From Sulejman Gjana
The first part
– Report-information of Major Abaz Kupit and Professor Gaqo Gogo, on the developments in Albania during the Second World War –
Memorie.al / “National Organization Legality Movement”, offers a perspective and another version of the political-military developments during the Second World War, quite different from that of the official communist historiography. By means of a typewritten report for King Zog, at that time in London, written from Cairo on 31 pages, dated August 2, 1945, the President, Major Abaz Kupi and General Secretary of OKLL, Prof. Gaqo Gogo, give us a very interesting overview of the anti-fascist resistance and the main political and military developments in Albania, during the period; April 39 – November 44. The clarity of thought, beautifully written and highly figurative language, emotional colors in the description of developments, concrete work and political positions of OKLL, mark a culmination of epistolary journalism and the philosophical and political conception of one of the three the parties that represented and dominated political life in Albania during the Second World War.
Despite the pathetic patriotic tone and the panegyric in arguing the contributions of OKLL, the authors of the report have not been able to avoid the tragic narrative of the defeat of the legalistic and ballistic nationalists, as a deterministic saga of the historical Right, burned in the flames of civil war and Slavic betrayal – communist. With fine and masterful brushstrokes, despite the self-acceptance of the strong British influence on OKLL and its leaders, Kupi and Gogo, have nevertheless expressed their surprise at the unexpected attitudes of official London regarding the positions, the ratio of forces and the fate of political-military factors in Albania. These attitudes, despite the public criticism of the communists of the Balkans (who, according to London, were using weapons and powers for the purposes of taking power), as war allies, did not insist strongly and failed to stop the civil war in Albania.
The report is strong evidence of the fact that, after the armed resistance of 7, 8 and 9 April 1939, the subsequent anti-fascist resistance was spontaneous, self-organised, little politically influenced and deeply patriotic. This indirect assertion of the truth that the Albanian Communist Party and the Slavo-Communists distorted falsified and appropriated the war and blood of the Albanian anti-fascists, glorifying a false historiography, with which they justified and motivated, yesterday and today, the bloody power-taking and the unscrupulous struggle for power in pluralism. This material marks an enrichment of the political vision of one of the parties of the historical tradition, proving at the same time the theoretical and conceptual superiority of the nationalists over the communists in relation to the National Question, superiority also accepted by the then chairman of the Albanian Communist Party, M. Popovici in the letters sent to Tito.
Letter sent to King Zog by Major Abaz Kupi and Professor Gaqo Gogo, on October 28, 1944
Greatness
We are presenting the description of the activity of our Movement. The attitude in Albania has not been that of only one Party or one political current. It has not represented only one ideology, or only one philosophical school, or only one social class. We will try in our work to describe the material, psychological and moral climate in which the battle of our Movement took place against the enemy and against a government of people trusted by the enemy.
Our desire is to show that resistance is not only an activity of a few brave, loyal, idealistic and enthusiastic people, but also the mature attitude of the majority of Albanians. Outside of Albania, we do not know if full confidence has been formed in our resistance, so the correct meaning of true resistance is that our Movement did not do its resistance only with a machine gun in its hands. This was only its fighting form and it took thousands of other looks, which we will try to describe.
Between the heroic endurance of the young warrior who completes dangerous missions and the less dynamic or older Albanian, who opposes the Quisling Tirana, the Italian and the German, with a kind of moral endurance, passiveness, stubbornness, there are many important gradations of values. In any case, all these men with different merits are inspired with complete conviction for victory, with the good will to restore Albania, more united and with a fanatical desire to liberate the Motherland and ensure freedom and return The king.
Occupation upon occupation. The people of Albania closely follow the vicissitudes of the war. Learn alarming news. Despite all the misfortunes, he hopes. He has great conviction towards himself and especially towards the Youth, which is completely pure, full of courage and has to go out anywhere, be it in the field or in the mountains, to keep its Flag high and fluttering alive. Governments are formed, but none enjoys the trust and credit of the people. Behind the adventurous governments, there are other political adventurers, who are the main participants in the conspiracies, legal changes and Albania’s participation in the Axis League.
Several demonstrations are caused; secret voices are spread, asking the people for endurance, patience and contempt for the occupier and his governors. The internal situation strongly shocks the occupier, but does not allow for a reaction. Day by day, our people assist in the capture and exile of its members, unsuspecting by the leaders of their own blood. No sound is heard; the people endure gritting their teeth. Governments continue their enterprise. They know that they should benefit from the immediate anesthesia of the people.
Through coercion, intrigues, Nazi-fascist parliamentarians are recruited, most of whom consist of men, weak and without character, who abdicate their constitutional power, in the hands of some persons responsible for our destruction, who are traitors the greatest of the Motherland. The new regimes, in which the majority of Albanians do not adhere wholeheartedly, begin to imitate Mussoliniism and Hitlerism. The press, the radio, the cinema, is censored.
Police demands begin. The decree of administrative internment is issued. Gatherings are strictly prohibited. Albanians are forced to learn not to feel Albanian and the right to express their opinion has been forbidden. A blind obedience to the governors is forced, and behind them, Albania is surrendered to the enemy. There are also some naive types, who believe in the governors, that Albania will recover under the direction of these governors without political experience and in the presence of the occupier in Albania. There are also traitors who trumpet the triumph, who celebrate the new order and openly collaborate with the occupier.
