World War II and the Rise of Communism (1941-1944)

Between 1941 and 1944, communist partisans and nationalist guerrillas fought Italian and German occupation forces, and more often each other, in a brutal struggle to take control of Albania. Backed by Yugoslavia's communists and armed with British and United States weaponry, Albania's partisans defeated the nationalists in a civil war fought between Italy's capitulation in September 1943 and the withdrawal of German forces from Albania in late 1944. 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Communism is a term that can refer to one of several things: a social and economic system, an ideology which supports that system, or a political movement that wishes to implement that system. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... The Italian Republic or Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. ... The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the worlds leading industrialised countries, located in the heart of Europe. ... Albania is a Mediterranean country in southeastern Europe. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ...

The Communist and Nationalist Resistance

The Beginning of the Communist movement

Faced with an illiterate, agrarian, and mostly Muslim society monitored by Zog's security police, Albania's communist movement attracted few adherents in the interwar period. In fact, the country had no fully fledged communist party before World War II. After Fan Noli fled in 1924 to Italy and later the United States, several of his leftist protégés migrated to Moscow, where they affiliated themselves with the Balkan Confederation of Communist Parties and through it the Communist International (Comintern), the Soviet-sponsored association of international communist parties. In 1930, the Comintern dispatched Ali Kelmendi to Albania to organize communist cells. But Albania had no working class for the communists to base their ideas on, and Marxism appealed to only a minute number of quarrelsome, Western-educated, mostly Tosk, intellectuals and to landless peasants, miners, and other persons discontented with Albania's obsolete social and economic structures. Forced to flee Albania, Kelmendi fought in the Garibaldi International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War and later moved to France, where together with other communists, including a student named Enver Hoxha, he published a newspaper. Paris became the Albanian communists' hub until Nazi deportations depleted their ranks after the fall of France in 1940. Agrarian has two meanings: It can mean pertaining to Agriculture It can also refer to the ideology of Agrarianism and Agrarian parties. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... King Zog of Albania King Zog (October 8, 1895–April 9, 1961) was an Albanian politician and the first king of Albania from 1928 to 1939. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Theophan (Fan) Stylian Noli (January 6, 1882 - March 13, 1965) was an Albanian bishop and politician, who served briefly as prime minister and regent of Albania in 1924. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow  listen? ( Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, pronunciation: Moskva), capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... The first edition of Communist International, journal of the Comintern published in Moscow and Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in May 1919. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Ali Kelmendi (1900 Peć, Kosovo – February 11, 1939 France) was an Albanian communist, an organizer of the communist movement in Albania. ... Tosk may refer to several things: Tosk is a dialect of Albanian. ... Alternative meaning: Spanish Civil War, 1820-1823 A republican soldier seeks cover on the Plaza de Toros in Teruel, east of Madrid. ... The French Republic or France (French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. ... Enver Hoxha (1908-1985) Enver Hoxha [en-vehr hoj-e] (October 16, 1908–April 11, 1985) was the communist leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death, primarily as the First Secretary of the Albanian Party of Labour. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Enver Hoxha's and Mehmet Shehu's early years

Enver Hoxha and another veteran of the Spanish Civil War, Mehmet Shehu, eventually rose to become the most powerful figures in Albania for decades after the war. The dominant figure in modern Albanian history, Enver Hoxha rose from obscurity to lead his people for a longer time than any other ruler. Born in 1908 to a Muslim Tosk landowner from Gjirokastër who returned to Albania after working in the United States, Hoxha attended the country's best college-preparatory school, the National Lycée in Korçë. In 1930 he attended the university in Montpellier, France, but lost an Albanian state scholarship for neglecting his studies. Hoxha subsequently moved to Paris and Brussels. After returning to Albania in 1936 without earning a degree, he taught French for years at his former lycée and participated in a communist cell in Korçë. When the war erupted, Hoxha joined the Albanian partisans. Shehu, also a Muslim Tosk, studied at Tiranë's American Vocational School. He went on to a military college in Naples but was expelled for left-wing political activity. In Spain Shehu fought in the Garibaldi International Brigade. After internment in France, he returned to Albania in 1942 and won a reputation for brutality fighting with the partisans. Mehmet Shehu (January 10, 1913 Çorush (prononc. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Gjirokastër (Photo by Marc Morell) Gjirokastër (Albanian: Gjirokastër or Gjirokastra, Greek: Argyrokastron Αργυρόκαστρο or Girokastron) is a city in southern Albania at 40. ... Church in Korçë (Photo by Marc Morell) Korçë (Albanian: Korçë or Korça, Greek: Koritsa) is the largest city in the District of Korçë, Albania located at 40. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Location within France Montpellier ( Occitan Montpelhièr) is a city in the south of France. ... Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, French: Bruxelles, German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium and is considered by many to be the de facto capital of the European Union, as two of its three main institutions have their headquarters... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... Alternate uses: See Naples (disambiguation) Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα-Πόλις, latinised in Neapolis) is the largest town in southern Italy, capital of Campania region. ... The Kingdom of Spain or Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne dEspanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma) is a country located in the southwest of Europe. ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The beginning of the Albanian Communist Party and the National Liberation Movement

