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The Virtual Jewish History TourAlbania
By Ariel ScheibAlbania is a Balkan state on the eastern border of the Adriatic Sea. Since Roman times, Jews have been living in the northern region of Albania. Over the centuries, Jews settled temporarily in Albania, but never established a permanent community. From 1478 to 1913, Albania came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Following the Spanish Inquisition of 1492, Jews from Iberia began to settle in seaports and re-establish the Jewish community. Jews continued to settle in the country throughout the 16th century. Jewish communities formed in Berat, Durazzo, Elbassan, and Valona; areas in which existed large trading industries. Castilian, Catalonian, Sicilian, Portuguese, and Apulian synagogues were erected throughout Albania. After being exiled by the Turkish sultan in 1673, false messiah Shabbetai Zevi found refuge in Albania. He died on September 30, 1676, in Dulcigno, Albania. In 1685, the Jewish community of Valona fled to Berat during the Turkish-Venetian war; those who remained in Valona were eventually taken captive. Between 1788 and 1822, Albania came under the governance of Ali Pasha, the governor of the Ottoman province of Rumelia. It was under Pasha’s rule that Jews suffered from his criminal offenses of blackmail and threats. During the Albanian revolt of 1911, Jews were indicted for collaborating with the Turkish authorities in helping to defeat the nationalists. Following World War I, the few remaining Jews in Albania, lived primarily in Koritsa. By 1930, the national census reported only 204 Jewish inhabitants in Albania. On April 2, 1937, the Jewish community was granted official recognition by the government. The largest Jewish populations were located in Kavaje and Vlora. Approximately, 600 Jews were living in Albania prior to World War II, 400 of whom were refugees. At the beginning of World War II, hundreds of Jews arrived in Albania seeking refuge from Nazi persecution in other regions of Europe. World War II
There was little history of anti-Semitism in Albania between the local Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Most of the Albanian population was not hostile toward the Jews and helped to hide them during the war, especially when Italy and Germany occupied the country. On April 7, 1939, Italy invaded and annexed Albania. Jews were exiled from the coastal port cities and moved to Albania’s interior. Several Austrian and German families took refuge in Tirana and Durazzo in 1939 in hope of making it eventually to the United States or South America. Many Jewish refugees also passed through Albania on their way to Palestine. These refugees were well treated by the Italian forces and by the local population. Jewish refugee families began to scatter throughout Albania and assimilate into society. Jewish children continued to attend school, but under false names and religions. Italians rejected the Final Solution and therefore did not implement anti-Jewish laws. Nevertheless, many Albanians joined the SS Division “Skanderbeg.” Some Jewish refugees were eventually placed in a transit camp in Kavaje, and from there sent to Italy. At one point, nearly 200 Jews were placed in the Kavaje camp. Some Albanian officials tried to rescue these Jews of Kavaje, by issuing identity papers to hide them in the capital Tirana. In the spring of 1941, with the fall of Yugoslavia, the Kosovo province was annexed to Albania creating Greater Albania. Many Jewish families in the newly occupied territories of Greater Albania were placed in the internment prison in Pristina, Yugoslavia. About 100 Jewish men and their families from Pristina prison were taken to Berat. Once in Berat, many of these Jewish refugees were protected by local Albanians. Upon Germany’s demand, Jewish refugees being held in the Pristina prison in the annexed territory of Yugoslavia were handed over to German forces. These refugees were then shipped to Belgrade and put to death. Germany reconquered the territory from Italy in September 1943. In early 1944, the Gestapo forced all Jews in Tirana to register with the German officials. Consequently, many Jews fled to supportive Albanian villages outside of the cities. When the Germans demanded a list of Jewish families living in Albania, the officials refused to disclose the information; instead the Albanians forewarned the Jews. In April 1944, 300 Jews were placed in the Pristina prison, mainly refugees in Kosovo, followed by a few hundred more within the next months. Ultimately, 400 of these Jews were transported to Bergen-Belsen in the summer of 1944, where only 100 people survived. Between 1941 and 1944, nearly 600 Jews from Greater Albania were sent to their deaths in various concentration camps around Europe. It is for this reason that many historians disagree over the role of Albanians in the Holocaust. While Albanians may have attempted to rescue the Jews in Albania proper, the government was aware of the roundup and deportation of Jews from the Kosovo region.
After 1944, the Italians and Germans agreed to place much of the Yugoslavian territory under the authority of Albania. Many Jews from Serbia, Greece, and Croatia fled to this territory. On December 29, 1944, Tirana was liberated from German occupation. Postwar AlbaniaThroughout Albania’s communist period under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, the Jewish community was isolated from the Jewish world. All religion was strictly banned from the country. The Jewish population numbered between 200-300 citizens. After the fall of Communism, in 1991, nearly all the Jews of Albania were airlifted to Israel and settled predominately in Tel Aviv. Today, only ten Jews remain in Albania, most in the capital, Tirana. Where there was once an active Jewish community, today, there exists very little organized communal life. An Albania-Israel Friendship Society is active in Tirana, but with little assistance. One synagogue remains in Vloré, but is no longer in use. Albania-Israel Friendship Society Sources: World Jewish Congress Zaidner, Michael. Jewish Travel Guide 2000. Intl Specialized Book Service, 2000 “Albania”: Shoah Resource Center Maps: CIA Pictures of Holocaust courtesy of: USHMM |
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