Published in the U.S. as The Popes Against the Jews, and in the UK as Unholy War, David Kertzer's new book examines the Vatican's contribution to the development and growth of modern anti-Semitism in Europe. Some of Kertzer's evidence has been drawn from previously secret Vatican archives, which were opened to historians for the first time in 1998; the result is an excellent volume that should prove fundamental to the current debates on anti-Semitic thought.

Unholy War's introduction shows immediately why the book, and the subject matter, is necessary, not only for the pursuit of historical truth, but in our modern world. In 1998 the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews published a report which concluded that the Catholic Church was in no way responsible for either the Holocaust, or the anti-Semitism which underpinned it.

While the Commission conceded that the Church has a long history of promoting anti-Judaism, the report argued that this was a religious grievance, a distinctly different entity to the racial, social, economic and political hatred which emerged in the nineteenth century. Kertzer explains the Commission's report fairly, and in doing so provides a multiple context for his study. Unholy War is both a contribution to broader historical debates on anti-Semitism and a direct, albeit subtle, refutation of the Vatican report. In both Kertzer succeeds completely.

Unholy War is divided into three sections and the first, which discusses the Vatican's treatment of Jews within the Papal states during the eighteenth century, is a masterpiece of historiograpical writing. Using a cool and emotionless narrative with only sparse commentary, Kertzer presents his damning range of evidence in a wholly effective manner, never prompting scandal or outrage, but simply outlining the facts. As such, Part One of Unholy War is essential reading, not just for those interested in eighteenth century Italy, Catholicism, Judaism and Urban Affairs, but for anyone who wants to write history.

Part Two changes in both subject matter and tone, as Kertzer examines the early nineteenth century. The unification of Italy, and the collapse of the Papal States, caused the Vatican to lose much of its control over Italy's Jews. Meanwhile, the growth of the popular press created a new way to sway public opinion, and Catholicism embraced the printed word wholeheartedly. Kertzer discusses the content of several virulently anti-Semitic newspapers, especially the Vatican edited Civiltà cattolica, in relation to the treatment of Jews by Catholics.

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For Citation And Footnotes
Title: Unholy War by David I. Kertzer: A Review
Author: Robert Wilde
Date: 2002