Enver Hoxha. "Laying the foundations of the new Albania". The

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WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!
ENVER HOXHA
Laying
the foundations
of the new Albania
MEMOIRS
AND HISTORICAL NOTES
Publisher's Note
T h e present e d i t i o n of Laying the Foundations of
the New Albania, by E n v e r H o x h a is a direct reprint
of the E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e e d i t i o n p u b l i s h e d at the "8
N ë n t o r i " P u b l i s h i n g H o u s e , T i r a n a , 1984, b y the
Institute of M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t Studies at the C e n t r a l
C o m m i t t e e o f the P a r t y o f L a b o u r o f A l b a n i a .
Printed and published by the
WORKERS' PUBLISHING HOUSE
172 Wandsworth Road,
London SW8, England
PUBLISHED ON THE OCCASION
OF THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION
OF THE HOMELAND AND THE TRIUMPH
OF THE PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION
BY WAY OF AN INTRODUCTION
In the m a n y centuries of the h i s t o r y of A l b a n i a ,
our people's state p o w e r and the m o n o l i t h i c u n i t y of
our people, embodied in the organization of the D e mocratic Front, are two of the greatest and most b r i l l i a n t achievements, two of the most m o n u m e n t a l w o r k s
of the epoch of the P a r t y .
These t w o i m m o r t a l m o n u m e n t a l works, l i k e the
P a r t y itself, w h i c h was and remains for ever their
p o w e r f u l b r a i n a n d heart, were not b o r n i n m a r b l e
halls, w e r e not the product of «great minds», l o l l i n g in
the easy chairs of cafes or p a r l i a m e n t a r y seats. No,
they w e r e b o r n f r o m the b a r r e l of the partisan rifle,
in the f i r e of the w a r for freedom, w e r e n u r t u r e d in
the bosom of the people, and the h u m b l e homes of
the people became t h e i r place of residence.
Today, l o o k i n g back over more t h a n f o u r decades,
we A l b a n i a n communists feel p r o u d that ever since
the days of their creation, the Democratic F r o n t of
A l b a n i a and our people's state power, under the leadership of our glorious P a r t y , have p e r f o r m e d their tasks
and mission for the people and the H o m e l a n d w i t h
honour, have been tempered in the sternest battles
5
and tests, have withstood and defeated the plans of
a l l i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l enemies a n d have been t u r n e d
into impregnable fortresses of t r i u m p h a n t socialism
and the fine n e w l i f e w h i c h i s f l o u r i s h i n g i n A l b a n i a .
T h e i r honour and g l o r y w i l l b e raised h i g h e r and
higher in the future, because the blood of 28,000 of the
finest sons and daughters of this l a n d (1) has been poured
in their foundations, because t h e y have been set up,
raised and cemented w i t h sweat, toil, countless efforts
and sacrifices by our people and our P a r t y . T h e y have
been and w i l l r e m a i n for a l l time the i n v i o l a b l e c r e ation of the people, defending and expressing t h e i r
l o f t y aspirations, a n d the M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t l i n e and
ideology of our P a r t y of L a b o u r w i l l a l w a y s inspire
them and pervade t h e m l i k e a r e d thread.
As to h o w we managed to create and b u i l d these
i m m o r t a l works, that is a w h o l e history. M a n y d o c u ments of that time, besides p r o v i d i n g v i v i d evidence
of our w o r k and struggle for the creation of the F r o n t
and the state power, also, comprise, to some degree,
the first w r i t t e n h i s t o r y of the process of their b i r t h
and construction. Later, in the years of L i b e r a t i o n , we
have w r i t t e n and spoken again and again about t h e m
and about the whole glorious p e r i o d of o u r history,
w h e n the people, enlightened and l e d by the P a r t y ,
succeeded in l i b e r a t i n g the H o m e l a n d f r o m the chains
____________________________________
1 As
one
of
the
more
active
participants
of
the
world
anti-fascist coalition, A l b a n i a occupies one of the first places
in
regard
to h u m a n
and
material
W o r l d W a r , compared w i t h
losses
the size of
population.
6
during
its
the
Second
territory a n d
its
of foreigners a n d themselves f r o m a n y k i n d of class
oppression and exploitation.
These two colossal achievements of ours w i l l c o n tinue to exist a n d f u n c t i o n t h r o u g h the ages, but the
earliest times, the moments w h e n we l a i d the f o u n d ations, w h e n in the heat of the w a r we created the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and o u r people's state power,
s h a l l never be forgotten. We have looked back over
that unforgettable p e r i o d again and again, not f r o m
nostalgia, but in order to i l l u m i n a t e the p r o b l e m
f r o m a l l aspects and to m a k e as clear and concrete
as possible to the younger generations h o w we, their
parents, managed to o v e r t h r o w the old and set up the
new.
T h i s is the purpose of these notes of mine, w r i t t e n
at various times in the f o r m of reminiscences about
historical events, w h i c h I am n o w h a n d i n g over for
publication.
On the eve of the 40th a n n i v e r s a r y of the l i b e r ation of the H o m e l a n d and the t r i u m p h of the people's revolution, they are intended both to pay great
homage to the outstanding deed of our P a r t y and people in the years of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and
to refresh the m e m o r y of the past, w h i c h has always
been the f o u n d a t i o n of the f u t u r e w h i c h it has always
served and i l l u m i n a t e d .
August
1984
I
T H E NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT —
A FRONT OF STRUGGLE AND UNITY
T h e emergence of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a on N o v e m b e r 8, 1941 as a p o w e r f u l current e n l i v e n ed the energies of the A l b a n i a n people, roused their
hopes in the f u t u r e and t e r r i f i e d the enemy.
T h i s was a decisive event, a most important act,
because for the first time in the m a n y centuries of
the h i s t o r y of the A l b a n i a n people the P a r t y of the
w o r k i n g class, the o n l y P a r t y w h i c h , h a v i n g the r e v o l u t i o n a r y ideology as its guide, w o u l d lead the people in the struggle a n d to victory, had placed itself
at the head of the people.
T h i s historic moment was v e r y q u i c k l y reflected
in the struggle of the A l b a n i a n people, w h i c h g r e w
steadily stronger, becoming ever better organized.
W i t h j o y and enthusiasm w e communists w e l comed this great v i c t o r y of w h i c h we had dreamed
and for w h i c h we had struggled for a long time. N o w
9
we had the P a r t y w h i c h was to guide a l l our efforts,
w h i c h w o u l d teach and educate us, w o u l d lead us in
the struggle for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d and,
later, towards the realization of our u l t i m a t e ideal communism.
T h e n e w l y f o r m e d P a r t y was faced w i t h m a n y
great tasks.
L i n k i n g up w i t h the people, a c q u a i n t i n g the masses
w i t h the p r o g r a m and a i m of the P a r t y , the m o b i l i z ation and organization of the masses in the l i f e - a n d death struggle w i t h the fascist occupiers a n d local
traitors was one of these tasks, indeed, one of the
m a i n and most important tasks. W i t h o u t the people,
w i t h o u t the masses, a c o m m u n i s t party, w h e t h e r n e w ly formed or w i t h a long period of existence and acti v i t y , can achieve nothing.
W e A l b a n i a n communists understood this a x i o m
o f M a r x i s m - L e n i n i s m . W h a t made o u r w o r k d i f f i c u l t
was the fact that in the grave conditions of the occupation and terror we had to come out before the
people, to w i n t h e m to our cause, to organize a n d lead
t h e m at a time w h e n we also had to organize o u r s e l ves, to b u i l d and temper the P a r t y a n d to prove it in
struggle as a capable, reliable and irreplaceable l e a d i n g force.
T h i s was something unprecedented in history, but
as y o u m i g h t say, this was our «fate». H a d we w a i t e d
u n t i l the P a r t y was b u i l t and strengthened, u n t i l it
extended to a l l parts of the country, had we w o r k e d
o n l y « w i t h i n the P a r t y » and then addressed ourselves
to the people w i t h our p r o g r a m for struggle, this
w o u l d have been catastrophic, not o n l y for the P a r t y ,
10
but also for the fate of the people a n d the H o m e l a n d .
Therefore, conscious of the situation t h r o u g h w h i c h
w e w e r e passing and the d i f f i c u l t i e s w h i c h w e had,
we d i d not wait. We w e n t into action at once, faci n g up to a l l the tasks at the same time, i n c l u d i n g
that of m a k i n g the people conscious a n d u n i t i n g t h e m
i n that f i g h t i n g u n i o n w h i c h was soon t o take the
name of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t of
Albania.
1. The foundations of unity
T h r o u g h a l l the centuries o f their history, the A l b a n i a n people have a l w a y s s t r i v e n a n d fought to be
u n i t e d in the face of a n y i n v a s i o n w h i c h threatened their
f r e e d o m and the m o t h e r l a n d . T h i s t r a d i t i o n was handed
d o w n f r o m generation to generation as a great lesson
a n d legacy, a n d precisely h e r e i n m u s t be sought one of
the sources of the v i t a l i t y of o u r people, of t h e i r a b i l i t y
to w i t h s t a n d the most ferocious a n d p o w e r f u l enemies
a n d occupiers a n d t o a v o i d assimilation b y them. N o w ,
at the grave moments t h r o u g h w h i c h the H o m e l a n d
was passing, f a c i n g dangers w h i c h threatened its existence, we communists w o u l d u n d o u b t e d l y base o u r selves f i r m l y o n the r i c h patriotic and f i g h t i n g t r a d i t i o n s of our people, on their tendency and readiness
to unite in the f i g h t for freedom. T h e examples of
the S k a n d e r b e g era, of the efforts of the outstanding
11
m e n of our Renaissance, of the famous A l b a n i a n L e a gue of P r i z r e n , (1) and the p o p u l a r general u p r i s i n g w h i c h
brought A l b a n i a its Independence, and so on, w e r e
to inspire not o n l y us communists, but also a l l t h e
honest, patriotic people to w h o m the fate of the H o m e l a n d was dear.
A p a r t f r o m this, there was something else w h i c h
was to assist us in the great m i s s i o n ahead of us.
F o r some years, the idea and appeal of the C o m m u n ist International for the creation of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
F r o n t e v e r y w h e r e h a d been one of the topics of the
debates and the m a i n concern of the best communists
in A l b a n i a at the t i m e of the communist groups. In
particular, the C o m m u n i s t G r o u p of K o r ç a , especially
after the a r r i v a l of the instructions of the C o m i n t e r n
in the a u t u m n of 1937, increased its efforts to break
a w a y f r o m the f o r m e r closed and sectarian w o r k i n
order to l i n k up more w i t h the masses t h r o u g h y o u t h
organizations, w o r k e r s ' associations, etc., and to create
a «democratic bloc», l i k e that w h i c h t r i u m p h e d in the
m u n i c i p a l elections i n K o r ç a . L i k e w i s e , the other
Groups, especially that of Shkodra, h a d created some
l i n k s and were s t r i v i n g to e x t e n d their i n f l u e n c e
among the ranks of intellectuals, w h i t e - c o l l a r workers,
officers and, somewhat less, among restricted circles
of m a n u a l w o r k e r s as w e l l . H o w e v e r , a l l these efforts
_____________________________________________
1 It was set up in J u n e 1878 and d u r i n g the three years
of its activity fought for the p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y u n i o n of
the
Albanian
nation,
for
self-government,
national
unity
and in defence of the t e r r i t o r i a l integrity of A l b a n i a against
the Great P o w e r s
and
the
neighbouring
archies.
12
chauvinistic
mon-
amounted to v e r y little and, f o l l o w i n g the blows w h i c h
the democratic a n d r e v o l u t i o n a r y m o v e m e n t i n A l b a n i a suffered in the s u m m e r of 1935 w i t h the defeat
of w h a t is called the « F i e r Movement», (1) and at the
e n d of 1938 w h e n n e a r l y a l l the members of the G r o u p
of S h k o d r a w e r e arrested and brought before the court,
it m u s t be said that the old sickness of the groups —
rotten secrecy and t u r n i n g inwards, isolation f r o m
one another, and especially isolation f r o m the masses,
became even more apparent.
T h e fascist occupation of the c o u n t r y in A p r i l 1939
shook this grave and h a r m f u l situation of o u r c o m m u n i s t m o v e m e n t to its foundations. I m m e d i a t e l y we
sensed and understood better t h a n ever that we w o u l d
not be able to organize the resistance to the occupier
properly, because we ourselves were s t i l l d i v i d e d ,
w i t h o u t an organization and a clear r e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o gram, and were s t i l l u n k n o w n to the masses and had
not w o n t h e m to o u r cause to the degree that t h e y
w o u l d f o l l o w us consciously. It was essential to o v e r come these weaknesses in a r e v o l u t i o n a r y w a y as a
decisive condition both t o f o r m o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
and in order to get closer to and l i n k up w i t h the
masses.
In the n e w situation w h i c h was created after the
occupation, the A l b a n i a n communists of that period,
especially the r a n k a n d file of the groups, understood
these tasks correctly and, p a r a l l e l w i t h the efforts for
_________________________________
1 The
movement
was
aimed
at
overthrowing
the
Zog
regime. It f a i l e d because of lack of a revolutionary leadership,
insufficient organization and isolation f r o m the masses of the
people.
13
the f o r m a t i o n of the P a r t y , also increased and i n t e n sified their efforts to m a k e themselves k n o w n to and
l i n k up w i t h the masses. True, this w o r k was s t i l l
unorganized and unco-ordinated, true, especially at
first, it was done f r o m the positions of «gaining i n fluence» over and as a k i n d of «contest» w i t h the
other groups; nevertheless, the fact that the c o m m u n i s t
elements began t r u l y to go among the people, to become k n o w n by the people and to k n o w the people,
had importance.
Personally, I r e t a i n the finest a n d most u n f o r g e t table memories f r o m this phase, especially after I came
t o w o r k i n T i r a n a i n J a n u a r y 1940. ( 1 ) T h e d a i l y r e l ations w i t h the workers of the «Flora» factory and,
even more, the direct w o r k in the «Flora» shop, w i t h
the great possibilities for contact w i t h elements of
the most v a r i e d strata, brought about that v e r y q u i c k l y
we were to establish a r o u n d ourselves a broad circle
o f w o r k e r activists a n d sympathizers. B y getting closer
to them, through ceaseless cautious work, we g r a d u a l l y
extended the circle w i t h other w o r k e r comrades, w i t h
craftsmen, the u n e m p l o y e d and the circle of their
families and relatives. W h i l e the relations of o u r c o m m o n or s i m i l a r jobs served as a means to get to k n o w
them, the basis for the strengthening of this a c q u a i n tance was the p o l i t i c a l conversations against the oc_________________________________
1 By decision
of the centre of the C o m m u n i s t
Group
of
K o r ç a , Comrade E n v e r H o x h a w a s sent at that time to T i r a n a
to
organize
the
anti-fascist
occupiers,
to extend
on
bases,
the
sound
communist
movement
against
and step up the activity
as w e l l
groups
of
as
to
the
14
establish
country.
the
Italian
of the
Group
connections
among
cupiers w h i c h we, seemingly by chance, opened up
w i t h t h e m w h e n e v e r the possibility presented itself.
Of course, there w e r e dangers in opening up these conversations and going deeply into them, especially w i t h
n e w acquaintances, but one fact remains significant
and unforgettable for m e : on almost no occasion d i d
I, or the other comrades of the group w h o were w o r k i n g in T i r a n a , encounter a n y opposition or fear on the
part of the w o r k e r comrades about the things we said
to them. On the contrary, as soon as we broached
the subject, it was they w h o f o u n d the o p p o r t u n i t y to
express their p r o f o u n d anger and hatred against the
usurpers of the freedom and independence of their
H o m e l a n d , it was t h e y who, w i t h t h e i r class logic,
were not content m e r e l y to express their hatred but
also asked: « W h a t are we going to do about it?»
T h i s situation, w h i c h w e encountered e v e r y w h e r e ,
f i l l e d us w i t h confidence a n d i m p e l l e d us to w o r k
harder for the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y and to t h i n k
about h o w we s h o u l d organize and channel the p o p u lar hatred w h i c h was b u i l d i n g up and almost ready to
erupt.
T h i s was the situation throughout the country.
At that period I h a d to t r a v e l to m a n y towns and
w o r k e r centers, such as Durrës, Shkodra, K o r ç a ,
V l o r a , Fier, G j i r o k a s t r a , K u ç o v a , etc., and e v e r y where the m o u n t i n g hatred and readiness o f the A l banian w o r k i n g m e n to f i g h t against the occupation
and the e x p l o i t a t i o n by the Italian fascists could be
seen clearly. In the meetings w h i c h we held, the other
comrades of o u r c o m m u n i s t group reported the same
situation; the outstanding m i l i t a n t s of the C o m m u n i s t
15
G r o u p of S h k o d r a , V a s i l Shanto and Q e m a l Stafa,
w i t h w h o m , b e g i n n i n g f r o m the s u m m e r of 1940, we
became closely associated and f o r m e d an unbreakable
friendship, also had the same assessment of the s i t u ation in the country.
A l t h o u g h not w i t h the same dimensions and i n tensity of w o r k as in the city, as e a r l y as this phase
we began to go to the countryside, too, a n d saw clearly that the same situation as in the ranks of the
workers, apprentices and the u n e m p l o y e d of the cities
was s i m m e r i n g there, too.
As for the youth, especially the school and student
y o u t h , it m u s t be said that they w e r e completely ready
to f o l l o w the communists in a n y action a n d a c t i v i t y .
T h e i r ardent feelings of patriotism, b a d l y h u r t by the
state of occupation, had made o u r y o u t h u n r e s t r a i n able in their open opposition and protests w h i c h t h e y
expressed almost e v e r y d a y in their mass resistance to
the Italianization and fascistization of the school, in
t h e i r demonstrative r e f u s a l to give the fascist salute,
in their boycott of the lessons in the fascist doctrine,
the Italian language, the c o r r u p t i n g organizations and
associations w h i c h the fascists t r i e d to create, and
so on.
Thus, proceeding f r o m the idea of the i n d i s p e n sable need for an antifascist p o p u l a r front ( w h i c h
later, w h e n it was created, took its «official» name the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front), a n d f r o m the p r o f o u n d
c o n v i c t i o n that the achievement of it was completely
possible, the A l b a n i a n communists had begun the
w o r k in this direction i m m e d i a t e l y after the fascist
occupation. In u n d e r t a k i n g this h e a v y b u r d e n we were
16
aware of our lack of experience in connection w i t h
the tasks a n d p r a c t i c a l construction of this front and
its organizational forms, but we were f i r m l y convinced
that in the course of the w o r k and struggle, especially
after the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y , we w o u l d g a i n e x p e rience and practice w o u l d suggest to us the appropriate forms.
N a t u r a l l y , throughout this whole phase w e e n countered m a n y a n t i - M a r x i s t concepts and distorted
ideas about the anti-fascist front and the possibility of
f o r m i n g it in A l b a n i a . In the ranks of the G r o u p of
S h k o d r a , in particular, for years there h a d been elements w h o h a d disseminated completely alien, c a p i tulationist v i e w s a n d theories on this problem. F o r
example, about the end of the s u m m e r of 1941, w h e n
we were in the phase of intensive preparations for
the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y , in a conversation w h i c h I
had w i t h a comrade f r o m the G r o u p of S h k o d r a , as
soon as I began to talk about the l i n k s w i t h the masses and the need to unite t h e m in a p o w e r f u l F r o n t ,
the comrade r e p l i e d quite b l u n t l y as though this were
something w h i c h «brooked no discussion»:
«The anti-fascist popular F r o n t cannot be created
i n Albania!»
« W h y ? » I asked in astonishment.
«Because there are no p o l i t i c a l parties in our
c o u n t r y as there are in France, Italy and elsewhere!
W i t h w h o m w i l l talks b e held? W i t h w h o m w i l l the
agreement for the f o r m a t i o n of the F r o n t be reached
w h e n there are no parties?»
«You're w r o n g ! » I t o l d h i m . « A c c o r d i n g to what
y o u say, efforts should not be made in our country,
17
the masses should not be m o b i l i z e d in a f i g h t i n g u n i t y
for the o v e r t h r o w of fascism.»
«This is something specific to o u r c o u n t r y w h i c h
comes f r o m its backwardness!» said the comrade in a
tone of regret. « T u r k e y a n d Z o g have left us in this
plight. If there were different parties, each of t h e m
w o u l d have its influence among the masses, the p a r ties w o u l d talk about the F r o n t and, w h e n t h e y r e a ched agreement, the masses w o u l d a u t o m a t i c a l l y j o i n
the F r o n t ! »
« W e l l then,» I asked h i m patiently, «in y o u r o p i n i o n under whose influence are the masses in our
country?»
« U n d e r no one's influence!» he r e p l i e d brashly.
«No. Y o u are j u d g i n g things w r o n g l y , proceeding
f r o m a w r o n g evaluation of the parties, the F r o n t a n d
the masses. True, in A l b a n i a the masses are not u n d e r
the influence of a n y party, but don't forget that at
this moment, especially, t h e y are u n d e r the i n f l u e n ce of hatred for the occupier, under the influence of
the desire to fight for freedom, under the influence of
their p r o f o u n d patriotism. T h i s is precisely w h a t we
m u s t grasp. Indeed, I t h i n k it is not a m i s f o r t u n e but
a great blessing that there have not been a n d there
are no organized p o l i t i c a l parties in our country. T h e
true Front, the steel Front, is that w h i c h is created
f r o m below, t h r o u g h direct w o r k w i t h the masses, b y
l i n k i n g u p w i t h them, b y seizing o n their seething
hatred for fascism and their desire a n d readiness to
fight. In this w a y w e ' l l f i n d a c o m m o n language w i t h
the people, w i l l touch t h e m on the sore spot and t h e y
w i l l be pleased to f o l l o w us and w i l l unite. T h i s is
18
the F r o n t and w e A l b a n i a n communists and our P a r t y
m u s t f i g h t for such a F r o n t ! »
« A n d h o w are we going to do this w h e n we s t i l l
do not have an organized p a r t y ? » he asked.
«We are s t r u g g l i n g for this, and v e r y soon we
s h a l l have our party. Indeed, the necessity for the
u n i t y of the masses in the f i g h t makes the f o u n d i n g
of the p a r t y even more urgent. W i t h the P a r t y at the
head w e ' l l achieve everything.»
T h e comrade seemed to be convinced by w h a t
I said to h i m , although I k n e w that such concepts
about the F r o n t h a d long been propagated by the
T r o t s k y i t e elements in the G r o u p of S h k o d r a and,
moreover, h a d become established in their organ, The
Green Bulletin. We w e r e to encounter these v i e w s a n d
wage stern battles against t h e m and were aware that
other mistakes m i g h t be made, too, but a l l these
w o u l d be corrected in the course of the struggle a n d
w o r k . T h e o n l y irreparable and f a t a l mistake w o u l d b e
if we were to r e m a i n idle, to w a i t for «different p a r ties to be created», «to t r a i n the cadres», to w a i t for
the «formation of the i n d u s t r i a l proletariat» and other
v i e w s of a n t i - M a r x i s t factional elements, w h i c h the
r e v o l u t i o n a r y c o m m u n i s t s rejected and w h i c h the P a r ty t o t a l l y condemned later. H i s t o r y w o u l d not excuse
us for such a mistake.
Hence, the f o r m a t i o n of the P a r t y f o u n d us in a
situation w h e n a l l the objective and subjective possibilities for the f o r m a t i o n of the anti-fascist F r o n t
w e r e in existence. W h a t was most i m p o r t a n t was the
fact that in the ranks of the communists and cadres
of o u r n e w l y f o r m e d P a r t y , as a result of the earlier
19
w o r k and the analyses made at the F o u n d i n g M e e t i n g
of the P a r t y , the c o n v i c t i o n was being i m p l a n t e d that
our P a r t y could a n d m u s t create the anti-fascist F r o n t
of the A l b a n i a n people t h r o u g h direct concrete w o r k
w i t h the masses, w i t h o u t w a i t i n g for a n d w i t h o u t seeking agreements and machinations w i t h the self-styled
leaders that is, as a F r o n t f o r m e d f r o m below.
