of Jewish-Christian Relations, and in 2002, the Sybil Halpern Milton Prize presented by the German Studies Association.

Critiques of Zuccotti's Work

"In arguing that Pius cannot be associated with Catholic rescue efforts because she cannot find existing written documents in the pope's handwriting, Zuccotti is actually advancing an argument that was made by Holocaust denier David Irving. He once offered a reward for anyone who could find a document from Hitler linking him to the extermination of Jews. By the same token, everyone who helped rescue Jews knew that the pope approved of this work. He inspired them. He encouraged them" (p.38).

"At the end of the day, we have Zuccotti on the one side arguing that there is no evidence of papal involvement [in the Jewish rescue efforts]. On the other side, [arguing Pius helped save the Jews], we have a mountain of testimony from rescuers, victims, Germans, Jews, priests, nuns, the New York Times (and other papers), seven cardinals, and two popes. To ignore the testimony of those who were there is to deny history" (p.40).

The Pius War, Lexington Books, 2004, Ch. 3 "A Dangerous Thing to Do," by Ronald J. Rychlak.

External links

• New York Times article excerpt
• Under His Very Windows on the Yale University Press homepage