In the immediate aftermath of World War II a judicial case involving the custody of two Jewish orphans mushroomed into a major crisis of JewishChristian relations in France. A New York Times journalist called this affair the worst religious storm of postwar France. The Finaly Affair 19451953 which is best understood in the context of postVichy antiSemitism came about when Catholic fundamentalist beliefs came into conflict with Frances republican principles. This affair polarized the French nation and was transformed into a national crisis by the explosive power of the French press. It had lasting consequences for interfaith relations in France and for the French Jewish community. In the Shadow of Vichy captures this astonishing story of how the Churchs kidnapping of two Jewish children just after World War II helped to hasten the revolutionary changes of Vatican II.