By ERALD KAPRI
Memorie.al / The British liaison officers (SOE) who participated in World War II in Albania produced documentation running to tens of thousands of pages, which is currently held in its entirety and open to the public at the British Archives. Many of the officers had the opportunity to work during the war with the head of the First Brigade, Mehmet Shehu, documenting many of his crimes during the war, as well as after it. The British officers who had contact and cooperated with Mehmet Shehu were numerous during the war. Generally, they shared the same opinion that he was the most important military figure in Albania, but at the same time also the harshest, committing numerous crimes.
The archival documentation is extremely voluminous, numbering over 40,000 pages, while this publication presents several documents from the months on the eve of liberation and the months after it, at the beginning of 1945.
But aware that they had lost their influence in Albania, the British did not recognize Enver Hoxha’s government. Some British officers believed that Mehmet Shehu could be the alternative leader in the event of an internal overthrow of Hoxha. They hoped that Mehmet Shehu might maintain a possibility of drawing closer to the British. Even in an official profile submitted to the British Foreign Office in April 1945, some of the officers who knew him believed that Shehu could rival Enver Hoxha.
But in this situation, they analyzed that using Mehmet Shehu to crush any resistance in Shkodër and in the North of the country chilled the relationship between him and Enver Hoxha. It appears that the tense relationship between Hoxha and Shehu had begun after the Congress of Përmet, where Mehmet Shehu was not promoted to general and lost several military command roles during the war. Subsequently, he received no important role in the newly created government of Enver Hoxha and, according to the British; Mehmet Shehu was seeking the Ministry of Defence.
TERROR IN NEWLY LIBERATED TIRANA
The British officer Oliver, who was involved in coordinating the battle for the liberation of Tirana, describes in a lengthy document his relationship with Mehmet Shehu. According to him, the siege of Tirana lasted 20 days, while Mehmet Shehu was irritated and made a request to the British. He asked the British that Allied aviation bomb the interior of Tirana and especially its center, which was being defended by German forces, without regard for civilians. “He asked me what help would come from air support for the Balkans?” “I told him that such an operation would be worthwhile after a coordinated infantry attack and asked him when he intended to carry it out.”
He replied to me: ‘You bomb the targets we asked you to, and as for the infantry attack, that is none of your business.’ I replied by telling him that his answer was not convincing and that, seeing that the enemy forces in Tirana were so small in number, it would be difficult to convince my headquarters in Bari to carry out an air strike that was very costly, and I did not believe it would be worthwhile without a guarantee that the partisans would make good use of this advantage,” – reported British Major Oliver in early November 1944. But with the capture of Tirana, the British officers stationed near Mehmet Shehu’s headquarters reported on the great reprisals being carried out by Mehmet Shehu’s troops in Tirana.
In a secret document dated November 22, 1944, another British Major, Thornton, reported that the situation was becoming dramatic due to the terror initiated against supposed political opponents. “They go house to house and in draconian ways residents are forced to participate in Party meetings. A pro-Russia and anti-Western ally’s campaign is being whispered. There is a harsh military control with curfews and property seizures, with the exception of those who have partisan papers. This could be any capital a week after the Germans leave,” – Thornton reported on November 22, 1944.
Meanwhile, in another report to the British headquarters in Bari, the major sent another report a day before the parade of Enver Hoxha’s government in Tirana. “Arrests continue. The prisons are full with a number that may be over 1,200 people. They are treated inappropriately in many cases. Dali Ndreu admitted that many of them were imprisoned because of Independence Day, November 28, and will be released later. This kind of policy will mean that the democratic elements, which are still at liberty, will have no leaders and will be insignificant. Anti-British behavior is reported. The movements of the 12th Brigade in the South are significant,” – Thornton reported on November 22, 1944.
THE KILLINGS IN SHKODËR
The British also established a headquarters of 3 officers in Shkodër, after its liberation, who remained until the end of January 1945. They reported to their command that Mehmet Shehu arrived in Shkodër on December 20 and did not spare reprisals against the civilian population. Below are some reports sent by the British officer from Shkodër.
CAPTAIN DURCAN, JANUARY 11, 1945 (SHKODËR)
“Uniformed partisans go house to house without any distinction and demand money, food, radios, clothes, typewriters, cars, tools, and various work machinery. These measures are destroying the privacy of families, increasing their cost of living, and they are not being left in peace. I spoke in the city with a painter, a shopkeeper, nuns, a worker, a doctor, a school director, a hotelier, a bookstore employee, and a tailor. They told me: ‘We cannot go on like this! Why don’t the British come? We cannot live like this!'”
