– N.D. Smirnova, Voprosy istorii –
Every year on November 29, Albania celebrates the day of its liberation from the yoke of Italo-German fascist occupiers. On this day in 1944, the last stronghold of the fascists in Albania was destroyed, and the Albanian people, having once and for all broken free from a regime of exploitation and oppression, began building a free life. The main and decisive factor in the Albanian people’s victory was the crushing of fascist forces by the heroic army of the Soviet Union, which liberated the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe from Hitler’s occupiers and saved the world from fascism.
“In the Second World War,” wrote Enver Hoxha, General Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania, “despite their heroism, our people would not have achieved freedom and independence without the help of their sincere friend and protector — the Soviet Union, and without the precise implementation of the brilliant directives of Comrade Stalin. The victory of our people was achieved thanks to the Soviet Union and the glorious Soviet Army, thanks to the fact that our people followed the path indicated to us by Comrade Stalin.”1
The world-historic victories of the Soviet people and their army during the Great Patriotic War had a decisive impact on the successful outcome of the national liberation struggles in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia.
“The Second World War and the defeat of fascism, the weakening of the global position of capitalism and the strengthening of the anti-fascist movement led to a number of Central and Southeastern European countries breaking away from the imperialist system. New, people’s democratic regimes emerged in these countries.”2 A system of people’s democracy also arose, strengthened and triumphed in Albania.
The successful construction of the foundations of socialism in Albania became possible thanks to close cooperation between the Albanian people and the peoples of the Soviet Union and the fraternal countries of people’s democracy. The comprehensive and selfless support provided by the Soviet Union helped Albania’s working people eliminate destruction in an unprecedentedly short time, restore the war-torn economy and begin the steady development of industry and agriculture, as well as the construction of the foundations of socialism.
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On the eve of the Second World War, Albania was in colonial dependence on the imperialist powers — primarily Italy. The country’s entire foreign trade was effectively controlled by Italian monopolists. To facilitate Albania’s economic enslavement, a special organization was created in Rome in 1925 — the “Society for the Economic Development of Albania” (SVEA), renamed in 1936 to the “Society for the Financing of Foreign States.”3 At the same time as SVEA’s creation, the National Bank of Albania was established, which was essentially a branch of the Italian Central Bank.
The Italian capitalists owned copper ore, chrome and bauxite extraction operations, extensive forest concessions in the Shkodra region, and all transportation routes. Albania’s oil fields were in foreign hands. Most of the oil operations belonged to the Italian company for Albanian oil extraction — Azienda Italiana Petroli Albania (AIPA). In 1936, the Italians built a pipeline to transport oil from the Kuçova fields to Vlora, from where it was shipped to Italian oil refineries.4 In addition to exploiting existing oil fields, AIPA was granted monopoly rights for geological exploration of new reserves.
In 1925, the Zogu government leased 51,000 hectares of oil-bearing land to the American “Standard Oil Company of New York” for the laughably small sum of $30,000 — that is, about 50 cents per hectare.5 The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the Shell Group also invested in Albania’s oil industry, holding 37,000 hectares of oil-rich land in the country’s south.
From 1925 to 1928, the Albanian army was reorganized under the supervision of Italian “advisors.” At the same time, a group of British officers led by Major General Percy took part in reorganizing the gendarmerie.
Albania was bound to Italy by a series of treaties that cemented its dependent status. Under the so-called “Friendship Pact,” better known as the Tirana Pact, signed in Tirana on November 27, 1926, and ratified on January 24, 1927, Italy received unlimited rights to interfere in Albania’s internal and external affairs. The agreements with Italy dated March 19, 1936 placed Albania in complete dependence on the fascist aggressor. Under these agreements, Italy expanded its oil concessions, placed command of the Albanian army under the control of Italian General Pariani (formerly an advisor to King Zogu), was granted permission to resettle up to 300,000 Italian colonists in Albania, and received the right to construct military fortifications in Vlora (Valona) and Durrës (Durazzo), among other privileges.6
Agents of the Italian imperialist bourgeoisie were preparing a base in Albania for the creation of an Albanian fascist party modelled after the Italian one. For this purpose, Mussolini sent Brigadier General Giro to Albania in 1938. With the help of his agent Halarupi, Giro attempted to create a fascist party. However, these attempts completely failed. Members of Albania’s first communist groups organized demonstrations and protest rallies — the entire population demanded an end to the machinations of fascist agents. The government was forced to ban Halarupi and his supporters from further activity.7
The anti-people policies of Zogu led the country to disaster. On April 7, 1939, with the direct complicity of the Mussolini government and the silent consent of Western powers, the Albanian people became victims of fascist aggression.
By the time Albania was seized, the international situation was marked by the struggle between two opposing lines. “One line was the struggle for peace, for the organization of collective security, and for resisting aggression through the united efforts of peace-loving nations. This line was pursued by the Soviet Union, which consistently and firmly defended the interests of all peace-loving nations, large and small. The other line rejected the idea of collective security and refused to oppose aggression, which inevitably encouraged the fascist states to increase their aggressive activity and thereby contributed to the outbreak of a new war.”8
Encouraging the fascist aggressors to go to war against the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France sanctioned the occupation of Abyssinia, Austria and Czechoslovakia. As a result of the criminal policy of the Munich appeasers — which Comrade Stalin, at the 18th Congress of the CPSU(B), described by saying that “the policy of non-intervention means connivance with aggression, the unleashing of war — and therefore its transformation into a world war”9 — the annexation of Albania also became possible. The Italian fascists had long been developing plans to occupy Albania, which would give them complete control over the Adriatic Sea basin. These plans became more actively promoted starting in early 1938, when Hitler and Mussolini agreed on a division of spheres of influence in Western Europe, placing the Mediterranean within the Italian sphere. Initially, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had two parallel plans concerning Albania. One plan involved dividing the country among Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece (with Greece considered a possible but not essential participant); the other proposed outright annexation. As early as May 1938, Ciano suggested to Mussolini that preparations for Albania’s occupation should begin. In Ciano’s view, this required four main steps: forcing Albania to withdraw from the League of Nations; avoiding any assistance in strengthening the Albanian army, whose combat readiness, according to Italian diplomats, was weak at the time; expanding the concessions of Italian firms in Albania; and establishing contact with members of the Albanian elite inclined toward alliance with Italy.10
Ciano then put forward an operational plan that was soon implemented: relying on pro-Italian circles within Albania to form opposition to Zogu, issue him an ultimatum, and then send in troops “to restore order.” Next, Ciano said, “we must get them (the Italian-backed figures — N.S.) to offer us the crown of Albania, accept it, and legitimize the fait accompli through a plebiscite or something similar.”11 Concerned about potential opposition from Yugoslavia — which itself had ambitions for Albania — Ciano advised turning to fascist Germany for help by asking Hitler to exert pressure on Yugoslavia.12
Negotiations held in Berlin and Rome led to the result Ciano had hoped for. Through the German ambassador in Rome, Mackensen, Ciano received official notification that Hitler was giving Italy a free hand in Albania. “The Führer,” Mackensen stated, “has always declared that Germany has no interest in the Mediterranean in general, or the Adriatic in particular.”13 Three days later, Mackensen reaffirmed the German government’s position, stating that Germany considered the Mediterranean to be Italian.14 Following this, on Mussolini’s orders, all Italian maps were updated to rename the Mediterranean Sea the “Italian Sea.”15
Following the lead of its senior partner — fascist Germany, which had already occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia — Italy decided to annex Albania, taking advantage of the sharp intensification of the foreign policy crisis created by the Western powers’ policy of appeasing aggressors. In early April 1939, the international press began reporting on the planned occupation of Albania.
