[images and captions added by this website] New York, Friday, 5 January 2007 Father Tiso conferring with Hitler Jews 'offended' by archbishop's praise of Slovak wartime leader Slovak archbishop praises fascist rule JTA BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A Slovak archbishop outraged the Jewish community by praising Slovakia's World War II fascist regime. Archbishop Jan Sokol, head of the Bratislava-Trnava diocese, said during a Dec. 27 television interview that "I highly esteem President Tiso because I remember him from my childhood. We used to be very poor and under his rule, the situation greatly improved." Sokol, 73, said that 1939-45 was a period of relative well-being for Slovakia. Jozef Tiso was a priest who headed the Slovak government during World War II. During his rule, Slovakia paid to have Jews deported to concentration camps. Most of the 70,000 Slovak Jews who were deported died. Sokol in his interview made no mention of the persecution of Jews or other minorities. The Federation of Jewish Communities of Slovakia said in a press release, "For us, the Holocaust survivors, such a misleading assessment of the totalitarian Slovakia is unacceptable. We feel offended by Sokol's open admiration of the racist and corporatist state." The federation added that Sokol, known for his ultra-conservative views, was an impediment to interreligious reconciliation in Slovakia.   Hate crimes not a crime in Slovakia?

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