By Sulejman Gjana
How the Jews Were Saved in Albania During King Zog’s Reign?
Memorie.al / The treatment of the presence and sheltering of Jews in our country during the years of the Albanian Kingdom has been an unknown topic for Albanian researchers and certainly for the general public during the time of the communist dictatorship. It is easily understood that the communist dictatorship used history to serve its ideology and absolute power; it had no complexes when it distorted it, often ignoring, sidelining, or manipulating historical facts and realities. During that time, everything achieved during King Zog’s reign, in laying the foundations of the Albanian state, as well as in international diplomatic relations, was obscured.
In fact, anything related to the Albanian Kingdom had to be viewed and interpreted negatively to leave enough space for indoctrination and the “education” of the people with the myths fabricated by the regime about the monarchical period and King Zog himself.
Experience has taught us that everything the communist regime promoted as white was in reality black; and everything that would be black for them was in fact white. Meanwhile, everything left unspoken during the communist dictatorship was either dangerous for the rulers and the system or glorious for those denied their rights.
This is also true for the noble act of the Royal Albanian Government and King Zog regarding the treatment of Jews who were persecuted during the 1930s in various countries of Europe and found refuge and salvation in our country.
Fortunately, after the 1990s, many Albanian and foreign researchers and historians have shed light on the events of that time, publishing documents with abundant information and materials in books, articles, interviews, and documentaries that serve today as references for all those interested in this issue.
We should mention here the works of the Central State Archive group headed by Prof. Dr. Nevila Nika, the books and works of Prof. Dr. Shaban Sinani, Prof. Saimir Lolja, Dr. Apostol Kotani, Prof. Dr. Beqir Meta, Dr. Monika Stafa, Prof. Dr. Pellumb Xhufi, Prof. Dr. Mentor Petrela, Dr. Bernd Fisher, Dr. Robert Elsie, Dr. Patrice Najbor, and Mr. Kastriot Dervishi; the testimonies of survivors, Dr. Scarlett Epstein and Irene Grunbaum, as well as the documentaries and films by Norman Gershman and Johanna Neumann, as well as Mr. Astrit Hyka, which will be presented in the following.
“Even though some of them have analyzed the events only partially or from a perspective that is not always objective and neutral, others have made an invaluable contribution to shedding light on the truth that has been denied for more than half a century.
***
But what was the truth about the treatment of Jews during the years of the Albanian Kingdom? The first registration of Jews in Albania took place between 1923 and 1930. According to Dr. Jakov Milaj, an anthropologist and author of the book “The Albanian Race” (1944), the data from this registration shows that the community of permanently residing Jews in Albania reached nearly 200 people. Since 1929, requests for Albanian citizenship from Jewish immigrants in our country can be found in the archives of the Albanian Kingdom.
However, there was a noticeable increase in the movement of Jews toward Albania after the announcement of the “Final Solution” doctrine by Adolf Hitler and the implementation of anti-Semitic laws in the years 1932-1933, which required, among other things, that race be indicated on passports.
In fact, Albanian diplomacy opposed the Nazi doctrine, mobilizing to shelter those who were persecuted in Germany, Austria, and other European countries. Specifically, the Royal Albanian government did everything possible to save the Jews, and its positions were welcomed by world diplomacy.
In 1934, the High Commissioner for Refugees at the League of Nations, Mr. James Mac Donald, asked the Albanian Kingdom if there was a possibility to settle a number of Jews from Germany in Albania and immediately received a positive response. According to Dr. Patrice Najbor, 500 Jewish families benefited from this assistance.
In that same year, Herman Bernstein, who was the U.S. ambassador in Tirana at the time, wrote in the New York newspaper, ‘Jewish Daily Bulletin,’ that “there is no discrimination against Jews in Albania, because Albania is one of the rare countries in today’s Europe where religious prejudices do not exist.”
Furthermore, researcher and historian Bernd Fischer has reported on the discussions and the draft agreement of Ambassador Bernstein with the Ambassador of the Albanian state in the U.S., Faik Konica, specifically regarding the settlement of 500 Jewish families in Albania. Newspapers from Jewish communities in different parts of Europe paid special attention during the 1930s to Albania and the shelter that our country offered to Jews.
Thus, on June 10, 1935, the newspaper “Moment” from Poland published an article titled; “Jews Invited to Settle in Albania” and cited among other things that “the Albanian government has made a special decision, inviting even Jews from Czechoslovakia and Germany” and that “the government of the Kingdom of Albania is ready to accept the settlement of Jews in the country and to offer them the best possible conditions.”
The same was written by the newspapers “Jewish Telegraphic Agency” and “Jewish Chronicle” in England, while the British newspaper “Jewish Daily Post” wrote on July 14, 1935, that “the diplomatic service of Albania has informed about Tirana’s decision to accept Jews into the country for about a month now.”
“During that time, as well as in the following years in the Albanian Kingdom, not a single stance or report of an anti-Semitic event in our country can be found in the Albanian press. As Dr. Monika Stafa, who has studied the stance of Jews in Albania during King Zog’s reign, states; ‘Tirana never adopted anti-Semitic laws; not even decisions, regulations, or any acts with a racial character.’
On the other hand, although Tirana was under pressure from Italy to adopt antisemitic legislative acts, the Official Gazette published decisions and statements of the Albanian state regarding the sheltering of Jews in Albania, so that in 1935, the famous Soviet newspaper, ‘Pravda,’ reported that ‘the will of the Albanian government to accept Jews is being opposed by Italy.’
