Papers by Madeline Vadkerty
S:I.M.O.N., 2023
This article examines the fate of Andrej Horn, a thirty-seven-year-old Jewish businessman from Ve... more This article examines the fate of Andrej Horn, a thirty-seven-year-old Jewish businessman from Veľká Bytča, Slovakia, who on 21 February 1942 petitioned Slovakia's President Jozef Tiso for an exemption from antisemitic legislation. It discusses how entreaties reflect Jewish victimisation during the Holocaust and some of the complex social dynamics and governmental processes that contributed to the deportation of nearly 58,000 Jews under the auspices of the Slovak authorities in 1942. Using a victim-centric, microhistorical approach, the communications about Andrej Horn in all of the known files in Slovak archives were placed in chronological order in order to trace his experiences during the Holocaust within their historical context. This method displays how some Jews in Slovakia attempted to navigate their precarious predicament, various aspects of minority (Jewish)-majority (Christian) interactions, and some of the local-level persecutory dynamics that contributed to the tragic denouement of the Holocaust in Slovakia.
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe, Feb 1, 2022
is an American living in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she conducts Holocaust research and works at... more is an American living in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she conducts Holocaust research and works at the Holocaust Documentation Center in Bratislava. She is a Samuel P. Mandel Fellow in Gratz College's doctoral program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. She is the author of Your Honor, Mr. President: Letters to Jozef Tiso, published in 2020 (in Slovak). The book received the "Book of the Year Award" from Panta Rhei in 2020, and an award from the Independent Slovak Writers' Association in 2021. She is the author of several articles and podcasts about the Slovak wartime state. This is her second article for OPREE. "At least we are clear about our Jews. We know they are our enemies not only in world view, but also in politics. The Jews are against the autonomy of Slovakia! We will remember this well and at the right time, we will remind the Jews of it." Slovák (newspaper), May 18, 1938 1
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe, 2020
A native of Washington, DC, Madeline Vadkerty is an American living in Bratislava, where she cond... more A native of Washington, DC, Madeline Vadkerty is an American living in Bratislava, where she conducts Holocaust research. She is studying for her doctorate in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College and is the author of "Your Honor, Mr. President: Letters to Jozef Tiso." The book, slated for publication in March 2020, focuses on personal correspondence from "ordinary people" to president of the Slovak wartime state Jozef Tiso about the Jewish question." She serves as a volunteer at the Holocaust Documentation Center and the Milan Šimečka Foundation in Bratislava, Slovakia. "It is in the Church's interest to solve the Jewish question as quickly as possible. We cannot be indifferent to the fact that some foreign element constantly threatens us materially and morally. Every town should have its own ghetto. Jews should be marked so everyone can avoid them….The Jew who studies the Talmud is dangerous." February 2, 1939, interview of Jesuit priest R. Mikuš, Slovák newspaper (Bratislava, Slovakia) "Judaism, capitalism and freemasonry are all closely connected. Not only here but all over the world. …Having power and money, Judaism was the master of economic and political life…for decades, Judaism, capitalism and freemasonry have been leeches of Croatian blood….The Ustaša spirit views Judaism, capitalism and freemasonry as an irreconcilable enemy…The Croatian people lost a lot of blood. It would be good to know who drank that blood." (Zagreb,
Pamät národa, 2021
Article in Slovak about petitions written by desperate Jews to President Jozef Tiso of the Slovak... more Article in Slovak about petitions written by desperate Jews to President Jozef Tiso of the Slovak wartime state. The letters were written in response to anti-Semitic legal norms by individuals seeking assistance from the president as their situation deteriorated during the Holocaust.
EHRI Blog, 2022
Between 1939 and 1944, thousands of desperate Jews turned to then President Jozef Tiso of the Slo... more Between 1939 and 1944, thousands of desperate Jews turned to then President Jozef Tiso of the Slovak State for a reprieve from anti-Semitic legislation. This blog post for the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) features three letters from a 17 year old Slovak girl requesting "Aryan" status so she could care for her ailing mother and grandmother. The article shows how the Slovak government processed entreaties from Slovak Jews and reveals the rhetorical strategies of the petitioners.
