Support letter from a Lutheran priest to Jozef Tiso on behalf of a young convert applying for an exemption from antisemitic legislation

Between 1939 and 1944, thousands of Jews and non-Jews petitioned Josef Tiso, President of the Slovak State, about the “Jewish question”.

The authors of this correspondence came from all over the nation and all walks of life, including priests. As authority figures, thought leaders, and pillars of society, priests represent an interesting social category. For this reason, it makes sense to look at their correspondence with Jozef Tiso, who was himself a Roman Catholic priest.

Why did priests write to Tiso? What did they ask for in their letters to him? What conclusions can we draw from the correspondence? This presentation will quote extensively from the letters themselves as well as pose questions about the analysis of this material for Vadkerty’s dissertation.

About the Speaker:

Madeline Vadkerty is a Samuel P. Mandell Fellow at Gratz College (Philadelphia, USA) in its Holocaust and Genocide studies doctoral program.  Originally from the US, she lives in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she conducts Holocaust-related research at the Slovak National Archive. Madeline is a former employee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. Her dissertation topic is “Petitions to Slovak President Jozef Tiso about the “Jewish Question” (1939 – 1944): A Systematic Analysis of how Entreaties Contextualize the Holocaust in Slovakia.”

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