A s i s k n o w n , i n the R e s o l u t i o n w h i c h the F o u n d i n g M e e t i n g of the P a r t y adopted, this u n i t y was
called «the f i g h t i n g u n i t y between the w o r k i n g masses
of t o w n a n d countryside», a n d this w a s n o t h i n g b u t
the idea of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t
of the A l b a n i a n people. L i k e w i s e , the f i r s t document
of o u r P a r t y , w h i c h came out s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h
the Resolution, was the first open m i l i t a n t A p p e a l
w h i c h our P a r t y addressed to the people, m a k i n g its
program clear to t h e m and i n v i t i n g t h e m to u n i t e in
the struggle for freedom a n d independence!
N o w the P a r t y , w i t h organized and m u l t i p l i e d
forces, w i t h its clear m i l i t a n t program, was to i n t e n s i f y and f u r t h e r e x t e n d the w o r k to b u i l d up that
p o w e r f u l fortress of the u n i t e d people against the
strength and v i t a l i t y of w h i c h the nazi-fascist legions
w o u l d smash their heads a n d the efforts a n d plans
of internal and e x t e r n a l reaction w o u l d be t h w a r t e d .
T h i s u n i t y of the masses, u n d e r the leadership
a n d banner of the P a r t y , w o u l d m a k e possible the
outbreak a n d successful accomplishment of the r e v o lution, for w h i c h the conditions existed i n A l b a n i a .
T h e feudal regime of Zog, w i t h its oppression,
poverty, hunger, imprisonments a n d thefts, h a d a n gered, enraged and f i l l e d the people w i t h h a t r e d f o r
20
that regime, b r i n g i n g t h e m to the point of revolt.
P r e c i s e l y w h e n this revolt and anger of the masses
was seething, the occupation of the c o u n t r y prepared
by Z o g a n d the f e u d a l bourgeoisie f i l l e d the cup to
o v e r f l o w i n g . N o w the hatred of the people and the
antagonistic struggle between oppressors a n d oppressed reached its c u l m i n a t i o n . Thus, the occupation of
A l b a n i a b y Italian fascism h a d m a r k e d the beginning
of a change of national importance. T h i s situation had
to be understood and h a n d l e d correctly, because it was
pregnant w i t h r e v o l u t i o n . T h e A l b a n i a n communists
a n d their P a r t y understood this state of affairs p r e cisely a n d decided to emerge as masters of the situation
a n d become the leaders of the r e v o l u t i o n . Hence, the
grave, d i f f i c u l t , but glorious historic task devolved
o n o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y : t o raise the people i n r e v o l u t i o n , lead t h e m in struggle for the l i b e r a t i o n of
the H o m e l a n d and take t h e m and the w o r k i n g class,
of w h i c h it was the v a n g u a r d , to v i c t o r y .
L e n i n teaches us that the r e v o l u t i o n is a most serious question f o r the fate of a people. Therefore, if
y o u begin it, y o u must c a r r y it t h r o u g h to the end.
If the people are not aroused in struggle against
the occupiers or against bourgeois capitalist r u l e r s
a n d exploiters, if the people are not prepared p o l i t i c a l l y against those w h o m they have to f i g h t and
overthrow, if in the course of this preparation the r e l a t i v e strength of the forces in action is not studied
and analysed, there can be no r e v o l u t i o n ; in s u c h
instances there m a y be attempts, there m a y be resistance, w h i c h w o u l d be chaotic and temporary, but not
r e v o l u t i o n a n d no achievement of the objectives w h i c h
21
a r e v o l u t i o n seeks, w h e t h e r it be a peasant u p r i s i n g ,
a bourgeois-democratic revolution, or a p r o l e t a r i a n
revolution.
E v e r y r e v o l u t i o n m u s t have a programmatic p l a t f o r m w h i c h indicates to the masses the l i m i t s that
m u s t be reached a n d the reasons w h y one situation
m u s t be changed into another situation. It m u s t be
e x p l a i n e d to t h e m d i a l e c t i c a l l y w h y it is necessary to
pass f r o m one stage to another, w h y the conditions
have m a t u r e d f o r s u c h a q u a l i t a t i v e change, it m u s t
be made clear to the masses, on the basis of a real economic, p o l i t i c a l and national analysis, w h a t are the
reasons that f i l l e d the cup to o v e r f l o w i n g , a n d the
road w h i c h w i l l b e f o l l o w e d a n d the means w h i c h
w i l l be e m p l o y e d to m a k e
this
q u a l i t a t i v e change
must be made clear to t h e m . F i n a l l y , after a n a l y s i n g
a l l these things, it m u s t be made clear that this c h a n ge, this decisive turning-point, cannot be achieved
except through a r m e d insurrection, t h r o u g h r e v o l u t i o n .
A f t e r h e took his step against A l b a n i a i n A p r i l
1939, M u s s o l i n i hoped and was convinced that e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d go off just as he h a d planned. B u t the
opposite occurred. None of his preparations was able
to deceive or to subdue the A l b a n i a n people. At no
t i m e had h i s t o r y k n o w n A l b a n i a and its people to
accept enslavement by foreigners. It h a d k n o w n o n l y
the ceaseless wars of the A l b a n i a n people against
foreign invaders.
There was no doubt that this is w h a t w o u l d occur
this time, too, but this h a d to be made a reality. T h e
struggle had to be organized. It was not easy, but n e i ther was it impossible. H o w e v e r , it w o u l d be a savage
22
war. F o r its d e t e r m i n a t i o n a n d p a t r i o t i s m and the
great a i m of liberation, this w a r w o u l d be l i k e the
previous l i b e r a t i o n wars of our people, but it w o u l d
be u n l i k e t h e m f r o m the stand-point of its strategy,
tactics, dimensions and organization. T h e times in
w h i c h w e w e r e organizing the w a r w e r e n o longer
those of o u r fathers and forefathers: we were facing
the same savage, c r i m i n a l enemies, r e f i n e d in ideology, in politics, in methods and activities, but also
a r m e d to the teeth w i t h the most m o d e r n weapons,
destructive and h a r m f u l i n every direction, w h i c h had
not been seen in f o r m e r times.
By engaging in a great propaganda campaign
about such a destructive s t r i k i n g force, the nazi-fascists
a i m e d to i n s t i l panic before their forces undertook
the attack. T h e psychosis of terror a n d the « F i f t h
C o l u m n » w e r e t w o o f the m a i n weapons w h i c h p r e ceded the legions of R o m e and B e r l i n .
Nevertheless, the peoples, u n i t e d around clear
ideals a n d aims, w i t h correct and courageous leadership, were to t r i u m p h in this gigantic w a r w h i c h had
burst u p o n them. T h e peoples and nations, w h o were
determined to l i v e free, were to t r i u m p h over the m o d e r n weapons and armies of the enemy, because the
f o r m e r waged a just w a r in their o w n countries, w h i l e
the latter waged an unjust w a r of p l u n d e r in foreign
countries.
O u r P a r t y was clear about the broad outlines of
the situation and, together w i t h the people, w e n t into
the f i g h t not unprepared, because f r o m A p r i l 7, 1939
u n t i l N o v e m b e r 8, 1941, a little more t h a n two years
had passed since the passive and active resistance
23
against the occupiers and the A l b a n i a n quislings had
begun.
A f t e r the occupation of the country, the resistance
of the people, and first of a l l , of the w o r k i n g class
and peasantry, against the regime of Z o g became
more crystallized and assumed more advanced forms.
T h e h o s t i l i t y a n d resistance of the A l b a n i a n w o r k i n g
people and peasantry to the regime of Zog, n o w c o m b i n e d w i t h the sentiment of national liberation, were
the basis on w h i c h the P a r t y and its leadership relied
in order to mobilize the w i l l of the nation, the strength
of the people, their opinions, aspirations a n d desires,
in a f i g h t i n g u n i t y for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d and the people.
It is easy to talk about it, but in order to a c c o m p l i s h this program, t o i l and sacrifice, courage a n d h e roism, w i s d o m and patience in thoughts a n d actions
were required of the P a r t y .
F i r s t of all, the confidence of the people in their
o w n strength had to be created. T h e idea h a d to be
eradicated f r o m the m i n d s of m a n y i n d i v i d u a l s that
it was impossible to w i t h s t a n d such a great p o w e r as
fascist Italy and that «one m i l l i o n cannot f i g h t 40
million», ideas w h i c h the « F i f t h Column», the collaborators and the quislings propagated and encouraged, and
the occupiers backed up w i t h the divisions and tanks
w h i c h t h e y had concentrated in a l l parts of the country.
T h e people had to be convinced w i t h facts,
t h r o u g h actions, through p o l i c y and t h r o u g h p r o p a ganda, that the valour, the daring, the p a t r i o t i s m and
the clear p o l i t i c a l t h i n k i n g of the A l b a n i a n s , of our
ancestors, had not died out, but were more f i e r y t h a n
24
ever. A n d the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a , w h i c h
was the bearer of a l l these outstanding v i r t u e s of
o u r people, w o u l d l a u n c h thunderbolts u p o n the o c c u p y i n g enemies.
A t the same time, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r ,
w h i c h the P a r t y undertook to lead, h a d to have clear
aims, a p r o g r a m acceptable to our people, a p r o g r a m
w h i c h w o u l d m o b i l i z e and e n l i v e n h e a l t h y energies.
T h e people, a n d f i r s t of a l l , the w o r k i n g class and the
peasantry, h a d t o k n o w a n d understand w h y they w e r e
f i g h t i n g a n d w h a t the v i c t o r y w o u l d b r i n g them. T h e
bitter past, w h e n the people's wars and uprisings were
b l o o d i l y suppressed by the f e u d a l lords, aghas and
usurers, was f r e s h i n t h e i r m e m o r y . T h e people c o u l d
not be aroused to f i g h t and shed their blood for their
age-old oppressors. T h e C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a
was a guarantee that the past w o u l d never again be
repeated, b u t this had to be p r o v e d in practice w i t h
a program, w i t h action, w i t h f i g h t i n g a n d w i t h policy.
T h r o u g h its program, the P a r t y h a d to m a k e clear
to the people that this w o u l d be a great, fierce, c o m p l i cated a n d d i f f i c u l t w a r . Therefore, great p o l i t i c a l a n d
m i l i t a r y organization was necessary. A l l this the P a r ty made clear to the people and it t o l d t h e m (just as
it demonstrated in deeds) that the communists w o u l d
be in the forefront of the fight, w o u l d be the first to
h u r l themselves into the flames, w o u l d give their
lives f i g h t i n g but the w a r could not be waged o n l y by
them, w i t h o u t the masses.
T h i s resulted f r o m the idea that the communists
could not f i g h t and t r i u m p h w i t h o u t the people. T h e
people m a k e the r e v o l u t i o n .
25
In a l l this activity, the question of alliances a n d
the d e f i n i t i o n of allies w o u l d be decisive. T h e leading
role of the w o r k i n g class, on the basis of our m a i n
principles, and the alliance of the w o r k i n g class w i t h
the f r i e n d l y class — the peasantry, especially w i t h
the poor peasants w i t h no l a n d or little land, is k n o w n .
P r e c i s e l y this alliance, to w h i c h we devoted the greatest importance and attention, was to be the k e y to
the v i c t o r y i n our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
H o w e v e r , we also k n e w the other side of it: this
alliance of the w o r k i n g class w i t h the peasantry, u n der the leadership of the w o r k i n g class, w h i c h w a s to
become the p i v o t of the u n i f i c a t i o n of other patriotic
and progressive strata, had to be created in accord
w i t h our concrete conditions a n d situation, and to this
end, our P a r t y had to m a k e analyses not o n l y of the
political economic situation of classes and strata, but
also of the specific, special l i n k s of groups and clans,
of the positive and negative influences, o l d and new,
w i t h i n A l b a n i a n society.
W e recognized the t r u t h that the A l b a n i a n w o r k ing class was s t i l l f e w in numbers and w i t h o u t great
experience in the class struggle, but r i g h t f r o m the
outset we were convinced that this w o r k i n g class was
and w o u l d be the f i r s t to embrace the c a l l and p r o g r a m of the P a r t y and w o u l d play, just as it did, the
great role w h i c h belonged to it in the p o p u l a r r e v o l u t i o n as the v a n g u a r d class of the society. Its most
f a i t h f u l a l l y undoubtedly w o u l d be the peasantry
w h i c h not o n l y suffered u n d e r a m e d i a e v a l e x p l o i t a tion, but had always been the source of l i b e r a t i o n and
social struggles in the past. T h e b r i l l i a n t patriotic and
26
democratic traditions of o u r peasantry, n o w k i n d l e d
to a fierce blaze by the intolerable state of occupation, w e r e the most p o w e r f u l argument, also, for the
necessity and p o s s i b i l i t y of the creation of the a l l i a n ce between the w o r k i n g class and peasantry and to
refute those reactionary v i e w s w h i c h presented the
peasantry as an ignorant, d o w n - t r o d d e n mob, useless
a n d u n r e l i a b l e i n w a r . T h e fact that i n the conditions
of o u r country, this class w o u l d be the greatest source
and the broadest base of m a n p o w e r f o r the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n W a r made o u r w o r k t o w i n the support
of the peasantry f o r the p r o g r a m of the P a r t y even
more necessary.
So, w h i l e w e w e r e conscious that the w o r k i n g
class a n d the peasantry w o u l d constitute the m a i n
basis of the f i g h t i n g u n i t y of the people, at the same
time, we k n e w that the past h a d left its m a r k on o u r
society, blemishes w h i c h w e r e obstacles to u n i t y and
made the creation of alliances d i f f i c u l t . R e l i g i o n h a d
done its w o r k a n d c o n t i n u e d to poison the m i n d s
and hearts of i n d i v i d u a l s . T h e clergy, the beys and
bayraktars (1) h a d s t r i v e n not o n l y to e x p l o i t but also
to «subdue» a n d «tame» o u r brave a n d indomitable
people, w h o m the regimes of the past h a d k e p t in c u l t u r a l a n d p o l i t i c a l obscurantism.
True, w h e n the c o u n t r y was occupied there were
no parties, either reactionary or progressive, leftist,
etc., but the factors w h i c h I listed above, a n d m a n y
others l i k e these, operated as if there w e r e i n n u m e r ____________________________________
1 Representatives of the gentry in the mountainous areas,
especially i n N o r t h A l b a n i a .
27
able «parties» w h i c h s h r i v e l l e d the energies of t h e
people a n d kept t h e m d i v i d e d in order to be e n s l a v e d
and exploited more completely.
A n o t h e r danger w h i c h threatened the s t r u g g l e
and f i g h t i n g alliance of the people was that section
of political emigrants, sons and representatives of o p pressing and e x p l o i t i n g classes who, l i k e scores of
r e v o l u t i o n a r y patriots and democrats, h a d gone a b r o a d
w h e n Z o g came t o power, ( 1 ) but u n l i k e the t r u e p a triots and democrats, h a d never been l i n k e d w i t h t h e
troubles of the H o m e l a n d and the people. T h e y r e m a i n e d abroad for 15 years and the m a j o r i t y of t h e m
degenerated completely politically, becoming the t r u s ted men, allies and agents of that foreign p o w e r w h i c h
f e d and p a i d t h e m . T h e y posed as anti-Zogites, b u t
were also anti-communists, and t h e y r e t u r n e d t o A l bania together w i t h the Italians in 1939. T h e i r p r e t e n sions that t h e y «should govern the c o u n t r y » w e r e
categorical. T h e y w e r e completely d i v o r c e d f r o m t h e
life, opinions and aspirations of the people. T h e y
thought that the outdated ideas of c o r r u p t e d b o u r geois democracy, w h i c h t h e y n u r t u r e d , were a p p r o priate to the time and applicable to the country. A n d
w h e n ? A f t e r the w o r l d h a d undergone such great
changes. T h e y had r e t u r n e d to A l b a n i a as «the c r e a m
_________________________________
1 A f t e r the t r i u m p h of
cratic
Revolution,
Ahmet
the
Zog,
June
1924 Bourgeois-Demo-
who
had
taken
refuge
in
Yugoslavia, in December 1924 suppressed the J u n e R e v o l u t i o n
and established his reactionary regime w i t h the encouragement
and assistance of the reactionary Serbian government a n d the
support of its troops as w e l l as of i n t e r n a l A l b a n i a n f e u d a l
reaction.
28
of A l b a n i a n nationalism» and, regardless of the fact
that m a n y of t h e m received fat salaries f r o m the
occupiers a n d h a d c o m p l e t e l y entered their service,
t h e y m a i n t a i n e d contacts w i t h those «anti-fascist and
a n t i - Z o g i t e » elements w h o thought that these e m i grants, w h o r e t u r n e d f r o m abroad, were p o l i t i c a l l y
as t h e y w e r e 15 years earlier (!). T h e danger w h i c h
these i n d i v i d u a l s posed to the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r became clearer later, w h e n t h e y created the t r a i tor organization B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w h i c h , t o the v e r y
end, assisted the fascist a n d n a z i occupiers w i t h d e m a gogy a n d arms against the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t a n d its leadership, the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
of Albania.
B e i n g r a b i d anti-communists, t h e y i n n o w a y
w e l c o m e d the f o r m a t i o n of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of
A l b a n i a a n d its p r o g r a m p r o c l a i m e d i n the Resolution.
These elements, together w i t h the fascists, called
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a «a p a r t y of foreigners
and not of A l b a n i a n s » , «a p a r t y of Slavs, Russians,
etc., a n d not of A l b a n i a n s » . T h e y described the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r as «a c r a z y war, w i t h o u t prospects and h a r m f u l to A l b a n i a » . T h e y said that the
leaders of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a and the
A n t i - f a s c i s t W a r w e r e «hotheaded youths w h o do not
k n o w h o w to conduct politics», a n d spread a thousand
other slanderous r u m o u r s .
T h i s was the s i t u a t i o n at that t i m e amongst this
collection of i n d i v i d u a l s , a situation w h i c h the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a a n d its leadership studied
m a n y times b o t h d u r i n g 1942 a n d later.
D u r i n g this p e r i o d the P a r t y also h a d t o c a r r y
29
out a s i m i l a r study in regard to religious beliefs in
A l b a n i a . W e analysed the religious beliefs i n t w o d i rections: the concrete influence of r e l i g o n among t h e
broad masses of the people, and the danger f r o m the
religious hierarchy. I s h a l l not go into these analyses
at length, but it is necessary to define certain m a i n
features o n w h i c h the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e o f the C P A
based itself in its w o r k w i t h the masses i m m e d i a t e l y
after the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y a n d t h r o u g h the
whole period of the W a r .
It is k n o w n that there w e r e three religious b e l i e f s
in our c o u n t r y : the M o s l e m faith, w h i c h was the most
widespread, the O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n faith, w h i c h r a n ked second, and the R o m a n Catholic faith, less w i d e spread, was centered in S h k o d r a a n d extended to t h e
highlands of Shkodra, to L e z h a and d o w n to D u r r ë s ,
where there was a bishopric. In A l b a n i a there w e r e
also some M o s l e m believers i n c l u d e d in m i n o r sects,
w i t h o u t influence among the people, w i t h the e x c e p tion of the B e k t a s h i sect.
In regard to the clergy, their influence was as f o l l o w s : the Catholic priests, irrespective of their various
«orders», such as Jesuites, Franciscans, etc., w e r e m e n
without a H o m e l a n d w h o depended on the V a t i c a n
even for the smallest t h i n g . In A l b a n i a , as in o t h e r
countries of the Catholic w o r l d , the C a t h o l i c C h u r c h
h a d the same p y r a m i d organization, the same o r g a nization of churches, parishes, monasteries, r e l i g i o u s
or state schools, the same rites and l i t u r g y , the same m e thod and style of w o r k in general. T h e i r incomes, t h e i r
salaries and e v e r y t h i n g else came f r o m t h e i r p l u n d e r
of the believers in the forms of donations, or e v e n
30
t h r o u g h c o m p e l l i n g their believers to bequeath their
l i q u i d a n d f i x e d assets to the C h u r c h .
A l l the c l e r g y m e n o f the Catholic C h u r c h , f r o m
the upper one d o w n to the deacons and p a r i s h priests,
were l e a r n e d people w h o had gone t h r o u g h theological
schools w i t h i r o n discipline, h a d learned the methods
and tricks of suppressing the w i l l of people through
the fear of G o d , C h r i s t and the apostles. T h e Catholic
believers h a d to obey the c h u r c h perinde ac cadaver*.
The spider's w e b had entangled the believers i n t h e
laws of the church, the canons a n d laws of the
reactionary bourgeoisie, and these w e r e a l l a collection of chains w h i c h b o u n d and oppressed the believers. T h e C a t h o l i c C h u r c h a n d its clergy w e r e e x t r e m ely obscurantist and conservative, as w e l l as adaptable and f l e x i b l e w h e n necessary, but always i n
alliance w i t h the reactionary regimes l i k e those of
P r i n c e W i e d ( 1 ) a n d A h m e t Z o g (indeed, t h e y d i d not
f a i l to p o k e t h e i r fingers into the bourgeois-democratic regime of F a n Noli), as w e l l as w i t h e v e r y foreign
occupier of A l b a n i a , i n c l u d i n g the A u s t r o - H u n g a r i a n s ,
the Italian fascists and the G e r m a n nazis.
O n l y our regime of the dictatorship of the proletariat p u t an e n d to the e v i l , reactionary and collaborationist a c t i v i t y of the C a t h o l i c C h u r c h .
B u t let u s not depart f r o m the p e r i o d that w e
are analysing. T h i s w a s the situation in the h i e r a r c h y
_____________________________________
* as a dead body (Latin in the original)
in this context,
blindly.
1 W i l h e l m v o n W i e d , G e r m a n prince, a tool in the hands
of the imperialist powers. In F e b r u a r y 1914 the G r e a t P o w e r s
proclaimed
him
«Prince
of
Albania».
M a r c h to September 1914.
31
His
rule
lasted
from
of the Catholic f a i t h and its believers in this historical
period. T h e senior priests w e r e double agents of the
V a t i c a n and the Italian occupiers. F o r us, however, for
t h e N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, there was a b r o a d f i e l d ,
the people of the N o r t h , the Catholic laiety. T h e r e
w e r e also some poor members of the l o w e r clergy,
who, f o l l o w i n g in the footsteps of outstanding figures
of our national cause and c u l t u r e s u c h as B u d i and
Bogdani, N d r e M j e d a and Shtjefën G j e ç o v i , m i g h t n o w
l i s t e n to w h a t we had to say, because t h e y l i v e d closer
to the sufferings and problems of the people. In these
directions we were to w o r k and m a k e progress.
T h e M o s l e m r e l i g i o n a n d its h i e r a r c h y w e r e not
a serious obstacle to the struggle against the Italian
occupiers as the Catholic r e l i g i o n was. E v e n before
t h e occupation of the country, but s t i l l more so after
it, the h i e r a r c h y of the M o s l e m r e l i g i o n was weak,
w i t h o u t a n y experience to w o r r y us. T h e mosques
existed. T h e y had a hodja, b u t those w h o practised
the religion were v e r y few. T h e rites h a d been a b a n doned, no marriages w e r e conducted according to the
S h e r i a t and e v e r y t h i n g else, such as the observance of
R a m a d a n and the feast of B a j r a m , h a d become r o u tine customs w h i c h w e r e practised here a n d there in
certain regions m o s t l y « f r o m force of habit.» T h e
hodjas were a l l ignorant, none of t h e m was able to
propagate the philosophy, ethics a n d the m o r a l i t y of
t h e K o r a n , and no one understood the K o r a n , because
it was recited in a foreign language (Arabic). A l t h o u g h
the hodjas were conservative in their customs t h e y
h a d neither the a b i l i t y n o r the p o l i t i c a l capacity to
e x e r t a n y influence t h r o u g h the Islamic thought. T h e
32
broad masses of the people w e r e v i r t u a l l y liberated
f r o m the bonds of religion, the development of the
intellect of the M o s l e m believers was more extensive,
and there was m u c h greater l i b e r a l i s m a n d tolerance.