On April 5, the Italian government issued an ultimatum to Albania with the following demands: 1. Grant the right for Italian troops to land at any time and place in Albania; 2. Allow Italian military authorities to supervise and control the country’s fortifications, roads, bridges and ports; 3. Grant Italian citizens residing in Albania the same rights as Albanians, including the right to be deputies, ministers and to hold other key positions in the state apparatus; 4. Mandate the presence of Italian “advisors” in all Albanian ministries; 5. Appoint the Italian ambassador in Tirana to a ministerial post in the Albanian government (this final demand was disguised with a formal promise to offer the same right to the Albanian ambassador in Rome).16
At the same time, Italian authorities notified the Albanian government of their intention to land troops at the port of Vlora. British officials responded to this alarming news with a dry statement that the British ambassador in Rome “made inquiries into the intentions of the Italian government.”17
On the morning of April 6, Italy informed the Yugoslav government that it was “taking measures to protect its interests in Albania,” claiming that these measures were prompted by the allegedly unstable situation in Albania and complications in Italy-Albania relations.18
On April 7, 173 warships carrying 50,000 Italian troops equipped with the latest weapons entered the Albanian ports of Durrës, Vlora, Shëngjin and Saranda and began landing forces. Simultaneously, more than 400 bombers launched air raids on Albanian cities and villages. The attack was preceded by heavy naval artillery shelling. The German press published an official statement justifying the Italian aggression and clearly warning that Italy’s actions in Albania were “legally absolutely clear” and that Germany would view any Western intervention against its Axis partner negatively.19
The British government, which had been aware of the Italian government’s plans at least a week before the invasion, continued to maintain a “neutral” stance — despite the blatant violation of the 1937 Anglo-Italian “Gentleman’s Agreement,” under which both countries had pledged to preserve the status quo in the Mediterranean.
In the first two weeks of April 1939, while fascist Italy was carrying out the occupation of a strategically vital country on the Adriatic coast, London politicians were still trying to “clarify Mussolini’s intentions.” It is telling that when Italian troops invaded Albania, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, responding in Parliament to a question from Henderson about whether recent events were compatible with the Anglo-Italian “Gentleman’s Agreement,” said he planned to draw the Italian government’s attention to the issue — but believed the latter was “aware of the contents of the Anglo-Italian agreement.”20
Soon, the Italian press reported that the provisional Albanian administrative committee had offered the Albanian crown to the Italian king, who had “graciously consented to accept it.”21 On April 15, the “union of Albania and Italy” was approved by the Grand Fascist Council.22 Satisfied with the outcome, the British government considered its mission complete. The government of the United States adopted a similar stance, limiting itself to authorizing its ambassador in Rome, William Phillips, to obtain information from Count Ciano about events in Albania.23
Only the Soviet Union officially classified the occupation of Albania as an act of aggression and never recognized the annexation. Exposing the policies of the U.S., the UK and France, V.M. Molotov stated in March 1940 during his report at the 6th session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that these governments had failed to defend Albania, despite its membership in the League of Nations. Comrade Molotov said: “…Neither the British nor the French government, nor the United States of America, nor the League of Nations — which had lost all credibility due to the dominance of the Anglo-French imperialists — so much as lifted a finger in this case. These ‘defenders’ of small nations, these ‘champions’ of the rights of League members, for a full 12 months failed to even raise the question of Italy’s occupation of Albania in the League of Nations — even though the occupation had taken place as early as last April. What’s more, they effectively sanctioned this occupation.”24
The Albanian government of national betrayal could not and did not want to organize any resistance to the fascist intervention. Moreover, officers loyal to Zogu sabotaged the spontaneous popular resistance that flared up. On April 8-9, the royal family, led by Zogu himself — who did not forget to take gold from the treasury — fled to Greece.25
The Albanian people, abandoned by their corrupt rulers, responded to Mussolini’s Blackshirt intervention with the start of an anti-fascist struggle. Mass anti-fascist demonstrations broke out in all cities. The largest was in Tirana, where about ten thousand people participated.26 Leading the resistance were the workers of the country’s mines, oil fields and ports. Armed workers fought the fascist soldiers. On the first day of the landing, Italian assault troops were pushed back into the sea seven times in Durrës.27 However, the scattered efforts of small volunteer units could not stop the Italian occupation army. By April 8, fascist forces had entered Tirana. The next day, Foreign Minister Ciano arrived in the city and began forming a new “Albanian government” headed by Shefqet Vërlaci — Albania’s largest landowner and a long-time Italian agent.
The ministries of foreign affairs and defence in the new cabinet were abolished, and their functions were transferred to the respective Italian ministries. The “Albanian Provisional Administrative Council” created by Ciano was made up of traitors to the Albanian people, most of whom had left Albania before 1939 and had been living in fascist Italy. Within two days, the “Albanian Provisional Administrative Council” convened a so-called “Constituent Assembly,” which obediently incorporated Albania into the Italian Empire.28 The Italian governor in Tirana (the first was Jacomoni, formerly the Italian envoy to Albania) became the absolute ruler of the country.
* * *
From the moment the Italo-fascist troops invaded, the first phase of the Albanian people’s national liberation struggle began. During this time, small, unconnected resistance groups were formed spontaneously, without a unified leadership. These groups typically consisted of five to 10 fighters. Members of underground communist groups issued leaflets calling for armed resistance, led strikes and public demonstrations, and organized acts of sabotage.29 The Italian fascists brutally persecuted patriots. They arrested communists and anyone suspected of anti-Italian sentiment, sending them to prisons and the so-called “islands of death” (such as Lipari). But this repression and terror only deepened the people’s hatred for the Italian fascists and intensified the resistance movement. Mussolini continued to send new military units to Albania. By October 1940, the number of Italian armed forces in the country had significantly increased. Fascist Italy was preparing a new act of aggression — the invasion of Greece. Italy and Germany had repeatedly assured Greece that they respected its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Just one month before fascist Italy attacked Greece, the governments of both countries had even extended the 1928 friendship treaty.
On October 26, 1940, the Italian ambassador in Athens hosted a dinner for Greek public figures. Then, at 2 a.m. on October 28, the Greek government received an ultimatum — at the same time, Italian troops crossed the Albanian-Greek border. A loyal servant of his Italian masters, the Albanian quisling Vërlaci announced a mobilization. However, Albanian soldiers sent to Greece refused to fight and fled into the mountains.
Italian forces were ambushed on the roads leading from Tirana, Durrës, Gjirokastra and Korça to the Greek border. Shortly after the war began, the masterminds of the aggression — Mussolini and Marshal Badoglio — were forced to admit that Albanian troops preferred to fight against Italians rather than Greeks.30
The treacherous attack by fascist Germany on the Soviet Union marked the beginning of a broad popular resistance movement across Albania. “The entry of the Soviet Union into the war against the Axis powers,” said Comrade Stalin, “could only strengthen — and in fact did strengthen — the anti-fascist and liberationist character of the Second World War.”31
In the context of a growing national liberation movement, on November 8, 1941, in the underground of occupied Tirana, the Communist Party of Albania was founded during a meeting of representatives from communist groups. “The Soviet Union’s entry into the war,” noted Enver Hoxha, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Albania, “became the reason for a new and powerful upsurge in the Albanian people’s resistance movement and created the necessary conditions for the formation of the Communist Party of Albania, which emerged in the flames of the struggle against fascism. This coincided with the great day of the October Revolution, the example of which inspired us.”32
The meeting elected a provisional Central Committee of the Party, led by Enver Hoxha. The Central Committee began forming primary party organizations and prepared for the election of district committees in major cities: Tirana, Shkodra, Durrës, Korça, Gjirokastra, Elbasan and others.
The founding of the Communist Party was an event of great historical importance in the life of the Albanian people. From its earliest days, the party became the organizer of the national liberation movement. The Communist Party called on the Albanian people to form a national liberation front, to fight against foreign occupiers and traitors until the full liberation of the country. One of its most urgent and important tasks was the creation of a people’s army and the organization of a broad partisan movement.33
Creating an army was no easy task, but the party did not back down from the challenge and began organizing partisan detachments. In its leaflets during the winter of 1941-42, the communists declared: “All Albanians must take up arms and join partisan detachments to defend their homes. The struggle of partisan units will be the clearest expression of the Albanian people’s will to free themselves from fascist oppression and to live in freedom.”34
By the end of 1942, about 20 partisan detachments were active in Albania. The Communist Party sent members to each unit, placing them in charge of operations and engaging in extensive political and educational work among the fighters. This led to the formation of the institution of political commissars, which played a crucial role in strengthening the party’s leadership in the partisan army. “The role of political commissars was decisive in the successes of the national liberation army,” said Enver Hoxha.35
The resistance movement continued to grow, joined by young men and women — especially members of the Communist Youth Union of Albania, founded on November 23, 1941. In early 1942, underground pioneer groups were formed in the cities. Their goal was to mobilize all young patriots to fight the fascists and support the partisans. These youth groups maintained contact with partisan units, posted leaflets, gathered intelligence about enemy positions and troop numbers, and more. About three thousand young pioneers fought alongside adults in the ranks of the people’s avengers.36
With the creation of the Communist Party, workers’ protests took on a more organized character. The workers of the Kuçova oil fields, in an effort to disrupt fuel supplies to the Italian army, sabotaged production — reducing output by 45 per cent compared to pre-war levels. In Gjirokastra, in June 1942, a strike was held against Italian employers, involving about 500 workers and artisans. Major anti-fascist demonstrations took place in Durrës, Tirana, Vlora and other cities.37 Under the leadership of the communists, workers formed underground organizations that helped mobilize the masses, and provided clothing, weapons and food to the partisans.
