Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes some archival documents with the initials “Secret” where the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Mihal Prifti, in 1951, sends a report of the Albanian government to the President of the UN General Assembly, Padilla Nervo, where, among others, he cites some of the testimonies given before the trial of the saboteurs that were prepared by Western Discoveries in the camps of West Germany, such as Selim Daci, Muhamet Hoxha, etc., under the auspices of the Committee “Free Albania” and personally, Abaz Kupi , Abaz Ermenjit, Gaqo Gogos, etc.
After a month of training, and exactly in August 1950, we were taken from Munich to a small town 18 km south of it, called the Welterhof. Here were about 150 American depots, which were filled with aircraft bombs of all calibers, with rocket-propelled grenades for aircraft. These warehouses we took over from the Germans, who were on guard before we went there. In our free time, Americans taught us to write, to read, to learn grammar, mathematics, geography, and so on. “Several times we held conferences where we talked very badly about the current government in Albania, where we were presented with the very suffering life of our people, we talked very well about American democracy and not so well about the Soviet Union and other countries of People’s Democracies”. This is stated, among other things, in the testimonies of the political fugitive Selim Daci, regarding the training he and a large group of other anti-communist Albanians had done in some of the West German camps, where they were preparing to be thrown as saboteurs. in Albania, in an attempt to overthrow the regime of Enver Hoxha. This evidence, as well as some other evidence given to the investigator or in various trials by saboteurs who had been trained by Western foreign intelligence and who landed on Albanian soil by the mid-1950s by air, land and sea, were summarized in a report entitled “Albanian reactionary emigration activity and saboteurs dumped in our country”, which the Albanian government through the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihal Prifti, sent to the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Padilla Nervo. What is written further in the realization of the Deputy Foreign Minister, Mihal Prifti, about the UN President and what were the testimonies of the Albanian saboteurs regarding the preparatory courses they had taken from the foreign discoveries in several different camps of Western countries? For all these and other events, where we talk about the “Albanian reactionary emigration activity”, it is about some archival documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana, a part of which Memorie.al brings to its readers in this writing.
Report of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihal Prifti, on the President of the UN
“Reactionary Efforts to Be Funded by the US Colony”
At the beginning of the report of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihal Prifti, for the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Padilla Nervo, a detailed summary is given on the concentration and organization of forces and various groups of Albanian anti-communist countries Western. In this regard, among other things, it reads: “The greatest concentration of all Albanian reactionary forces that could escape the justice of the people, is mainly in Italy, Greece and later in Yugoslavia, and secondarily in Turkey, Egypt, France, America etc. By 1946, their forces were not yet organized, though for the most part concentrated in camps, at the beginning of the U.N.RR.A. and later in those of the I.R.O.S. At this time the situation of Albanian emigration was very difficult. In their ranks there was a fear of surrender according to the very statements of the presidents of the great states of America, England and the Soviet Union. In order to subjugate them and make them tools for their own interests, the Anglo-Americans themselves spread the word in immigration that supposedly all those who had committed war crimes would be handed over to their respective states as war criminals. In addition, the directors of the camps, who were American and British, through the leaders of the emigration started an unbridled propaganda against the People’s Power, presenting the situation in Albania very insecure, where people suffered from hunger, terror and where people disappeared for the only one. their fault that they were not communists. On the other hand, to cut off any show of remorse over the past, which began to awaken at this time in many simple immigrants lied to by their leaders and who expressed a desire to return home, camp directors and leaders of criminals, spread false news about Albania, for daily and horrible murders, such as they pretended that people had their heads, ears, hands cut off, their eyes gouged out. When they saw that even this way of propaganda did not take place, they arrested and disappeared various people, spreading news that they had been handed over to the Albanian Government. In all these forms, the Anglo-Americans succeeded in terrorizing all immigrants and forcing them to obey their dictates. Thus, the Albanian criminals from this situation, since that time, had been made available to the Anglo-American imperialist service. Albanian emigration concentrated in I.R.O.S. was in a deplorable condition, both from the economic situation and in terms of the hope of returning to Albania. Morally, these were very low and could not be asked for activity. Until now, Anglo-American funding was scarce, and they lacked the funds needed for a major propaganda campaign against our country. This situation forced them to seek other sources and such were for them the Albanian sources in America, Australia and elsewhere. In this regard they have made great efforts, especially in that of America. They sent important people there, such as Hasan Dosti and Stavro Skëndi others, in order to propagate against R.P.SH. and to make the colony for themselves to have not only financial support, but also moral support”.