Hence, the w o r k of the P a r t y in arousing the people
to f i g h t encountered almost no serious obstacle in this
direction.
A m o n g the B e k t a s h i sect, also, a large proportion
of the believers t r a d i t i o n a l l y have displayed patrioti s m and have fought for the l i b e r a t i o n of A l b a n i a .
T h e situation was s i m i l a r w i t h the O r t h o d o x
C h r i s t i a n f a i t h , too, b o t h in the h i e r a r c h y of the
c h u r c h a n d a m o n g the believers.
H i s t o r i c a l l y , a section of the O r t h o d o x priests, esp e c i a l l y the s i m p l e priests in the villages a n d even some
in the cities, those w h o l i v e d close to the people, w h o
after religious services l a i d aside t h e i r priest's hats to
take up the hoe or some other tool to do some work, have
fought a n d s t r i v e n b o t h to g a i n the independence of
the C h u r c h and, especially, to introduce the A l b a n i a n
language into the c h u r c h services. It is self-evident
that these efforts of theirs w o u l d r u n into opposition
f r o m the P a t r i a r c h a t e of Constantinople and later,
especially f r o m the reactionary G r e e k C h u r c h , a n d
it was by no means rare for the latter to c o m m i t
monstrous crimes against patriotic priests w h o l o v e d
the people, the H o m e l a n d and the A l b a n i a n language,
w h o w a n t e d the independence of the A l b a n i a n C h u r c h .
T h e i r efforts and aims in these directions, in the
historical context, had great v a l u e and w e r e expressions and components of the struggle for i n d e p e n d ence w h i c h was waged i n a l l the A l b a n i a n territories.
33
O u r people honoured and respected these m a r t y r s , not
s i m p l y of the C h u r c h but of the cause of A l b a n i a .
T h e y include P a p a K r i s t o Negovani, F a t h e r S t a t h
Melani, Dhimitër Misha, Papa Llambro Ballamaçi and
others who, l i k e other outstanding patriots w h o strove
for the A l b a n i a n language and school, N a u m V e q i l h a r x h i , Petro N i n i L u a r a s i , K o t o H o x h i , P a n d e l i S o t i r i and tens of others, were poisoned or m u r d e r e d
i n the most barbarous w a y s b y the G r e e k P a r t r i a r c h ate.
T h e «reasons» f o r w h i c h the G r e e k c l e r i c a l r e a c t i o n acted in that w a y towards these patriots w e r e
astonishingly c y n i c a l ! It m u r d e r e d a n d e l i m i n a t e d
t h e m s i m p l y because these sons of A l b a n i a n s p r o c l a i m e d that t h e y w e r e A l b a n i a n s , that t h e y w a n t e d A l b a n i a n spoken in the c h u r c h just as in the homes, t h e
streets, fields a n d the schools, m u r d e r e d t h e m because
they defended the legitimate right of the people to
their territories. In reality, however, b e h i n d the «reasons» and «religious motives» of the bishops l u r k e d
p o l i t i c a l motives a n d aims, the t e r r i t o r i a l a m b i t i o n s
o f G r e e k chauvinists towards A l b a n i a . T h i s a n t i - A l b a n i a n c h a u v i n i s m was so unrestrained that it « l i n k e d »
its t e r r i t o r i a l pretensions w i t h and «based» t h e m on
the extension of the O r t h o d o x r e l i g i o n ! T h e i r c h a u v i n i s t blindness w e n t so f a r that reactionary bishops
d i d not want to see that the O r t h o d o x r e l i g i o n e x tended not o n l y to certain zones on the border of
our t e r r i t o r y w i t h Greece ( w h i c h include the villages
of the G r e e k m i n o r i t y w i t h about 20,000 inhabitants
i n the first years o f the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
a n d about 50,000 inhabitants today), but this r e l i g i o n ,
34
l i k e the M o s l e m religion, extended a l l over A l b a n i a ,
to precincts and regions of G j i r o k a s t r a , Saranda, P ë r met, K o r ç a , V l o r a , Tepelena, Fier, L u s h n j a , Berat,
Elbasan, Durrës, T i r a n a and so o n ! P r e c i s e l y on the
basis of this absurd logic, certain reactionary bishops
of G r e a t - G r e e k c h a u v i n i s m pretend that 400 thousand
A l b a n i a n citizens, f o r m e r l y l i n k e d w i t h the O r t h o d o x
religion, are Greeks. Hence, w e r e the r e l i g i o n to be
the basis f o r d e t e r m i n i n g the national i d e n t i t y of a
people, according to this crazy logic of the c h a u v i n i s t
bishops, more t h a n h a l f of A l b a n i a w o u l d belong to
Greece (!), a t h i n g w h i c h the G r e e k chauvinists, the
champions of G r e a t e r Greece (1) have always dreamed
of and demanded. P r e c i s e l y in f a v o u r of these dreams
of occupation and a n n e x a t i o n t h e y h a d persecuted
and m u r d e r e d o u r honoured patriots, i n c l u d i n g p a t r i otic priests a n d believers, w h o h a d risen, together
w i t h t h e i r brothers o f the M o s l e m and Catholic r e l i gions, to defend the t e r r i t o r i a l i n t e g r i t y of A l b a n i a
f r o m the annexationist appetites of n e i g h b o u r i n g c h a u vinists.
Hence, this close c o m b i n a t i o n of the cause of t h e
C h u r c h a n d r e l i g i o n w i t h the n a t i o n a l cause, g i v i n g
p r i o r i t y to the latter, h a d brought about that not o n l y
the l a i e t y of the O r t h o d o x f a i t h but also most of t h e
simple priests, w e r e brought u p and educated w i t h
the f e e l i n g of patriotism.
__________________________________
1 Ideological
platform
of
the
chauvinistic
Greek
big
bourgeoisie w h i c h sought to create a great empire i n c l u d i n g
a good part of the B a l k a n P e n i n s u l a , w h i c h was considered
G r e e k only because it was of C h r i s t i a n O r t h o d o x faith.
35
So, the P a r t y had the question of religious beliefs at the centre of its attention d u r i n g the w h o l e
period of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r , b u t also after
the war, because in order to arouse the people to
f i g h t for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d a n d b u i l d
a n e w A l b a n i a we had to a v o i d h u r t i n g t h e i r feelings.
In regard to the intelligentsia, extensive, q u a l i f i e d ,
differentiated w o r k at various levels h a d to be done.
In general, the t e r r a i n of the w o r k w i t h the intellectuals was suitable. T h e exception to this were the top
officials, w h o not o n l y accepted fascism b u t also secu r e d f i n e m a t e r i a l gains f r o m it. In general, «cultured»
officials of this category were corrupted by a l l the
regimes, and w e r e among the f i r s t w h o w i l l i n g l y
enrolled in the « A l b a n i a n » Fascist P a r t y set up by
the occupiers.
However, generally speaking, the intelligentsia of
our c o u n t r y was patriotic, anti-fascist, and opposed
to the occupation of the country, therefore, the P a r t y
was to give great importance to this s t r a t u m of the
people, too, because by means of it, the p a t r i o t i s m of
the boys a n d girls w o u l d become more a n d more t e m pered and encouraged.
S u c h w i d e - r a n g i n g and detailed analyses of s i tuations, the ratio of forces, etc., w e r e the f r u i t of
debates w h i c h we h e l d in the meetings of the leadership, i n meetings w i t h comrades o f the P a r t y i n the
capital or f r o m the t e r r a i n . T h e y w e r e a great assistance in our day-to-day and f u t u r e w o r k , because the
first and indispensable t h i n g in order to accomplish
our tasks as communists, that is, as leaders of the m a s ses, was to orientate ourselves c o r r e c t l y in that d i f 36
f i c u l t situation of enslavement, terror, intrigues a n d
s p i r i t u a l a n d p h y s i c a l sufferings and hardships w h i c h
had descended u p o n o u r people.
Thus, its unshakeable l o y a l t y to and f a i t h in the
r e v o l u t i o n a r y theory of. the proletariat as w e l l as its
thorough k n o w l e d g e of the r e a l i t y of o u r c o u n t r y
were t w o f u n d a m e n t a l factors w h i c h enabled o u r
P a r t y to determine a correct line, to give precise i n structions on ideological, p o l i t i c a l and organizational
matters i n c l u d i n g b u i l d i n g the m i l i t a n t u n i t y of the
masses a r o u n d the p r o g r a m of the P a r t y and a l l the
other problems.
In speaking about these analyses and studies
w h i c h the P a r t y c a r r i e d out and o n w h i c h i t relied,
it should n e v e r be thought that f i r s t we w a i t e d u n t i l
these w e r e c a r r i e d out i n complete and f i n a l f o r m a n d
then began the w o r k w i t h the masses, or that we
charged w o r k i n g groups or m o b i l i z e d specialists and
experts to do t h e m . No, the «specialists», the « w o r k i n g groups», w e r e we ourselves, a l l the communists,
f r o m the r a n k - a n d - f i l e members to the m a i n leaders,
w h o acquainted ourselves w i t h and s u m m e d u p the
situations along w i t h the concrete day-to-day w o r k .
A l l of us, then, f r o m the m a i n leaders and cadres
of the P a r t y to the o r d i n a r y members, set about this
great task w i t h determination. N o w , after the f o u n d ing o f the P a r t y , the v e r y situation i n w h i c h w e
w e r e obliged to l i v e a n d f i g h t helped us to enter more
w i d e l y into contact w i t h the w o r k i n g people. A l m o s t
a l l of us were sons and daughters of the w o r k i n g people,
m a n y of us w e r e i l l e g a l and as such we spent the days
and nights in the poor quarters, going f r o m one house
37
to the other, amongst the c o m m o n folk, workers, a n d
craftsmen, some of w h o m were u n e m p l o y e d or p l i e d
their trade f r o m their homes. E v e r y w h e r e w e w e r e
s u r r o u n d e d and protected by the love a n d care of the
o r d i n a r y people for o u r fate a n d we felt that in essence this was an expression of the love a n d concern
of the people f o r the fate of the c o u n t r y .
B a s i n g ourselves o n this situation, w e w o r k e d
a n d instructed a l l the comrades to e x p l o i t e v e r y possible opportunity, personal acquaintance a n d f r i e n d ship, celebrations, funerals, weddings, chance or o r ganized meetings, and, y o u m i g h t say, in a n a t u r a l
a n d d a i l y conversation w i t h the masses w e propagated
the l i n e a n d p r o g r a m of the P a r t y at e v e r y moment.
A n d the fact is that w h a t we said was r e a d i l y accepted, because we touched on the most sensitive
p r o b l e m of the nation. W a r against the occupier, war,
merciless w a r against the occupier a n d t r a i t o r s ! —
that is w h a t the communists and o u r sympathizers
propagated day and n i g h t and, of course, this c o u l d
not f a i l to w a r m the hearts of o u r people w h o have
always distinguished themselves as great fighters f o r
the cause of freedom.
T h i s intensive propaganda, d a y b y day, b y w o r d
of mouth, w i t h leaflets, communiques a n d appeals,
was made clearer, more credible a n d acceptable to
the people, because the communists accompanied their
words w i t h deeds. T h e y were propagandists a n d f i g h t ers at the same time, they attacked fascism a n d w e r e
pursued by fascism. T h i s c o u l d not f a i l to m a k e a
p r o f o u n d impression on the masses. O u r comrades in
the cities fought, organized actions, acts of sabotage,
38
executed enemies, at a t i m e w h e n the r i f l e f i r e of
g u e r i l l a units a n d partisan çetas w a s being heard i n creasingly e v e r y w h e r e . T h e hatred a n d f u r y of the
fascists was unleashed u p o n the communists w i t h
greater savagery and, of course, the love a n d trust of
the people was b o u n d to be directed more and more
each d a y towards us, the sons of the people, w h o
called a n d w o r k e d for the creation of the patriotic
u n i t y of the w h o l e people in the f i g h t against fascism.
H e r e it is d i f f i c u l t to m e n t i o n and to reproduce
concrete occasions, because these w e r e conversations
w i t h the people, w i t h tens and hundreds of i n d i v i d u a l s
f r o m the poor quarters of towns and villages a l l over
A l b a n i a . It m u s t be said that w i t h this category of
people, that is, w i t h the c o m m o n folk, no problems
arose f o r us d u r i n g our talks, there was no need at
a l l to m a k e special efforts h o w to present matters, to
f i n d out w h a t unexpected t h i n g the person we were
t a l k i n g t o m i g h t come out w i t h , h o w w e w o u l d r e p l y
if he dodged the issue or raised this or that « d e l i cate» question, etc. No, we reserved this great effort
for p r i o r preparation for another category of people,
for those types w h o posed as «patriots», as great «politicians», b u t w h o waged the «war» in cafes w i t h
spectacles t i p p e d on their noses and coffee and cake
on the tables in front of them. W i t h the people we
spoke openly, w i t h o u t a n y fear that we m i g h t touch
on something that should not be mentioned, and
rather t h a n w o r k to «convince» them, this was a c o n sultation w i t h the people to talk about common p r o b lems. In these unforgettable meetings we learned f r o m
one another; we w e r e astonished at the almost i r r e 39
strainable desire of the o r d i n a r y people to rise in the
fight, to liberate the H o m e l a n d «tomorrow» if possible. N a t u r a l l y , f r o m the w i d e range of talks w i t h
the people the P a r t y gathered facts, learned the s i tuation better, felt the pulse of the time, the l e v e l of
the r e v o l u t i o n a r y situation. A s this situation was m a t u r i n g more and more, more and more the people
openly expressed their s y m p a t h y w i t h a n d love f o r
the communists. T h e s p i r i t of the people, t h i r s t i n g f o r
freedom and ready to fight, convinced us that we were
on the right road and i m p e l l e d us to w o r k harder f o r
the accomplishment of our decided p r o g r a m .
In the w o r k w i t h the people we felt at ease, saw
ourselves on our home g r o u n d and spoke to t h e m v e r y
s i m p l y and c l e a r l y : we are going to wage the war, in
the course of the f i g h t i n g we s h a l l organize ourselves,
W i l l strengthen this organization and, w h e n w e d r i v e
out the Italians or a n y other occupier, together w i t h
t h e m w e w i l l get r i d o f a l l those traitors w h o p r e pared the occupation and w h o n o w oppress us, f i g h t
us, and are g r o w i n g fat at our expense. WE s h a l l decide w h a t we are going to do, and w h e n we say « W E »
we have in m i n d not s i m p l y ourselves as communists,
but a l l of you, the w h o l e people, w h o gave b i r t h to
us and raised us.
Thus, w h a t we said settled into place l i k e a w e l l fitted stone and we felt that w h e n a n y door of the
people was opened to us, their hearts h a d been opened
to us first; we w e r e convinced that w h e n everyone,
k n o w n and u n k n o w n , sheltered a n d protected us, it
meant that they, the thousands, the people, w e r e w i t h
us, w i t h the P a r t y .
40
T h e P a r t y devoted the greatest care and attention
to this w o r k w h i c h steadily increased. In e v e r y m e e t ing of the cells as w e l l as in the leading organs of
the P a r t y , the w o r k w i t h the masses was a question
w h i c h w o u l d be reported on and discussed, it f i g u r e d
on e v e r y agenda. If y o u look over the documents of
that period, w h i c h refer to the m a i n meetings after
the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y , or the reports w h i c h we
sought a n d i n f o r m a t i o n m a t e r i a l w h i c h came to us
f r o m a l l the regional committees and f r o m a l l parts
of the country, y o u w i l l see that the p r o b l e m of l i n k ing up w i t h the masses, to w i n the support of the
masses, to u n i t e t h e m in a steel unity, was one of
the m a i n problems discussed. It w a s no accident for
example, that the first, the most i m p o r t a n t m e e t i n g
held after the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y , the F i r s t C o n s u l tative M e e t i n g o f the A c t i v i s t s o f the C P A i n A p r i l
1942, (1) centered on the analysis of o u r w o r k for establishing l i n k s w i t h the masses of workers, peasants,
the youth, the w o m e n a n d a l l to w h o m the question of
the f r e e d o m a n d independence of the H o m e l a n d w a s
dear. L i k e w i s e , at the Special Conference of the P a r t y
in J u n e 1942, at other meetings at national level, too,
as w e l l as at the meetings of the regional committees,
or the frequent meetings of the C e n t r a l Committee,
we had made it an inviolable r u l e to report one by
one, w i t h o u t exception, on w h a t we had done, w h a t
we h a d achieved, and w h a t r e m a i n e d to be done f o r
u n i t i n g the patriotic masses a r o u n d the P a r t y in the
_________________________________
1 Enver
Hoxha,
Selected
Works,
vol.
1,
«8
P u b l i s h i n g House, T i r a n a 1974, pp. 3-30, E n g . ed.
41
Nëntori»
f i g h t for freedom. O b v i o u s l y v e r y m u c h more r e m a i n ed to be done. On this v i t a l question we d i d not p e r m i t a n y laxity, a n y deviation. As a result of this wise,
organized w o r k w h i c h the P a r t y c a r r i e d out, the fact
is that the n u m b e r of w o r k e r s in the towns w i t h some
sort of i n d u s t r i a l development w h o joined the P a r t y
or were l i n k e d w i t h it, increased continuously. In the
direction of the countryside, too, results h a d been
achieved and in a n u m b e r of districts, especially in
C e n t r a l and S o u t h e r n A l b a n i a , the peasantry e x p r e s sed itself in f a v o u r of the line of the P a r t y and was
d i s p l a y i n g readiness to take up arms.
In connection w i t h b r i n g i n g the peasantry into
the F r o n t and i n c l u d i n g it in the a r m e d struggle,
amongst others there were t w o special d i f f i c u l t i e s
w h i c h emerged for us. F i r s t of all, there was the quest i o n of the influence w h i c h the bayraktars a n d p s e u do-patriotic elements h a d in the countryside; besides
this, it was essential to i m p l a n t in every c o m m u n i s t
the complete conviction that the basis of the F r o n t
for w h i c h we were f i g h t i n g w o u l d be the alliance of
the w o r k i n g class w i t h the peasantry, especially w i t h
the poor and m i d d l e peasantry. A l t h o u g h the m a j o r i t y
of the communists w e r e clear about this task, some
s t i l l n u r t u r e d the v i e w , long since rejected, that the
F r o n t w o u l d be created on the basis of an agreement
w i t h the nationalist chiefs and that the p a r t i c i p a t i o n
of the peasant masses in the w a r w o u l d come about
automatically f r o m this agreement. T h e r e w e r e occasions w h e n these v i e w s were expressed quite openly.
That is w h a t occurred, for example, in December
1941, at the 1st Conference of the P a r t y O r g a n i z a t i o n
42
of T i r a n a in w h i c h I took part as a delegate of the
C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e . T h e C e n t r a l Committee placed
great importance on this conference, w h i c h was h e l d
in the home of B i j e V o k s h i , of course in secrecy, a n d
in w h i c h about t w e n t y people took part, because the
w e i g h t of the P a r t y O r g a n i z a t i o n of T i r a n a w o u l d be
the greatest.
W h e n w e w e r e discussing the problems o f l i n k i n g up w i t h the masses, amongst others, a comrade
got up a n d raised the question that the w o r k in the
countryside presented m a n y d i f f i c u l t i e s and, accordi n g to h i m , to convince the masses of poor a n d m i d d l e
peasants to t h r o w themselves into the f i g h t w o u l d r e q u i r e a long time.
« W h a t do y o u t h i n k then,» I interjected, «should
we achieve the u n i t y of the people w i t h o u t the peasantry?»
« M y opinion,» r e p l i e d this comrade, «is that we
as a P a r t y , s h o u l d w o r k and w i n over the g e n t r y of
the village, the nationalists w h o have influence in the
village. If we have the g e n t r y w i t h us, t h e n the peasa n t r y w i l l f o l l o w us, too.»
Today, such a presentation of the question w o u l d
astonish even a school p u p i l , but at that time, such
v i e w s were s t i l l widespread. T h e b u l k of those p a r t i c i p a t i n g in the conference opposed this w r o n g idea.
Nevertheless, seeing that it f o u n d an echo in some
other comrades a n d k n o w i n g w h a t a danger such a
v i e w presented to the line of the P a r t y , I considered
it reasonable to m a k e a long interpolation to e x p l a i n
the p o l i t i c a l and ideological line of the P a r t y about
43
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r i n the clearest possible
terms. I r e p l i e d to the p a r t i c u l a r comrade s o m e w h a t
sternly, because the question itself was serious.
«To present the question in this way,» I said in
essence, «means not to be clear on w h a t a c o m m u n i s t
party, a p a r t y of the w o r k i n g class, is. O u r P a r t y is
the p a r t y of the masses and its strength, I repeat, lies
i n the masses. O u r P a r t y w i l l c e r t a i n l y appeal t o a n d
w o r k w i t h great patience to m a k e a l l the elements,
strata and social classes, i n c l u d i n g the gentry, conscious and m o b i l i z e t h e m i n the great w a r f o r t h e
freedom of the H o m e l a n d . B u t it is one t h i n g to w o r k
to mobilize the g e n t r y of the v i l l a g e in the F r o n t and
i n the w a r l i k e the w h o l e people, and another t h i n g
to base y o u r hopes for the u n i f i c a t i o n of the masses
on the influence of the gentry. Therefore, we cannot
do our w o r k w i t h the masses by m a k i n g agreements
and deals w i t h the chiefs w h o have more or less i n fluence i n the village. O u r P a r t y does not b u y its i n fluence a n d a u t h o r i t y f r o m others and, least of a l l ,
f r o m the gentry, but w i n s i t t h r o u g h w o r k and s t r u g gle, f r o m its direct l i n k s w i t h the masses, by e x p l a i n i n g its p r o g r a m and aims to the masses. In the r e l a tions between our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y and the peasantry
there is no r o o m f o r ' t h i r d parties', because the social
base o n w h i c h the P a r t y w i l l r e l y i n the l i b e r a t i o n
w a r and the social r e v o l u t i o n w i l l be the workers, the
peasants and the honest intellectuals, a n d not the
aghas and beys, the merchants and landowners or t h e
pseudo-patriotic lawyers.»
In this way, by safeguarding the p r i n c i p l e s a n d
44
correct l i n e of the P a r t y , correcting the shortcomings
a n d attacking the distorted v i e w s and, above all, by
w o r k i n g intensively, the base of the P a r t y g r e w stead i l y stronger a n d its l i n k s w i t h the people were
ceaselessly extended.
R i g h t f r o m the outset, the P a r t y devoted p a r t i c u l a r care especially to the w o r k w i t h the A l b a n i a n
y o u t h , who, w i t h their inexhaustible energy, e n t h u siasm and v i t a l i t y and l o f t y m o r a l qualities, were to
be the most active s t r i k i n g force in the w a r for l i b eration. N o t fortuitously, on the i n i t i a t i v e of the
P r o v i s i o n a l C e n t r a l Committee, a f e w days after the
f o u n d i n g of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a , the o r g a n i z a t i o n of the C o m m u n i s t Y o u t h was set up, a n d
not f o r t u i t o u s l y the P a r t y appointed one of its finest
members, one of its most m a t u r e a n d glorious leaders,
Q e m a l Stafa, to head it. T h e objective of the P a r t y in
the w o r k w i t h the y o u t h was to b r i n g the y o u t h as
close as possible to the c o m m u n i s t ideas a n d the P a r ty, to prepare t h e m ideologically and p o l i t i c a l l y and
to organize t h e m f o r resistance and w a r against the
occupiers. We communists h a d set ourselves this great
objective i n the t i m e w h e n w e m i l i t a t e d i n different
groups, b u t n o w that we h a d f o r m e d the P a r t y , the
w o r k w i t h the y o u t h was placed o n sounder and more
scientific foundations. We took into account the fact
that the y o u t h also h a d its o w n class composition,
that the y o u t h l i v e d among and came into contact
w i t h worker, peasant and intellectual families and,
f o r this reason, t h e y could and must become t r a n s m i t ters of the w o r d of the P a r t y , agitators for its m i l i tant p r o g r a m .
