By Bardhyl Berberi
Memorie.al / In one of the characteristic alleys of the city of Pogradec, in the “Burima” neighborhood, to the right of the city’s old church, sits a two-story villa nestled amidst a flower garden and an orchard of apple trees and grapevines. A national flag flies on the upper floor of the house. This is the Basho residence, currently home to Associate Professor Dr. Jovan Basho, head of service at the “Mother Teresa” University Hospital Center in Tirana. Upon entering the Basho home, one is greeted by a portrait of the great German scientist, Albert Einstein, placed in one of the most prominent positions in the house.
The focus on this photo does not surprise the members of the Basho family; they explained that Albert Einstein was a great friend of the family. In fact, after numerous contacts in Vienna with the famous doctor Jani Basho (who, upon returning to Albania, served as the personal physician to King Zog), Einstein came to Albania in April 1931. At the time, he was being pursued by the German Nazis due to his Jewish origin; he was subsequently provided with an Albanian passport, which he used to depart for the United States.
The Facts of Albert Einstein’s Albanian Citizenship
What are the facts regarding Albert Einstein’s Albanian citizenship? In the old register of 1931, AK0 31, on page 53/1, the following note is found:
“Today, on April 10, 1931, Dr. Jani Basho appeared at the Pogradec Municipality office. Born in 1892 in the ‘Burima’ neighborhood of Pogradec, the son of Kozma and Anastasia, by profession a personal physician to His Majesty Zog I, he provides a guarantee for Albert Einstein to become a citizen of Pogradec. This municipality provides Albert Einstein with a certificate and residency permit as a resident of Pogradec in the ‘Burima’ neighborhood.”
Municipality Clerk: Reis Asllani | Guarantor: Dr. Jani Basho
Dr. Jani Basho, after completing his studies with excellent results in Vienna, was appointed as the personal physician to King Zog I in 1928. In memoirs collected by his nephew, Dr. Jovan Basho, Dr. Jani Basho describes this period in detail:
It was December 16, 1930. Shortly after dinner, King Zog began to suffer from severe abdominal pain. After examining him, Dr. Jani Basho advised the King to rest. According to Jani Basho, King Zog had been suffering from an intestinal ailment for two years. A diagnostic confirmation was required. Two days later, the King summoned Dr. Basho and told him to prepare for a trip to Rome for detailed tests. Dr. Basho responded that while it was the King’s right, he recommended they seek treatment in Vienna instead.
The King approved the proposal, and on the night of January 26, the high-level Albanian delegation – using passports with false names to maintain secrecy – departed from Durrës on an Italian naval destroyer, reaching Trieste the next day. There, Victor Emmanuel’s personal train awaited them, taking them to Vienna where they settled into the Imperial Hotel.
In Vienna, Dr. Jani Basho met his professors and friends, including the famous actor Alexander Moissi. During his meetings with close friends, they made a request: His friend, Albert Einstein, was in danger, pursued by the Nazis for being Jewish. He needed to leave, but it was impossible as the Gestapo had seized his German passport. They asked Dr. Basho, as the King’s personal physician, to ask the King to provide Einstein with an Albanian passport.
Following numerous visits and tests by the best Austrian doctors – notably Prof. Holzknecht, who took more than 30 X-rays to determine a diagnosis – during a break while the King was having coffee with Dr. Jani at the hotel, Dr. Basho made the request: to provide scientist Albert Einstein with an Albanian passport because his life was in danger from the Nazis.
The King, after listening to his physician’s proposal, replied: “Agreed. Tell him to come to Albania. You, Dr. Jani, make him a ‘Pogradecar’ (a resident of Pogradec) first, and then we will give him an Albanian passport.” In his memoirs, Dr. Basho notes that the King was in good spirits that day, and that evening they went together to the Vienna Opera to see Verdi’s “Aida.”
However, as they exited the side gate where two cars were waiting, King Zog was in the first car with his bodyguard Llesh Topallaj and Eqerem Libohova. As they entered the vehicle, shots were fired from the side. Topallaj fell, while Libohova was wounded in the leg. King Zog knelt, took a position, and began firing back with his pistol. Dr. Jani Basho immediately checked on the King, who told him to check on the others. Topallaj had been killed instantly by a bullet to the neck. Dr. Basho treated Libohova’s leg to stop the bleeding before they headed to the hospital.
Despite the assassination attempt, King Zog kept his promise. He later reminded Dr. Basho: “Tell that scientist to come to Albania so we can provide him with an Albanian passport.”
Evidence and Testimonies
Dr. Prof. Jovan Basho, who has collected the memoirs of his great-uncle, provides further evidence:
- Queen Geraldine’s Interview: In June 2002, before returning to Albania, Queen Geraldine told the English magazine Style that Albert Einstein had come to Albania and King Zog had provided him with an Albanian passport.
- The Banker’s Testimony: Ajeti Bega, a former official at the Albanian National Bank, told Dr. Skënder Koja that he had personally met Einstein in early 1931. Einstein had come to the bank to perform transactions between the Albanian and German banks. When the director (an Italian) heard Einstein was waiting, he jumped from his chair in shock, exclaiming: “Is it possible that Albert Einstein is asking for me? He is one of the greatest scientists in the world!”
- The Check: Einstein reportedly cashed a check given to him as a gift by King Zog. Official documents show Einstein was at the Bank of Tirana on April 9, 1931. On April 10, the residency certificate was issued in Pogradec, and subsequently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued the Albanian passport under the King’s direct intervention.
Official records indicate that Einstein’s German passport had been seized. He traveled to America twice (in December 1931 and in 1932) using the Albanian passport provided by King Zog, as he had no other. It was only at the end of 1932 that he received a Swiss passport.
“Undoubtedly,” emphasizes Dr. Prof. Jovan Basho, “our people should rightly be proud of saving thousands of Jews, and among them, the greatest scientist of the 20th century, Albert Einstein.”
Who was Jani Basho?
Born in Pogradec in 1892, Jani Basho was educated in Manastir and Vienna, where he graduated with honors in medicine. He was a scientist, intellectual, and publicist (directing the magazine Djalëria in Vienna). In Tirana, he helped create the country’s first healthcare network alongside famous doctors like Rifat Frashëri and Frederik Shiroka.
He was a close friend of Alexander Moissi and Einstein, as well as Albanian literary icons Lasgush Poradeci and Mitrush Kuteli. After the liberation, he served as the director of the Obstetric-Gynecologic Hospital in Tirana and founded the core of the “Mother Teresa” University Hospital Center. He is considered the founder of obstetrics and gynecology in Albania. He passed away on February 12, 1957./Memorie.al