Despite increasing terror by the Italian fascists, the Albanian patriots expanded the resistance movement — killing spies and traitors, disrupting Italian military communications, damaging telephone and telegraph lines, and blowing up depots and power plants.
In 1942, responding to a call from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania, May 1 was marked throughout Albania by acts of sabotage and mass protests against the occupiers. On July 24, Albanian patriots cut off telephone and telegraph communication across the country. Around the same time, there was an attack on the airfield in Tirana. In and around Vlora, partisans blew up several military warehouses. In Shkodra, a daring raid on the prison freed 30 political prisoners. Alarmed by these events, the command of the Italian forces in Greece admitted: “The dangerous situation in Albania threatens our forces in Greece; our rear is no longer secure.”38
The communists were always at the front lines of the fight, demonstrating examples of selfless heroism. Many gave their lives for Albania’s independence. In May 1942, in Tirana, during a clash with the fascist militia of the puppet government head Mustafa Kruja, Central Committee member and leader of the Communist Youth Union of Albania, Qemal Stafa, was killed. In July of the same year, during street fighting with troops loyal to the Italian governor Jacomoni in Shkodra, communists Perlat Rexhepi, Branko Kadia and Jordan Misja were killed. On November 8, 1942, Vojo Kushi — a member of the district party committee, organizer of partisan detachments in the Tirana region and national hero of the Albanian people — was killed. Along with his comrades Gjorgji Martini and Sadik Stavileci, Kushi was surrounded in a house in the capital by fascist carabinieri. The three brave men resisted an assault by hundreds of fascists supported by tanks and were killed in the unequal battle.
* * *
In December 1942, the foreign ministers of Britain and the United States were forced to respond to developments in Albania with special declarations. But these hypocritical statements were aimed at concealing the true intentions of the imperialist powers regarding the resistance movement in occupied Europe.
In the United States, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was established. Its objectives were: to infiltrate anti-fascist organizations during the war in European countries and paralyse their efforts against the Hitlerite occupiers; to ensure, with the help of these agents, the establishment of reactionary regimes loyal to the U.S. in countries liberated by the Soviet Army; and to organize the collection of secret information about the Soviet Union and its military, as well as about the democratic workers’ movement in all European countries.39
This spy organization, along with the British Intelligence Service, sent their agents into Albania, aiming to eliminate the Albanian people’s resistance movement. With direct support from British and American intelligence, a reactionary organization called the Legaliteti was established in Albania in 1943, led by longtime British agent Abaz Kupi. The British and American imperialists also supported and subsidized other groups and gangs fighting against the national liberation movement — including the Balli Kombëtar, and the units of Muharrem Bajraktari, Fiqri Dine and others.
Only the Soviet Union gave true, friendly support to the Albanian people. On November 6, 1941, the great leader of the Soviet people, Comrade Stalin, defined the USSR’s objectives in the Second World War: “We have no and cannot have such war aims as imposing our will and our system upon the Slavic and other oppressed peoples of Europe, who are awaiting our assistance. Our goal is to help these peoples in their struggle for liberation from Hitler’s tyranny and then allow them complete freedom to arrange their own lives on their own land, as they wish. No interference in the internal affairs of other peoples!”40
In keeping with Stalin’s foreign policy, on December 18, 1942, the Soviet government published a declaration On the Independence of Albania: “…The Soviet Union, which views with full sympathy the courageous liberation struggle of the Albanian patriots against the Italian occupiers, does not recognize any claims by Italian imperialism to Albanian territory and wishes to see Albania freed from the yoke of the fascist invaders and its independence restored. The Soviet government is confident that the Albanian people’s fight for independence will merge with the liberation struggle of other Balkan peoples oppressed by the Italo-German occupiers — peoples who, together with all freedom-loving countries, will expel the invaders from their lands. The question of Albania’s future political structure is its internal affair and must be decided by the Albanian people themselves.”41
The Communist Party of Albania led the organization of a nationwide movement against the occupiers, rallying Albania’s working people. A program was developed to unite all patriots fighting against the fascist occupiers. The communists carried out extensive work in rural areas, mobilizing large segments of the working peasantry into the resistance, exposing the hostile propaganda of the reactionaries who tried to find support in the countryside. The Albanian peasantry increasingly came to understand that only through participating in the national liberation struggle could they win both freedom and land.
To create a broad people’s front, on September 16, 1942, the Communist Party convened a National Liberation Front Conference in Peza. The conference adopted a program calling on workers — regardless of their views or beliefs — to engage in determined struggle against the occupiers and their collaborators.
Of great historical significance was the conference’s decision to establish councils — organs of people’s democratic power. The councils were assigned immediate tasks: “In occupied areas, the councils serve as organs of struggle, uniting all the national liberation forces, carrying out agitation and propaganda, leading political resistance against the occupiers and mobilizing the masses for the liberation struggle. They also mobilize resources and materials necessary for the struggle… In liberated areas, the councils function as government bodies — maintaining order and calm… combating crime and theft. Together with military bodies, the councils fight against the fifth column, ensure the material needs and nourishment of the people, organize trade and finance, and gather food and supplies for partisan units and volunteer forces.”42
The Peza Conference gave new direction to the liberation movement, laying the foundation for the people’s democratic system by establishing national liberation councils. The program of national unity, proposed by the Communist Party, was strongly supported by the masses.
After the Peza Conference, national liberation councils began forming throughout the country. The Central Committee of the Communist Party sent instructions to district committees urging them to immediately implement the conference’s decisions to build a nationwide front against the fascist occupiers and their accomplices. “Only the broadest possible participation of workers and peasants in the struggle will ensure our victory,”43 stated the conference resolution. The number of partisan units increased — mobile formations armed with weapons seized from the enemy. Each unit was led by a commander and a commissar.
To sabotage the program of national unity, reactionary elements, aided by Anglo-American intelligence, began creating special organizations and groups designed to operate in parallel with the National Liberation Front. Their goal was to win public support and weaken the resistance movement. One such reactionary organization was the Balli Kombëtar (“National Front”), a name chosen to disguise its true nature. Its activities were directed against the National Liberation Front and its platform. The Balli Kombëtar included a group of radical nationalists from Korça, the “November 28 Group” from Shkodra, and later absorbed the faction of the social-traitor Skënder Muço. The Balli organized a number of armed bands in the mountains of northern Albania and in the areas around Vlora, Mallakastra, Korça and Gjirokastra. Through deception, the Balli Kombëtar managed to attract a number of backwards peasants and members of the urban petty-bourgeoisie. Therefore, from the moment of the Balli’s formation, the Communist Party was forced to pursue a dual strategy: conducting political education among the group’s ordinary members while simultaneously fighting resolutely against the reactionary leadership of the organization.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania proposed that the Balli Kombëtar join the National Liberation Front, under the preconditions that it fully support the anti-fascist coalition in the war against the occupiers and purge its ranks of pro-fascist and collaborationist elements.
In early 1943, a meeting took place in Mukje between representatives of the National Liberation Front and the leadership of the Balli Kombëtar. The Balli delegates sabotaged the negotiations, and from that moment on, their open collaboration with the occupiers began.
