Sociologist Luft provides a sober, well-documented portrayal of the Catholic Church’s ultimate failure to avoid mass executions of French Jews. Her history, beginning in 1933 and continuing through the closing months of the World War II, chronicles a number of personalities whose actions and inactions shaped the fate of France’s Jewish population. Luft is always quick to note the brave acts of individual Catholics who risked their lives and livelihoods to save others and to defy German influence. However, her focus is mainly on church leaders whose wavering allegiances and misguided decisions brought about ruinous consequences. Her study begins by highlighting two powerful opponents of antisemitism—Cardinal Jean Verdier and Pope Pius XI—who both died just prior to Germany’s invasion of France. In their wake, Catholic leaders, such as Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard and Archbishop Pierre-Marie Gerlier, though sympathetic to the plight of Jews, mistakenly believed that cooperation with the Nazi and Vichy regimes would bring about positive results. They were tragically wrong. Luft summarizes the Catholic Church in this period as “an institution divided in purpose, paralyzed by politics, and unwilling to confront the regime consistently.” She deftly explores and interlays the various issues motivating these clerics and those around them: French nationalism, Jewish assimilation, refugee crises, fears of communism, blind allegiance to Marshal Philippe Pétain, and of course, antisemitism, to name a few. The author’s approach provides the reader with insights into the ambiguous, precarious, and even hopeless situations that individuals faced, demonstrating the humanity of those confronting almost impossible choices. Her overall critique points to the tragedy of “fatal optimism” in the face of unrestrained evil. Both experts and lay readers will benefit from this thought-provoking work.