In October 1941, the leader of the Yugoslav Communist Party, Josip Broz Tito, dispatched agents to Albania to forge the country's disparate, impotent communist factions into a monolithic party organization. Within a month, they had established a Yugoslav-dominated Albanian Communist Party of 130 members under the leadership of Hoxha and an eleven-man Central Committee. The party at first had little mass appeal, and even its youth organization netted few recruits. In mid-1942, however, party leaders increased their popularity by heeding Tito's order to muffle their Marxist-Leninist propaganda and call instead for national liberation. In September 1942, the party organized a popular front organization, the National Liberation Movement (NLM), from a number of resistance groups, including several that were strongly anticommunist. During the war, the NLM's communist-dominated partisans, in the form of the National Liberation Army, did not heed warnings from the Italian occupiers that there would be reprisals for guerrilla attacks. Partisan leaders, on the contrary, counted on using the lust for revenge such reprisals would elicit to win recruits. 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Communist Party of Yugoslavia (after 1952 the League of Communists of Yugoslavia) was the ruling party of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until the 1991. ... Josip Broz Tito (May 7, 1892 - May 4, 1980) was the ruler of Yugoslavia between the end of World War II and his death in 1980. ... The Albanian Party of Labour (Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh) was the sole legal political party in Albania during communist rule (1946-1991). ... 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... National Liberation Army is the name of several groups: Yugoslavia For Tito-led NLA that fought against the Italian and German occupation of Yugoslavia during World War II, see History of Yugoslavia and Partisans (Yugoslavia). ...

Nationalist resistance

A nationalist resistance to the Italian occupiers emerged in October 1942. Ali Klissura and Midhat Frashëri formed the Western-oriented and anticommunist Balli Kombëtar (National Front), a movement that recruited supporters from both the large landowners and peasantry. The Balli Kombëtar opposed King Zog's return and called for the creation of a republic and the introduction of some economic and social reforms. The Balli Kombëtar's leaders acted conservatively, however, fearing that the occupiers would carry out reprisals against innocent peasants or confiscate the landowners' estates. The nationalistic Geg chieftains and the Tosk landowners often came to terms with the Italians, and later the Germans, to prevent the loss of their wealth and power.

Between Italy's surrender and German occupation

With the overthrow of Benito Mussolini's fascist regime and Italy's surrender in 1943, the Italian military and police establishment in Albania buckled. Albanian fighters overwhelmed five Italian divisions, and enthusiastic recruits flocked to the guerrilla forces. The communists took control of most of Albania's southern cities, except Vlorë, which was a Balli Kombëtar stronghold, and nationalists attached to the NLM gained control over much of the north. British agents working in Albania during the war fed the Albanian resistance fighters with information that the Allies were planning a major invasion of the Balkans and urged the disparate Albanian groups to unite their efforts. In August 1943, the Allies convinced communist and Balli Kombëtar leaders to meet in the village of Mukaj, near Tiranë, and form a Committee for the Salvation of Albania that would coordinate their guerrilla operations. The two groups eventually ended all collaboration, however, over a disagreement on the postwar status of Kosovo. The communists, under Yugoslav tutelage, supported returning the region to Yugoslavia after the war, while the nationalist Balli Kombëtar advocated keeping the province. The delegates at Mukaj agreed that a plebiscite should be held in Kosovo to decide the matter; but under Yugoslav pressure, the communists soon reneged on the accord. A month later, the communists attacked Balli Kombëtar forces, igniting a civil war that was fought for the next year, mostly in southern Albania. Benito Mussolini created a fascist state through the use of propaganda, total control of the media and disassembly of the working democratic government. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Vlora (Photo by Marc Morell) Vlorë (Albanian: Vlorë or Vlora) is the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 85,000 (2003 estimate). ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ... Kosovo (disambiguation). ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ... Kosovo (disambiguation). ...