The rise of the resistance movement in the country — as a result of which the regions of Peza, Skrapar, Kurvelesh, Martanesh and Korça were liberated from the occupiers — caused deep concern among the Italian fascists. In the winter of 1942-43, a detachment of fascist militia from Vlora, under the command of Colonel Klementis, launched a punitive expedition against the partisans who had carried out daring attacks on arms depots and military facilities in the surrounding area. The operation began on December 30. Thousands of Blackshirts attempted a surprise assault on a partisan unit in the Tragjas area. The fascists were aided in their efforts by the Balli Kombëtar groups active in the area, led by enemies of the Albanian people, Hysni Lepenica and Abaz Ermeni. These groups tried to sow panic among the partisans and questioned the leadership’s strategic decisions. The partisans retreated into the mountains of Gjorm, where they were joined by new volunteer reinforcements from Kurvelesh and Mesaplik.
Despite the betrayal of the Ballists, the partisan detachment — numbering only 200 fighters — won the battle in the Gjorm mountains, repelling attacks by superior enemy forces that were continuously reinforced with infantry, tanks and artillery brought in from Vlora. This was a major victory for the resistance fighters, carrying great political and moral significance. It further strengthened the party’s ties to the people and demonstrated the strength and invincibility of the popular partisan movement. Just one month after the battle in the Gjorm mountains, the brave partisans of the Vlora district carried out a series of sabotage operations at the Patos oil fields and the mines of Selenica. By April 1943, partisan units had liberated several regions of Albania: Konispol, Zagoria, Mesaplik, Mallakastra, Pogon, Lunxhëri, Voskopoja and others.
* * *
The year 1943 marked a turning point in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people. The victories of the Soviet Army were of global historical significance. “The results and consequences of the Red Army’s victories went far beyond the Soviet-German front, changed the entire further course of the world war and gained major international importance.”44 In the history of the Albanian national liberation movement, this year was marked by a series of events of exceptional importance. Thanks to the broad scope of the partisan movement throughout the country — especially in the south — it became urgent to establish a general staff capable of leading all national liberation forces under a unified strategic plan.
The Provisional Central Committee of the Communist Party decided to convene the First All-Albanian Party Conference in March 1943 in Labinot. The aim was to review the party’s activities over the 17 months of its existence and to outline a plan for reorganizing the resistance forces. Organizing the conference presented serious challenges, as the party was still operating underground.
Intensive preparations for the conference began. In January 1943, district party conferences were held with the participation of Central Committee representatives. New party committees were elected, along with delegates for the national conference. At the same time, the Central Committee carried out extensive ideological preparations, intensifying political and ideological training for party cadres. The conference tasked the party with further expanding and strengthening its ties with the broad masses of the people in both urban and rural areas. In the liberated regions, communists were to assist the population in establishing national liberation councils, which became the sole organs of people’s democratic authority. The conference adopted resolutions to intensify work in the countryside, to expand party and political activities, and demanded from all party members the daily and determined exposure of the plots of the reactionary organizations Balli Kombëtar and Legaliteti.
As one of the party’s most important objectives, the conference identified the need to create an organized National Liberation Army. It was decided to coordinate the actions of all partisan forces across the country. The army was to be expanded through increased recruitment of workers, peasants and youth — a group the party paid special attention to.
The conference approved the decision of the Central Committee to expel the spy-Trotskyite group led by “Xhepi” (codename of Sadik Premte, the head of the anti-party group), which had carried out subversive and destructive activities within the party.45 Using hostile elements who had infiltrated the party organization in the Vlora district, Premte attempted to launch a counter-revolutionary revolt in the rear of the national liberation forces. This conspiracy was organized at a time when the occupiers were particularly active in the Vlora area. Enver Hoxha was personally sent by the party to deal with the consequences of the plot in this key area of the struggle. The conspirators were defeated, and the district committee of Vlora was almost completely restructured.
In connection with the divisive actions of renegades like Premte and others, the conference placed special emphasis on strengthening the party’s ideological unity and discipline. A resolution was adopted to “relentlessly fight against all forms of deviation and Trotskyism, and to decisively purge the party of passive, unstable and indecisive elements.”46 The conference approved the general line of the provisional Central Committee and elected a permanent Central Committee led by Enver Hoxha. To sabotage this direction, the Titoite traitors sent a special representative to the conference — Blazo Jovanović — who attempted to carry out subversive activities in collaboration with the hidden Trotskyite Koçi Xoxe, who had infiltrated the position of organizational secretary of the Central Committee. At the same time, another close ally of Tito, the seasoned spy Vukmanović Tempo, was conducting subversive operations in Albania. He was sent on a special mission — to bring the military leadership of the Albanian National Liberation Army under Yugoslav command. The plan included creating a “Trans-Balkan General Staff,” which would have effectively placed the resistance forces of Albania, Greece and Bulgaria under Tito’s control. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania rejected the idea of the “Trans-Balkan Staff” and thwarted the criminal schemes of the Titoites.47
The party’s firm stance during negotiations with the Balli Kombëtar in Mukje48 also disrupted the plans of the British agent and Zogu loyalist, Abaz Kupi. Following instructions from his British handlers, Abaz Kupi worked to sabotage the National Liberation Front from within, attempting to destroy it internally. After the Mukje meeting, Kupi openly broke with the national liberation movement and formed the counter-revolutionary organization Legaliteti, whose founding assembly was attended by a British representative. At that time, an Albanian “government” headed by Mithat Frashëri had already been formed in London. At the same time, efforts were also being made to revive the political career of Ahmet Zogu, who had shifted his allegiance from pro-Italian to pro-British. The Albanian people, under the leadership of the Communist Party, defeated all the schemes of their foreign and domestic enemies.
At the First All-Albanian Party Conference, the correct political line promoted by the Central Committee under Enver Hoxha prevailed. To raise the ideological and political level of its members, the conference emphasized the importance of studying the history of the CPSU(B) and the works of V.I. Lenin and J.V. Stalin. The decisions made at the Labinot Conference contributed to a new and powerful surge in Albania’s partisan movement.
The national liberation detachments transitioned from small-scale actions to broad operations. The first large-scale operation of the partisan forces was the battle for Leskovik, carried out in May 1943 according to a plan by Enver Hoxha. The partisan detachments of the Korça region were tasked with liberating Leskovik. The enemy had significant forces in the town itself and could quickly receive reinforcements from Korça, Përmet and the Greek border. Despite lacking sufficient experience in such operations and being outnumbered and outgunned, the partisans drove the fascists out of the town.
The occupiers began deploying large military units and intensifying repression against the partisans and the civilian population. Cities and villages were burned down, but the Albanian patriots did not lay down their arms and continued their heroic struggle against the fascist invaders. In June 1943, the partisan units of Korça, Gjirokastra and Berat, following a coordinated operation, captured Përmet after seven days of fierce fighting.
Southern Albania became the focal point of the Italian regular army’s fight against Albanian partisan units. Eight thousand fascist troops, alongside terrorist bands led by Isa Toska, attacked the Malakastra region. With the support of the local population, the partisans repelled the first wave of the enemy and shifted the fighting to the Fier and Berat areas. The Italians brought in new reinforcements, and on July 14, four divisions — backed by aircraft, tanks and heavy artillery — launched a second offensive on Malakastra and Tepelena. The partisan units were forced to withdraw from these areas but inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.
In Central Albania, a 14,000-strong force of occupiers took control of Peza. The fascists managed to seize several settlements, but all surrounding areas and rural zones remained under partisan control.49 Everywhere in the liberated regions, people’s power was being established.
The summer offensive of 1943 by the Soviet Army played a decisive role in the national liberation struggle of the Albanian people. As a result of this campaign, 144 German fascist divisions were crushed and 350,000 square kilometres of Soviet territory were liberated. The brilliant victories of the heroic Soviet Army inspired the Albanian patriots and further strengthened the spirit of resistance among the Albanian people. The Soviet military successes served as a signal for a nationwide uprising against the enemy. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania set the goal of the complete liberation of the country. On July 10, 1943, the General Staff of the National Liberation Army and district commands reporting directly to the centre were established. Enver Hoxha was appointed head of the General Staff. In early 1944, military missions were exchanged between the Soviet Union and Albania. The high command began reorganizing partisan units into larger formations — brigades.
