ePub Unholy Trinity: The Vatican; The Nazis; and The Swiss Banks by Mark Aarons; John Loftus in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Don't throw money out; buy a nice pizza instead.By JaysonrexThe reputation of the Vatican is well established since times immemorial. But then; humans being what they are; this strange institution prevails to this very day in spite of the endless financial and sexual scandals that afflicts it.This book is trying to show that Pius XII was not a friend and supporter of the Nazis but rather their enemy. The attempt is understandable but unsuccessful since history confirms the opposite: the Popes and the Roman Curia were friends and allies of those extremists and continue so to this very day. This explains why the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini signed the Concordat thus turning the Vatican into a "state"; independent of Italy - an incongruence that lasts to this very day.The title of the book is 'dishonest': apart from hardly a word about the "Swiss Banks" the book is trying to show a Roman Church that only exists in the imagination of the two authors.19 of 23 people found the following review helpful. The Vatican; the USA and the UK collude with Nazis to fight the CommiesBy Phillip M. RoseThere are already several excellent reviews of Unholy Trinity on ; so I will try to bring up some additional points about the book and its authors.The original title of this book is "Ratlines". Ratlines; a nautical term; is used in this context to describe the method by which Nazi war criminals escaped from Germany and Austria to a first point of safety (usually Italy) and thence to points beyond in Europe; North America; Australasia; and especially to South America. These escapes were facilitated by the Allied powers; but would not have been possible without the help of the Vatican.This newer edition is titled "Unholy Trinity"; and features the portraits of Pope Pius XII; Hitler and Stalin on the cover. The subtitle is "The Vatican; the Nazis; and the Swiss banks". Then why is Stalin on the cover? Also; when describing the ratlines; one cannot omit the USA and Britain. Unholy Pentagon? I think the newer title was invented by the publishers who thought that it was catchier than the original; but "Ratlines" remains a much better way to encapsulate the book. That said; the most intriguing character of the book is a Russian spy; Prince Anton Vasilevich Turkul; described by the authors as "arguably the greatest professional spy of the twentieth century".I found the central chapters of this book heavy going due to the complicated nature of the narrative; the great number of Central European characters with similar looking names; and the alphabet soup of acronyms for what must be dozens of organizations. The book could have benefited from a cast of characters and an acronym guide. I recommend that readers make their own list of acronyms as they read; because most of them are not indexed.Co-author John Loftus is a self-proclaimed Irish Catholic. I have heard him describe himself as such several times on Dave Emory's 'For the Record' radio programs. I mention this because one of the detractors of Unholy Trinity labelled the book anti-Catholic propaganda. The authors are not anti-Catholic; rather they are anti-Vatican. By the same token; I might criticize the government of the USA; but that doesn't mean that I am anti-American. I sensed that the authors were very disappointed and perhaps surprised by the unethical actions on the part of the Vatican elite. I suspect that as a Catholic himself; Mr. Loftus expected more from the Catholic church hierarchy than non-Catholics might expect.My next comment may not mean much to readers who are unfamiliar with the concept of the Nazi capital flight network; as detailed in Paul Manning's "Martin Bormann: Nazi in Exile". Please refer to that landmark book; reviewed on ; and available as a free download if you look for it. Paul Manning's thesis was that Martin Bormann survived WWII; moved to South America via the ratlines; and exercised control over the Nazi flight capital; i.e.; Nazi war loot; that was later used to create the "great economic miracle" that was the West German economy of 1948-51. My biggest disappointment with "Unholy Trinity" was the short shrift given to Paul Manning's thesis. They mention it briefly; but in such a way that I'm not convinced they fully appreciated it; even though it coincides with and complements their arguments.Despite those few misgivings and difficulties with the book; I recommend it highly and rate it five stars.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Unholy Trinity : some commentsBy Ernesto Bertschihistorical investigation as the base of the book is very valuableIt's very important for the historical revision the responsibility of the Vatican in the Holocaust and how they would be able to change the historyOther books related: The authentic Odessa by Uki Goñi