CAPTAIN DURCAN, JANUARY 26, 1945 (SHKODËR)
“The atmosphere is electric. There are words in the city. There have been 200 arrests and houses have been seen full of civilians guarding them. Marashi is fighting in the Koplik area. Hasan Isufi and Jup Kazazi have a large number of men in the problematic area of Pukë as well. In Mirdita they are demanding one man per household.”
CAPTAIN DURCAN AND ANDREWS, DATE FEBRUARY 1, 1945
“There is no doubt that the partisans are cleansing the area of Shkodër. In order to stop various and impartial observers in the area, the British Mission was insistently asked to leave Shkodër and every kind of pressure was put on them to leave Shkodër, which caused the mission to leave on January 31, 1945. Captain Durcan describes the atmosphere in Shkodër as ‘electric.’ The prison is bursting with numerous political prisoners; while the partisan system has meant that every family in Shkodër hosts and feeds one or two partisans.
This has contributed to a great increase in dissatisfaction, which has prevented families from having even the slightest privacy. In order to impose their regime on the population there, 8 prisoners captured by opposition forces in Koplik were brought to Shkodër and shot. Their bodies were exposed in the city’s streets for several days and a list of their names was placed in every alley of the city’s neighborhoods. Merchants are extremely dissatisfied with the partisans due to their direct tax on their capital and are even insistently asked to provide free housing and food for the partisans.”
THE POST-WAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOXHA AND SHEHU
According to a report from British officers still present in Albania, Enver Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu had a silent compromise. Hoxha used Shehu’s brutality to eliminate any potential opponents of the regime in the North of the country, while Shehu guaranteed his own political survival. “That the government in Tirana considers the situation there as extremely serious was shown by the fact that they sent General Mehmet Shehu, perhaps the best military man in Albania, who took direction of Shkodër and the entire area.
General Mehmet Shehu, who is considered by some circles as the most capable general among the partisans, is thought to be the only man who has a number of supporters that could endanger Enver Hoxha, who might express dissatisfaction. By sending Mehmet Shehu to Shkodër, Hoxha not only sent a competent person for a difficult situation, but in case of events unacceptable to the regime, responsibility and hatred for the harsh measures would fall on Shehu and not on Enver Hoxha,” reported the British officers on February 1, 1945.
DESCRIPTION OF MEHMET SHEHU BY BRITISH OFFICERS
Headquarters of Force 399 CMF REF: F/399/101/G/6
November 13, 1944
Mehmet Shehu: Commander of the First Division. A vain man with personal ambitions, who has been kept in the shadows by the party for some time. He is undoubtedly the most respected and most important military figure in the movement. Recently he has been placed under the command of Dali Ndreu, commander of the First Corps. He is a communist, but personal ambition exceeds his loyalty to the party.
MAJOR OLIVER
Mehmet Shehu: Arrogant and brutal (this due to ambition and an inferiority complex). Someone tells me that Shehu is a dissatisfied man and that the government, knowing his immense desire to stay close to the army, placed him in his current position (perhaps he wanted Minister of Defence). Now, far from direct contact with the people, he will sink into the background and will have very few chances to become a leader of the rank he desires. A valuable commander in the field, harsh and with prestige that he also earned from German posters.
MAJOR SMITH
Mehmet Shehu: Quite youthful (about 30-35 years old), very active and undoubtedly the best commander of the National Liberation War. He fought in Spain as a member of the International Brigade and does not forget this. An outstanding personality and he is respected or viewed with fear by everyone for several reasons. As commander of the First Brigade, he fought well and his brigade remained the “spirit of the troops,” which is the fundamental reason for his success.
His appointment as second Colonel in the First Division was a shock to everyone who expected his appointment as commander. The primary role of the First Brigade was almost a cleansing in the North, and further on it is possible that Mehmet Shehu will emerge as the true commander, bypassing the commander placed there for political purposes.
MAJOR R.E RIDDELL AND CAPTAIN H.A HIBBERT
Mehmet Shehu: The most involved personality is Mehmet Shehu, and it is already clear that the Central Committee is afraid of his military power and are using every opportunity to keep him insignificant. It is difficult to say whether there will be any open conflict between them. Shehu is proud and powerful and full of ideals.
Will the appearance of a communist and fighter allow him to accept a small role in the future of this country? If Enver Hoxha is conscious enough and plays his cards well, he may have Mehmet as his strongest supporter. If not, only the future will tell what it holds for Mehmet and what situation the country will face. / Memorie.al