On August 15, the 1st Strike Brigade of partisans was formed in Vithkuq (Korça district). The creation of the General Staff and the 1st Brigade marked the beginning of the formation of Albania’s regular National Liberation Army.
From the very start, the young Albanian army’s first brigade had to fight new enemies — the German fascist invaders who entered Albania as fascist Italy neared collapse. By autumn 1943, the partisans already controlled a large part of the country. The Italian fascists made their last attempt to strike at the resistance movement in August 1943, when a major punitive detachment launched an operation against a partisan unit active in the Reç area (near Shkodra in northern Albania). The partisans of Shkodra district, with strong support from the local population, destroyed the occupying unit.50
The offensive in the Reç area was the last major military operation by the Italian occupiers. Their repeatedly defeated ally was replaced by Hitler’s troops. In July 1943, large German infantry and motorized units crossed the Albanian-Greek border and advanced toward Korça. With the arrival of the Germans, a new and most difficult phase of the national liberation movement began. The fascist military command declared that it intended to “liberate” Albania from the Italians and restore its sovereignty. But these false declarations did not fool the Albanian people, who met the invaders with fierce resistance. The Germans marked their entry into Albania with a brutal act of terror: they burned the village of Borova to the ground and killed its entire population.51
Defeated, Italy capitulated in early September 1943. The General Staff of the Albanian National Liberation Army issued an order to disarm Italian troops in Albania and seize their weapons and food depots. In the south of the country, the partisans had to fight both the Italians and the Germans. One such battle occurred in the Drashovica zone, where resistance fighters captured depots of weapons and military equipment left over from the Italo-Greek war. At the same time, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania called on the Italian soldiers to join the partisans and fight against the German fascists. In October 1943, a battalion of Italian volunteers was formed and included in the 1st Brigade. It was named in honour of Antonio Gramsci, the founder of the Communist Party of Italy.52
The General Staff of the Albanian National Liberation Army accelerated the formation of new brigades, composed of small partisan units and battalions, with large numbers of local volunteers. After the first brigade, a second strike brigade was formed from partisans in the Tirana and Elbasan regions, and a third strike brigade was established in Peza.
The General Staff continued offensive operations against the occupying forces and internal reactionary elements. On October 18, the artillery of the 3rd Strike Brigade, following orders from the Commander-in-Chief of the National Liberation Army, Enver Hoxha, shelled the royal palace in Tirana from the hills of Sauk. Inside the palace, traitors had gathered to form a puppet government under the direction of the German occupiers. That same day, leaflets appeared on the streets of Tirana, issued by the Communist Party of Albania, stating: “The Assembly of Albania’s traitors opened today, October 18, at 9 a.m., in the palace of Victor Emmanuel III in Tirana; it opened to repeat the betrayal of April 12, 1939. The enemies of our people have always united with foreigners to keep the people in oppression. The Albanian people responded to the October 18 gathering with armed resistance. At 10 a.m. today, the artillery of the 3rd Brigade of the Albanian National Liberation Army shelled the palace of Victor Emmanuel, the palace of betrayal.”53
Autumn 1943 was marked by significant victories for the Albanian patriots, who liberated Dibra, Peshkopia, Martanesh, Çermenika, Kruja, Berat, Gjirokastra, Delvina, Saranda and several other towns and regions. Supported by gendarmerie units, Ballists and members of the reactionary organization Legaliteti, the German fascists began preparing a winter offensive against the National Liberation Army. In preparation, they brought additional troop contingents into Albania from Yugoslavia and Greece. By November 1943, when the offensive began, German forces in Albania numbered 42,000. The National Liberation Army had to fight in extremely difficult conditions — during a harsh winter, and while facing severe shortages of food, weapons and clothing. Meanwhile, the Anglo-American command in the Mediterranean refused to provide the Albanian people’s revolutionary army with necessary supplies, ignoring repeated requests from the Albanian leadership. To give the appearance of assistance, the British occasionally dropped outdated and unusable weapons from planes. At the same time, the British and Americans were actively supplying weapons and provisions to the traitorous bands that aimed to destroy the national liberation movement and eliminate the Communist Party of Albania. This forced the General Staff of the National Liberation Army to issue a call to the partisans: “Commanders must understand that clothing and weapons must be taken from the enemy. Our only supply source is attacking the enemy.”54
The German occupying forces began their offensive on the liberated areas of central and southern Albania. A particularly dangerous situation emerged near Elbasan, in the Çermenika region, where part of the General Staff of the National Liberation Army, led by Enver Hoxha, became isolated from their main forces. Three battalions from the 1st Strike Brigade, along with the 2nd and 3rd Brigades, rushed to support the partisan units resisting the enemy in Çermenika. The battalions of the people’s army began their heroic march from liberated Skrapar, pushing the fascists and traitor bands out of the temporarily occupied areas of Tomorica and Mokra. The Albanian National Liberation Army crossed the Shkumbin River, reached Çermenika, and with the support of the partisans, launched a counter-offensive, liberating Central Albania.
By early spring, the advance of the German occupation forces had been halted across the country, and the Albanian National Liberation Army launched a decisive counter-offensive. During the winter operations, the number of partisan troops increased. In Vlora and Përmet, the 4th, 5th and 6th Strike Brigades were formed.
* * *
The historic victories of the Soviet forces over the German fascist hordes near Leningrad and Novgorod, on the Bug and Dniester rivers in early 1944, forced the German command to withdraw part of its troops from the Balkan Peninsula, which determined the failure of the German winter offensive in Albania. Seizing the initiative, the people’s army continued liberating new territories, helping the population establish organs of people’s authority. Drawing on the Soviet Union’s rich experience in state-building, the Albanian communists laid the groundwork — in the midst of struggle — for a new democratic order in which all power would belong to the people. Since the Peza Conference, national liberation councils had become the only organs of people’s power in areas freed from the occupiers and the reactionary traitor bands of the Albanian people.
On May 24, 1944, the First Anti-Fascist National Liberation Congress convened in the partisan-liberated town of Përmet and expressed the will of the Albanian people to independently determine their form of government. The congress included representatives from all regions of Albania — both those already liberated and those still under occupation. For the first time in Albania’s history, the people gained the right to decide the question of power and the structure of the state.
The congress established the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council, which became the country’s supreme legislative body. The functions of a provisional government were assigned to the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Committee, elected by the council.
The congress adopted a number of major resolutions based on the report by Enver Hoxha on the Albanian people’s national liberation struggle. Point 1 of the resolution stated: “To build a new people’s democratic Albania, in accordance with the will of the people, which they have solemnly expressed today through the creation of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council — the genuine people’s authority, born in the course of the national liberation struggle being waged by the Albanian people.”55
The congress dealt a crushing blow to internal and external reactionary forces that sought to re-establish the power of foreign imperialists and their collaborators by forming various puppet governments. “To recognize no other government that may be formed within Albania or abroad in opposition to the will of the Albanian people, which is represented solely by the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council,”56 the congress declared.
The congress fully endorsed the General Staff’s leadership of the liberation movement and decided to continue the struggle against the occupiers and their traitorous supporters — the quisling government in Tirana, Balli Kombëtar, Legaliteti and other reactionary cliques — until the complete liberation of the country.
All treaties, economic and political agreements concluded by the Zogu government with foreign states were declared null and void by the congress — as were illegal deals made by puppet governments and various reactionary groups without the knowledge of the Albanian people.57
With great enthusiasm, the congress unanimously adopted a message to Comrade Stalin. “For the Albanian people,” the letter read, “the Soviet Union — this unshakable fortress of socialism, the great homeland of a fraternal people — is today the vanguard of the great anti-fascist struggle, the highest example of sacrifice and heroism, and a powerful material support for all oppressed peoples… the country that has borne the heavy burden of war on its shoulders, and a true guarantee of fascism’s complete defeat. The advance of the Red Army strengthens our struggle, and our people express gratitude to the Soviet Union and its Red Army, which under your leadership has crushed Hitler’s criminal gangs and hastened the liberation of oppressed peoples.”58
At this time, the German command was preparing a new offensive against the partisan forces. The nazis hoped to destroy the Albanian National Liberation Army to allow the transfer of troops to the Soviet Front. Four German divisions were sent to Albania from Greece and Yugoslavia. Collaborating in the preparation of the offensive were traitors from the Balli Kombëtar, Legaliteti and other reactionary organizations. Overall command of the operation was assigned to the German general Löhr.
