This is my second time reading this title. I love WWII/Cold War espionage, and Mark Riebling tells a riveting tale. 
There’s a common misconception that Pope Pius XII’s public silence during the Holocaust was somehow a tacit approval, or at the very least, a moral failure. With the benefit of hindsight and extensive archives, we’re now able to see just how active Pius was in moving against Hitler.

There were many conspiracies to kill Hitler from within Germany. Church of Spies tells the story of German Catholics and their attempts to secure a peace for Germany with the Allies through Pope Pius. As it turns out, the Catholic characters that the book follows, laid the groundwork for what has become the European Union. They recognized that killing Hitler would only solve part of the problem. They must then implement a government and system that would prevent people like him from gaining power again. A deep pan-European economic union, with strong rights for the individual, would make it more difficult for nations to war against one another.

Several notable Protestants feature prominently in the story, as do the plotters from the July 20th attempt. The narrative shows how these people came together, as people of faith and decent Germans, to fight for a common cause.

The book is engaging and thorough.

As we know, the assassination attempts against Hitler all failed. Almost every German character in the book was discovered, tortured, and put to death. Many of them were executed in the final days of the war. Riebling goes to great effort to describe in gruesome detail the horrors that these men underwent.

I walk way from this book with a deeper appreciation for the true depravity of the Nazi regime. I also have renewed hope that even in the darkest of times, brave men and women will fight for their beliefs, no matter the price.

Would I recommend: YES

ISBN: 978-0465022298