Fondo 20-002 - Joseph Staško collection

Joseph Staško was a Slovak politician, journalist, and librarian, born on August 1, 1917, in Sedliacka Dubová, Žilina (Slovakia). He completed his undergraduate studies at Comenius University in Bratislava and studied at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) from 1935 to 1942. He earned a Ph.D. in French Literature and Language from the University of Bratislava in 1942 and a Master's degree in Library Science from Columbia University in June 1963.

Although Staško did not engage in politics during the existence of the Slovak State, he joined the postwar Democratic Party and was elected to the Prague Parliament in May 1946. However, due to his autonomist views and his refusal to support Edvard Beneš as the postwar President of Czechoslovakia, he became estranged from the Democratic Party. He was subsequently arrested and charged with war crimes. Staško spent time in prison from 1946 to 1953 in Leopoldov and the Jáchymov uranium mines. Between 1953 and 1961, he worked as a manual laborer in various factories. In 1962, he left Czechoslovakia and arrived in the United States on May 24.

After obtaining his degree in Library Science from Columbia University in 1963, Staško began working at the New York Public Library, eventually becoming Chief of the Periodicals Department, where he worked until his retirement in 1983. His academic interests included history, economics, and political science, with a focus on Central European economies and political systems. Staško authored three books: History of Techniques in Trade, Slovaks in the U.S.A., and The April Agreement. He also edited The Shaping of Modern Slovakia and contributed to several journals on political and social science, presenting public lectures on Slovakia and its people.

In addition to his professional work, Dr. Staško was involved in various Slovak political and cultural organizations in the U.S. He served as president of the Slovak Historical Association of America and worked as an editor and writer for the SKS Bulletin and Horizont. Dr. Staško is recognized for his contributions to the preservation and development of Slovak history and culture, both in Slovakia and abroad.

In the mid-seventies, Dr. Staško launched an appeal to his Slovak compatriots and friends from all over the world, to participate in the creation of the Slovak National Archives in the United States. In response to this request, some of Dr. Staško's contemporaries donated their personal papers and other collections related to Slovak history and culture. Dr. Staško's project of the American-based Slovak National Archives did not materialize for lack of physical and financial resources. However, as a result of Dr. Staško's initiative, important documents were collected from various sources.

He passed away in 1997.