On May 28, 1944, German-fascist troops attacked the free zone of Devoll and occupied it. At the same time, an enemy column advanced from Elbasan toward Shpata, Verça and Sulova. A second column set out from Berat, attempting to cross the Devoll River, but was forced to retreat. On June 1, the Germans began an offensive in southern Albania from the Korça and Struga regions. On June 11, German troops entered Përmet. After intense fighting, the partisans withdrew from Kurvelesh, Vlora, Rrezoma and the Himara coast. Hundreds of villages were looted and burned by the fascists. The population of the occupied areas fled to the forests to avoid falling into the hands of the German fascist invaders and collaborators.
Despite the bloody terror and repression, the enemy could not hold the occupied territory for long. As they retreated, partisan units prepared to counterattack. The signal for a decisive counter-offensive by the National Liberation Army came in the form of Enver Hoxha’s order of June 14, 1944. The order stated: “At this decisive moment, when the entire progressive world is striking heavy blows against the nazi beasts, the sacred duty of liberating our people and our homeland lies on our shoulders. This sacred duty — entrusted to you by the Albanian people and history — you are fulfilling with great self-sacrifice, shedding your blood. The brilliant epic of our people is written with your blood — the blood of the most honest and fearless sons of our people. You, who did not allow your homes to be desecrated; you, who would not accept the trampling of Albania’s name and honour — you have become the living embodiment of the unbreakable will of an heroic people, a people who never accepted enslavement and who, for centuries, have shed their blood for freedom and independence. In cities and villages, in rocks and mountains, with bread or without bread, with weapons or without weapons — but with an iron will and great faith in victory — you are fighting a cruel, heavily armed enemy… The German fascists, quislings, traitors from the Balli Kombëtar, Legaliteti, etc., have launched a major offensive against our army to destroy us and crush our people’s resistance — but our army has won and become stronger than ever. Now, more than ever, we must drown the enemy’s second offensive in blood. This offensive is the last hope of the enemy and traitors.”59
By the time the summer counter-offensive of the National Liberation Army began, the number of its fighters had approached 70,000.
The 1st Strike Division played an enormous role in the defeat of the German occupiers in Albania, with the most brilliant victories of the people’s army associated with its name. This division was formed on May 28, 1944, and included the 1st, 4th and 5th brigades. In an order dated June 1, 1944, Enver Hoxha outlined the division’s objectives: 1. Deliver a decisive blow to enemy forces; 2. Destroy enemy communications; 3. Eliminate the bands of Abaz Kupi, the Balli Kombëtar and other reactionary groups, as well as the quisling government in Tirana; 4. Clear the areas of Çermenika, Zaranika, the outskirts of Tirana and the mountainous regions of Dibra; 5. Establish and strengthen organs of national liberation power in the liberated areas and rally the population to the struggle.
The new situation created by the summer offensive of the German forces did not alter the division’s main tasks. On July 5, 1944, Enver Hoxha informed the division’s command: “The previously approved plan remains in force and will be carried out as far as possible. To overcome the current situation, the following is proposed: the 5th Brigade should fight its way toward Sulova and thereby ease the pressure on the 1st Brigade. The 1st Brigade must launch a counterattack as soon as conditions allow.”60
Having gone on the counter-offensive, the brigades of the National Liberation Army liberated the areas of Gora, Sulova, Mokra and Tomorica and began implementing the General Staff’s original plan. On June 24, units of the division crossed the Shkumbin River at four points and engaged in battles around the Kraba mountain pass and north of Elbasan. In July, the 1st Division operated in Central Albania, striking German forces, Ballists, gendarmes and Legaliteti.
The entire Albanian population rallied in support of their army. A glorious episode in the 1944 fighting was the assault on the natural mountain fortress of Macukull. The local population organized volunteer detachments to aid the 1st Division, and through their combined efforts this strategically vital point in Central Albania was captured.
The British military mission, which had arrived in Albania supposedly to assist the National Liberation Army in military operations, made every effort to weaken the scope of the liberation movement. The British mission supplied weapons, equipment and food to the Balli Kombëtar, Legaliteti and the groups of Muharrem Bajraktari and Fiqri Dine — all of whom openly collaborated with the German fascist occupiers. A British advisor, Colonel Maclean, was permanently stationed at Abaz Kupi’s headquarters.61
Testimonies from captured agents of the German secret police — Helmuth Muth and Victor Pann — revealed that an agreement had been reached between the German occupation command and the British military mission for joint action against the partisans. Muth and Pann stated that through British Major Neal, “the 11th German Corps operating in the Shkodra zone accepted a proposal to cooperate with British forces if they landed in Albania.”62
In the summer of 1944, while the National Liberation Army was crushing Ballist units and other traitors, the Anglo-American command issued a demand to the General Staff of the partisan forces to cease operations against Abaz Kupi and other collaborators. On July 14, British Vice Admiral William Elliott, speaking on behalf of Allied command in the Mediterranean, sent the following letter to Enver Hoxha: “I am compelled to ask that you do everything possible to withdraw your forces currently taking hostile action against the forces of Abaz Kupi. If you continue to use weapons for such purposes, I will be forced to halt all further supplies.”63 This statement was reinforced by an oral ultimatum from Colonel Palmer, the representative of the British mission in Albania, issued just as the 1st Division was engaged in fierce combat with the fascist occupiers. The High Command of the People’s Army rejected the British demands, and soon Abaz Kupi’s forces were crushed.
The British command made every effort to transfer its troops from the island of Corfu into Albania in order to carry out Churchill’s plan — an attack through what he called the “soft underbelly of Europe,” meaning the Balkans — to block the Red Army from entering the countries of Southeastern Europe.64
In September 1944, during the full-scale offensive of the National Liberation Army, the British military mission once again issued an ultimatum demanding permission to land British troops — stationed on Corfu — on Albanian territory. The General Staff of the Albanian People’s Army refused to allow them entry. A British attempt to land forces on the Himara coast and seize the port of Saranda failed: Saranda was liberated by the National Liberation Army, and the British landing forces withdrew to Corfu.
At the same time, Tito’s agents also increased their activity. From August to November 1944, a seasoned American spy, Velimir Stojnić, was sent into Albania on a special mission. With the support of Koçi Xoxe — a covert agent of Tito and an enemy of the Albanian people — he engaged in subversive activity.65 However, the imperialist schemes of the Americans and British, along with the plots of Tito’s agents, failed. Twenty-four brigades of the National Liberation Army were completing the liberation of the country from occupiers and the traitors who had collaborated with them. By October 1944, approximately three-quarters of Albania’s territory had been liberated.
In all regions of liberated Albania, people’s councils were established as organs of the new democratic power. These councils began organizing normal life in the country — rebuilding homes, factories and power stations destroyed during the war, opening schools and assisting units of the National Liberation Army in eliminating the remaining bands of traitors.
On October 20, 1944, the 2nd Anti-Fascist National Liberation Congress opened in Berat. It decided to transform the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Committee into a Provisional Democratic Government. Enver Hoxha — hero of the Albanian national liberation struggle, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania and Supreme Commander of the People’s Army — was unanimously elected Prime Minister of the Provisional Democratic Government. The delegates at the congress confirmed their commitment to the democratic principles set out at the 1st Anti-Fascist National Liberation Congres held in Përmet. In a declaration published by the Provisional Democratic Government, the key principles of domestic and foreign policy after the country’s liberation were outlined. The declaration also announced upcoming elections for a Constitutional Assembly “which will determine the future form of government and draft the fundamental statute of the Albanian state,” as well as a review of all political, military and economic agreements concluded by the Zogu government.66
The congress sent a greeting to the great leader of the Soviet people, Comrade Stalin. In this message, the Albanian people expressed confidence in victory, as they constantly felt the friendly support and assistance of the socialist state. “We are grateful to the Soviet Union, and our people will never forget the immense help and heroic struggle of the Red Army, which saved us from catastrophe,”67 the delegates wrote.
On September 15, 1944, the General Staff of the National Liberation Army ordered the 1st Division to liberate Tirana.
