Thank you to Fabian Schneider, and to his parents, for permission to share this message, in connection to the letters of Frano Tiso I published back in 2016. It gives me great pleasure that my work has had a positive impact, and that I can meet so many lovely and interesting people from all over the world because of Vlado!

15 August 2024

Dear Tara Burgett,

I’m writing to express my gratitude for your work on the Fabry family history website, particularly for publishing the letters from Fraňo “Franz” Tiso, whom I (*1994) have an interest in.

My interest in Mr. Tiso stems from a family connection – he was a friend of the Schneider family in the latter half of the 20th century and a regular guest at our home [in the Eichstätt Landkreis in Germany]. My father (*1955), spoke highly of him and credited Mr. Tiso with convincing my grandmother (*1929 ✝2019) to send him to a specific type of high school, significantly impacting his education. Tiso and my father would also often discuss (first in person and later in the form of letters) science and technology, which became my father’s calling until his retirement. I too am a software developer these days.

My father stresses Tiso never tried influence him ideology-wise, but to he was always delighted to see him because of his science and technology interests. Tiso would gift him copies of the Stafette magazine, which is like Highlights or National Geographic Kids from a US point of view.

A few years ago, my father brought him up again after many, many years. He mentioned that Tiso was involved in diplomacy before 1945 in Slovakia. I had since learned about Nazi collaborationist regimes and the last name clicked with Jozef Tiso. Looking into him, I soon found a declassified CIA document that looked like an indication of a propaganda operation. While I never found hard proof of that, I have kept doing on-off research into this friend of the family.

I do not want to shoot the messenger, ever, but I must admit that my research, aided by the documents you shared in 2016 and others I’ve encountered, has led to significant personal disappointment. Mr. Tiso had a hawkish military stance and made efforts to whitewash the legacy of Stepan Bandera.

Much like the Vichy French, he hated communism so much that even after the liberation from the Nazis, he would resort to stirring up the Cold War and lionize a man responsible for the murder of Poles and Jews in the tens of thousands. I do not believe that rejecting this sort of stance makes one a communist, either.

I do not know any members of my family who would appreciate this sort of militarism and nationalism. The same grandmother that hosted Franz Tiso protested the deployment of Pershing II ballistic missiles. I remember her being opposed to the Second Gulf War, though she was somewhat past protesting in the streets mobility-wise. My dad says when they discussed politics over coffee, it was limited to economic policy of the day. I would have loved to talk to her about Tiso, but by the time I started my research, my grandmother was unable to speak for neurological reasons.

It’s a stark reminder of the often troubling nature of post-war politics and personal relationships. These revelations have deeply shaped my understanding of denazification, the challenges of post-war reconciliation and the need for anti-fascism.

Despite my personal disappointment, I’m grateful for the access to these primary sources. They provide an unvarnished look at history, allowing us to confront uncomfortable truths and develop a more nuanced understanding of this period. In a sense, I am even grateful for the disappointment, because I would rather know than not know.

Thank you again for your dedication to historical preservation and for making these documents easily accessible. Maybe you do not always immediately see the effect, but efforts like yours make all the difference in our ability to critically examine history.

Sincerely,

Fabian Schneider