⚠️ Historical Documentation Notice
Historical Documentation Notice

This document is part of a historical archive and is presented for scholarly research and educational purposes.

The content reflects historical perspectives and should be understood within its historical context.

[images and
captions added by this website]

New York, Friday, 5 January 2007

Father
Tiso conferring with Hitler

Jews ‘offended’ by archbishop’s praise of Slovak wartime leader

Slovak archbishop praises fascist rule JTA

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A Slovak archbishop outraged the Jewish community by praising Slovakia’s World War II fascist regime.

Archbishop Jan Sokol, head of the
Bratislava-Trnava diocese, said during a Dec. 27
television interview that “I highly esteem
President Tiso because I remember him from my childhood. We used to be very poor and under his rule, the situation greatly improved.”

Sokol, 73, said that 1939-45 was a period of relative well-being for Slovakia.

Jozef Tiso was a priest who headed the
Slovak government during World War II.

During his rule, Slovakia paid to have Jews deported to concentration camps.

Most of the 70,000
Slovak Jews who were deported died. Sokol in his
interview made no mention of the persecution of
Jews or other minorities.

The Federation of Jewish Communities of Slovakia said in a press release, “For us, the Holocaust survivors, such a misleading assessment of the totalitarian Slovakia is unacceptable. We feel offended by Sokol’s open admiration of the racist and corporatist state.”

The federation added that Sokol, known for his ultra-conservative views, was an impediment to interreligious reconciliation in
Slovakia.

Source Information
Original Publication: 2007-01-08
Digital Archive: Focal Point Publications
Accessed: June 3, 2026