The partisan command began careful preparations for the operation. Residents of Tirana gave valuable support to the National Liberation Army, providing intelligence on enemy troop numbers and locations. Units of the 1st Division and five brigades of the National Liberation Army were pulled toward the capital from other regions of the country. The newly formed 23rd Brigade, stationed near Tirana, blocked the Shkodra-Tirana road.
On October 29, the assault on the city began. It lasted 19 days. The enemy put up fierce resistance, entrenching themselves in the royal palace, stone buildings, barracks, churches and basements. Fighting on the side of the occupiers were the remnants of the Balli Kombëtar, Legaliteti and gendarmerie forces — about 1,000 men under the command of Abaz Ermenji. But this group did not last long. Near Tirana, in Preza, partisan units defeated the traitors decisively. The group’s leaders fled to Italy.
After the arrival of the 8th and 10th Strike Brigades, the operational headquarters commanding the liberation forces in the area issued an order for a final assault on the city. “Tirana must be liberated no matter what!” — under this slogan, the partisans went into battle.68 The people of Tirana rose up against the occupiers. On the roads leading into the city from Durrës, Vlora and Korça, the 8th, 12th, 23rd and 24th Brigades fought back enemy reinforcements heading to support the Tirana garrison. On November 17, Albania’s capital was liberated. More than 2,000 enemy troops were killed in the battle for Tirana.
Enver Hoxha called on the army and the people to complete the country’s liberation by driving the fascists out of Shkodra: “Our task is to ensure the enemy does not leave our land alive.”69
Following orders from the General Staff, the 23rd Strike Brigade raised the liberation flag over Shkodra — Germany’s last stronghold in northern Albania — on November 29, 1944. Having completed the liberation of their homeland, the Albanian National Liberation Army then assisted the Yugoslav people. At the order of Albania’s Supreme Command, Albanian troops crossed the Albanian-Yugoslav border and continued fighting the Germans in Kosovo and Metohija70 and Montenegro.
* * *
As they retreated under pressure from partisan units, Hitler’s forces left behind ruins. All lines of communication, port facilities, mines and power stations were destroyed, the national economy was devastated and the country’s gold reserves were taken. The cities of Leskovik, Korça, Pogradec, Saranda, Vlora, Durrës, Përmet, Berat and Shëngjin lay in ruins. The regions of Mallakastra, Kurvelesh, Peza, Skrapar and others were completely laid waste. In a country with a population just over one million, 28,000 people were killed in the fight against the occupiers. During the fascist occupation, more than 10,000 Albanian patriots were held in prisons and concentration camps such as Porto Romano, Burrel, Kavaja and Prishtina.71
After the country’s liberation, the Albanian people and their Communist Party faced the urgent task of eliminating the consequences of war and strengthening the new democratic power of the working people, which had taken shape during the national liberation struggle. The Provisional Democratic Government of Albania, supported by the Democratic Front,72 first undertook land reform. On August 29, 1945, a law on agrarian reform was passed, which abolished large-scale landownership. Land was transferred to the working peasantry. The government nationalized transportation, the banking system and key industries. Foreign concessions were eliminated, and property belonging to foreign companies and collaborators with the Italian and German occupiers was confiscated. At the same time, the Provisional Democratic Government prepared for elections to the Constituent National Assembly, held on December 2, 1945. Candidates of the Democratic Front won a decisive victory. Reflecting the will of the people, the Constituent National Assembly proclaimed Albania a people’s republic on January 11, 1946.
Thus, a new type of state was established in Albania — a people’s republic “where power belongs to the people, major industry, transport and banking are owned by the state, and the leading force is the bloc of the working classes of the population led by the working class.”73 Along with other people’s democracies in Central and Southeastern Europe, the People’s Republic of Albania firmly set out on the path of building socialism.
The American and British imperialists, along with their Yugoslav agents, did not abandon their intention to subjugate the people of Albania and once again turn the country into their colony. In their efforts to achieve this vile goal by any means necessary, the imperialists tried every method — from open blackmail and intimidation to organizing secret plots to overthrow the people’s government. With the support of Tito’s fascist clique, the Anglo-American imperialists attempted to carry out a plan to isolate Albania politically and economically from the Soviet Union and the people’s democracies. Tito’s spies — Stojnić, Dizdarević, Zlatić and others — continued subversive activities started during the war, relying on their agents inside Albania, particularly the group around Koçi Xoxe and Pandi Kristo.
In 1947, Tito’s network began openly organizing conspiracies aimed at the people’s government and Enver Hoxha personally. In early 1948, there was even an attempt to occupy Albania with Yugoslav troops under the pretext of protecting it from the Greek monarcho-fascists.
Immediately after the war, British Field Marshal Alexander issued an ultimatum demanding a significant increase in the number of members of the Anglo-American military missions in Albania. At the same time, on behalf of the British government, a demand was made to allow the landing of 1,500 to 1,700 British officers and technicians in Albanian ports, allegedly to clear territorial waters of mines.74 The Albanian government refused to sanction the occupation of strategic areas of the country and rejected the arrogant demands of the Anglo-American imperialists.
The governments of Britain and the United States, through their representatives in the military missions, tried to blackmail the Albanian people, declaring that they would only recognize Albania “under certain conditions.” These included requiring the Albanian government to acknowledge all treaties previously signed by Zogu with the UK and U.S. The British military mission had secret instructions to seek support from opposition groups inside Albania if Enver Hoxha refused to submit to Anglo-American demands. Officers of the British and American missions, using their right to move freely throughout the country, organized counter-revolutionary conspiracies. With active support from the people, state security forces neutralized terrorist groups of assassins and saboteurs. Trials of the reactionary Catholic “Albanian Union,” the Shkodra coup group, the remnants of the Balli Kombëtar, the “technical intelligentsia” group and others exposed the espionage and subversive activities of Anglo-American military agents in Albania. These failures did not stop the reckless imperialists. A document signed by a representative of the British mission, dated April 6, 1946, called for the immediate intervention of Western powers in Albania’s internal affairs.75
Having failed to bring the Albanian people under their influence, the governments of Britain and the United States made every effort to prevent Albania from participating in international organizations, particularly the United Nations. Speaking in the House of Commons in March 1945 on the issue of recognizing Albania, British Foreign Secretary Eden stated that the situation in the country was “too uncertain to justify recognition of the present administration as a government.”76
Only the representatives of the Soviet state stood in defence of the Albanian people’s interests, providing them with tremendous moral support. Exposing the slanderous claims made by the UK and U.S. representatives at the Paris Peace Conference, the head of the Soviet delegation, V.M. Molotov, outlined the principles for post-war cooperation: “…genuine cooperation between large and small countries can only rest on an honest democratic basis. Pretending at friendship should no longer succeed among peoples who have endured great trials. On the other hand, there can be no doubt that true friendship among nations is one of the greatest forces of our time.”77 On November 10, 1945, the Soviet Union unconditionally recognized Albania’s democratic government, and diplomatic relations were established between the two countries. The Soviet people gave major support to Albania’s economy — providing grain, machinery and credit. Using equipment delivered from the USSR, the Stalin Textile Plant, the Malik Sugar Plant, the Selita Hydropower Station, and various canning and paper factories were built.78
Relying on the resolution of the Information Bureau of Communist and Workers’ Parties, the Party of Labour of Albania79 crushed the anti-people Trotskyite group of Koçi Xoxe and Pandi Kristo — representatives of the Yugoslav band of traitors and murderers. The Central Committee described Tito’s activity as “hostile and anti-Marxist, posing a threat to the existence of the Party and the People’s Republic of Albania.”80
The working people of Albania continue their relentless struggle against the imperialist agents who threaten the revolutionary gains won during the national liberation struggle and peacetime reconstruction. As they build the foundations of socialism in their country, the Albanian people are making their contribution to strengthening the powerful camp of peace and democracy, led by the great standard-bearer of peace — the Soviet Union.
