I knew people from the Jewish community who lived in Varina before the war. In the village, where today residents walk along the street named after the criminal Tis.
Those who are satisfied with the name of the street know that the man is also responsible for the murder of children. And we are still waiting for the court’s decision to cancel the street name. Since it has been going on for so long, one is assured of the fact that not everyone in this country is willing to come to terms with the tainted past and clearly condemn the actions of the criminal. This is an important step in coming to terms with the past.
On the one hand, we hold a memorial for the victims of the Holocaust. On the other hand, it is taking too long for the relevant institutions to officially and definitively ban the street name that dishonors the memory of these victims. It would be a noble gesture if the parties that subscribe to the values of democracy would also take it as their own in the pre-election campaign.
Years ago I met Rafi Frieder, the nephew of Rabbi Armin Frieder. At the time of the persecution of the Jews, he personally handed Jozef Tis a memorandum of the rabbis of Slovakia, who begged the highest representative of the state to prevent deportations. Unsuccessfully. Tens of thousands of people were murdered as a result.
His uncle wrote in his diary after the Day of Atonement (the largest Jewish holiday accompanied by strict fasting and prayers) in 1943: “A strange feeling flooded our hearts on these holy days. It was terrible to see empty seats in the synagogue. It was as if many people who were missing cried out in a muffled voice, and we all mourned the spilled blood of our brothers, for every empty seat in the pew was a memorial. The one who is missing is the victim.’
Gradually, the rabbi’s parents, wife and daughter also became victims. They survived with their son and brother Emanuel, who became the chairman of the Central Union of Jewish Religious Communities between 1946 and 1949. He worked in his capacity until he left for Israel, where Rafi was born, with whom we visited the graves of some of his family members.
Naming a street after a criminal belittles, trivializes tragic historical events and makes a mockery of victims, survivors and their families.
Martin Korčok is the director of the Holocaust Museum in Seredi
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