Pavol Jantausch (27 June 1870 – 29 June 1947) was a Czechoslovakian priest and Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he
protested the antisemitic policies of the Nazi aligned
Slovak Republic (1939–45)
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.
Biography
Born in
Vrbové in 1870, he was ordained a priest in 1893. In 1922 he was appointed
Apostolic Administrator of Trnava and in 1925 he was ordained
Titular Bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of
Priene.
Following
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's dismemberment of Czechoslovakia prior to the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the small and predominantly Catholic and agricultural Slovak region became the Fascist Slovak Republic in 1939, a nominally independent Nazi puppet state. In February 1942, Slovakia agreed to begin deportations of Jews to German concentration camps.
Distressing scenes at railway yards of deportees being beaten by
Hlinka Guard paramilitary spurred community protest, including from Bishop Pavol Jantausch. Jantausch was active in protecting Jews.
[Phayer, Michael (2000); ''The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965''; Indiana University Press; p. 89]
See also
*
Catholic resistance to Nazism
Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany was a component of German resistance to Nazism and of Resistance during World War II. The role of the Catholic Church during the Nazi years remains a matter of much contention. From the outset of Nazi rule in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jantausch, Pavol
Slovak Roman Catholic priests
Czechoslovak Roman Catholic priests
Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany
Slovak people of World War II
1870 births
1947 deaths