International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Josef Tiso, a Roman Catholic priest and politician, assumed leadership of the Slovak People's Party after the death of Andrej Hlinka (1864–1938) and served as prime minister and president of the First Slovakia Republic. His leadership of Slovakia during its first appearance as a nation-state (1939–45) places Tiso among the most controversial figures in modern Slovak history. To some he was an outstanding statesman who preserved Slovakia from usurpation by Hungary, forestalled German occupation, and sought to contain the extremist tendencies within the Hlinka Slovak People's Party. Others hold him responsible for the break-up of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia's collaboration with Nazi Germany in the deportation and death of Slovak Jews. Tiso's administration of the first modern Slovak state affirmed the nation's capacity for self-government, laying to rest the perception that Slovaks were incapable of running their own affairs. His pragmatic negotiation of international pressure preserved Slovakia from dominance by Germany during World War II and allowed him to retain influence over the governance of Slovakia to undermine the extension of German policies. While an alliance with Germany was unavoidable given the military threat posed by the Nazi regime, recent research indicates that German advisors sent to Slovakia found anything but willing puppets ( Tönsmeyer 2003 ). Tiso often ... log in or subscribe to read full text