Vatikán a italský fašismus 1922-1945 – Šmíd Marek (2018)

This Czech-language monograph focuses mainly on the diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Fascist Italy from 1922 to 1945, beginning with Benito Mussolini's rise to the head of the Italian state and the election of Pope Pius XI, and ending at the close of the Second World War. Set against the international events of the 1920s to the 1940s, it seeks to strip Vatican-Italian relations of blanket prejudices and inherited clichés, concentrating on their points of contact and conflict during the interwar and wartime periods. The author presents important figures, turning points, and areas of tension, including the Lateran Treaties, Italy's rapprochement with Nazi Germany, racial issues, responses to Italian foreign policy, and the positions of Popes Pius XI and Pius XII during the Second World War. The book also engages in debate with both critics of Pope Pius XII's passivity and apologists who uncritically praise his contributions to peace, neutrality, and sympathy for persecuted Jews, which they claim was reflected in nearly all his decisions. The author draws on materials from the Vatican Secret Archive in Rome, published editions, available documents on church policy in the first half of the 20th century, and extensive foreign-language scholarship, especially Italian, German, and English works on the subject. References to the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano provide an interesting supplement to the sources. It is the first Czech work of its kind.