45
So, another objective of our w o r k was that t h r o u g h
the y o u t h we should spread and strengthen the idea
of the resistance a n d the w a r against the fascist occupiers and t h e i r collaborators among the broad m a s ses of the people, should strengthen the o p i n i o n on
the necessity of resistance w i t h i n the families by
means of the y o u n g people, so that cohesion of the
anti-fascist p o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n w o u l d be created a n d the
elderly, the parents, w o u l d be l i n k e d w i t h the y o u t h ,
w i t h their o w n sons and daughters. T h e P a r t y b e l i e v ed, a n d time c o n f i r m e d this, that the y o u t h , w i t h t h e i r
i n c l i n a t i o n to embrace e v e r y t h i n g n e w a n d progressive, w o u l d not o n l y s p r i n g into the f r o n t r a n k s of
the anti-fascist war, but w o u l d understand the e v e r
n e w ideas of m i l i t a n t c o m m u n i s m and w o u l d defend
t h e m w i t h conviction, courage a n d heroism, a n d t h a t
the communists and cadres of the P a r t y , those w h o
applied and propagated its program, w o u l d emerge
f r o m their ranks.
The C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the P a r t y instructed
the leading comrades of the y o u t h that w o r k w i t h the
masses must be intensified in this direction, too, that
l i k e the members of the P a r t y and the honest patriots,
the youth, too, should go among the masses, become
acquainted w i t h them, s h o u l d do their utmost to
make contact, to talk w i t h them, to e x p l a i n to t h e m
and to evaluate e v e r y t h i n g , even some v e r y m i n o r
w o r k w h i c h i n appearance had n o value, but w h i c h
created i n the i n d i v i d u a l w i t h w h o m t h e y w e r e w o r k ing the feeling that he «was d o i n g something f o r the
Homeland». I gave this advice to M i s t o M a m e , M i h a l
D u r i , P e r l a t R e x h e p i (when he left the house w h e r e
46
we h a d just f o r m e d the P a r t y for Shkodra) and to
other comrades.
T h e w o r k of the P a r t y had a colossal effect. By
a c h i e v i n g these m a j o r objectives the P a r t y opened
the w a y to w i n the hearts a n d m i n d s of the y o u t h ,
just as it was w i n n i n g the love, respect and trust of
workers, peasants and a l l honest people.
T h e enemy understood the a i m of the P a r t y a n d
it m u s t be acknowledged that it f o u n d itself in d i f ficulties. It used both demagogy and terror, but a l l in
v a i n . T h e dopolavoro, (1) the «cultural» clubs, the p r o p a ganda t h r o u g h the press, radio, f i l m s a n d books, the
fascist organizations for the y o u t h and children, t h i s
whole arsenal of ideological and p o l i t i c a l diversion
was i n s u f f i c i e n t to d i v e r t the A l b a n i a n youth, the
l o v e l y f l o w e r of the people, f r o m the r o a d of h o n o u r
and b r a v e r y . T h e sons and daughters of A l b a n i a were
not t a k e n in by the promises of fascists, but f o l l o w e d
Q e m a l and V o j o [Kushi], P e r l a t and M a r g a r i t a [ T u t u lani], and other heroes of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r . No section of the A l b a n i a n youth, f r o m the
worker, school and intellectual y o u t h to the y o u t h of
the countryside, w h e r e at f i r s t w o r k proceeded w i t h
d i f f i c u l t y , r e m a i n e d outside the sphere of the w o r k
of the P a r t y for education and m o b i l i z a t i o n .
Thus, the w o r k e r and peasant y o u t h were the
m a i n objective of the w o r k of o u r P a r t y , thereby correcting the tendency of the p e r i o d of groups w h i c h
had concentrated the w o r k w i t h the y o u t h m a i n l y o n
__________________________________
1 Fascist
centres
which
«organized
in order to deceive the w o r k i n g people.
47
free-time
activities»
the school y o u t h . N a t u r a l l y , the P a r t y w o r k e d w i t h
them, too, not o n l y because they w o u l d m a k e their
c o n t r i b u t i o n in a w a r where every person a n d e v e r y
r i f l e counted, but also because they w o u l d be the f u t u re intellectual cadres w h i c h the H o m e l a n d w o u l d need
after L i b e r a t i o n . I n the w o r k w i t h the school y o u t h
we d i d not concentrate o n l y on the p u p i l s of the secondary schools of the country, w h o in general were
strongly l i n k e d w i t h the communists a n d w e r e some
of the most active participants in the demonstrations
and actions, b u t we also devoted special attention to
those u n i v e r s i t y students w h o w e r e c o n t i n u i n g t h e i r
studies abroad. T h r o u g h its members the P a r t y called
on the students to abandon the fascist schools, to b o y cott the U n i o n of A l b a n i a n Fascist U n i v e r s i t y Y o u t h , (1)
f o r m e d by the Italians, to h u r l themselves in the s t r u g gle against fascism and its salaried m i n i o n s . M o s t
of t h e m responded to the c a l l of the P a r t y , because
they themselves were l i n k e d w i t h the people, especially those w h o came f r o m families w h i c h were not
well-to-do and w i t h a b u r s a r y obtained t h r o u g h a
thousand efforts, and w i t h the odd bit of m o n e y
w h i c h they received f r o m home, continued t h e i r
higher studies in Italy or some other country. In c o n nection w i t h this I remember a m e e t i n g w h i c h I had
w i t h a u n i v e r s i t y student at that time.
One d a y I happened to be in the base, no. 66,
Shëngjergj Street, together w i t h Q e m a l Stafa. If I am
not m i s t a k e n it was A p r i l 1942 (just after the C o n _________________________________
1 Organization
which
the
fascist
c o r r u p t the A l b a n i a n university youth.
48
occupiers
created
to
sultative M e e t i n g of the A c t i v i s t s of the P a r t y ) a n d I
h a d gone there dressed as a painter a n d equipped
w i t h the brushes a n d other tools of the «trade». We
had just begun to talk w h e n B i j e V o k s h i came in
and t o l d Q e m a l that a comrade f r o m S h k o d r a h a d
come and w a n t e d to meet h i m .
« W h o is he?» asked Q e m a l and w h e n B i j e t o l d
h i m the comrade's name, he gave her permission to
b r i n g h i m into the r o o m .
W h e n the comrade w h o h a d asked for Q e m a l
came into the r o o m he greeted us.
As soon as Q e m a l saw h i m , he embraced h i m and
asked w h e n he had come f r o m Italy, h o w the c o m rades were, w h e t h e r he h a d met his f a m i l y , and so
on. T h e n e w c o m e r r e p l i e d and began to ask Q e m a l
about his f a m i l y , about V a s i l and other a c q u a i n t a n ces w h o were not in the least u n k n o w n to me. As
soon as he was assured by Q e m a l that he could speak
w i t h o u t hesitation i n m y presence, the newcomer f r o m
Italy, w h e r e he was s t u d y i n g medicine, s a i d :
«A group of students w h o are s t u d y i n g in Italy
have sent me here. We have met and decided to r e t u r n
to A l b a n i a . »
T h e comrade t o l d Q e m a l that a short time earlier, one of the A l b a n i a n students, a m e m b e r of the
G r o u p of S h k o d r a , had received a postcard f r o m H a j dar D u s h i w i t h a s u r p r i s i n g text, «your mother is
m i s s i n g you», at a time w h e n his mother h a d long
been dead.
«Then,» the comrade t o l d Qemal, «we said that
something i m p o r t a n t had occurred i n A l b a n i a . W e
called together some comrades f r o m Florence, P a r m a
49
and Siena and decided that I should come here a n d
establish contact w i t h the G r o u p . In Rome,» he w e n t
on, «I met S a m i B a h o l l i w h o read me the R e s o l u t i o n
of the f o r m a t i o n of the P a r t y . T h e comrades i n s t r u c t e d
me to tell y o u that they are ready to come back a n d
go into illegality.»
Qemal, w h o listened attentively, was overjoyed at
the readiness of these y o u n g comrades. I, too, was o v e r joyed, but in order to tease h i m I said to the c o m r a d e :
«A f e w days ago, f i v e or s i x intellectuals here in
T i r a n a promised us t h e y w o u l d go into illegality, b u t
they soon changed their minds.»
Q e m a l t r i e d to hide his smile, because he u n d e r stood my joke, but his comrade t u r n e d on me a l i t t l e
h u r t and r e p l i e d :
« I don't k n o w y o u and y o u don't k n o w me. B u t
Q e m a l k n o w s me and m a n y of o u r comrades there.
These are not e m p t y promises. J u s t say the w o r d
and I guarantee y o u about t h i r t y people, perhaps
even more. We w a n t o n l y one thing, that w h e n we
come here y o u secure the necessary bases and contacts
for us, because we do not k n o w h o w to f i n d o u r bearings and shelter.»
I shook hands w a r m l y w i t h this y o u n g m a n w h o
was called N i k o l l a S h u r b a n i , an old f r i e n d of Qemal's
and a former member of the G r o u p of Shkodra, and
began to ask h i m about the a c t i v i t y w h i c h the A l b a n i a n students had carried out in Italy, about the state
of their morale, the situation in that country, and so
on. I also asked about a n u m b e r of students w h o h a d
been members of the C o m m u n i s t G r o u p of K o r ç a
w h o m I had k n o w n personally. Then, I said to h i m :
50
«We have no doubts about the readiness of our
comrades a n d are sure that t h e y w i l l m a k e a valuable
c o n t r i b u t i o n to the cause of liberation. As to the quest i o n w h i c h y o u raise about r e t u r n i n g t o i l l e g a l i t y i n
A l b a n i a , I t h i n k this s h o u l d be done gradually, according to the concrete orders a n d instructions w h i c h
w e w i l l g i v e y o u a t the proper time.»
W e t a l k e d a l i t t l e longer, t h e n parted w i t h N i k o l l a , w h i l e Q e m a l and I continued our i n t e r r u p t e d
conversation. T h e comrade f r o m S h k o d r a w a s not m i s t a k e n ; the b u l k of o u r students in Italy, as w o r t h y
sons of t h e i r o w n people, responded to the c a l l of
the H o m e l a n d a n d the P a r t y , r e t u r n e d t o A l b a n i a
a n d fought v a l i a n t l y f o r the l i b e r a t i o n of the country.
Thus, the propaganda and organizational w o r k
of the P a r t y was f i n d i n g w i d e support among the
workers, craftsmen, the poor of cities, the peasants
and the y o u t h . W i t h one sure step after another the
anti-fascist patriotic u n i t y of the masses was being
created a r o u n d the P a r t y .
R i g h t f r o m the outset this u n i t y of the people
around the P a r t y began as a m i l i t a n t u n i t y w h i c h
was being created and w o u l d be steeled in the course
of actions, b e g i n n i n g f r o m the simplest up to the G e n eral A r m e d U p r i s i n g .
T h e i n s t r u c t i o n was g i v e n that n o n - P a r t y people
f r o m the r a n k s of k n o w n sympathisers and activists,
especially y o u n g m e n and women, should take part
in actions, acts of sabotage and the e l i m i n a t i o n of
spies, together w i t h the communists. L i k e w i s e , great
importance was g i v e n to the organization e v e r y w h e r e
of mass demonstrations in w h i c h the people, l e d by
51
the communiste by c o m i n g out in streets a n d squares,
by opposing fascism and clashing w i t h the forces of
the regime, w o u l d see what a colossal force t h e y
comprised, w o u l d f u r t h e r strengthen their sense of
u n i t y and f i g h t i n g spirit, a n d also m a k e clear to the
category of pseudo-patriots that t h e y m u s t m a k e up
their m i n d s and decide: either w i t h the people in the
fight against fascism or w i t h fascism in the f i g h t
against the people.
A f t e r the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y s u c h d e m o n s t r a tions w e r e h e l d in a l l parts of the country, just as the
f i r e of partisan rifles began to be h e a r d m o r e a n d
more, the n u m b e r of çeta steadily increased a n d the
ranks were strengthened w i t h forces that came f r o m
t o w n and countryside.
Of course, the fascists were b o u n d to respond to
the stepping up of o u r struggle w i t h greater t e r r o r a n d
more unrestrained savagery. B u t w e w e r e not a f r a i d
of this. T h e w a r c o u l d not be waged otherwise.
P r e c i s e l y w h e n t h r o u g h the tireless w o r k of the
communists and w i t h activities o f e v e r y k i n d w e
were becoming l i n k e d ever more closely w i t h the
people, K o ç o T a s h k o came to a m e e t i n g v e r y « i n censed» and made a «protest»:
«The P a r t y is tending towards sectarianism!» he
said «indignantly». «We are h a r m i n g ourselves and
the people.»
«What are y o u t a l k i n g about?» I asked h i m .
«What is this sectarianism?!»
«The demonstration of A p r i l 7 [1942] in T i r a n a
should not have been held, n o r in D u r r ë s or a n y where else. W h a t d i d w e g a i n b y it? D i d w e o v e r 52
t h r o w fascism?! N o t at a l l ! On the contrary, it became
even more savage and w i l l i n t i m i d a t e the people
w i t h the terror it has launched. Come to y o u r senses,
comrades! T h r o u g h the sectarianism of a f e w we are
r u i n i n g that great w o r k that we are doing day and
night b y t a l k i n g , b y agitation and propaganda!»
It was quite clear: the opportunist and d r a w i n g r o o m «communist» was incapable of understanding the
w o r k w i t h the masses more p r o f o u n d l y or otherwise
than as an agitation by w o r d of m o u t h , agitation
w h i c h he personally and types l i k e h i m carried out
in feeble r o u t i n e ways, and moreover, restricted to
a f e w i n t e l l e c t u a l dandies and cafe politicians.
«No,» I r e p l i e d angrily, « w e ' l l never act according
to y o u r logic. We are f i g h t i n g to w i n over the people,
not s i m p l y w i t h words and by no means just to r e ceive a v e r b a l approval. We don't need just the blessing of the people, but we need their strength, their
dauntless f i g h t i n g spirit. O n l y by getting this colossal force into activity, by c h a n n e l l i n g it correctly and
leading it in actions w i l l the w a r be waged. T h i s is
the o n l y w a y that fascism w i l l be d r i v e n out.»
«I agree in principle, but it is too early f o r demonstrative actions!» continued K o ç o Tashko. «First,
we m u s t convince the people that we are somebody,
so that they trust us, and then we should b r i n g them
out on the streets. Otherwise, w e ' l l lose our h o l d on
t h e m r i g h t away.»
«The people w i l l not s h y a w a y f r o m us because
we lead t h e m into actions, demonstrations and war,»
I said. « T h e y w i l l back a w a y f r o m us o n l y if they see
we're n o t h i n g b u t word-mongers. As for the people
53
being intimidated, this is a s t u p i d judgement a n d f a r
f r o m the t r u t h . T e l l me, w h e r e d o w e f i n d shelter
w h e n the fascists are p u r s u i n g us? W h o protects us,
w h o escorts us f r o m base to base? T h e people, the
people w h o k n o w us a n d are f o l l o w i n g us precisely
because they see that we are b a t t l i n g w i t h the occupier. T h e people are alienated by cowards, by those
w h o o n l y talk, but not by brave fighters.»
We continued the debate for some t i m e and a l l
the comrades strongly opposed K o ç o Tashko's v i e w s .
I must say that, fortunately, w i t h i n the r a n k s of the
P a r t y w e d i d not have t o waste m u c h t i m e w i t h elements w h o h e l d such views, w h o w a n t e d to p l a y at
«peaceful war», w i t h o u t «rifle shots», w i t h o u t a c t i vities, because there were f e w such i n d i v i d u a l s . T h e
people f o l l o w e d us into demonstrations a n d battles,
the people, especially the youth, trusted us and u n i t e d
around the P a r t y precisely because this was the road
of the war, of action, more t h a n for a n y other reason.
W h i l e it s t i l l had not assumed its organizational
forms and its p r o g r a m was not yet f u l l y defined, the
foundations of the A n t i - f a s c i s t F r o n t of the A l b a n i a n
people were being l a i d .
2. Patriots and Pseudo-patriots
R i g h t f r o m the outset o u r P a r t y correctly l a i d
d o w n that the w h o l e people, a l l social classes and
strata, w i t h o u t distinction as to political, ideological,
54
religious and other views, s h o u l d be i n c l u d e d in the
w a r for the salvation of the country. T h e m a i n t h i n g
w h i c h could and m u s t unite these force w a s the stand
towards the f o r e i g n occupiers, the u n c o m p r o m i s i n g
w a r against t h e m . T h i s was the basis on w h i c h the
Anti-fascist National Liberation Front w o u l d be organized, a f r o n t in w h i c h , apart f r o m the w o r k i n g
masses of t o w n a n d countryside, a l l the o t h e r forces
and elements, a l l those w h o w e r e interested in the
freedom and the existence of A l b a n i a and the A l b a n i a n n a t i o n w o u l u d take part. A n d in this context, a
major, w i d e - r a n g i n g job, f r e q u e n t l y e x t r e m e l y c o m plicated a n d wearisome, w a s that w h i c h we h a d to do
w i t h the patriotic elements or those w h o posed as patriots, t h a t is, w i t h a l l those w h o at that time w e r e
called nationalists.
T h e t e r m «nationalist», as we used it in that period, m u s t not be confounded w i t h the m e a n i n g w h i c h
this t e r m has assumed today in p o l i t i c a l literature to
denote elements w i t h bourgeois-nationalist views, as
opposed to the M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t p r i n c i p l e of proletarian
internationalism. T h e t e r m «nationalist» w a s a p p l i e d
to those fighters w h o in past times h a d fought against
foreign occupiers w h o a i m e d to eliminate us as a
nation. P r e c i s e l y f r o m the w o r d «natio» taken f r o m the
L a t i n language, emerged the t e r m «nationalist» w h i c h
w e used d u r i n g the w a r a n d i s f o u n d i n m y w r i t i n g s
of that period.
T h e t r u t h is that this was a t e r m w h i c h included
a wide range of people, f r o m the elements w i t h a p a triotic past and a c t i v i t y to the intellectuals w h o were
55
k n o w n or proclaimed themselves as people w i t h p a triotic and democratic sentiments. Thus, in a certain
sense w i t h the t e r m «nationalist» we made a d i f f e r e n tiation between communists, on the one hand, and
other people w i t h w h o m we h a d contacts a n d w o r k e d .
As early as the time of the c o m m u n i s t groups, b u t
especially after the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y , the w o r k
w i t h the «nationalists» was a sector in w h i c h a l l the
communists w e r e i n v o l v e d . N a t u r a l l y , this w a s done
according to the possibilities w h i c h each m e m b e r had,
according to his social circle of acquaintances a n d r e latives. In the cells to w h i c h we belonged we reported
o n a l l our work, i n c l u d i n g the w o r k w i t h intellectuals
a n d patriots, exchanged opinions a n d consulted one
another about o u r activities. W h e n some m e m b e r e n countered difficulties w i t h the person w i t h w h o m
he h a d been appointed to work, t h e n he h a n d e d over
the job to another comrade a n d f o u n d the w a y to
introduce h i m to that person.
T h e f o r m a l aspect of the w o r k was a p r o b l e m in
itself: y o u had to be introduced to t h e m a n d t h e n to
enter into their circles, to take part in the conversations w h i c h they h e l d and to manage to u n d e r s t a n d
as f a r as possible, for example, w h a t p o l i t i c a l i n c l i n ations a person m i g h t have, h o w far y o u c o u l d go
w i t h h i m , w h e n y o u should g o ahead a n d w h e n y o u
should stop at general conversations in order to disguise
yourself f r o m a spy. Because we s h o u l d not forget
that the regime of Zog, a n d subsequently the fascist
regime, were regimes of spies w h o w a t c h e d a n d saw
w i t h w h o m y o u associated, w i t h w h o m y o u t a l k e d a n d
56
w h a t y o u talked about and w h o «branded» y o u accordingly. F r o m this aspect at that time there h a d to
be both a special strategy and tactics, because amongst
the intellectuals, teachers, professors, merchants and
nationalists, there were good people but also w e a k
ones, as w e l l as a l l k i n d s of rogues d o w n to outright
spies and collaborators of the enemy.
I n the talks w h i c h w e h e l d w i t h them, after w e w e r e
convinced about their predisposition, we put f o r w a r d
o u r stand as communists and as a C o m m u n i s t P a r t y .
O u r f u n d a m e n t a l thesis was that in this grave situation
for the H o m e l a n d a l l A l b a n i a n s h a d a c o m m o n a i m
— the f i g h t against the occupiers for the l i b e r a t i o n of
A l b a n i a . In the face of this imperative d u t y a l l the
differences i n ideological convictions and p o l i t i c a l s y m pathies, religious a n d regional differences, had to take
second place. T h i s was the moment, we c o m m u n i s t s
stressed, w h e n we must reflect deeply on the words
of the patriotic poet (1) that «the r e l i g i o n of the A l b a n i a n
is Albania.»
T h i s w a s one of the most d i f f i c u l t tasks w h i c h the
P a r t y a n d its members, f r o m the leadership to the
i n d i v i d u a l communists, h a d to do. H e r e I am not r e f e r r i n g to the danger that threatened us in this work,
the p o s s i b i l i t y of being spied u p o n or betrayed, or
the p r o b a b i l i t y of the introduction of some agent p r o vacateur element into our ranks. Of course, these
dangers existed, b u t w h a t w o r k could the communists
and honest patriots do w i t h o u t danger? T h e y h a d
_____________________________________
1 P a s h k o V a s a (1825-1892).
57
t a k e n these dangers into account since t h e y h a d e n tered the struggle against a savage, c r u e l and c u n n i n g enemy.
T h e greatest d i f f i c u l t i e s w e r e in another direction,
i n w h i c h mere b r a v e r y d i d not count f o r m u c h , but
w h i c h r e q u i r e d tact, p o l i t i c a l acumen, cool-headedness
a n d prudence. T h e P a r t y comrades h a d to stand up to
great tension, not o n l y physical, b u t also nervous a n d
psychological. W e h a d t o t a l k a n d q u a r r e l for w h o l e
hours, time after time, w i t h a l l k i n d s of blockheads
w h o were not o n l y u n c o n v i n c e d b y o u r correct a r g u ments w h i c h were as clear as the l i g h t of day, b u t
also t r i e d to convince us of the opposite w i t h r i d i c u l o u s
«arguments» and pettifogging s o p h i s t r y ! A p a r t f r o m
other things, it took great patience a n d self-restraint
to a v o i d t e l l i n g these «patriots» b l u n t l y , «To h e l l w i t h
you!». However, the w o r k of the P a r t y a n d the cause
of the w a r demanded something else. Sometimes a
comrade w o u l d come to us seething w i t h disgust to
report about a m e e t i n g w h i c h he h a d h a d and ask us
to relieve h i m of this task and seek o u r a p p r o v a l to
b r a n d this or that person as a traitor. «No!» we w o u l d
t e l l h i m , «the d a y w i l l come w h e n the cup i s f i l l e d
a n d t h e n we s h a l l do this, but meanwhile, c a r r y on
w i t h the work, refute and expose his arguments and
w h e n y o u are convinced that he t r u l y does not w a n t
to fight, then w e ' l l give h i m up as hopeless.»
T h e readers, and especially the
open their eyes and ask w h y such
cessary w i t h these elements, w h o
t h e i r place. Of course, the m o m e n t
58
y o u n g ones, may
niceties w e r e n e should be p u t in
w o u l d come w h e n
the P a r t y and the people w o u l d also t u r n the r i f l e on
a l l those w h o u n i t e d w i t h the nazi-fascists i n words
a n d deeds, but before this, efforts h a d to be made
t o t u r n t h e m f r o m the r o a d o f b e t r a y a l a n d i n v o l v e
t h e m in the w a r against the occupier.
I n w o r k i n g w i t h the nationalists, the P a r t y h a d
in m i n d the strategic aims of the w a r it was leading,
the m a j o r interests of the people and the H o m e l a n d .