German occupation

Germany occupied Albania in September 1943, dropping paratroopers into Tiranë before the Albanian guerrillas could take the capital, and the German army soon drove the guerrillas into the hills and to the south. Berlin subsequently announced it would recognize the independence of a neutral Albania and organized an Albanian government, police, and military. The Germans did not exert heavy-handed control over Albania's administration. Rather, they sought to gain popular support by backing causes popular with Albanians, especially the annexation of Kosovo. Some Balli Kombëtar units cooperated with the Germans against the communists, and several Balli Kombëtar leaders held positions in the German-sponsored regime. Albanian collaborators, especially the Skanderbeg SS Division, also expelled and killed Serbs living in Kosovo. In December 1943, a third resistance organization, an anticommunist, anti-German royalist group known as Legality, took shape in Albania's northern mountains. Legality, led by Abaz Kupi, largely consisted of Geg guerrillas who withdrew their support for the NLM after the communists renounced Albania's claims on Kosovo. Albania was entirely liberated from German occupation on November 29, 1944. Berlin (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,387,404 inhabitants (as of September 2004); down from 4. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... This article is about law in society. ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Communist Takeover of Albania

Provisional Communist administration

The communist partisans regrouped and, thanks to freshly supplied British weapons, gained control of southern Albania in January 1944. In May they called a congress of members of the National Liberation Front (NLF, as the movement was by then called) at Përmet, which chose an Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation to act as Albania's administration and legislature. Hoxha became the chairman of the council's executive committee and the National Liberation Army's supreme commander. The communist partisans defeated the last Balli Kombëtar forces in southern Albania by mid-summer 1944 and encountered only scattered resistance from the Balli Kombëtar and Legality when they entered central and northern Albania by the end of July. The British military mission urged the nationalists not to oppose the communists' advance, and the Allies evacuated Kupi to Italy. Before the end of November, the Germans had withdrawn from Tiranë, and the communists, supported by Allied air cover, had no problem taking control of the capital. A provisional government the communists had formed at Berat in October administered Albania with Enver Hoxha as prime minister, and in late 1944 Hoxha dispatched Albanian partisans to help Tito's forces rout Albanian nationalists in Kosovo. 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... National Liberation Front is a common name for guerrilla organisations fighting to free their country from foreign rule, or at least claiming to be such an organisation. ... Berat (Albanian: Berat or Berati) is a town located in south_central Albania at 40. ...

The consequences of the war

Albania stood in an unenviable position after World War II. Greece and Yugoslavia hungered for Albanian lands they claimed. The NLF's strong links with Yugoslavia's communists, who also enjoyed British military and diplomatic support, guaranteed that Belgrade would play a key role in Albania's postwar order. The Allies never recognized an Albanian government in exile or King Zog, nor did they ever raise the question of Albania or its borders at any of the major wartime conferences. No reliable statistics on Albania's wartime losses exist, but the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration reported about 30,000 Albanian war dead, 200 destroyed villages, 18,000 destroyed houses, and about 100,000 people left homeless. Albanian official statistics claim somewhat higher losses. Greece, officaly called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. ... Belgrade (Serbian, Београд, Beograd  listen), is the capital (2003–) of Serbia and Montenegro and Yugoslavia (1918–2003). ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ...

Furthermore, thousands of Chams (Tsams, Albanians living in Northern Greece) were driven out of Greece with the justification that they had collaborated with the Nazis. See also: Timeline of Albanian history to 1993 Chronology of Important Events of Albania Before AD 1 1000 BC Illyrians, descendants of ancient Indo-European peoples, settled in western part of the Balkan Peninsula. ...

See also

• World War II
• Participants in World War II

Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Participants in World War II involves all nations who either participated directly or were affected by any of the theatres or events of World War II. Alliances World War II was primarily fought between two large alliances. ...

Reference

• Library of Congress Country Study (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/altoc.html) of Albania