National Geographic Documentaries

Pope vs. Hitler (2016x12)

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Pope vs. Hitler is a thrilling two-hour docudrama special that explores one of the least known stories of World War II – the role of the Vatican in the conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. By the time the Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939, Hitler and the new Pope Pius XII – formerly Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli – had been at odds for the better part of a decade. Hitler’s crackdown on the Catholic Church inside Germany – including the persecution of priests, destruction of churches and closure of Catholic schools – had incensed the Vatican, and prompted Cardinal Pacelli to create a network of secret Church couriers within Germany to relay intelligence about Nazi atrocities to the Holy See. Among its couriers was Josef Muller – a gregarious Bavarian lawyer who would become the Vatican’s top German spy – and almost die for the cause. Meanwhile, a group of high-ranking German officers were growing increasingly concerned about their supreme commander. When Hitler instructed them to invade Poland and ruthlessly execute its intellectual leaders – especially priests – a conspiracy against him began to take shape. In early 1940 – with Josef Muller acting as his go-between – Pius feverishly brokered negotiations between rebels in the German military and the British government, effectively giving the rebels an Allied green-light to take out Hitler. Understanding his efforts may lead to murder, Pius found moral justification in the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas, which endorsed the killing of tyrants in extreme circumstances. Pius believed the Nazis were a “satanic force” and counseled the conspirators to “change the regime and good things will happen.”