F i r s t o f a l l , the P a r t y proceeded f r o m the v i e w that
the broader the mass p a r t i c i p a t i o n was in the P o p u l a r
F r o n t the more f u r i o u s l y the w a r w o u l d b e waged and
the more certain the f i n a l v i c t o r y w o u l d be. T h e n , i t
m u s t not be forgotten that m a n y of the k n o w n n a t i o n alists of that p e r i o d had, to various degrees, a cert a i n i n f l u e n c e in d i f f e r e n t districts a n d cities of the
c o u n t r y or a m o n g the circles of the intelligentsia.
T h e incorporation in the F r o n t of tens a n d tens of
o u t s t a n d i n g patriots, k n o w n to the people f o r their
progressive sentiments a n d democratic opinions and
as a n t i - Z o g i t e fighters, was a v i c t o r y of the p o l i c y of
the P a r t y , because these people, besides their c o n t r i bution, t h e i r personal abilities a n d capacities, possessed
great a u t h o r i t y a m o n g the people, w h i c h t h e y p u t at
the disposal a n d in the service of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation War.
T h e struggle of the P a r t y to u n m a s k s u c h pseudopatriots a s L u m o Skëndo, A l i K ë l c y r a , Q a z i m K o c u l i
a n d others, a n d to b r i n g t h e m out in their t r u e colours, y i e l d e d s i m i l a r results. M a n y of these i n d i v i d u a l s
w e r e neither s t u p i d n o r w i t h o u t influence. Some of
t h e m p r o f i t e d f r o m the reputation of the families
59
whose names they bore, some f r o m the two or t h r e e
shots t h e y had f i r e d in V l o r a in 1920 (1), some others
f r o m their stands, adopted in opposition to Z o g or the
m o m e n t a r y participation in the J u n e R e v o l u t i o n of 1924.
It w o u l d have been p o l i t i c a l short-sightedness to
have t u r n e d the r i f l e on a l l of t h e m as e a r l y as 1941,
as some m i g h t think. T h i s w o u l d have been h a r m f u l
both to the w a r and to the P a r t y . T h i s h u m a n «ore»
had to undergo a process of selection a n d f r o m it,
apart f r o m the f i l t h w h i c h w o u l d b e t h r o w n aside, p u r e
m e t a l w o u l d emerge, a n d t i m e and the w a r w o u l d
do this sorting out. T h e line of the P a r t y was correct:
the patriotic elements should be brought into the w a r
and their influence amongst the masses used f o r the
benefit of the w a r ; the demagogues, the disguised
tools of the occupiers, should be u n m a s k e d by a s k i n g
them the question: « A r e y o u going t o f i g h t f o r A l b a n i a or not?» A n d the people w o u l d see, as t h e y d i d ,
w h o were true patriots and w h o pseudo-patriots.
In the context of extending the w o r k w i t h t h e
nationalists we devoted special attention at that time,
especially, to w o r k w i t h the intelligentsia, a i m i n g to
make the patriotic and democratic elements p a r t i c i pants in the w a r .
T h e A l b a n i a n intelligentsia a t that t i m e was n u m e r i c a l l y s m a l l and this was a result of the l o w l e v e l
of economic and c u l t u r a l development a n d the o b ______________________________________
1 Reference is to the W a r of V l o r a of 1920 against the
imperialist Italian invaders w h i c h ended w i t h the victory o f
the A l b a n i a n people.
60
s c u r a n t i s t p o l i c y of the regime of Z o g . A p a r t f r o m
a l l the other evils w h i c h t h e y perpetrated on the
country, the «august» m o n a r c h a n d his circle d i d their
utmost to leave A l b a n i a in darkness and ignorance,
because the darkness a n d ignorance of the masses
are the best allies of oppression and exploitation. Z o g
a n d his regime d i d n o t h i n g for culture, art and science,
h o w e v e r m u c h he, together w i t h h i s degenerate a n d
c o r r u p t sisters, w h o i r o n i c a l l y , despite their utter
ignorance, took the arts, c u l t u r e a n d sport, w h i c h v i r t u a l l y d i d not exist i n A l b a n i a , u n d e r t h e i r «patronage», posed as supporters of these things.
Nevertheless, t h r o u g h the efforts of the people,
of the sons and daughters of the people and c o n t r a r y
to the desire of the feudal-bourgeois regime, it was
made possible to set up an education system w i t h
p r i m a r y and secondary schools to teach the sons and
daughters o f the people, w h o w i t h their u n e r r i n g i n t u i t i o n and t h e i r b r o a d h o r i z o n of h i s t o r y prepared
the y o u t h for the n e w days. W i t h great d i f f i c u l t i e s
a n d coping w i t h m a n y economic privations, some of
the y o u n g people went abroad where t h e y attended
h i g h e r studies. A l l these people comprised the s o u n d est part of the A l b a n i a n intelligentsia w h i c h was o p posed to the a n t i - p o p u l a r a n d reactionary section w h i c h
o r i g i n a t e d f r o m the beys, usurers and merchants.
At the t i m e of w h i c h I am speaking the teachers
a n d professors comprised the m a j o r i t y of the intellectuals, w h i l e there was a smaller n u m b e r f r o m other
professions, s u c h as doctors, engineers and jurists.
T h e intelligentsia was not a homogenous mass, either
f r o m its social composition or f r o m its p o l i t i c a l c o n 61
victions, w h i c h were i l l - d e f i n e d . Besides this, w i t h
the exception of one section, especially the village
teachers, the intelligentsia was not so closely l i n k e d w i t h
the people and was acquainted o n l y s u p e r f i c i a l l y , at second-hand, w i t h their problems. T h i s does not m e a n
i t was not patriotic. No, i n general the A l b a n i a n i n telligentsia was patriotic a n d anti-Zog, a n d subsequent l y p r o v e d its p a t r i o t i s m in its stand in the w a r against
the occupiers.
Those closest to the people were the teachers w h o
were more i n t i m a t e l y l i n k e d w i t h their s u f f e r i n g s
and problems. U n d e r the regime of Z o g t h e y w e r e at
the bottom of the s m a l l p y r a m i d of the education s y s tem, scorned by the intellectual «aristocracy», regarded w i t h suspicion by the regime, and received a p i t tance. A n d e v e n that t i n y salary was p a i d once i n
f i v e months, a n d occasionally once in nine months. So,
in order to l i v e they h a d to go and sell their p a y
vouchers to the moneylenders, of course, at a discount.
I m y s e l f d i d this d u r i n g the f e w months that I w o r k ed in the secondary school in T i r a n a at the e n d of
1936 and the beginning of 1937, for w h i c h I was p a i d
b y the h o u r w i t h o u t a n y f i x e d salary a n d received
nothing at a l l w h e n I was sick or d u r i n g school holidays.
In general, the teachers h a d completed or h a l f
completed their secondary schooling w i t h i n the countr y . R a r e l y one of t h e m k n e w some f o r e i g n language,
but there was no foreign literature w h i c h t h e y could
read in order to develop themselves. T h e intellectuals
of this category w e r e w i t h the people a n d detested
the regime of Z o g and its top functionaries. T h e y w e r e
closely l i n k e d w i t h the pupils and their families, w e r e
62
patriots a n d democrats and w h e n A l b a n i a w a s o c cupied t h e y u n i t e d w i t h the w o r k e r s and pupils i n
demonstrations against the occupiers and most of
t h e m took part i n the partisan w a r .
T h e «professors», as we called the secondary
school teachers of that time, f i g u r e d h i g h e r in the
h i e r a r c h y of the education system and the intelligentsia, in general. U n l i k e the o r d i n a r y teachers, generally
speaking, t h e y w e r e m o r e remote f r o m the people
a n d the w o r k w i t h t h e m was more complicated. O f
course, even among the professors there w e r e m a n y
w h o l o v e d the H o m e l a n d a n d the people, w h o hated
the feudal-bourgeois regime a n d the fascist occupation
and l i n k e d themselves w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
M o v e m e n t and the P a r t y . B u t the m a j o r i t y o f t h e m
were integrated into the oppressive system of Z o g
and fascism, were content w i t h their o w n situation,
and as for the condition of the masses, they d i d not
w o r r y their heads about that. Intellectuals of this
t y p e considered themselves the «élite» of the e d u c a tion system and boasted that they were the « i n t e l ligentsia of the c o u n t r y » a n d that «the regime had
need of them». M a n y of t h e m h a d been abroad w h e r e
t h e y had graduated f r o m h i g h e r schools, some in
Italy, some i n France, some i n A u s t r i a o r G e r m a n y ,
some in Greece, a f e w in the U n i t e d States of A m e rica. Some of the older ones h a d graduated f r o m
T u r k i s h schools.
O t h e r members of the «intellectual élite» w e r e
the doctors, engineers, architects, agronomists and
others, w i t h o u t forgetting either those w h o h a d g r a duated in l a w a n d became advocates or judges, or
63
the journalists, in the ranks of w h o m there were some
w h o were w e l l - k n o w n , a section w i t h progressive d e mocratic tendencies a n d views, w h i l e the r e m a i n d e r
were completely in the service of the reactionary a n d
a n t i - p o p u l a r regimes. Of course, here I exclude such
intellectuals a s M e d a r S h t y l l a , O m e r N i s h a n i , X h a f e r
K o n g o l i , G a q o Tashko a n d tens of others w h o I m e n t i o n in these notes, and w h o k n e w the d i f f i c u l t s i t u a t i o n of the masses and w h o p r o v e d themselves w i t h
deeds to be democrats a n d patriots. H e r e I am r e f e r r i n g to those intellectuals, w h o after g a i n i n g h i g h e r
education, t h r o u g h the m o n e y w h i c h their fathers h a d
fleeced f r o m the w o r k e r s a n d peasants, came back to
A l b a n i a w i t h the pretension that t h e y were b r i n g i n g
culture and c i v i l i z a t i o n , b u t who, in fact, came to
share in the e x p l o i t a t i o n of the masses. T h e y h a d t a k e n nothing o f real value f r o m E u r o p e a n c i v i l i z a t i o n ,
apart f r o m some foreign language, a certain amount
of knowledge of the craft t h e y h a d learned a n d «mod e r n etiquette», along w i t h the top hat or bowtie,
w i t h o u t w h i c h t h e y were never seen in the streets or
cafes. A n d these c i v i l i z e d intellectuals w e r e not a s h a m ed to put themselves up for auction on the marriage
market, because almost a l l of t h e m w e r e f o r t u n e - h u n ters. It is n a t u r a l that m a n y of t h e m became b o u r geois, w e r e «pushed» into h i g h offices a n d became
«examples» for the less fortunate. These i n d i v i d u a l s
w e r e lost to the cause of the people, w e r e s u p e r f i c i a l
«democrats», «liberals» o n l y in certain manifestations
w h i c h were hangovers f r o m the countries w h e r e t h e y
h a d attended school.
In general, the intellectuals w i t h h i g h e r schooling
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a n d in top positions either integrated themselves w i t h
and became p i l l a r s of the regime or, even w h e n they
were democrats a n d anti-Zog, d i d not see the f u t u r e
of the c o u n t r y clearly. There were some of t h e m
w h o d i d not l i k e Z o g a n d his regime a n d w h o deep
d o w n w e r e anti-Zogites, but w h o d i d not have the
courage to act or even to express their v i e w s openly.
T h e r e w e r e o n l y a f e w of t h e m w h o spoke openly,
of course not out in the street, against Z o g and his
regime. B u t even these f e w engaged in «academic»
talk about laws, measures, prices, ministers, and so
on. B u t it was e x t r e m e l y d i f f i c u l t , not to say impossible, to f i n d in t h e m a consistent s p i r i t of resistance,
or even less, a n y attempt at resistance. Of course, this
came about also f r o m the fact that Zog, w h o m t h e y
abused, had shut t h e i r mouths because it was a t i m e
w h e n economic m i s e r y reigned among the people,
w h e n the w o r k e r toiled the w h o l e d a y b r e a k i n g stones
in the heat of s u m m e r for two to three leks a day, w h i l e
people of this category received ten to fifteen gold
napoleons a m o n t h , and w e r e well-dressed, owned
comfortable homes, f u r n i t u r e and radios. Thus, these
elements w i t h some democratic and anti-Zogite veneer
f o u n d ft more suitable to take a comfortable p o s i t i o n :
to enjoy the blessings w h i c h the regime p r o v i d e d for
t h e m and to w h i s p e r the occasional c r i t i c i s m against it.
In general, these intellectuals, as soon as t h e y
returned f r o m abroad, a i m e d to get a good job a n d
especially i n T i r a n a . A t that time, w h e t h e r y o u h a d
graduated as an agronomist or an engineer, the place
for y o u was in the m i n i s t r y , and if there was no job
for y o u , it was created, because neither the agronomists
65
nor the engineers h a d a n y w h e r e to w o r k , a g r i c u l t u r e
was at a v e r y l o w l e v e l a n d no investments w e r e
made to boost it; n o t h i n g was b u i l t except the odd
prison and homes f o r the w e a l t h y . Thus, the a g r o n o m ist was f o u n d a job in some office, w h i l e the engineer
residing in T i r a n a d r e w the plans f o r the home of
the b i g merchant. T h e doctors, f o r t h e i r part, set
about m a k i n g money, w h i l e the professors competed
w i t h one another to get a job in T i r a n a or in the
M i n i s t r y , or if t h e y could not manage this, w e n t to
the f e w cities in w h i c h there was a secondary school.
There could be no talk about organization in the
ranks of the intelligentsia. E s p e c i a l l y amongst the
soundest part of it, of course, there were efforts to do
something, to change the e x i s t i n g situation. Some of
t h e m established l i n k s w i t h the c o m m u n i s t groups, b u t
these were sporadic or on an i n d i v i d u a l basis. In t h e
ranks of the intellectual «élite» w h i c h i n c l u d e d t h e
professors, the doctors, the jurists, the journalists and
i n d i v i d u a l s of other professions, there was a k i n d of
division, on the basis of their l i n k s and a f f i n i t i e s
created by the type of culture and the c o u n t r y in
w h i c h they had received it. Hence, opinions c i r c u l a t e d
that «so and so is of Deutsche K u l t u r » because he
had been to u n i v e r s i t y in A u s t r i a or G e r m a n y , «so a n d
so is of F r e n c h culture» because he had been in F r a n ce, he w h o had been to u n i v e r s i t y in Italy was of
«Italian culture», and so on. T h i s tendency, w h i c h
created f o r m a l affinities between groups, encouraged
a spirit of x e n o m a n i a a n d brought about the isolation
of the intelligentsia f r o m the m a i n problems w h i c h
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w e r e p r e o c c u p y i n g the H o m e l a n d and the people.
W h e n I w a s in T i r a n a , p r i o r to the occupation of
the c o u n t r y by fascist Italy, apart f r o m contacts w i t h
progressive a n d democratic intellectuals, I was g i v e n
the o p p o r t u n i t y to come into contact also w i t h t h e
milieus, opinions and psychology of that section of
intellectuals that the regime pampered. In the R o y a l
R o a d there was a s m a l l café, w h i c h at that time seemed
a b i g one, called Bella Venezia. T h i s Bella Venezia was
frequented by the «élite» of the capital a n d the m a j o r
sycophants of the regime f r o m F u a d A s l l a n i , the f o r e i g n minister, a n d other ministers, to the «top p e r sonalities of culture». T h e y gathered there a c c o r d i n g
to the E n g l i s h custom, at f i v e o'clock. Once or twice,
a comrade took me w i t h h i m to this c l u b of the i n t e l l e c t u a l «élite». A n d w h a t d i d I see there? A circle of
arrogant, conceited cosmopolitans. It was s i c k e n i n g
t o w a t c h t h e m eating cake a n d d r i n k i n g tea w i t h t h e i r
«aristocratic» w a y s a n d w h i m s l i k e ladies i n d r a w i n g rooms. T h e r e y o u could hear a l l sorts of languages
spoken, according to the p a r t i c u l a r clans, and A l b a n i a n was spoken m i x e d w i t h w h o l e phrases i n f o r e i g n languages, just as we have read in Tolstoy about
the R u s s i a n aristocracy w h i c h m i x e d R u s s i a n and
F r e n c h . T h e talk in these circles was about «politics
on a g r a n d scale» and discussions about art. There y o u
c o u l d hear judgements d e l i v e r e d w i t h «absolute c o m petence» about C h a m b e r l a i n , about Titulescu, about
H i t l e r , about Nietzsche's Zarathustra, about Goethe's
Faust, about the Niebelungen, but not a w o r d was said
about the s u f f e r i n g of the peasant of M y z e q e , w h o m
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Zog, the V r i o n i s and the V ë r l a c i s fleeced a n d w h o died
of m a l a r i a .
To speak openly w i t h these people was dangerous.
T h e y w o u l d h a n d y o u over to Z o g or the occupier,
if not directly, indirectly, by denouncing y o u . As I
said, however, the whole intelligentsia was not l i k e
this.
I personally was aware of this t r u t h f r o m the
contacts w h i c h I had established w i t h a w h o l e circle
of teachers and intellectuals of various professions
d u r i n g the years I w o r k e d in the secondary school
of T i r a n a and the Lycée of K o r ç a . T h e fact is, however,
that o u r l i n k s w i t h the intellectuals w e r e extended
f u r t h e r and placed on a sounder basis after the
G r o u p of K o r ç a shifted the centre of g r a v i t y of its
w o r k to T i r a n a , at the b e g i n n i n g of 1940, a n d especiall y after the f o u n d i n g o f the P a r t y , w h e n w e evaluated
the w o r k w i t h the intellectuals as one of the most
important fields of the w o r k of the P a r t y w i t h the
nationalists.
L i k e the other comrades, I continued to e x t e n d my
contacts w i t h m y f o r m e r teacher colleagues w h o w e r e
anti-Zogites and anti-fascists, s u c h as the T a s h k o
brothers (Aleko and Gaqo), A l e k s B u d a , M i n e l l a K a rajani, N o n d a B u l k a , S o t i r A n g j e l i , B a l t a d o r i , N e x h a t
Peshkëpia (who later became a B a l l i s t and f l e d on the
eve of Liberation), V a n g j e l G j i k o n d i , S e l i m S h p u z a
and the w r i t e r and publicist Shevqet M u s a r a j , w h o
later became an active m e m b e r of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l
Committee o f T i r a n a and w i t h his w o r k s a n d w r i t ings made an outstanding c o n t r i b u t i o n to the p r o -
68
paganda of the P a r t y d u r i n g the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
War.
We made approaches also to other intellectuals,
s u c h a s the doctors X h e v d e t A s l l a n i , F e j z i H o x h a ,
E n v e r Z a z a n i , a n d H a s a n Jero, the architect L u a r a s i ,
engineers l i k e A n d o n L u f i , L l a z a r Treska, R r a p i ( I
don't k n o w w h a t became of h i m later), the economist
P a s k o M i l o , N a u m S t r a l l a a n d a n u m b e r of others.
M a n y o f t h e m u n i t e d w i t h the people and the P a r t y
in the f i g h t against the occupiers f r o m the first days.
O n e o f t h e m was m y comrade i n the w a r a n d the
work, H a x h i K r o i , w h o i s the n e p h e w o f A v n i R u s t e m i , and w h o f a i t h f u l l y f o l l o w e d the patriotic course of
that great teacher of the people and fought and n o w
w o r k s a s m y secretary w i t h e x e m p l a r y competence
a n d devotion as one of the senior members of the
Party.
W e also made approaches t o A b a z X h o m o , a n
o l d f r i e n d w h o m I h a d k n o w n in the Lycée a n d in
France, as w e l l as other anti-fascist elements l i k e
A l i B a k i u a n d S y r j a Selfo who, although t h e y w e r e
merchants, assisted the w a r . S y r j a , in particular, spared
n o t h i n g for the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and was
ready to f i n d and p a y the rent for the houses w h i c h
we needed as bases f o r the illegal comrades. Indeed,
h e assisted and m a i n t a i n e d m y f a m i l y w h o h a d n o i n come at a l l d u r i n g the w a r .
Thus, o u r circles w e r e being extended w i t h other
intellectuals. Some of t h e m I k n e w , some others K o ç o
Tashko, although h e w o r k e d especially w i t h the older
nationalists w h o h a d f l e d i n the t i m e o f Z o g and r e t u r n e d w i t h the «wagons» of fascist Italy.
69
One of the finest representatives of the A l b a n i a n
democratic intelligentsia, w h o r i g h t f r o m the outset
l i n k e d his life w i t h the cause of the l i b e r a t i o n of the
H o m e l a n d , was dr. M e d a r S h t y l l a . M e d a r was a p a triotic and progressive m a n , l i n k e d w i t h the people,
h a d graduated f r o m the Lycée of K o r ç a b u t before
my time, because I remember that w h e n I w e n t there
f r o m the Lycée of G j i r o k a s t r a , I d i d not f i n d h i m at
that school. A f t e r w a r d s he went to France, to Toulouse
I t h i n k , w h e r e he studied v e t e r i n a r y science. T h e
d i r e c t i o n of the h i g h e r studies w h i c h he h a d chosen
in itself i m p l i e d that he was a m a n of the people,
close to the peasantry, to the l a n d and the livestock,
and so he had not chosen a fashionable and profitable
profession such as that of a doctor or l a w y e r .
I got to k n o w M e d a r w e l l w h e n I r e t u r n e d f r o m
France, and I l i k e d h i m a n d l i n k e d m y s e l f w i t h this
unpretentious, modest, quiet, honest m a n w i t h w i d e
knowledge and culture, w h o aroused one's respect. He
was a m a n of f e w words w h o made no «fuss» and
d i d not l i k e boasting and s h o w i n g off. C e r t a i n «smart
A l e c k » intellectuals said d e r i s i v e l y about h i m : « H e i s
t a c i t u r n because h e w o r k s w i t h animals». B u t M e d a r
S h t y l l a was a wise and k i n d l y m a n w i t h character
and courage. He l o v e d the H o m e l a n d a n d the people
w i t h his whole heart and soul, and this he p r o v e d at
the most d i f f i c u l t moments.
M y comrades and acquaintances had told m e about
the s y m p a t h y and respect w h i c h M e d a r e n j o y e d i n
the villages of Durrës, and the peasants of Durrës,
K a v a j a , Shijak, and the w o r k e r s on the X h a f z o t a j
f a r m could not but love M e d a r S h t y l l a w h o had l i n k e d
70
himself so closely w i t h t h e i r troubles and worries.
He fought for the rights of the w o r k e r s w h o were
not p a i d regularly, encouraged t h e m to raise their
voices and protest even to the M i n i s t r y of A g r i c u l t u r e
of that time. M e d a r was w e l l aware of the strength
of the w o r k e r s of the f a r m and the peasants, but he
also k n e w v e r y w e l l h o w f r i g h t e n e d the v e n a l g o v e r n ment officials w e r e of this force. Thus, f e a r f u l of the
outbreak of some revolt, a n d despite their reluctance,
the authorities were obliged to f u l f i l at least a part
of the demands of the w o r k e r s of the f a r m .
B o r d e r i n g on the X h a f z o t a j f a r m l a y the lands of
the Italian I T A L B A company w h i c h a i m e d to get the
l a n d of this f a r m into its clutches. M e d a r S h t y l l a , w h o
was w e l l - a c q u a i n t e d w i t h the e x p l o i t i n g character of
Italian i m p e r i a l i s m , w h o grieved over the p l i g h t of
the poor peasants and the encroachment of the terr i t o r y of his beloved H o m e l a n d , fought heart and soul
to prevent the Italian company f r o m achieving its
ambitions. T h r o u g h these actions he w o n the hearts of
the people and earned the h o s t i l i t y of the authorities.
Not o n l y d i d he behave w i t h the workers on the f a r m
l i k e a close f r i e n d , but he also t r i e d to create decent
l i v i n g conditions for them. M e d a r insisted that the
w o r k e r s of X h a f z o t a j should be p a i d more, and in fact,
they d i d receive more t h a n the workers employed by
the Italian company. H o w e v e r , this d i d not suit the
exploiters w h o fattened themselves on the sweat and
blood of the poor, therefore they demanded that the
workers of X h a f z o t a j should receive the same pay as
those w h o w o r k e d for the Italian companies. M e d a r
protested and fought for the opposite. A l l these things
71
had made M e d a r S h t y l l a v e r y close to the w o r k e r s
and peasants w h o opened their hearts to h i m about
every p r o b l e m w h i c h w o r r i e d t h e m . B u t the t h i n g
that l i n k e d t h e m most s t r o n g l y was their great love
for the H o m e l a n d and freedom, their hatred for the
occupiers, w h i c h was ready to erupt in w a r to d r i v e
the foreigners f r o m o u r land.
