preložiť Varín is rewriting history after years of litigation and lawsuits. Dr. Jozef Tiso Street will be a thing of the past, but not everyone is happy
Doctor Jozef Tiso Street will be a thing of the past in a few days. Varín will rename it after another priest, the papal prelate Monsignor Jozef Noga. This was preceded by many years of quarrels, accusations and lawsuits.
It may be incomprehensible, but in the 21st century a war criminal had a street named after him. Some Varinians even defended it, whether as a practical matter of not having to change documents or just on principle.
"The street name does not bother me at all because I have never had a problem with it, with this street name, I have never felt shame, no one has ever asked me why I live on such a street," said a resident of Varín.
"I definitely think that this is not a question for us, but for historians. They are entitled to evaluate the person of Tiso, what he did, what he didn't do," said another.
Some still insisted on keeping Tisova Street
"Paying homage to this man by naming a street after him is absurd, unacceptable and even illegal," said Holocaust Documentation Centre Ján Hlavinka.
In a few days, the municipality will place new street name plates. Only one gate remains.
This, too, illustrates the atmosphere in the village. Not everyone is happy with the papal prelate either. Some still insisted on the preservation of Yew Street. Others tried to find a more neutral name.
Nápis Ulica Dr. Jozefa Tisu na bráne
"I will say Kováčska, or some other one, for example, we are now on Hrnčiarska, maybe some wanted it to be a continuation of Hrnčiarská, some wanted it to be a continuation of the camp," explained Ľubomír Sečkár (Hlas-SD), a deputy of the municipality of Varín.
Either way, this is the fourth naming of a street. The erasure of the street named after the president of the fascist Slovak state is definitely seen as a satisfaction by Lenka Ticháková, a former municipal deputy. She fought for years to change the name.
"I actually came to the conclusion that practically we in Slovakia have not dealt with history at all yet and I feel sad about some things," admitted the former MP Ticháková (independent).
"It was not a drama for Varín, it was more of a drama for you journalists, I think," says Mayor Michal Cvacho (independent).
"Jozef Tiso is often described by journalists and publicists as a controversial figure. I would like to say that he is not a controversial figure. He is an explicitly negative figure of Slovak history," the Holocaust Documentation Centre added.
The Varín "soap opera" was only definitively closed by the Administrative Court in Banská Bystrica, which upheld the prosecutor general's lawsuit and ordered the municipality to change the name of the street.