Slovakia's 'rare' fascist monuments escape wave of statue removals

As the world takes disputed statues down, locals in Rajec and Čakajovce are not bothered by 'rare' fascist statues.

A street in the village of Varín in the north of central Slovakia bears the name of Jozef Tiso, the controversial President of the Slovak State during the Second World War (Source: Sme/Jozef Jakubčo)

There are many statues in Slovakia over which we could debate whether their human models deserve a monument in a public space and then, there are those that should not even be the subject of a discussion and yet they stand.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

The statue of the President of the clerical-nationalist Slovak State and Hitler’s collaborator, Jozef Tiso, has not been torn down in Čakajovce near Nitra. In Varín near Žilina, they even named a street after this Roman Catholic priest.

Tiso's minister, Ferdinand Ďurčanský, has a bust in the town of Rajec, located in the Žilina Region, as well.

Tiso seen as a priest

The village of Čakajovce is infamous for its life-size statue of Jozef Tiso, the only one of its kind in Slovakia. It is part of a pantheon of Slovak functionaries of which the village boasts, situated near the town hall. It also includes a memorial to soldiers who fell in both world wars.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk
SkryťClose ad