In his report to the 2nd National Conference of the Party of Labour of Albania on April 10, 1950, Enver Hoxha stated: “There are those in the world who ask how such a small people as the Albanians — surrounded on all sides by fascist predators who repeatedly attacked them to divide and destroy them — was able to resist heroically, fight on every front and win? The answer is simple: the Albanian people, led by the Party, resisted, fought and won, and will always defeat their external and internal enemies because there exists the mighty and invincible Soviet Union and the great Stalin… Our people have been reborn, live and will continue to live. They fight and win because their path is illuminated by the Great October Socialist Revolution and the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin.”81
Notes
1 Энвер Ходжа. Десять лет Албанской партии труда. Правда, November 10, 1951.
2 А. Жданов. О международном положении, стр. 6. Огиз, Госполитиздат. 1947.
3 See Albania a cura dell’Istituto di studi Adriatici, p. 227. Venezia, 1939.
4 See The Balkans Together with Hungary, p. 49. London, 1945.
5 See Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I re te Partise komuniste te Shqiperise mbi punen e Komitetit Qendror dhe detyrat e reja te Partise, f. 10. Tirane, 1949.
6 See Правда, April 7, 1939.
7 See L’Humanité, April 8, 1939.
8 Фальсификаторы истории (Историческая справка), стр. 18-19. Госполитиздат. 1948.
9 И. Сталин. Вопросы ленинизма, стр. 570. 11-е изд.
10 See Les archives secrètes du comte Ciano 1936-1942, p. 197-198. Paris, 1948.
11 Ibid., p. 197.
12 See ibid.
13 Ibid., p. 273.
14 See ibid., p. 274.
15 See The Daily Herald, April 1, 1939.
16 See L’Humanité, April 11, 1939.
17 See Правда, April 6, 1939.
18 See Правда, April 7, 1939.
19 See The Daily Herald, April 8, 1939.
20 The Times, April 8, 1939.
21 Quoted in The Daily Herald, April 8, 1939.
22 See L’Humanité, April 8, 1939.
23 See E. Luckwald. Albanien. Land zwischen gestern und morgen, S. 35. Munchen, 1942.
24 В.М. Молотов. Внешняя политика правительства, стр. 12. Огиз. Госполитиздат. 1940.
25 Two months after this, the royal family moved to Paris, and in the summer of 1940 to London.
26 See Lufta nacional-clirimtare e popullit Shqiptar, f. 6. Tirane, 1950.
27 See The Times, April 8, 1939.
28 The “delegates” to this puppet “constituent assembly”, hastily convened under orders from the Italian fascists, were appointed from 10 prefectures, with 5 to 15 people from each.
29 See Fjala e shokut Enver Hoxha. Konference solemne ne sallen e Kuvendit popullor. Bashkimi, 9 nentor 1951.
30 See Discours du général-colonel Enver Hoxha, président du gouvernement d’Albanie à la conférence de Paris, p. 11. Paris, 1946
31 И. Сталин. Речи на предвыборных собраниях избирателей Сталинского избирательного округа г. Москвы 11 декабря 1937 г. и 9 февраля 1946 г., стр. 12. Госполитиздат. 1951.
32 Enver Hoxha. RaportneKongresineI…, f. 49.
33 See KalendarUshtarak, f. 180. Tirane. 1950.
34 Ibid., p. 181.
35 Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 73.
36 See Information sur l’Albanie contemporaine, p. 2. 1948.
37 See Histori e shkurtër e lëvizjes puntore në Shqipëri, f. 27. Tirane. 1946.
38 See Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 60.
39 See Реноде Жувенель. Тито – главапредателей, стр. 25. М. 1951.
40 И. Сталин. О Великой Отечественной войне Советского Союза, стр. 34. Госполитиздат. 1950.
41 Внешняя политика Советского Союза в период Отечественной войны. Т. 1, стр. 329. Огиз. Госполитиздат 1946.
42 Enver Hoxha. RaportneKongresineI…, f. 67 – 68.
43 KalendarUshtarak, f. 211.
44 И. Сталин. О Великой Отечественной войне Советского Союза, стр. 121.
45 In 1942, by special decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania, the Xhepi faction was expelled from the party. For subversive activities, the faction leaders Sadik Premte and Anastas Lula were sentenced to death. Sadik Premte managed to escape and became one of the leaders of the Balli Kombëtar. He actively participated in joint actions by the Ballists and nazi-fascist occupiers against partisan units. On the eve of Albania’s liberation, Premte fled to Italy under the protection of Anglo-American troops.
46 Kongresi i I-rë i Partisë Komuniste të Shqipërisë (8-22 nentor 1948), f. 91. Tirane, 1950.
47 See Bedri Spahiu. Pretenca në gjyqin e lartë të Republikës Popullore të Shqipërisë kundër grupit trotskist, armiq të popullit, të kryesuar nga tradhtari Koçi Xoxe, f. 7. Tirane. 1949.
48 By the end of the Labinot conference, the Balli Kombëtar had come under direct control of the occupiers. On March 5, 1943, the leadership of the Balli Kombëtar signed a secret agreement with the Italian occupiers, the so-called “Dalmazzo-Këlcyra Protocol” (Dalmazzo — the fascist viceroy in Albania, Këlcyra — a Balli leader). According to this agreement, the Ballists and Italian forces in Albania agreed that Balli units would not fight the occupiers in the south but would instead help suppress the resistance movement.
49 See Kalendar Ushtarak, f. 167.
50 See Enver Hoxha. Discours adresse a la population de la ville et des regions montagneuses de Shkodra, p. 17. Tirane, 1949.
51 See Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 178.
52 After the end of the National Liberation War, the government of the People’s Republic of Albania allowed Italian partisans to return home (see Kalendar Ushtarak, f. 252).
53 Kalendar Ushtarak, f. 261.
54 Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 86.
55 Kalendar Ushtarak, f. 135.
56 Ibid.
57 See Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 91.
58 Ibid., p. 92.
59 Kalendar Ushtarak, f. 160.
60 Ibid., p. 139.
61 See Fjalimi i z. Hysni Kapo, perfaqesonjes i qeverise se Republikes Popullore te Shqiperise ne Keshillin e sigurirnit, f. 16. Tirane, 1947.
62 Quoted in Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 203.
63 See Fjalimi i z. Hysni Kapo, perfaqesonjes i qeverise se Republikes Popullore te Shqiperise ne Keshillin e sigurimit, f. 18.
64 See Э. Рузвельт. Его глазами, стр. 105. М. 1947.
65 See Bedri Spahiu. Pretencanë gjyqinelartë të RepublikësPopulloretë Shqipërisë kundërgrupittrotskist, armiqtë popullit, të kryesuarngatradhtariKoçiXoxe, f. 7. Stojnić arrived with a clear mission — to secure the appointment of Titoites to key government posts and gradually isolate and remove patriotic leaders like Enver Hoxha.
66 See П. Манчха. Албания на пути к социализму, стр. 26. М. 1951.
67 Enver Hoxha. Raport ne Kongresin e I…, f. 96.
68 See Mehmet Shehu. Ne pragun e clirimit, f. 36. Tirane, 1945.
69 Ibid., p. 77.
70 Kosovo and Metohija — a region with a predominantly Albanian population, numbering up to 800,000.
71 See Enver Hoxha. Discours du général-colonel Enver Hoxha, président du gouvernement d’Albanie à la conférence de Paris, p. 7.
72 After the liberation of the country, the National Liberation Front was renamed the Democratic Front.
73 А. Жданов. О международном положении, стр. 8.
74 See Fjalimi i z. Hysni Kapo, perfaqesonjes i qeverise se Republikes Popullore te Shqiperise ne Keshillin e sigurimit, f. 23.
75 Ibid., p. 25.
76 The Balkans Together with Hungary, p. 55.
77 В.М. Молотов. Речи на Парижской мирной конференции, стр. 165. Огиз. Госполитиздат. 1946.
78 See Энвер Ходжа. Успехи Албанской Народной Республики. За прочный мир, за народную демократию!, August 11, 1950.
79 At the First Congress of the Communist Party of Albania in 1948, it was renamed the Party of Labour.
80 La vérité sur les calomnies et provocations du groupe nationaliste de Tito contre la république populaire et le Parti du Travail de l’Albanie, p. 7. Tirane, 1949.
81 Enver Hoxha. Raport mbi situaten politike dhe problemet ekonomike, f. 16-17. Tirane, 1950.
(Translated from: Voprosy istorii (Questions of History), No. 8, August 1952, pp. 25-47.)