CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Journeyman Traitor

Before the Slovak National Court in Bratislava came Father Josef Tiso, a man long cheated of his proper niche in history. Scrupulous justice would have made Tiso's name (and not that of Johnny-come-lately Vidkun Quisling) a worldwide synonym for treason.

In a colorful life whose flamboyant tones were muted only slightly by the black robes of the Roman Catholic priesthood, fat, bullet-headed Josef Tiso had successively sold out the Slovaks to the Austrians and Hungarians, and then helped sell out the Czechoslovak Republic to the Nazis. In 1939, he became the first puppet President of a subjugated nation. To the...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!