Aspects of the Holocaust during the Slovak Autonomy Period, 2022
The Slovak Autonomy Period lasted from October 6, 1938 to March 14, 1939. It was precisely during... more The Slovak Autonomy Period lasted from October 6, 1938 to March 14, 1939. It was precisely during this brief, prestate span that the Slovaks’ first attempted to create anti-Jewish legislation, define who was a Jew, and establish a “Committee for the Solution of the Jewish Question.” November 4 - 5, 1938, thousands of “poor or stateless” Jews were transported to the no man’s land between the newly drawn Hungarian and Slovak border resulting from the First Vienna Award. The loss of territory represented a humiliating foreign policy setback for the Slovaks. The regime needed a scapegoat in order to conceal its discomfiture in front of their followers. Given these and other developments, this article suggests that this troubling time period deserves a greater emphasis in Holocaust discourse.
Judaica et Holocaustica, 2019
Between 1939 and 1944, thousands of “ordinary people” wrote to Jozef Tiso,
President of the wart... more Between 1939 and 1944, thousands of “ordinary people” wrote to Jozef Tiso,
President of the wartime Slovak State, about the “Jewish question.” This relatively
unexamined correspondence represents a unique lens for comprehending how the
Holocaust unfolded in Slovakia. It provides us with individual micro-histories
that, when aggregated, show us the real time dilemmas and struggles of people
– Jews and non-Jews – reacting to rapid social change and official antisemitism.
Most of this correspondence was written at a time when the gas chambers were inconceivable. The project People Write to Tiso…about the Jewish Question is the systematic study of the fond of the Office of the President of the Republic (Kancelária Prezidenta republiky, KPR) at the Slovak National Archive (Slovenský národný archív, SNA).
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe, 2020
This article examines the nature of the anti-Semitic propaganda used by the Slovak State and the ... more This article examines the nature of the anti-Semitic propaganda used by the Slovak State and the Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska -- NDH) during World War II, taking into account the two countries’ unique and common objectives, evolving political contexts, strategies, and tactics. It also analyzes how those activities fit into the wider strategy of nation building and the attempt to create a new collective identity which was to be predicated on the concept of exclusivity and racial/cultural superiority.
Book Reviews by Madeline Vadkerty
Hungarian Historical Review, 2021
Book review for Slovutný pán prezident. Listy Jozefovi Tisovi (Your Honor, Mr. President: Letters... more Book review for Slovutný pán prezident. Listy Jozefovi Tisovi (Your Honor, Mr. President: Letters to Jozef Tiso)by Madeline Vadkerty (Zilina, Absynt, 2020), 228 pp.
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Papers by Madeline Vadkerty
President of the wartime Slovak State, about the “Jewish question.” This relatively
unexamined correspondence represents a unique lens for comprehending how the
Holocaust unfolded in Slovakia. It provides us with individual micro-histories
that, when aggregated, show us the real time dilemmas and struggles of people
– Jews and non-Jews – reacting to rapid social change and official antisemitism.
Most of this correspondence was written at a time when the gas chambers were inconceivable. The project People Write to Tiso…about the Jewish Question is the systematic study of the fond of the Office of the President of the Republic (Kancelária Prezidenta republiky, KPR) at the Slovak National Archive (Slovenský národný archív, SNA).
Book Reviews by Madeline Vadkerty
President of the wartime Slovak State, about the “Jewish question.” This relatively
unexamined correspondence represents a unique lens for comprehending how the
Holocaust unfolded in Slovakia. It provides us with individual micro-histories
that, when aggregated, show us the real time dilemmas and struggles of people
– Jews and non-Jews – reacting to rapid social change and official antisemitism.
Most of this correspondence was written at a time when the gas chambers were inconceivable. The project People Write to Tiso…about the Jewish Question is the systematic study of the fond of the Office of the President of the Republic (Kancelária Prezidenta republiky, KPR) at the Slovak National Archive (Slovenský národný archív, SNA).