T h e Italian occupation f o u n d dr. M e d a r w o r k i n g
as a v e t e r i n a r i a n in Durrës. It was the p e r i o d w h e n
the communists of the G r o u p s h a d stepped up the
w o r k for the f o r m a t i o n of the P a r t y . At that time I,
l i k e the other comrades, was c o n t i n u a l l y engaged in
m a k i n g contact w i t h c o m m u n i s t comrades, w i t h workers,
w i t h w e l l - k n o w n intellectuals, w i t h «nationalists» as
we called the n o n - p a r t y patriots at that t i m e and
later. One day I went to D u r r ë s a n d met our comrade
Telat Noga to discuss w i t h h i m some problems of our
work, i n c l u d i n g the question of b r i n g i n g patriotic i n tellectual elements into the l i b e r a t i o n movement. I
said to Telat:
«I want to go to meet my f r i e n d , M e d a r S h t y l l a ,
w h o m I t h i n k we should activize. Do y o u k n o w h i m ? »
Telat r e p l i e d :
«That's a v e r y good idea, Enver, because e v e r y body speaks about h i m w i t h respect. T h r o u g h h i m
w e w i l l m a k e greater h e a d w a y i n the countryside because the peasants love him.»
At this time M e d a r h a d begun his resistance, as
y o u might say, by denouncing the occupiers, the t r a i tors and quislings, the fascist state apparatus, the
pseudo-patriots and pseudo-anti-Zogites, w h o m he k n e w
v e r y w e l l and had seen w i t h his o w n eyes e m b r a c i n g
72
the fascists. I was convinced that this w o u l d be M e dar's stand. F r o m w h a t I k n e w o f h i m and w h a t T e lat said about h i m , I was certain that we w o u l d u n derstand each other v e r y w e l l and w o u l d l i n k o u r selves together f i r m l y as two o r d i n a r y soldiers of the
people and for the cause of the people.
I w e n t l o o k i n g for h i m and f o u n d h i m s i t t i n g i n
a café in the street w h i c h runs d o w n to the port. He
saw me as soon as I approached h i m and, w i t h that
pleasant b e h a v i o u r of his, rose to his feet and, w h e n
we had exchanged greetings, i n v i t e d me to sit d o w n :
«Come along, E n v e r , sit d o w n and d r i n k a coffee
w i t h me.»
I t h a n k e d h i m and sat d o w n . A f t e r exchanging
the i n q u i r i e s about each other's health and so on,
usual at such meetings, he asked me w h e t h e r I was
d o i n g a n y good, m a k i n g any m o n e y b y s e l l i n g c i g a rettes in the «Flora» shop, and after I replied that I
was m a n a g i n g to earn a bare l i v i n g , I asked h o w things
w e r e going w i t h h i m .
«Oh,» he said, «I t r y to do something, because
I can't stand this suffocation.»
«We are sick to death of these dandies, Medar,
therefore we ought to put t h e m in their place,» I said,
i n d i c a t i n g some Italian officers w h o were s t r o l l i n g
around, t a l k i n g and l a u g h i n g loudly.
«Les salauds*,» said Medar, and we continued to
t a l k i n F r e n c h i n l o w voices, because i n this w a y there
was no danger that some spy m i g h t understand w h a t
__________________________________
* T h e scoundrels (French in the original).
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we were saying. T h a t café, l i k e a l l the cafés of that
time, was certain to have its o w n permanent spies.
«We have to fight,» I said to M e d a r . «We are
reorganizing ourselves, the people are l i s t e n i n g to us
a n d we must advance towards the l i b e r a t i o n w a r . Of
course, this w a r has its dangers, it m i g h t cost us our
heads, but for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d e v e r y
sacrifice m u s t be made, therefore, we have taken
death into account.»
We went on t a l k i n g l i k e this, tête-à-tête, for about
half an hour.
A f t e r listening to me attentively, M e d a r declared
resolutely :
«I am ready to fight, I have no hindrances. T r u e ,
m y wife, M a r i a , w h o m y o u k n o w , i s a n Italian,» h e
continued, «but she hates fascism just as we do. ( A n d
she proved her anti-fascist feelings a n d love for A l bania, as the daughter of the people she was, by
r e m a i n i n g i n illegality i n T i r a n a d u r i n g the whole
period w h e n M e d a r was w i t h u s i n the mountains.)
«Tell me, Enver, w h a t should I do?» asked M e d a r .
«What a c t i v i t y should I c a r r y out, w i t h w h o m am I
to m a i n t a i n contact?»
«Come to ' F l o r a ' as though to b u y a packet of
cigarettes and there we can talk more freely,» I t o l d
h i m and after shaking hands f i r m l y w e parted.
As far as I remember we d i d not manage to meet
at «Flora» because I was obliged to leave the shop
a n d go underground, but we m a i n t a i n e d contact w i t h
M e d a r through other comrades. H e l i n k e d himself
closely w i t h the w a r and the P a r t y , and the N a t i o n a l
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L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t entrusted h i m w i t h w o r k among the
peasants, intellectuals a n d others. Later, w h e n his act i v i t y began to s t r i k e the eye of the authorities, M e d a r w e n t u n d e r g r o u n d a n d became a tireless organizer
of national l i b e r a t i o n councils in cities and villages.
W e met again i n L a b i n o t a t the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference, at w h i c h M e d a r was elected a m e m ber of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l . In this function, too, he
w a s among the most active. H e was dispatched w i t h
tasks and came back to report to us w h e r e v e r the C o u n c i l and the G e n e r a l Staff happened t o be, i n Ç e r m e n i k a , S h m i l , G u r a k u q , Orenja, S h t y l l a , a n d elsewhere. K i n d l y , s m i l i n g and modest as ever, M e d a r made
h i s reports, received his n e w tasks a n d instructions and
o f f he w e n t again.
M e a n w h i l e , the other comrades a l l over the c o u n t r y w e r e w o r k i n g and a c h i e v i n g results i n the w o r k
w i t h the intellectuals and w i t h the patriots and other
progressive elements. T h r o u g h patient w o r k the ranks
of the sympathizers w i t h the l i b e r a t i o n movement
w e r e extending, the n u m b e r of true patriots a n d dem o c r a t i c elements, w h o expressed t h e i r readiness to
f i g h t shoulder to shoulder w i t h the whole A l b a n i a n
people, shoulder to shoulder w i t h the communists,
to liberate the beloved t e r r i t o r y of the H o m e l a n d
f r o m the jackboots of M u s s o l i n i ' s fascists, was g r o w i n g .
The C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e also appointed people w h o
w e r e to engage especially in this d i r e c t i o n of the w o r k
of the P a r t y , and they were K o ç o Tashko, Anastas
L u l o and M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i . T h e t r u t h is, however, that
the m a i n w o r k in the d i r e c t i o n of the nationalists was
done t h r o u g h the meetings and contacts of a l l c o m 75
rades of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e a n d other comrades
at the base and the centre. Anastas L u l o ' s i n t e n t i o n
was not to increase the influence of the P a r t y , b u t
to u n d e r m i n e it a n d to create his o w n f a c t i o n together
w i t h S a d i k P r e m t e ( 1 ) ; K o ç o T a s h k o shut h i m s e l f a w a y
w i t h his o l d m e n i n cafés and engaged i n «grand p o lities» w i t h t h e m ; w h i l e M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i w a s m o r e
active, but there w e r e always suspect and m y s t e r i o u s
things in his contacts and connections. Thus, in r e a l ity, this «division of labour» d i d not exist for long and,
in fact, a l l of us w e r e engaged in this p r o b l e m . In
T i r a n a and the other cities and districts of the c o u n t r y
intensive a c t i v i t y was carried out by the c o m m u n i s t
comrades, meeting and t a l k i n g w i t h elements i n w h o m
they had some hopes.
In my reminiscences I have g i v e n detailed accounts about the m a n y contacts and strong l i n k s w h i c h
I created i m m e d i a t e l y after the fascist occupation w i t h
the r e v o l u t i o n a r y and democratic patriot, M y s l i m P e z a ,
w h o was among the first w h o l i n k e d himself closely
w i t h the P a r t y and its p r o g r a m and made an o u t s t a n d i n g contribution to the accomplishment of this p r o g r a m .
L i k e w i s e , both I and the other comrades, before a n d
after the f o u n d i n g of the P a r t y , h a d established contact
and f o u n d a common language,
the language of
the fight for freedom and independence, w i t h other
___________________________________________
1 Anastas
Lulo
and
Sadik
Premte, former heads
of
the
G r o u p of the «Youth», had tried to impede the creation of the
C P A i n November
1941. A f t e r its f o u n d i n g they opposed
a l l manner of means the p o l i t i c a l l i n e of the P a r t y
by
and set
up a dangerous Trotskyite faction in its ranks. In J u n e 1942
the Special Conference of the P a r t y smashed their faction a n d
expelled t h e m f r o m the P a r t y .
76
p a t r i o t i c elements. O n e of these was B a b a F a j a M a r t a n e s h i [Mustafa X h a n i ] w h o m I was to meet in the days
of the C o n f e r e n c e of P e z a but of w h o m the comrades
h a d spoken to me before, on account of his anti-Italian
v i e w s a n d his i n f l u e n c e among the people of the d i s trict of M a r t a n e s h . B a b a F a j a was one of those clergy
m e n w h o w o r e the cap and the cloak of a dervish,
but w h o h a d A l b a n i a i n his heart a n d i n his h a n d the
r i f l e f o r its l i b e r a t i o n . H i s activity, the talks w h i c h h e
h e l d w i t h the friends and comrades and w i t h the bel i e v e r s a n d those in trouble w h o came to his tekke,
t h e meetings disguised as religious feasts, had come
to the notice of the black shirts. As B a b a F a j a t o l d
me later, once w h e n he h a d gone to T i r a n a , H i l m i
L e k a (1) a n d a t r u c k - l o a d of c a r a b i n i e r i h a d gone to the
h o t e l w h e r e h e was staying, seized h i m a n d taken
h i m t o G e n e r a l A g o s t i n u c c i . T h e y had interrogated
a n d threatened B a b a F a j a and kept h i m u n d e r arrest
f o r a f e w days, but since t h e y d i d not have m a n y
facts a n d he was a person of influence among the people, t h e y released h i m .
B a b a F a j a r e t u r n e d t o M a r t a n e s h and continued
h i s w o r k in his tekkes, because he had t w o tekkes, one
d o w n i n the v i l l a g e and one h i g h e r u p where B a b a
stayed d u r i n g the summer. T o keep h i m u n d e r s u r v e i l lance the Italians set up a c a r a b i n i e r i post near one
of the tekkes, but M u s t a f a i m m e d i a t e l y got up and
w e n t a n d settled in the other.
_____________________________
1 Editor-in-chief
minister
of
culture
of
of
the
the
fascist
quisling
fascist occupation of the country.
77
newspaper
government
Tomorri
and
during
the
T h e P a r t y sent people to m a k e contact w i t h M u s tafa X h a n i . I m m e d i a t e l y after the f o r m a t i o n of t h e
P a r t y , Q e m a l Stafa and S a m i B a h o l l i met M u s t a f a
X h a n i , w h i l e later R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u , K a d r i H o x h a a n d
others were sent to his tekke as delegates of the l e a d ership of the P a r t y .
P a t r i o t i c B a b a [Faja] was enthusiastic and o p t i mistic about the w a r w h i c h we h a d begun, and n o t
long afterwards he took up arms, f o r m e d his çeta
and began the a r m e d struggle at the head of the people of M a r t a n e s h . B u t B a b a F a j a d i d not discard his.
clerical cap and robe, and he was quite right, because
in this w a y he rendered even greater service to t h e
line of the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t
for u n i t i n g e v e r y b o d y i n the w a r w i t h o u t d i s t i n c t i o n
as to region, or p o l i t i c a l a n d religious beliefs. I c a n
picture i n m y m i n d this fine, honest a n d brave m a n :
a handsome f e l l o w w i t h b u s h y black eyebrows, penetrating eyes and a beard w h i c h suited his broad face
very well.
T h r o u g h M y s l i m [Peza] we also made contact w i t h
H a x h i L l e s h i , w h o after r e t u r n i n g i l l e g a l l y f r o m Y u goslavia, l i v e d i n h i d i n g i n the district o f D i b r a . H a x h i went f r o m house to house in Zerqan, H o m e s h ,
and other zones, carried out anti-fascist propaganda,
urged the peasants not to p a y taxes and to rise in
armed revolts. T h e fascist authorities d i d e v e r y t h i n g
in their power to capture H a x h i , but the people p r o tected their o w n son, because they k n e w v e r y w e l l
the patriotic traditions of H a x h i ' s f a m i l y as w e l l as
the stand w h i c h H a x h i L l e s h i himself had taken b e fore the fascist occupation.
78
L i k e w i s e , the comrades of the P a r t y in Elbasan,
K o r ç a , G j i r o k a s t r a , V l o r a , D i b r a , Skrapar, Shkodra,
Tropoja, Berat, K u r v e l e s h , K u k ë s , M y z e q e and elsewhere extended their l i n k s w i t h the patriots of those
districts and t h e i r brave and f r e e d o m - l o v i n g people.
Thus, r i g h t f r o m the b e g i n n i n g patriotic elements l i k e
S p i r o M o i s i u , Z y l y f t a r Veleshnja, R i z a K o d h e l i , H y s e n
Zaloshnja, S i n a n Y l l i , H a s a n P u l o , R e x h e p S u l e j m a n i ,
A l i N i m a n Doçi, H a s a n G ë r x h a l l i u , S h a b a n A r r a , a n d
m a n y others joined the ranks of the national l i b e r ation movement.
In the course of this work, at this period, not o n l y
d i d we lose a n y i l l u s i o n we h a d h a d about certain
elements w h o had a r t i f i c i a l l y retained the reputation
of patriots, but we also understood that a n e w danger
was emerging on the scene in the ideological, p o l i t i c a l
and m i l i t a r y struggle w h i c h was being waged a n d
w o u l d become more and more intensive: besides the
open quislings w h o m J a c o m o n i ( 1 ) had made p r i m e m i n i s t ers and ministers, senators and prefects, a praetor i a n g u a r d of the fascist regime was c r y s t a l l i z i n g in
more disguised forms, more dangerous and p e r f i d i o u s
t h a n the V ë r l a c i s and M e r l i k a s , because the members
o f it, l i k e M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i , A l i K ë l c y r a and K o l ë T r o mara, shamelessly p l a y e d the f r a u d u l e n t role of d e mocrats, patriots and even anti-Italians.
The role and reputation as «democratic patriots»
had stuck to these elements f r o m the r e l a t i v e l y r e ___________________________________
1 Francesco
Jacomoni,
former
minister
fascist Italy to the Zog regime and
Italy u n t i l M a r c h
1943.
79
plenipotentiary
of
V i c e - r o y of the k i n g of
mote past, the period w h e n , after g a i n i n g its i n d e p e n d ence, A l b a n i a strove w i t h great t o i l a n d efforts to
set out on the course of progress a n d development
a n d to consolidate its independence. In particular, the
numerous and e x t r e m e l y complex events of the years
1920-1925 were to exert an appreciable influence on
the lives of these elements.
T h a t was a period of a p o w e r f u l p o l i t i c a l struggle
in w h i c h a w h o l e generation of revolutionaries a n d
democrats, who called and fought for the destruction
of f e u d a l i s m and the rescue of our c o u n t r y f r o m the
clutches of imperialist powers, was c o m i n g to light.
T h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y democrats l i k e A v n i R u s t e m i , H a l i m X h e l o and others, were t r u e sons of the poor
people, anti-feudal fighters for a true, consistent,
r e v o l u t i o n a r y democracy. T h e y w a n t e d a n d fought
for the l i b e r a t i o n of the peasant f r o m the y o k e of
f e u d a l lords and the bourgeoisie, w a n t e d a n d fought
for the agrarian r e f o r m a n d the economic i n d e p e n d ence of the country. These elements understood the
danger w h i c h threatened the c o u n t r y f r o m the i m perialist powers and supported L u i g j G u r a k u q i ( 1 ) w h o
was opposed to g r a n t i n g o i l concessions to f o r e i g n
powers such as B r i t a i n , Italy, etc. H o w e v e r , the democratic movement of that period was not compact
a n d i t included elements and groups w i t h various p o l i t i c a l tendencies and views. A v n i R u s t e m i a n d his
associates were representatives of the r a d i c a l w i n g of
________________________________
1 Outstanding revolutionary democrat, minister of finances
in
the
Provisional
Democratic
1924.
80
Government
formed
in
June
this m o v e m e n t and d i d not put m u c h trust i n the «reforms» w h i c h the other «democrats» allegedly d e m a n d ed, therefore, t h e y thought, quite correctly, that t h e y
should organize the popular masses and that violence
should be used if the need arose. A v n i R u s t e m i was
the founder and soul of the Bashkimi (Unity) association w h i c h h a d a v e r y progressive p r o g r a m for that
p e r i o d and whose activities extended a l l over the
country. W i t h its r e v o l u t i o n a r y ideas and p o l i t i c a l act i v i t y this organization was assuming the features of
a r e v o l u t i o n a r y democratic p a r t y in w h i c h the y o u n g er generation was to comprise the m a i n force. A n d in
fact the Bashkimi association founded by A v n i R u s t e mi had some success, f o r m e d its branches in various
cities of the c o u n t r y and gained influence and a u t h o r i t y . It was this association w h i c h organized the dem o n s t r a t i o n o f the people i n F i e r i n w h i c h t h e y
m a r c h e d past the mansions of the f e u d a l beys, the
V r i o n i s , c a r r y i n g a c o f f i n a n d shouting r e v o l u t i o n a r y
slogans such as «We s h a l l b u r y feudalism» and «We
s h a l l d i v i d e the l a n d amongst the peasants».
Seeing the danger w h i c h threatened them, the
feudal lords, the beys and the aghas d i d their utmost
to snuff out that movement, and one of the desperate
acts of reaction was the assassination of A v n i R u s t e m i
i n T i r a n a . T h r o u g h this act the f e u d a l coalition i n tended to i n t i m i d a t e the people and the r e v o l u t i o n a r y
and democratic elements and deprive the movement of
one of its most outstanding leaders. B u t things d i d not
t u r n out l i k e that. T h e people were even more revolted
by the m u r d e r of their o w n son. A v n i ' s body was
taken to V l o r a where a huge c r o w d took part in the
81
solemn funeral. To this day I remember h o w shocked
we were by the news of the m u r d e r of A v n i . I was
w i t h some friends in the m i d d l e of the B a z a a r [in
Gjirokastra] one day w h e n B a h r i O m a r i , the husband
of my eldest sister, F a h r i j e , took me aside and said:
«Go home q u i c k l y , fetch me my suitcase, and tell
them that I am going to V l o r a , because the beys have
m u r d e r e d A v n i Rustemi.»
I was dumbstruck. I r a n home, got the suitcase
and brought it to h i m as q u i c k l y as I could. At that
time B a h r i O m a r i was a d e p u t y of G j i r o k a s t r a , a r e presentative of Opinga (1) the democratic group w h i c h
was opposed to M y f i t L i b o h o v a (2) and his supporters.
As soon as it received the news the G j i r o k a s t r a
branch of the Bashkimi association m o b i l i z e d its m e m bers who, a r m e d w i t h rifles, boarded t r u c k s to m a r c h
on T i r a n a . We, younger ones, too, s u r r o u n d e d the
trucks and w a n t e d to c l i m b aboard, but t h e y stopped
us because allegedly we were s t i l l young, u n a r m e d ,
and so forth. I remember that K i ç o K a r a j a n i and I
were stopped and taken a w a y by dr. K a r a j a n i , K i ç o ' s
father.
The m u r d e r of A v n i R u s t e m i angered the people.
The call was issued f r o m V l o r a , and the J u n e R e v olution broke out. F r o m K r u m a and Dragobia, f r o m
V l o r a and G j i r o k a s t r a , f r o m K o r ç a and a l l parts o f
the country thousands of volunteers set out to attack
_________________________________________
1 Progressive
democratic
association
with
its
centre
in
Gjirokastra.
2 Representative
of
the
Albanian
feudal
landowners
and
reactionary bourgeoisie, agent in the pay of Italian i m p e r i a l i s m .
82
the feudal rulers in T i r a n a . In the forefront of the v o lunteers were the members of the Bashkimi association.
The R e v o l u t i o n t r i u m p h e d and, after r o u t i n g the
mercenaries of A h m e t Zog, w h o f l e d to Y u g o s l a v i a ,
the insurgent forces entered T i r a n a w h e r e the b o u r geois-democratic government o f N o l i was f o r m e d . W e
k n o w w h a t happened t o the N o l i government, w e
k n o w its w o r k and p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y not a t a l l i n f a v o u r of the p o l i t i c a l and economic reforms of the «democratic» elements of that period. I s h a l l not d w e l l
on this here, but I w a n t to point out o n l y that the
N o l i government d i d not r e l y o n the masses, d i d not
a p p l y the m a j o r reforms w h i c h had been promised, the
bourgeois elements w h i c h f o r m e d i t a n d supported i t
d i d not s h o w consistency a n d m i l i t a n c y to c a r r y out
the p r o g r a m w h i c h t h e y h a d proclaimed. N o l i h i m self was a f r a i d to c a r r y the r e v o l u t i o n f o r w a r d by
u s i n g violence a n d d i d not r e l y o n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y
d r i v e of the masses and outstanding revolutionaries and
patriots l i k e B a j r a m C u r r i , L u i g j G u r a k u q i , H a l i m
X h e l o , R i z a Cerova, and others. A n d d e p r i v e d o f its
m a i n r e v o l u t i o n a r y leader, A v n i R u s t e m i , the active
r e v o l u t i o n a r y force of the Bashkimi association d w i n d l e d away. T h e bourgeois democratic elements i n P a r l i a m e n t and i n the government began t o p l a y w i t h
parliamentary cards as puppets in the hands of a l l e g e d l y «democratic», b u t i n fact, i m p e r i a l i s t f o r e i g n
powers, and the w h o l e tragic performance a n d d e mocratic masquerade ended up as it d i d . W i t h the a i d
of S e r b i a and Wrangel's w h i t e guards Z o g a n d h i s
clique entered T i r a n a and the leaders of the J u n e
R e v o l u t i o n , democrats a n d elements of various hues,
83
w e n t into exile, w h e r e t h e y f o r m e d the anti-Zogite
p o l i t i c a l emigration w h i c h was dispersed a l l over the
w o r l d , f r o m the Soviet U n i o n t o A m e r i c a , France,
Italy, S w i t z e r l a n d , a n d elsewhere.
I s h a l l have more to say later about the a n t i - Z o gite emigration and the role w h i c h i t p l a y e d i n the
subsequent events, but here I w a n t o n l y to point out
that it was heterogenous in character, both f r o m the
stand-point of its social o r i g i n and f r o m its p o l i t i c a l
tendencies, a c t i v i t y and consistency on the r o a d of
democracy. It also i n c l u d e d democratic elements a n d
even communists who, in those years, w o r k e d f o r the
dissemination of progressive ideas a n d fought the Z o g
regime. F o r example, m a n y elements w i t h democratic
tendencies, l i k e F a n N o l i , H a l i m X h e l o , R i z a C e r o v a ,
O m e r N i s h a n i , H a s a n P r i s h t i n a a n d others j o i n e d
K O N A R E( 1 ) .
Besides K O N A R E , w h i c h t w o years later took the
name the Committee of N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n a n d was
orientated towards a consistently democratic line, there
was also the group called the Bashkimi Kombëtar
[National U n i o n ] w h i c h declared itself anti-Zogite,
but w h i c h was for keeping A l b a n i a as it was, o n l y
w i t h o u t Zog.
