Priest, Politician, Collaborator

"As the first rigorous biography of Slovakia's priest-president Jozef Tiso available in English, this book addresses a major gap in Czech and Slovak studies and represents a considerable contribution to the study of political Catholicism, World War II collaborationist regimes, the Holocaust, and the politics of nationalism in twentieth-century Europe. James Mace Ward casts Tiso as a cunning, dynamic player in a modern, Central European story. Ward draws on extensive research in Slovak, Czech, Hungarian, and Austrian archives to provide a chronological account of the priest's early training and influences, first forays into interwar politics, gradual radicalization, and ascent to the presidency of the Nazi-allied First Slovak Republic (1939-1945)."

-- "Journal of Cold War Studies"

"Fluidly written and highly engagingWard's terse analysis of Tiso's world-view integrates the volatile context that facilitated his rise to ignominy.... Ward's balanced and insightful assessment of Tiso and his world comes highly recommended for both scholars and undergraduates."

-- "The Slavonic and East European Review"

"In Hitler's disposition of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia became an independent state, subordinate to the Reich but formally sovereign. As James Mace Ward shows in his finely researched biography, the Slovak leader Monsignor Jozef Tiso understood this new beginning as a chance for Christian, national, and social revolution. The end of Czechoslovakia deprived the Jews of their previous civil status; the new Slovak state denied them equal citizenship and deprived them of property rights."

-- "The New York Review of Books"

"It is a rare political figure who is reprehensible both for his opportunism and his dogmatism, but then it is a rare president who is also an ordained priest. Such was Jozef Tiso, leader of Slovakia during its spell as a German Schutzstaat (protected state) from 1939 to 1945. As James Mace Ward argues in his definitive account, Priest, Politician, Collaborator, Tiso was guided throughout his life by a set of deeply held values, but was also a talented Machiavellian able to reconcile those values to the exigencies of power.... Ward masterfully reconstructs the factional differences and power struggles over which Tiso presided, showing that he was never truly the moderate he may liked to think he was or wanted to appear to be."

-- "The Times Literary Supplement"

"James Mace Ward's excellent book offers the first political biography in English to follow Kamenec in seeking to understand, rather than simply to praise or condemn, the controversial Slovak dictator. Only by taking account of the successive dramatic shifts that occurred in the political landscape of Central Europe over the course of the twentieth century, Ward argues, can one begin to make sense of the apprent contradictions in Tiso's life."

-- "English Historical Review"

"James Ward has written a thoroughly researched and most thought-provoking book on a fascinating figure. Jozef Tiso, 1887-1947, poses a double enigma--as an ostensibly Magyarized Slovak who in late 1918 suddenly threw himself into the Slovak national cause he had previously ignored and as a Catholic priest reputedly on the moderate wing of Slovak politics who in World War II led a satellite Slovak state into collaboration with Hitler and the Holocaust. As Ward demonstrates, his life is interesting not only for its personal drama and divisive role in modern Slovakia but also for questions of political Catholicism, nationalism, and genocide in a turbulent epoch..Ward's deliberate chronological approach suggeeds in its goal of showing nuances in Tiso's stances. The masterly, consistently incisive chapter introductions and conclusions are all the more welcome. The overall conclusion effectively ccaps previous insights on Tiso's personality contradictions and his role as political priest, as reflected in his fondness for dualisms, themselves inherent in 'political Catholicism as an exercise in pursuing the eternal within the confines of the temporal' (288)."

-- "The Journal of Modern History"

"This is a brilliant, mature work from a young scholar. Its maturity derives from the balance that it brings to a charged subject..., from the intelligence of the argument that Ward melds with this disconcerting biography, and from the unpretentious clarity with which it is written.... Ward depicts Tiso as defined by dualities--conviction and convenience, faith and politics, Christianity and Nazism--and embodying the complexity, hopes, and tragedies of the Czechs and the Slovaks during the 1930s."

-- "Foreign Affairs"

"This objective biography will remain a classic in English as Tiso will no longer be presented in simple black and white terms as in the past. It is an excellent source for students of nationalism, political Catholicism, the history of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia, and post-Communism."

-- "Slovakia"

"Ward provides as accurate an account of Tiso's life and legacy as possible, all the while acknowledging that he remains a highly contested, controversial, and complex character in Slovak history. This book will be of interest to a wide range of readers... and provides a regional approach to Holocaust studies. Overall, Ward resists portraying Tiso as a mere opportunist, providing instead a thoughtful interpretation of how experiences of Catholicism, nationalism, and state building can combine to produce genocide."

-- "Choice"

"Ward's biography is an essential resource for everybody interested not only in the history of twentieth-century Slovakia, but also Catholic-social politics, Central European nationalism, the Holocaust, and even memory studies. A compelling read, it offers new avenues for understanding the life and myths surrounding the life of a controversial Central European statesman. Tiso remained a priest for his entire life and in 1918 became a politician who helped set the direction of mainstream Slovak national politics for three decades. However, the pursuit of his ideals led Tiso to collaboration and ultimately the gallows. Ward masterfully documents the decisions and activities that elevated him to the presidential office, but later brought about his downfall. Although a priest, Tiso was 'no saint.'."

-- "Holocaust and Genocide Studies"