Tiso, President Joseph, 1887-1946

Tiso served as the President of separatist Slovakia from 1938 to 1944. Slovakia was included in the new Czechoslovak Republic after World War I but was underdeveloped economically and politically and felt the Czechs were doing nothing to alleviate their problems. When Monsignor Tiso became leader of the Slovak People’s Party they pressed for full independence rather than autonomy. The Czech government tried to arrest Tiso but HITLER saw that a satellite state would be useful to him in dismantling the Czech government. He therefore forced them to give up control of the new Slovak state which was then given recognition by the USSR, France and Great Britain. Tiso signed a pact with Germany in March 1939. He constructed a number of concentration camps but did not use them to intern Jews until forced to by Hitler. In August 1944 Tiso was deposed during a partisan uprising preceding Slovak liberation by the Red Army. Tiso was tried and hanged on 3 December 1946.