The exact number of Jewish refugees sheltered in Albania, or those who passed through Albania safely during King Zog’s time, has not yet been definitively determined, but it is known that until the eve of the country’s occupation by fascist Italy on April 7, 1939, hundreds or thousands of them entered our country.
Dr. Apostol Kotani, Bernd Fischer, and Martin Gilbert highlight that even in January 1939, 100 Jews, along with their families, had entered Albania, and similarly in February, while in March 1939, 95 families had entered. Robert Elsie also states in his book, ‘A Dictionary of Albanian Religions, Mythology and Folk Culture,’ that ‘until 1939, the Albanian Embassy in Berlin supplied Jews with visas.’
Additionally, Jutta Gerechter, in her memoirs about Albania during the years 1939-1945, writes; ‘King Zog agreed to grant all Jewish emigrants Albanian citizenship, but the fascist occupation prevented him from implementing that decision.’
Moreover, Sir Martin Gilbert notes in his book, ‘Winston Churchill: Prophet of Truth,’ that an emissary of King Zog met with Churchill in early 1939 to propose that Albania become a sanctuary for Jews, and that to realize this goal, Churchill would need to curb Mussolini’s appetite and guarantee the independence of Albania.
Dr. Patrice Najbor states that roughly 2,000 Jews entered Albania before World War II, while Bernd Fischer limits this number to about 800 people, although Fischer also talks about ‘golden years for Jews in Albania during the Royal period.’
In fact, as early as 1937, King Zog officially recognized the presence of the Jewish community in Albania, as well as their right to maintain their religion and customs, and the bilateral agreement of 1938 between Austria and the Albanian Kingdom to abolish visas between the two countries stimulated the arrival in Albania of many Jewish families who were endangered elsewhere in Europe.”
“In an article published in the newspaper ‘Shekulli’ on August 22, 2010, after a month of archival research, Prof. Dr. Mentor Petrela writes about ‘5 Jewish doctors who were brought by King Zog to Albania to save them from Hitler’s persecution’ (Prof. Wilhelm Schlessinger, Prof. Walter Lehman, Dr. Ludovik Kalmar, Dr. A.M. Schlessinger, Dr. Quasler) and publishes the order for the payment of Dr. Schlessinger’s driver at a time when two ministers were using a car and a driver.
In addition to the institutional treatment by the authorities of the Albanian Kingdom for Jewish refugees, it is known that King Zog himself and Queen Geraldine had Dr. Ourinovski as a doctor to the Royal Family and Wilhelm Weitzmann as the official photographer of the Royal Court, both Jewish refugees sheltered in Albania. In fact, at the beginning of 1939, Wilhelm Weitzmann was granted Albanian citizenship, along with 15 members of his family.
In reality, King Zog had received many personal requests through letters from endangered Jews in their countries, asking for refuge in Albania, such as the case of Dr. Martin Gottlif from Germany and Richard Atlas from Austria.
Among the prominent Jewish personalities who found refuge in Albania during the monarchy, we can mention Prof. Stanislav Zuber, one of the fathers of Albanian geology and the discoverer of the Bakus oil basin in the former Soviet Union. Likewise, the German writer Dr. Leo Mathia and the Israeli artist Joli Jakov also found shelter in Albania.
It is assumed that the physicist and scientist Albert Einstein also passed through Albania in 1930 before leaving for the USA. Although his visit has not yet been verified with archival documents and undeniable evidence, many researchers believe that he visited Albania, and studies and research on this matter continue.
However, it is strange that in 1931, when the most prominent albanologist of Croatian citizenship, Milan Sufflay, died as a result of an assassination by a Serb, Einstein publicly denounced this heinous act in the ‘New York Times’ newspaper.
Unfortunately, Dr. Norbert Jokli, a distinguished professor at the University of Vienna and recognized as one of the fathers of Albanology, was unable to escape and perished in the Nazi extermination in 1942, even though he was decorated by King Zog with the ‘Skanderbeg Order.’
Although most researchers have interpreted the sheltering and saving of Jews in our country as a consequence of the hospitable tradition of the Albanian people, referring also to the code of honor and loyalty, my perspective is somewhat different.”
“I attempted to bring in this modest writing some arguments and facts in a non-exhaustive manner, reported by researchers from various horizons, that prove the commitment of the Albanian State, the Royal Family, and personally of King Zog in saving Jews, to demonstrate that the authorities of our country, before World War II, were deeply oriented towards the Western world, humane values, and noble principles.
There are still voices that claim that the decisions and positions of the Albanian Kingdom towards the Jews were motivated by the needs of the economic development of the Albanian state.
The pragmatism of King Zog in leading the Albanian state is not in doubt, but an objective analysis of the facts shows that it was a pragmatism in the interest of the Albanian country and nation, based on universal values, as he could have been personally at less risk from fascist Italy and Nazi Germany if he had aligned himself with the collaborators.
Moreover, it is known that on the eve of the fascist occupation, the Albanian Government did not change its stance towards the Jews, even though in February 1939, the Italian government informed the Albanian consulate in Rome that it did not view the settlement of Jews in Albania favorably.
Naturally, I respect the opinion of those who say that the Albanian Besa played a role in saving Jews in our country. Just as I respect the opinion of those who say that the Muslim identity of the majority of the Albanian people contributed to saving the Jewish refugees, as had happened in other eras and territories in similar situations.” . Memorie.al