T h i s group of emigrants i n c l u d e d the b u l k of the
inconsistent elements of the J u n e R e v o l u t i o n , the offs p r i n g of w e a l t h y bourgeois or landowner-bourgeois
families, top officials and f o r m e r deputies of the o p position against Zog, w h o had u n i t e d w i t h the d e m o ______________________________
1 T h e Revolutionary N a t i o n a l Committee, an organization
of A l b a n i a n p o l i t i c a l emigrants formed in V i e n n a in 1925.
84
cratic m o v e m e n t of the years 1920-1924, not because
t h e y l o v e d the people a n d genuine democracy, but,
some of them, f o r t h e i r class interests as representatives of the n e w A l b a n i a n bourgeoisie w h i c h w a n t e d
development a n d e n r i c h m e n t ; some others as opponents
of A h m e t Z o g and his circle, and others s t i l l because
t h e y h a d been «carried a w a y » in the upsurge of the
revolutionary spirit which prevailed in Albania during
that period, etc., etc. V e r y close to the Bashkimi Kombëtar as to its class composition a n d views, was the
so-called Z a r a G r o u p w h i c h took its name f r o m the
Dalmatian city where Benito Mussolini kept Mustafa
K r u j a a n d c o m p a n y as a reserve w i t h w h i c h he
threatened A h m e t Z o g w h e n e v e r h e w a n t e d t o p u t
pressure on h i m . M u s t a f a adopted a pose of h o s t i l i t y
to the heads of the Bashkimi Kombëtar such as A l i
K ë l c y r a a n d company, because t h e y p r e f e r r e d the
F r e n c h f r a n c and the Y u g o s l a v d i n a r to the Italian
lira.
Regardless of a l l this, however, the fact that these
elements h a d taken part in the democratic m o v e m e n t
of 1920-1924, a n d especially the fact that after Zog's
assumption of p o w e r almost a l l of t h e m had emigrated
and h a d r e m a i n e d f a r f r o m the H o m e l a n d , o r rather,
far f r o m their properties, for fifteen years on end,
h a d g i v e n t h e m the reputation of «democrats», «patriots», and «politicians». N o w that t h e y had r e t u r n e d
to A l b a n i a we h a d to m a k e approaches to them, too,
w i t h the a i m of p u t t i n g t h e i r p a t r i o t i s m to the test
a n d b r i n g i n g t h e m out on the battlefield.
Otherwise, w i t h a l l their i n t r i n s i c complexities
w h i c h fascism fostered among t h e m they w o u l d b e 85
come a m a j o r obstacle, indeed, one of the most d a n gerous obstacles, to the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r ,
to the u n i t y of the people in the w a r and, especially,
to the f u t u r e of A l b a n i a .
Therefore, right f r o m the start we decided to
contact these «patriotic politicians» and c a l l on t h e m to
fight, just as we d i d w i t h the other patriotic i n t e l lectual and nationalist elements.
One of the most t y p i c a l a n d dangerous people of
this category was M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i , alias L u m o Skëndo,
the pseudonym he had f r e q u e n t l y used in his l i t e r a r y
and political «works». I c a l l h i m one of the most d a n gerous, not o n l y because over the years he h a d vested
himself w i t h the halo of a great «patriot», but because
he had also been clever enough to a v o i d c o m p r o m i s i n g
himself openly in his collaboration w i t h the occupiers,
and indeed d i d not occupy a n y o f f i c i a l post in the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e apparatus of the « A l b a n i a n state». T h i s
degenerate scion of the r e n o w n e d F r a s h ë r i f a m i l y ,
t a k i n g advantage of his f a m i l y name a n d the fact that
he was the son of A b d y l F r a s h ë r i , the great patriot
and p o l i t i c i a n of o u r country, posed as the h e i r to the
s p i r i t of the Renaissance, as the absolute a r b i t e r of
the fate of the A l b a n i a n people. He had spent his l i f e
in the cafes of the East a n d the West, accepted salaries
and subsidies r i g h t and left and shed crocodile tears
over A l b a n i a w h i c h he t r u l y «loved», but o n l y to possess it in order to sell it a n d m a k e deals w i t h it. U n l i k e m a n y others, who, although t h e y betrayed later,
had f i r e d a f e w shots in the past, L u m o S k ë n d o h a d
done nothing for A l b a n i a apart f r o m two or three
worthless l i t e r a r y and p o l i t i c a l pamphlets and some
86
abstruse t a l k i n g . T h e people's w a r and his active w o r k
in the service of the occupier brought out the t r u e
colours of this «patriot» w h o f l e d across the sea w i t h
the ships of the defeated enemy.
I h a d been introduced to L u m o S k ë n d o p r e v i o u s l y
by some friends of his in the intellectual circles of
the capital. F r o m time to t i m e I had exchanged a f e w
words w i t h h i m w h e n I w e n t to b u y some book in the
bookshop w h i c h h e kept i n the R o y a l Road, today
the R o a d of Barricades. To t e l l the t r u t h , I h a d heard
both good and bad things said about h i m ; some m e n tioned M i t h a t B e y w i t h respect a s «the leader o f A l banianism», others described h i m as a demagogue a n d
perfidious, a n d indeed i t was said that A v n i R u s t e m i
had exposed h i m as such and as a collaborator of Esat
Pasha. (1) Nevertheless, M i t h a t B e y had a great r e p u t a tion and, moreover, d i d not f a i l to say the occasional
w o r d in condemnation of the regime and the occupier
and to speak w i t h regret about «the H o m e l a n d w h i c h
the enemy has invaded». In any case, b e a r i n g in
m i n d the reputation of his f a m i l y , I had the o p i n i o n
that this person m i g h t serve the country. The comrades
and I had decided that it w o u l d not be a bad t h i n g
to m a k e approaches to such an element.
One m o r n i n g , in the t i m e w h e n I was s t i l l legal,
I went to his bookshop. He was alone. He shook hands
w i t h me.
_____________________________________
1 Esat P a s h a Toptani, t y p i c a l representative of the treacherous A l b a n i a n f e u d a l lords, tool of the imperialist powers.
He
was
assassinated
by
the
R u s t e m i in P a r i s in 1920.
87
revolutionary
democrat
Avni
« H o w are things going, my boy?» he asked me.
«What do y o u expect, M i t h a t B e y ! » I r e p l i e d . «A
great e v i l has f a l l e n u p o n us a n d we y o u n g people
cannot sit idle. We w a n t to fight, to get organized.
We are convinced that y o u w i l l help us.»
«I am ready to help y o u , but o n l y if y o u listen to
me,» he said.
«Go ahead, speak, M r . L u m o , y o u k n o w that I
respect you.»
«Come in here,» he said and took me t h r o u g h the
door b e h i n d h i m into a sort of store-room w h e r e he
kept books and some old magazines and newspapers.
«Sit down,» he said, p o i n t i n g to a chair, w h i l e he
sat on another facing me.
We sat l i k e this for some moments w i t h o u t speaking and I w a i t e d . L u m o was t u r n i n g something over
in his m i n d . He took off his glasses, w i p e d t h e m w i t h
a piece of cloth and then put t h e m back on.
«Listen, my boy,» L u m o began and took off his
glasses again, «I am going to t a l k to y o u a n d w i l l
help you, if y o u f o l l o w the road of y o u r uncle, the
patriot H y s e n Hoxha.»
«I am f o l l o w i n g his road,» I replied, «and f o l l o w i n g
it faithfully.»
«No,» said M i t h a t B e y , «that is not so. He was
a n ardent nationalist, was w i t h I s m a i l B e y ( 1 ) i n V l o r a
w h e n the flag was raised, he fought together w i t h
_____________________________________
1 Ismail Q e m a l i (born in 1844), diplomat, politician, patriot
and
indomitable
fighter
for
the
freedom
of
Albania.
On
November 28, 1912 he raised the f l a g of independence in V l o r a
and chaired the first A l b a n i a n government. He was poisoned
by the Italian imperialists in
1919. People's H e r o .
88
Ç e r ç i z T o p u l l i (1) and others, w h i l e y o u , his n e p h e w ,
have taken a bad, a n t i - A l b a n i a n course, y o u are a
bolshevik and bolshevism is the enemy of Albania.»
I was d u m b f o u n d e d . I felt my temper rising, b u t
I controlled m y s e l f and said to h i m :
«Mr. L u m o Skëndo, y o u are i n s u l t i n g me over the
t h i n g w h i c h I h o l d dearest, my love f o r the H o m e l a n d
and my people. I am an A l b a n i a n c o m m u n i s t and that
is w h a t I w i l l be u n t i l I die. T h e communists a r e
l o y a l to the people to the death and I am p r o u d of
the w o r k of my uncle a n d not o n l y of h i m , but also
o f y o u r father, A b d y l F r a s h ë r i . T h e y fought against
foreign occupiers and we communists are f i g h t i n g
against the occupier of our H o m e l a n d . It seems to me,
M r . L u m o , that y o u are not disposed t o f o l l o w t h e
course of y o u r father and the F r a s h ë r i brothers, (2) that
is, y o u are not f o r the l i b e r a t i o n of A l b a n i a . T h i s w i l l
b r i n g great j o y to the occupiers and a ' n e u t r a l ' stand
in these d i f f i c u l t times m u s t lead to betrayal!»
I w a l k e d out of the shop a n g r i l y a n d left M i t h a t
F r a s h ë r i t r y i n g i n v a i n t o answer me, because h e w a s
so s u r p r i s e d that he stuttered more t h a n usual.
T h a t was the p e r i o d w h e n these «democratic p a triots» p e r m i t t e d themselves the tone of a h a u g h t y
________________________________
1 Ç e r ç i z T o p u l l i , commander of a çeta of patriots f i g h t i n g
against
the
Turkish
occupiers
during
the
Albanian
national
movement for freedom and the independence of the country.
People's H e r o .
2 Abdyl
leader
of
Frashëri
the
Albanian
(1846-1900),
great
(1850-1904),
outstanding
(1839-1892),
League
Albanian
of
outstanding
Prizren;
national
ideologist,
89
poet;
scholar
and
personality,
Naim
Frashëri
Sami
Frashëri
statist.
teacher in their conversations w i t h us communists.
T h e idea of «the élite of the nation», w h i c h was so
f i r m l y implanted i n their m i n d s a n d w h i c h t h e y p r o pagated themselves, d i d not p e r m i t t h e m either to
understand the great a n d inexhaustible strength of the
people, or to see that the times h a d changed a n d t h e y
h a d lagged b e h i n d the development of society w h i c h ,
according to them, had r e m a i n e d as it was t w e n t y
years earlier. T h e y not o n l y said, b u t up to a point
also believed that we, the communists, a n d o u r P a r t y ,
w h i c h had assumed the b u r d e n of the organization of
the war, were children, incapable of r u n n i n g things
and g i v i n g leadership. They, of course, h a d a great
hatred for c o m m u n i s m , although t h e y calmed t h e m selves w i t h the idea that « A l b a n i a is not Russia» and
«bolshevism is not for the peasants a n d the ragged
poor of A l b a n i a . »
D u r i n g meetings and heated arguments w i t h the
representatives of this category of nationalists, we
communists gained f i r s t - h a n d knowledge of their v i e w s
and true aims. B e l o w I s h a l l speak in more detail
about the origin, features and aspirations of this category of pseudo-patriots, but here I w a n t to point out
that as early as the time of the c o m m u n i s t groups
and especially later, w h e n the P a r t y charged us w i t h
the task of t a l k i n g w i t h t h e m in order to c l a r i f y
them and, if possible, to convince t h e m that t h e y h a d
taken the w r o n g road, we h a d long, complicated and
wearisome talks w i t h the «patriot fathers» w h o never
tired of m a k i n g endless speeches f u l l of sophistry,
traps and tricks.
W h e n I came to T i r a n a and Esat D i s h n i c a and I
90
opened the «Flora» shop I f r e q u e n t l y v i s i t e d B a h r i
O m a r i . A f t e r the defeat of the J u n e R e v o l u t i o n of
1924, B a h r i , l i k e m a n y others, h a d r e m a i n e d in e x i l e
a n d r e t u r n e d to A l b a n i a in 1939 w i t h the caravans of
p o l i t i c a l emigrants, settled in T i r a n a , and so it h a p pened that I w e n t to v i s i t h i m t i m e after time, espec i a l l y u n t i l I was able to get a house a n d b r i n g my
father, mother and younger sister, Sano, to T i r a n a .
B a h r i was a bourgeois l i b e r a l w h o behaved correctly
i n his f a m i l y and social relations, w h i l e i n his p o l i t i c a l opinions he was opposed to us. Nevertheless, after
the arguments about p o l i t i c a l questions w h i c h occurr e d between us he t r i e d to prevent these f r o m b e c o m i n g excessively bitter. At that t i m e I s t i l l hoped that
B a h r i m i g h t be brought closer to us because, despite
the contacts w h i c h he m a i n t a i n e d w i t h merchants,
aghas a n d leading A l b a n i a n fascist officials, he posed
as an anti-fascist a n d d i d not f a i l to say the odd w o r d
against the occupier. A p a r t f r o m this, t h r o u g h B a h r i
I had the possibility to create m a n y links, to contact
t h e nationalist elements a n d to acquaint m y s e l f better
at f i r s t h a n d w i t h their «currents», «tendencies»,
«groups» or t h e i r organization, w h i c h was an i m p o r t a n t task for the w o r k of the P a r t y .
In fact, in the p e r i o d before the f o r m a t i o n of the
P a r t y and, indeed, even later, w h e n the Conference
o f P e z a h a d not been summoned, the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t h a d not been f o r m e d a n d t h e y
h a d not f o r m e d the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , it was d i f f i c u l t
f o r us to d i s t i n g u i s h the trends and affinities of the
f u t u r e heads of that t r a i t o r organization. We k n e w
that A l i K ë l c y r a , K o l ë T r o m a r a , B a h r i O m a r i , S h e h
91
K a r b u n a r a , S e j f i V l l a m a s i a n d others w e r e of one
«trend». I h a d never heard B a h r i speak w i t h s y m p a t h y either o f L u m o Skëndo o r M e h d i F r a s h ë r i a n d
others of this ilk. P o s s i b l y t h e y h a d d i v i d e d t h e i r roles,
possibly A l i K ë l c y r a was engaged w i t h them, w h i l e
some other l i k e their f r i e n d X h e v a t K o r ç a , for i n s t ance, was a l l o w e d t o j o i n the q u i s l i n g government; A l i
K ë l c y r a himself, the s o n - i n - l a w o f the V r i o n i s a n d
their a l l y and, of course, also an a l l y of the V ë r l a c i s ,
d i d not take an o f f i c i a l position as f a r as I k n o w so
that he w o u l d be able to pose for a w h i l e as a «pure
patriot».
Hence, w h e n I w e n t to see B a h r i I d i d this not
s i m p l y for a f a m i l y v i s i t b u t also to t a l k to h i m in
order to convince h i m or to persuade h i m to l i n k up
w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t . N o t o n l y was
B a h r i not convinced by our arguments, b u t he p r e tended that h e and his friends, headed b y A l i B e y
K ë l c y r a , were the greatest anti-fascists, the greatest
anti-Italians and the greatest democrats that A l b a n i a
had seen! N a t u r a l l y it was easy for me to shoot d o w n
their «justifications» one after the other, a n d the facts
and their activities p r o v i d e d m e w i t h weapons f o r
this.
«This is our policy, this is our tactic,» said B a h r i
Omari.
« B u t w h o m does this p o l i c y and tactic serve?»
I asked h i m .
«The people and democracy!»
« V e r y w e l l , but can't y o u reason? T h e people c a n
never be w i t h y o u or y o u r policy, because t h e y hate
the occupiers and condemn collaboration w i t h them.»
92
«That is w h a t y o u communists say,» r e p l i e d B a h r i .
«It is not o n l y us that say this. E v e r y o n e can see
t h a t y o u r 'tactics' i s anti-patriotic. Y o u pretend y o u
have the people w i t h y o u , b u t y o u are w r o n g . T h e
people are w i t h us, because we don't engage m ' g r a n d '
politics a n d 'delicate' diplomacy, but, m y w o r d , w e
wage the w a r for the l i b e r a t i o n of the country.»
L i k e m a n y other pseudo-patriots, B a h r i h a d b e come a m e m b e r of the « C o u n c i l of State», created
especially f o r m e n of this type, w h o m the fascist r e g i m e h a d a r o u n d i t a n d kept i n reserve f o r the bad
times w h i c h w e r e to come. We «friends», cousins and
acquaintances d i d our utmost to persuade t h e m to
leave their e m p l o y m e n t w i t h the fascists, even used
satire, allegedly j o k i n g l y , a l t h o u g h r e a l l y m e a n i n g it,
b u t it was a l l m v a i n .
D r . O m e r N i s h a n i , w h o m we h a d k n o w n as a dem o c r a t i c m a n , a m e m b e r of K O N A R E and a c o l l a b o r a tor of H a l i m X h e l o in the newspaper Liria Kombëtare
( N a t i o n a l Freedom) (1), was included in this organ set up
by the v i c e - r e g a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n as one of the details
of the decor of the « A l b a n i a n state». H o w e v e r , dr.
N i s h a n i was not of the legion of those collaborationists. H i s j o i n i n g the « C o u n c i l of State» was t r u l y a
mistake, but he was soon to correct it and, as I s h a l l
s h o w later, the Doctor became one of the outstanding
m i l i t a n t s of the F r o n t and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
I r e m e m b e r that one afternoon Esat D i s h n i c a and
I went into the Kursaal Café w h e r e we saw a l l these
_________________________________
1 O r g a n of
the Revolutionary
National
1935), p u b l i s h e d abroad, m a i n l y in V i e n n a .
93
Committee
(1925-
«councillors» gathered r o u n d the tables t a l k i n g amongst
themselves.
«Corne on,» said Esat, «let's get in amongst t h e m
and break up their conversation.»
« A l l right,» I said, and we went up to t h e m .
Esat had a w r y humour. A f t e r greeting t h e m he
said:
«Have y o u come out of school? P a r d o n us if we
have disturbed y o u because perhaps y o u w e r e g o i n g
over y o u r lessons.»
D r . N i s h a n i , w h o was a s y m p a t h i z e r of ours and,
therefore, called «red», laughed his u s u a l h e a r t y l a u g h
and i n v i t e d us to sit d o w n . We d i d so. K o l ë T r o m a r a
t u r n e d to Esat and said to h i m :
«It's a l l v e r y w e l l for these fellows w h o have n o thing and couldn't be a n y t h i n g else b u t communists,
but y o u w h o are the grandson o f A l i B e y , w h o r u l e d
the peasantry o f K o r ç a , w h y are y o u t r y i n g t o s h o w
off to us?»
«Precisely because I am the grandson of A l i B e y , »
replied Esat w i t h his characteristic aplomb, «I w a n t
to redress to some degree the sins and evils w h i c h
my grandfather has committed.»
Occasionally I met K o l ë T r o m a r a a n d S h e h K a r b u nara in the Kursaal Café and the conversations w h i c h
ensued were about the most commonplace t h i n g s .
W h e n we met in the street we greeted each other.
K o l ë Tromara's face was not u n k n o w n to me, because
I had seen h i m several times in P a r i s and his a r r o g ance and self-presumption had made an impression on
me. He h e l d his head h i g h , wore A m e r i c a n - s t y l e spectacles, dressed in black clothes l i k e the Quakers a n d
94
w a l k e d , looked and spoke as if he were « c a r r y i n g
the w h o l e w o r l d on his shoulders». S h e h K a r b u n a r a I
h a d met i n B a r i . I had never seen K o l ë T r o m a r a i n
B a h r i ' s home, but I h a d met the S h e h there. S h e h
K a r b u n a r a was a clever c u n n i n g d e v i l , v e r y guarded
i n his words. H e l i v e d i n L u s h n j a , o r more precisely
in K a r b u n a r a , in his tekke-home, a n d his a c q u a i n t a n ces f r o m L u s h n j a , Berat, Durrës, T i r a n a and other
regions c o n t i n u a l l y v i s i t e d h i m there. T h e Sheh, u n d e r
the cloak of a democrat and w i t h his a u t h o r i t a r i a n
m a n n e r of a «politician» w h o k n o w s a n d understands
the problems w e l l , u n d o u b t e d l y also e x p l o i t e d the
religious m y s t i q u e of the «cap and the gown» and
c e r t a i n l y took m o n e y f r o m anyone. F r o m w h a t I h a d
heard, he h i m s e l f also w e n t here a n d there, not o n l y
to T i r a n a , to his f o r m e r f r i e n d s in exile, but also to
his other friends, w e l l - k n o w n merchants. H e was v e r y
dangerous w i t h his bonhomie* w h i c h concealed a d i a b o l i c a l nature.
H o w m a n y fruitless meetings a n d talks h a d I at
that time w i t h these thick-headed i n d i v i d u a l s bent on
t h e i r r o a d of b e t r a y a l ! It w o u l d be of no v a l u e to
m e n t i o n a l l of t h e m (and in fact I c o u l d not do so)
but many, if not the w h o l e lot, became arch-reactionaries, quislings or leaders of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
By chance I w a s introduced also to V e h i p R u n a
who, in the p e r i o d before the 1924 R e v o l u t i o n , posed
as a democrat. I h a d heard my father speak of h i m .
V e h i p R u n a was f r o m o u r parts, L a b ë r i a , f r o m K u r velesh, if I am not m i s t a k e n . T h e fact is that V e h i p ' s
______________________________
* F r e n c h in the original.
95
f a m i l y was w e l l - k n o w n in K u r v e l e s h as a w e a l t h y
i n f l u e n t i a l f a m i l y a n d both V e h i p a n d his brother h a d
reputations as brave f i g h t i n g m e n . A f t e r the o v e r t h r o w of the N o l i government, w h e n the regime of Z o g
was established, V e h i p R u n a , as a clever a n d c u n n i n g
kulak, i m m e d i a t e l y t u r n e d his coat and placed his i n fluence in the service of Z o g w h o k n e w h o w to m a k e
the most of it. Thus, the «democrat» V e h i p R u n a h a d
undergone a metamorphosis a n d h a d t u r n e d into a
bayraktar of the south. N a t u r a l l y , his «army» was
not v e r y big and his influence was based not so m u c h
on the people of K u r v e l e s h , or the c i t y of G j i r o k a s t r a ,
as on the owners of large flocks and, especially, on f a m i l y and marriage connections w h i c h h a d to be taken
into account. T h a n k s to these connections a n d as a
r e w a r d for the services w h i c h he p e r f o r m e d for A h m e t
Zog, V e h i p R u n a managed to be appointed prefect, left
the village and t u r n e d into a « c i v i l i z e d personality»
of the city.
When Zog fled from Albania, Vehip Runa, of
course, abandoned Z o g a n d offered his h a n d to Italy.
He t u r n e d his coat again, became prefect again, under
the q u i s l i n g regime.
He was a tall, w e l l - b u i l t man, w i t h k n o w i n g eyes
set in a characteristic long, sallow, deeply w r i n k l e d
face. He had assumed the appearance and the manners
of the top m e n of the regime; he h a d retained both
their detestable appearance and also the c u n n i n g of
the r i c h peasant. In his g l i t t e r i n g eyes one could see
the savagery along w i t h the «gentility» of a «civilized
man» and the c u n n i n g of the agha. He spoke in a l o w
«polite» voice w i t h such words as « M r . E n v e r » , « m y
96
boy», a n d m a n y expressions o f this nature w i t h w h i c h
he w a n t e d to indicate his s u p e r i o r i t y and i n f l u e n c e
a m o n g the masses.
N o w V e h i p R u n a h a d l i n k e d u p w i t h his o l d
f r i e n d s of the t i m e of «democracy» w h o h a d r e t u r n e d
f r o m exile, a n d was once again an «anti-Zogite» a n d
a «democrat». He was a top f u n c t i o n a r y of the fascist
regime a n d w h i s p e r e d here a n d there as if allegedly
«there was n o t h i n g else he could do», just as «there
was n o t h i n g else that his f r i e n d s could do». «We have
t o w o r k f r o m w i t h i n t o o v e r t h r o w fascism i n peaceful
ways», that is, «we m u s t take the castle f r o m w i t h i n » ,
and w h e n the horse died these v e n a l lackeys w e r e
ready to s t r i p off its shoes, to seize p o w e r a n d to
«establish d e m o c r a c y » ! T h i s was the thesis w h i c h V e h i p o u t l i n e d quietly, in a l o w voice, to me, « M r .
