Adolf Hitler ordered the kidnapping of Pope Pius from the Vatican in 1944 as part of his plan for world domination, documentary evidence has revealed. The Nazi dictator wanted to see the 'religion' of National Socialism replace Christianity.
Operation Rabat was conceived in 1943 and the order to carry it out was given the following year to SS General Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff before the German retreat from Rome. The officer secretly visited the Vatican and tipped off the Pontiff.
The modern-day Catholic church is seeking to elevate Pope Pius to sainthood but much controversy, including accusations of him ignoring the Holocaust and of being pro-German, has previously been a major obstacle.