Among them there are also many pacifists, who have refused to fight against the occupier and now spread propaganda against the Anglo-American-Soviets. Occupied Albania realized very quickly the true cause of its occupation; it was waiting for the time of revenge against the traitors and had realized in time that the independence of the governments of Tirana was false. The governments of Tirana talked about their mentalities, about their moral disobedience, but thus proved that our government was free and sovereign.
Many Albanians relied on the government, as the only hope they had left. When you were visited by the governors, there were also many Albanians who applauded them, but they were among those who do not know exactly how, what they can expect from them and who can follow anyone blindly. But this did not last long. Soon from all sides it starts to be murmured, that there is no clarity and sincerity in this company. The elements who stand in the government together with all those who gather around power are old adherents of the fascist leagues and servants of this great plutocracy, which the panic fear of Bolshevism drove them to become defeatist (defeatist) and pro-Italo- German.
The Albanian, endowed with the spirit of criticism, awaits the lies of the radio and the press with skepticism. The Italian-German propaganda that is carried out through their channel is too little for them and revolts them. The more portraits of Nazi-fascists are added, the more disparaging words about them are spread. The Albanian people despise the mystique of the governors of Tirana. In some provinces of Albania, secret meetings are held and members are registered for tomorrow’s army of freedom, volunteers of the National Uprising,
This enterprise is strongly encouraged by London (in which we learn that the King has intervened), by assigning the verb in the Albanian language on its radio and that from time to time emits the voice of some of its soldiers, who were known by the Albanians as friends of Albania, proclaiming that the war is not over, that there were other powers in the world, that would enter the war sooner or later, and that Albania, in order to win, must contribute to the general war.
In the beginning, the words of these friends of Albania did not have the right success, but the listening was done with sympathy. Various voices accompanied the versions of the case. The Italian-German soldiers spoke with their characteristic arrogance that; England will be defeated in a few weeks. Days, weeks, months, years passed and England remained. London’s Albanian radio, which is heard by everyone, constantly, spreads words of hope.
In Albania, the occupier becomes the master of our land. He requisitioned everything he found good. He is arrogant and always brutal. Despite all this, Albanians do not despair and against every appearance, they preach the triumph of democratic nations. They hate dictatorship and foreign rule. They do not agree with enslavement, either in the direct enterprise of the enemy, or in the oppression of the police. In their heart is rooted the brave passion for freedom, which is in the tradition of the Albanian spirit. To fight for her, is for her men, more than a duty, it is a NEED.
A certain war had begun in the special way of these men, isolation in small groups of 3-4 people. They sow hope around them, they repeat what they heard on the Albanian radio in London, and they weaken the lies of the Italian-German radio in Tirana as much as they can. They are always honest. When Quisling heads of government exchange various transformative handshakes with Italian-German leaders, they know what these mean. The Quislings sold Albania, because it doesn’t cooperate half-heartedly, it doesn’t betray half-heartedly, and when an opponent submits to them once, without shame, they must submit to them to the end.
It is very difficult to trust neighbors, friends, in a country where the SIM and the Gestapo, assisted by some people out of shame of their blood, are constantly watching. Their zeal is boundless. First-timers don’t lack courage, but they lack tools. Despite all these deficiencies, they still swim against the enemy current. The people assist in the capture of many of their own members, relying on the mercy of fate, completely ignored by the authorities. News is spread by some officials that these measures were in accordance with an agreement reached between the Albanian government and the authorities of Mussolini’s Rome or the Third Reich.
The government of Tirana does not dare to deny. Finally, the internal maneuver is revealed, revealing some elements of the initiator country of this cooperation, including some ministers. These Albanians, judged as undesirable because of their anti-Nazi feelings, were drawn to unknown places, regardless of sex, age, real condition, health. These Albanians were sued by their countrymen as traitors and friends of Nazi-fascism. Mass deportations of Albanians by Italians during fascism in Albania were not enough, when the investigation on behalf of Mussolini was refused, when participation as members of the Italian people was refused. Teachers, professors, students, pupils, have been imprisoned and interned in Italy.
Some of those who remained continued the courses of fascist doctrine. Some teachers in the Moral Education of their students preached fascist education. The youth was forced to join the Italian Fascist Youth. Fascists also recruited some young people, who served to spy and sue their parents. With the arrival of the Italians and the terrible Gestapo, brutalities and persecutions were immediately manifested. Simple Albanian attitude, you couldn’t stand it and imprisoned. The clergy have suffered a lot. Many monks were expelled from their monasteries. Monasteries, mosques, churches and mosques of all religious cult entities became military warehouses, or showplaces for the occupying troops.
Fascists wanted to wipe Albania from the ground. Some of the Albanians wanted to ban the Albanian language as well. Those who opposed paid with prison terms. Some Albanians also Italianized their names. The various streets were baptized with Italian names. “Giovinezza”, became the Albanian anthem. Our hereditary banner was incorporated into the coat of arms of Savoy and surrounded by the insignia of the Lictor. That all were carried out with the consent of treacherous governors. Prisons were full. Their sisters and brothers were concentrated in the concentration fields for the day. SIM started from its usual activity: brutality and torture.