Testimony of the saboteur Selim Daci
In most of the report of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Mihal Prifti, for the President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Padilla Nervo, are given the testimonies of some of the Albanian saboteurs, who, according to the report of the Albanian government , had given that evidence before the people’s trials (MFA Archive. File 260. Year 1951). In this regard, the report of the Albanian government signed by Mihal Prifti, among other things, reads: “From time to time Albanian criminals to enter the service of the Americans, who would use them to send saboteurs in groups against the People’s Republic of Albania. The leaders of the Albanian criminals, in order to raise their morale and convince them of a sure and quick victory, went to the camps and courses where the Albanian criminals were instructed and gave various speeches. In this way the purpose and service of these sold people becomes clear, who only for their personal interests lied to the mass of emigrants to be thrown in Albania for the purposes of the American imperialists. As will be proved below, criminal leaders such as Abaz Kupi, Abaz Ermenji, Gaqo Gogo, Vasil Andoni, Seit Kryeziu, etc. do nothing but select, collect, select Albanian criminals and force them through threats to be placed without reservation in the service of imperialist espionage. Regarding the above, the saboteur criminal caught on Albanian soil, Selim Daci testifies in his process as follows: “After a month of training and exactly in August 1950 from Munich they took us to a town 18 km south of it, which is called the Welterhof. There were about 150 American depots, which were bombed with aircraft of all calibers, with rocket-propelled grenades for aircraft. We received these from the Germans, who had been on guard before. In our free time, Americans taught us to write, to read, to learn grammar, arithmetic, geography, and so on. Conferences were held several times, where they spoke very badly about the current government in Albania, they presented the suffering of our people as very painful, they spoke very well about American democracy and cursed the Soviet Union and the People’s Democracies. In Wekterhov came Abaz Kupi, who gathered all our company and congratulated us for our good behavior towards the Americans and that supposedly our company was the best in all of Munich. Then he said these words to us: “Do not be upset that our American and British friends have given us the word that we will liberate Albania from this year”. Abazi left our company after 5 days and during this time he was constantly staying with American and English camp officers. 20 days after the departure of Abaz Kupi, Abaz Ermenji also came to our camp, who congratulated us for our will and good behavior with friends and told us that you are not only 200 here, you will see that thousands will come soon Other comrades, the Albanian people are grateful to the Americans for the help they give us. A few days after the departure of Abaz Ermenji, Seit Kryeziu came to the camp, who in a short speech he gave us, among other things, told us that according to the word of the Americans, we will liberate Albania this year and that he wanted us to we went to Albania to work and sacrifice to the death for the liberation of Albania ”.
Testimony of the saboteur Muhamet Hoxha
After that part of the report where the testimony of the saboteur Selim Daci is given, regarding the activity of anti-communist Albanian groups in the German camps, the testimony of the other saboteur Muhamet Hoxha is also given. In this regard, it reads: “Albanian criminals in American camps in Germany, after staying for a while and engaging in military training, were then divided into small groups and sent to isolated places where they were instructed to master the profession of espionage and diversion. In this regard, the saboteur Muhamet Hoxha states in his process as follows: “After traveling locked in a military truck for an hour in a row we arrived at a villa by the lake. Here we were greeted by the course director, an American named Enrique. The next day the course director gathered us in a hall and instructed us not to talk to the villa staff and for any need we might have to address him. Then, after introducing us to the course professors, he told us: “You will be divided into two groups, 14 people will learn about radio broadcasting and the others will be divided into four different groups”. Then the director told us that we were sent by the committee “Free Albania” to these courses to specialize to become as skilled as possible in the liberation of Albania and that the Americans are in close cooperation with the committee and work for it. the same purpose. The course was conducted with this program: every day we did one hour of gymnastics, two hours of radio lessons, one hour of instruction on the use of a knife, wrestling, boxing and German parabolic and automatic weapons, two hours later we were shown movies on the subject of explained and for two hours we taught about the use of parachutes. After two weeks, the parachute lesson was abandoned and we were given two hours of espionage instruction, one hour of geography and topography. Espionage was taught to us by Director Enrique, and later by Professor Fellers American, of gymnastics, as the director was later replaced by another American professor of Greek descent whose name I do not know. While we were on this course, at the Breshter Graden villa and exactly three weeks after the start of the course, the school principal, Enrik, informed us that we would be visiting some of the leaders of the ‘Free Albania’ committee and a little later arrived in villa Abaz Kupi, Abaz Ermenji and Gaqo Gogo. The next morning, we were all gathered and the meeting was opened by Director Enrik. After congratulating us for the good behavior we had shown in front of our mayors, he gave the floor to Abaz Kupi, who told us that we in Albania went to fight and not to save our heads, that we should forget the quarrels we had between different groups but to see only the common interest of the homeland. Abaz Ermenji took the floor after him, who repeated the words of Abaz Kupi and added that in Albania besides us many other friends would come, but we had to stay hidden so as not to be dictated and follow the same tactics that did the communist partisans, because we were people in charge of secret missions. In case we were to look bad we had to immediately erase the documents and in no way fall alive into the hands of the communists. If we were to be dictated by government forces to immediately cross into Greek territory and give the border authorities the special star slogan. “We could do the same thing on Yugoslav soil and they would come there immediately to take us.”
Training in camps in Greece
After the testimonies of the saboteur Muhamet Hoxha, in the report of the Deputy Minister Mihal Prifti, a summary is given regarding the activity of the Albanian political emigration in some camps of Greece. In this regard, it reads: “At the end of the espionage courses, groups of Albanian criminals departed by plane from Germany, flew over Italian soil and landed at an airport outside Athens. After staying for a while in Greece, they were provided with civilian underwear with various knives and weapons, radio transmitters, cipher blocks and doubles, and after being dealt with by the voice of the saboteurs, they made the documents of the committee ‘Albania’ e Lirë ‘, they gave you a machine gun, a revolver, bullets and two hand grenades to launch them by plane to parachute them into the mountains of Albania. Here is what the saboteur Iljaz Toptani says about the preparations before they were thrown on Albanian soil: ‘Before we left for Albania, the base professor in Greece asked us once again if we remembered the nicknames of the group we were assigned and I added that if that any of the nationalists will be pursued by the government, you will tell him to cross the border from Prespa, where once it falls into the hands of the Greek authorities, he will be taken over by us “./ Memorie.al