In all these measures, your people, Your Majesty, stood. Perhaps he has never felt so Albanian himself, as during the sufferings of the Lictor and the Teuton. He only dreams of triumph and revenge. Hundreds of its members, young and old, have paid with their lives for their loyalty to Albania, or for their opposition to the enemy: how many men and women have been shot for their Albanian activity; how many have been tortured because of the favoritism they have shown in protecting, securing and hiding their friends and how many have been hanged!
Little by little the resistance is increased. The Albanian people are coming out of their lethargy (lethargy), even though the governmental persecutions are very strict and the measures of the occupier are terrible. Tracts and various typescripts appear. Everywhere, slogans are sung (read) on the walls, even in the places where official government announcements are made: “Long live Free Albania; Long live the King; Down with the occupier”.
Modest clandestine notebooks, printed with a typewriter, are distributed, at the end of which the singers are invited to, after singing, distribute it to another person. These sheets do not cease to pass from hand to hand, until they become completely illegible from use. Some find relief from various printing houses, and the volume of their notebooks increases, and the propaganda takes root in the neighboring towns and cities. Every day the clandestine leaflets are distributed further. The traitor press attacks the true propaganda of the voice of the Albanian people. The official Albanian press is controlled by the Italians and Germans and they force their directions, dictating their behavior.
Albanians, wild by temperament, refuse to obey the voice of the official press. But on the other hand, living conditions worsen day by day. Prices increase, prisons are full and not empty. England continues its magnificent resistance and the number of those who are convinced that the occupier will be expelled from our land, increases more and more. Clandestine notebooks quickly gained public favor. The subject matter is striking and well informed. Their editors, most of them non-professional, give advice and commanding words. Sale of typewriters, typewriters, paper, all arranged. The editors strive for the publication of printed notebooks, or a real newspaper, and accept for the realization of this need, any sacrifice.
It was very difficult to find any printer who was brave enough to accept the risk. With all this, our clandestine press was enriched every day, with new organs: its distribution multiplied without ceasing; the number of singers cannot be compared to the amount printed, because each sheet is sung by 10, or 20 or more people. This press, together with the Albanian radio of London, gave courage to the people of Albania, who began to believe in the Internal Resistance Movement and to be convinced that the occupier would be defeated, that the British would resist and finally win. Attitudes with opposition increase. The people cheer the stoic resistance of the British in the face of terrible bombing; admires their fair-play, when they endure the blows they suffer and with the phlegm characteristic of their national character, they talk about the triumph they have to secure in two or three years.
Churchill’s wild energy impresses the Albanians, who, after a period of bad humor, enter the depths of their hearts and swear allegiance to their friendship. Some allied aircraft fly over our skies from time to time. Their governments are shocked. People understand the signs of bombing. The occupier interprets these bombings according to his own interest, believing that he has to draw the people with him. Little by little, the people of Albania are convinced that their liberation will take place and that their main support is the Allies. The clandestine press contributes a lot to the evolution of souls, compared to all the members of this service. That’s why the Albanian people are very grateful to them, because they know what courage their journalists needed to face, against all the countless, endless obstacles.
When you found the publisher with good will, you needed his paper equipment, which was missing. The members of this service attacked where it was needed and finally found it, but it should be known that, like everything, the letter was also blocked, either by the occupier or by the governors. There were also cases of the black market. Money was needed. This money was contributed by friends of the people, who helped as much as they could, without asking for explanations.
In the beginning, our notebook as well as the tracts was prepared piece by piece by the workers of different printing houses during their work with the patron of the printing house, accepting every sacrifice. Many times the employees worked at night, in their homes. The materials were printed according to the possibilities, at night, during the day, on Sundays and in most cases between old machines. Always dangerous, because many times the secret agents would show up sticking their noses everywhere and arresting the workers. But these, no matter how many times they were beaten and imprisoned, they made the notebook with the tracts appear regularly.
We know a publisher who, upon leaving prison, met with the leaders of our resistance group and told them: “You are freed; I am always at your service…”! The method of distribution, withdrawal and postings surprise the occupier and the government clique. The terror, torture and efforts shown by the occupier and the quislings governors, to prevent the manifestation of the free Albanian thought, did not have the desired results, therefore the thought remained alive.
It is not possible to suppress the Albanian spirit; it is not possible to kill it. With his lively attitude, the conviction that the will is unshaken for the liberation of the Motherland was ensured and this was also shown by the publications during the Nazi-fascist terror of a free Albanian literature, through which the living hope of a people for freedom was manifested. Suddenly, the resistance quickly took on a different appearance. With the groups of editors and distributors of publications, people joined from time to time who, with their temperament and talents, announced other needs and tasks. They enlightened the opinion that was very necessary and carried out action that was necessary…! Memorie.al
Secretary Ans. Legality Movement Chairman
Prof. Gaqo GOGO Major Abaz KUPI
Cairo, on August 2, 1945
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