E n v e r » , «the son of my f r i e n d H a l i l » , and, as he p u t
it, the others w e r e of the same o p i n i o n as he. T h i s
conversation took place d u r i n g a l u n c h i n B a h r i O m a n's house t o w h i c h V e h i p R u n a h a d been i n v i t e d a n d
at w h i c h I a n d S k ë n d e r P o j a n i w e r e present, too.
S k ë n d e r P o j a n i w a s a dissolute bey, portly, w i t h
spectacles and a moustache, an inveterate philanderer,
despite his advanced age. T h i s bey was a shareholder
of S T A M L E S (1), had a w e l l - f i l l e d wallet, w e n t in and out
of the homes of his Italian f r i e n d s a n d was f r i e n d l y
w i t h the other beys w h o gathered r o u n d the «honey
pot» of fascism. N a t u r a l l y , he was a f r i e n d also of
these so-called democrats w h o m he s u p p l i e d w i t h «spe__________________________________
1 Albanian
shareholder
tobacco
and
cigarette
company.
97
commercial-industrial
cial» cigarettes as w e l l as w i t h cash, w h e n they asked
for it. He was an adventurer bey, but for K o l ë T r o mara, S h e h K a r b u n a r a and persons of that i l k he
was «popular and a democrat».
D u r i n g the conversation I t o l d V e h i p R u n a that I
could not agree w i t h his opinions and actions. D u r i n g
the whole time that I sat there w i t h t h e m I used the
same quiet tone and t r i e d to oppose their thesis w i t h
c o n v i n c i n g arguments. I had no hope at a l l in V e h i p
R u n a and Skënder P o j a n i , but it pleased me to k n o c k
d o w n their arguments and t o place t h e m w i t h t h e i r
backs to the w a l l . W h e n I was speaking, V e h i p R u n a ,
who had long been acquainted w i t h my ideas, p r e t e n d ed to be astonished and tried to counter my arguments.
« M r . Vehip,» I said to h i m , « w h y do y o u w a n t
to complicate issues w h i c h are clear? Fascist Italy
has occupied us, it is colonizing us and w a n t s to w i p e
us out as a nation and a people. C a n y o u not see this,
or do y o u not want to see it? Italy and a l l those w h o
have occupied us have a l w a y s h a d this a i m . O u r people have always fought for f r e e d o m and n o w t h e y
are going to f i g h t to liberate themselves once and f o r
a l l . Therefore, for us the p r o b l e m is clear: either we
w i l l fight together w i t h the people, o r w e w i l l f i g h t
together w i t h the occupier against the people. T h i s
is h o w I present the problem, M r . V e h i p . Take y o u r
choice. We have chosen the f i r s t course.»
«We too, M r . H o x h a , have chosen the first course,»
r e p l i e d V e h i p sharply.
«Then abandon the second!» I t o l d h i m .
«This is a tactic, my son,» said V e h i p . «This is
where we differ. We i n t e n d to strangle the fascist r e 98
gime w i t h o u r men, to get control of e v e r y t h i n g by
w o r k i n g under the lap, in a w o r d ' q u i e t l y and g e n t l y
a n d get o u r o w n w a y ' . »
I interrupted h i m saying:
«Mr. V e h i p , we are opposed to y o u r p o l i c y ' q u i e t l y and g e n t l y a n d get o u r o w n way', because w i t h the
occupiers the people c a n never get their o w n w a y ,
w i l l get nothing, therefore we c a n be neither gentle
n o r restrained w i t h the enemies, but w i l l be savage
a n d merciless, because this is the o n l y w a y that w e ' l l
save the people.»
A f t e r these w o r d s o f mine, S k ë n d e r P o j a n i , w h o
up to that point h a d been too b u s y eating a n d d r i n k i n g to say a n y t h i n g , i n t e r v e n e d in the conversation:
«Oh, no, M r . E n v e r , » he said, «we cannot agree
w i t h y o u . People w i l l b e k i l l e d , and towns, villages
a n d w h o l e districts burned.»
« M r . S k ë n d e r i s quite right,» said V e h i p s u p p o r t i n g h i m , t u r n i n g to me. «If we f o l l o w the course that
y o u advocate, o u r people, w h o are o n l y a h a n d f u l ,
w i l l suffer great losses. Is this w h a t y o u w a n t ? W h a t
d o y o u say, B a h r i ? » h e asked B a h r i O m a r i w h o h a d
t a k e n no part in the conversation.
« I have t a l k e d c o n t i n u a l l y w i t h Enver,» r e p l i e d
B a h r i , «but I do not agree w i t h h i m . Y o u t r y to r e a c h
agreement,» a n d he relapsed into silence.
« W e have great love f o r the people a n d the
Homeland,» I t o l d t h e m , «and we never w a n t to see
the people k i l l e d a n d the c o u n t r y devastated. O n t h e
contrary, we w a n t to have the H o m e l a n d free a n d
the people the sovereign masters i n our country. B u t
this w i l l not be achieved either by s i t t i n g idle, or by
99
'taking the castle f r o m w i t h i n ' , as y o u think,» I c o n tinued. «The freedom and happiness of the people
can be achieved o n l y through war, therefore we have
decided to fight back at those w h o have attacked
us and robbed the H o m e l a n d of its freedom and sovereignty, to d r i v e t h e m out a n d liberate the people.»
« B u t isn't this w h a t We want, M r . E n v e r ? » asked
Skënder Pojani.
«The 'tactic' w h i c h y o u use shows that y o u r strategy does not have such an aim.»
« W h y , m y son,» r e p l i e d V e h i p R u n a , «isn't o u r
strategy for the l i b e r a t i o n of A l b a n i a ? »
«Excuse me for speaking somewhat harshly,» I
replied, «but y o u r expressions ' q u i e t l y and g e n t l y and
get our o w n way', y o u r tactic to 'take the castle f r o m
w i t h i n ' and w i t h o u t f i r i n g a shot, obliges one to t h i n k
that y o u r intention is not to overcome the problems
of the H o m e l a n d a n d the people, b u t to go about it
so that w h e n fascism is defeated, y o u gentlemen w i l l
take p o w e r and act w i t h A l b a n i a i n the w a y that
pleases you.»
There was a m o m e n t of silence, Skënder's f o r k
tapping on his plate was the o n l y sound heard in the
room, but V e h i p gave h i m an angry look and S k ë n d e r
put it d o w n .
«Listen, son,» said V e h i p e v e n t u a l l y in a tone in
w h i c h gentleness was g i v i n g w a y to open threats.
«We are w e l l aware of w h a t democracy is and we
have fought for it. Y o u were s t i l l a c h i l d w h e n B a h r i ,
M u l l a H a l i l and I voted for Opinga and were d e m o crats.»
«I m a y have been a c h i l d at that time, M r . Vehip,»
100
I said, «but I am a c h i l d no longer and the people a n d
I, as a son of the people, suffered the consequences
of y o u r 'democracy' u n d e r the regime of Z o g and are
s u f f e r i n g t h e m n o w u n d e r fascism.»
«Yes,» interjected B a h r i , «the o n l y point i n w h i c h
I agree w i t h y o u , E n v e r , is that democracy d i d not
exist u n d e r Z o g a n d does not exist u n d e r fascism!»
«In that case,» I replied, «give up y o u r collaboration w i t h fascism. Y o u d i d not b o w to Zog, so be
consistent.»
I glanced at V e h i p R u n a , Zog's e r s t w h i l e prefect,
but he pretended not to u n d e r s t a n d the a l l u s i o n a n d
directed his eyes a n d his f o r k to the rissole on his plate.
«Then,» I w e n t on, «you m u s t bear in m i n d that
the people w a n t to fight, y o u cannot restrain t h e i r
desire for f r e e d o m long w i t h tactics. T h a t is w h y I
say we ought to u n i t e a n d fight. If we are u n i t e d and
organized, t h e n w e ' l l have f e w e r losses a n d w i l l w i n
f r e e d o m more q u i c k l y . »
V e h i p raised his head. « M r . Enver,» he said, «we
k n o w the people better and t h e y k n o w us better. T h e r e fore, it is not precisely as y o u say. I need go no f u r t h e r
t h a n to t e l l y o u about L a b ë r i a w h i c h I k n o w l i k e the
p a l m of my h a n d . Z e n e l G j o l e k a and I have b e e n
there a n d the people t o l d us that we m u s t wait, that
w e have n o weapons, that t h e y w i l l b u r n o u r homes
if we open fire.»
« I don't agree either w i t h y o u , M r . V e h i p , o r
w i t h Z e n e l G j o l e k a w h o i s d o i n g the opposite o f w h a t
Z e n e l G j o l e k a , the b r a v e of the brave of L a b ë r i a , d i d
against the O t t o m a n occupiers,» I replied. «We, too,
k n o w L a b ë r i a , just as w e l l and possibly even better
101
t h a n you, because we k n o w the people a n d the true
patriots there. H a t r e d f o r the e n e m y is s i m m e r i n g
there. T h e people w a n t to f i g h t a n d are f i g h t i n g . Of
course, there are a f e w w e a l t h y i n d i v i d u a l s , l i k e the
S h u k o Qanas, B i l a l N i v i c a s a n d H a s a n Zagarët* w h o
not o n l y do not w a n t to f i g h t the enemy, b u t e v e n
worse, are f i g h t i n g against the people of L a b ë r i a ,
w h i c h is an heroic region and it w i l l continue its h e r oic traditions.»
« W h o m are y o u t e l l i n g about these traditions,
M r . H o x h a ? » asked V e h i p i n a n i r o n i c a l tone. «We
come f r o m there and these traditions belong to us; we
can talk about G j o l e k a , Çelo P i c a r i a n d others.»
«What do y o u t h i n k we are, Italians, or collaborators of the Italians?» I r e p l i e d a n g r i l y . «The heroic
traditions of G j o l e k a of L a b ë r i a a n d a l l the heroes of
the c o u n t r y of a l l times belong to the people. We are
the sons of this heroic people a n d have the r i g h t to
be p r o u d of these heroes, and it is o u r d u t y to f o l l o w
in their footsteps. B u t there is one t h i n g y o u ought
t o k n o w : G j o l e k a o f L a b ë r i a a n d Ç e l o P i c a r i were
brave and strong w i l l e d , because t h e y w e r e patriots a n d
fighters against the invaders and because t h e y based
themselves on the people. Y o u have heard, I believe, h o w
the people sing to these patriots. T h e y eulogize the outstandingly brave i n d i v i d u a l s to w h o m the c o m m o n
people have g i v e n b i r t h a n d w h o m t h e y have made
fighters of rare valour. Hence, this people w h o have
always considered f r e e d o m the most sacred t h i n g
and have h a d courage f l o w i n g i n t h e i r veins cannot
____________________________
* Dogs.
102
t h i n k as y o u do. Y o u r v i e w s a n d pretensions are
h a r m f u l . H i s t o r y shows that we and not y o u are right.»
«But y o u have n o one i n K u r v e l e s h , M r . H o x h a ,
y o u have o n l y a f e w youths w h o m nobody knows.»
«I believe y o u m u s t have heard of B a l i l Nesha,»
I replied. « N o b o d y k n e w B a l i l u n t i l he fought the
detachments of T u r k e y and the people recognized
h i m , h o n o u r e d h i m a n d composed a song about him,»
and I quoted some lines f r o m a f o l k song,
Kuç,
Kallarat and Bolena
Rose with Balil to a man
Gunfire broke loose at the river
And death knocked at every door.
Balil, you star of bravery!
«We have comrades l i k e this in K u r v e l e s h , since
y o u m e n t i o n e d that region,» I continued my r e p l y to
V e h i p . « T h e y are going to f i g h t and if y o u continue
y o u r 'tactic' the i n f l u e n c e y o u have there, w h i c h
seems to y o u dominant, w i l l be w i p e d out. We needn't
g o f u r t h e r t h a n y o u r brother, M r . V e h i p , w h o i s w i t h
us a n d not w i t h y o u a n d is f i g h t i n g the occupiers. I
have h e a r d t a l k about y o u r bravery, M r . R u n a , and
k n o w that y o u have influence i n K u r v e l e s h , therefore
it w o u l d be good if y o u were to p u t it at the disposal
of the w a r for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d : a b a n don the course y o u have taken, because it is w r o n g ,
go no f u r t h e r towards disaster, unite w i t h o u r people's
w a r and place yourselves in the service of the great
cause of liberation,» I concluded.
But Vehip Runa's reply was:
103
«We are f i g h t i n g for A l b a n i a i n o u r o w n w a y .
We do not have the same views.»
«It is y o u r r i g h t to stick to the v i e w s y o u have,»
I said bluntly, «but I t e l l y o u once a g a i n : the people
and h i s t o r y w i l l not excuse y o u for w h a t y o u are
doing. We have done our d u t y towards y o u . I see that
y o u have no regard for us, but we do not measure
our w o r k w i t h the y a r d s t i c k of y o u r regard. T h e
people are w i t h us. T h e y love and support us. W i t h out the people and w i t h o u t us y o u ' l l slide deeper a n d
deeper into the mire.»
A f t e r these words I stood up, p u t t i n g an end to
the meeting w i t h V e h i p R u n a , w h o was a n d r e m a i n e d
at w a r w i t h us, a n d assisted the occupiers to the end,
u n t i l the people gave h i m the p u n i s h m e n t he deserved.
A p a r t f r o m other things, i n the conversations
w i t h these individuals, the absurd belief t h e y h a d i n
the «authority» w h i c h t h e y allegedly e n j o y e d amongst
the people made an impression on us. Of course, this
overweening belief i n their o w n «worth» h a d its source in the fact that t h e y k n e w n o t h i n g about the people, about the changes w h i c h t h e y h a d undergone in
their outlook, psychology and p o l i t i c a l m a t u r i t y . These
i n d i v i d u a l s believed that since t h e y h a d been «deputies» and had «worked» in exile, t h e y s t i l l retained
the reputation of anti-Zogite politicians a n d «pure democrats» and, consequently, w e r e m e n of influence.
A m o n g s t themselves t h e y h a d d i v i d e d their spheres
o f influence. B e i n g f r o m K o r ç a , K o l ë T r o m a r a thought
that he had K o r ç a b e h i n d h i m and o n l y needed to
issue the call and K o r ç a w o u l d s p r i n g to its feet to
104
f o l l o w h i m (!). A l i B e y w a s not content o n l y w i t h K ë l c y r a and D a n g ë l l i a , but posed as a person of i n f l u e n c e
among a l l the «democrats» of the country. Indeed, he
thought that he even h a d the peasantry in his pocket,
regardless of the fact that he was the scion of one of
the most barbarous families of beys, notorious f o r
m u r d e r i n g peasants b y t h r o w i n g t h e m f r o m the cliff
o n w h i c h their m a n s i o n was b u i l t into the V j o s a R i ver. A p p a r e n t l y , A l i B e y thought that these details o f
his f a m i l y r e c o r d a n d the fact that he was the s o n - i n l a w of the V r i o n i s increased his a u t h o r i t y and this
self-styled democrat was convinced that the peasantry
w o u l d f o l l o w h i m ! I t was the same w i t h a l l o f t h e m :
Q a z i m K o c u l i , «the hero of the w a r of Vlora», t h o u g h t
that h e h a d the people o f V l o r a w i t h h i m w h e n e v e r
h e w a n t e d , S e j f i V l l a m a s i was the one w h o w o u l d
take the place o f Z y l y f t a r P o d a ( 1 ) i n K o l o n j a , w h i l e
R e x h e p M i t r o v i c a thought that he personally w a s
K o s o v a , for w h i c h the hearts of these v e n a l officials
allegedly w e r e bleeding.
H o w e v e r , h i s t o r y showed that their titles a n d p o w er w e r e o n l y t h e i r dreams, because the people not
o n l y d i d not f o l l o w them, but on the contrary, s w e p t
t h e m a w a y a n d tossed t h e m into the garbage b i n ,
w h e r e t h e y belonged.
T h e r e w e r e also some w h o d i d not take the trouble
to camouflage t h e i r true aims and interests w h i c h
l i n k e d t h e m w i t h the Italian occupiers. E v e n i n c o n ___________________________________
1 C o m m a n d e r of a çeta of A l b a n i a n insurgents d u r i n g the
O t t o m a n occupation of the country.
105
v e r s a t i o n they were threatening a n d aggressive, because t h e y considered our efforts a n d our w a r a d i rect threat to their posts and profits.
R e i z Selfo, a b i g G j i r o k a s t r a merchant, t a l k e d to
me one d a y about the «blessings» w h i c h fascist Italy
h a d brought A l b a n i a . Of course, he d i d not f a i l to
shed a f e w crocodile tears over «the lost freedom»
and «the u n h a p p y Homeland,» but the essence of
w h a t he h a d to say was that «this e v i l t h a t has come
u p o n us also has its good points, because jobs are
opening up, there are goods in the market, the A l b a n i a n schools have not been closed», a n d so on a n d so
forth.
N a t u r a l l y , I rejected this «thesis», t e l l i n g h i m that
the enemy h a d captured our H o m e l a n d , enslaved us,
imprisoned our people, was colonizing us a n d also
e x p l o i t i n g us economically.
« A n y o n e w h o defends the occupation of the country by foreigners is a traitor,» I t o l d R e i z Selfo. «The
profits and blessings that y o u t a l k about, Reiz, are f o r
the collaborators of fascism. Y o u b i g merchants are
certainly m a k i n g fabulous profits, w h i l e the people
g r i n d corn husks f o r bread a n d are struck d o w n b y
the enemy's bullets. W h y should y o u r f r i e n d Q e m a l
V r i o n i c o m p l a i n about I t a l y w h e n h e i s d r a w i n g p r o fits by selling the l a n d of the c o u n t r y to Italian a g r i c u l t u r a l companies? Y o u b i g merchants strangled the
s m a l l shopkeepers and l i v e l i k e lords. L o o k at that
great green j e w e l on y o u r f i n g e r (he was w e a r i n g a
r i n g w h i c h was c e r t a i n l y v e r y costly). Y o u are the
friends of J a c o m o n i and S h u k G u r a k u q i , the m i n i s t e r
106
of finance, get fat i m p o r t licences a n d pose as p a triots. W h a t p a t r i o t i s m i s there i n this?»
B a h r i O m a r i , i n whose house this m e e t i n g took
place, opened his m o u t h a n d s a i d :
«Reiz, better leave off this conversation.»
«No,» said Reiz, «I won't, because these r e d r a g a m u f f i n s are boasting of t h e i r p a t r i o t i s m as if t h e y
are going to m a k e A l b a n i a . »
«We are g o i n g to m a k e it. We reds, together w i t h
the people, a n d the people w i l l be w i t h us!» I replied.
«We'll n e v e r a l l o w y o u r seed to sprout on o u r
soil,» declared R e i z S e l f o a n g r i l y .
«Remember these words, R e i z Selfo,» I said to
h i m , «because I f o r my part w i l l not forget t h e m .
W h e n the people take p o w e r t o m o r r o w y o u ' l l n o l o n ger speak i n this language, b u t y o u w i l l f i l l y o u r
pants,» a n d I begged B a h r i ' s p a r d o n for the expression I used.
B a h r i O m a r i again begged us to close that subject.
R e i z shut his gob and I got up and left. I do not k n o w
w h e t h e r the t r a i t o r merchant, R e i z Selfo, r e m e m b e r e d
those words of mine, b u t w h e n the people's state p o w er confiscated his stock a n d w e a l t h , or e v e n later,
w h e n the people's court sentenced h i m to death f o r
h i s c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t y d u r i n g the nazi-fascist occupation
a n d after the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d , this r a b i d
e n e m y h a d l e a r n e d n o t h i n g f r o m the fate of his friends,
because apart f r o m other things, he i m p l i c a t e d himself
i n terrorist activities. I n the f i r s t years after L i b e r ation he was one of the organizers of the terrorists
w h o t h r e w a b o m b at the Soviet E m b a s s y in T i r a n a .
107
Once I h a d a fierce q u a r r e l w i t h A b a z O m a r i , a
cousin of B a h r i ' s f r o m his father's side, w h o was also
a relation of ours, because he was the n e p h e w of my
uncle, H y s e n H o x h a . W e h a d k n o w n each other since
our childhood a n d w h e n w e w e r e y o u n g m e n h e often
came to our home. We were about the same age (perhaps A b a z was two or three years older t h a n I), and
he, too, had attended the Lycée of K o r ç a a n d h a d gone
to P a r i s to continue his studies. B u t after s t a y i n g
there for f o u r years kept by his father w h o was a m e r chant and l a n d o w n e r i n Fier, h e h a d r e t u r n e d t o A l bania w i t h o u t a d i p l o m a a n d w o r k e d in his father's
business for some time. L a t e r he m a r r i e d a w o m a n
w i t h a handsome d o w r y and r e t u r n e d to F r a n c e w i t h
her money, took his d i p l o m a in l a w a n d r e t u r n e d to
become an advocate. I h a d not met h i m for a long t i m e
u n t i l one day after the occupation of the c o u n t r y I
f o u n d h i m v i s i t i n g m y sister F a h r i j e . W e embraced, I
congratulated h i m and after the u s u a l s m a l l talk, as
always, we began discussing the p o l i t i c a l problems. I
remember that in the past A b a z presented h i m s e l f in
our discussions as an anti-feudal, a democrat a n d a
leftist. B u t w h a t d i d I f i n d : w h e n I spoke to h i m about
the war, about the necessity for it a n d so on, it t u r n e d
out that f r o m being a «leftist» A b a z h a d become a
«rightist», f r o m a democrat he h a d become an ardent
defender of the wealthy, in a w o r d , he h a d t u r n e d
his coat. W e q u a r r e l l e d and w h o k n o w s h o w the q u a r r e l w o u l d have ended h a d m y sister not intervened.
N e v e r again d i d I see this m a n w h o became a g u a r d
dog of A l i B e y , a B a l l i s t and an open collaborator w i t h
the G e r m a n occupiers.
108
I s h a l l not d w e l l at greater length on a l l the talks
and debates w h i c h I h a d w i t h these individuals, b u t I
w a n t to say that despite o u r efforts to convince t h e m
t h e y w e r e d e t e r m i n e d to f o l l o w their course, just as
we w e r e d e t e r m i n e d to f o l l o w ours. We h a d wasted a
lot of t i m e a n d energy and lost our tempers w i t h t h e m .
We h a d p l e n t l y of w o r k to do and w o u l d do it even
w i t h o u t t h e m because w e k n e w a n d saw that w e had
the people w i t h us. N a t u r a l l y in the future, too, we
w e r e to m a k e efforts to t u r n these elements back to
the r i g h t road of the people's w a r against fascism,
b u t w e w e r e a l w a y s c l e a r l y aware that w e d i d not
base the fate of the w a r on t h e m . Regardless of t h e i r
«decisions», the w a r h a d begun a n d was m o u n t i n g
d a y by d a y — let t h e m sit and philosophize about
t h e i r tactic of «satisfying everybody». T h e honest p a triots a l l over A l b a n i a w e r e t a k i n g t o arms. M o r e i m portantly, the masses of the people, the w o r k e r s a n d
peasants, a n d especially the y o u t h , w e r e more a n d
m o r e o p e n l y expressing themselves in f a v o u r of the
p r o g r a m o f the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y for w a r against the
fascist occupier.
This, y o u m i g h t say, was the preparatory w o r k
i n the d i r e c t i o n o f r e a l i z i n g o u r objective o f f o r m i n g
a f r o n t of a l l honest A l b a n i a n s . Of course, some t i m e
h a d s t i l l to pass u n t i l , on September 16, 1942, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t was established on a complete
organizational a n d p o l i t i c a l basis, as a m i l i t a n t u n i o n
of the masses, w h i c h under the leadership of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a , was t o accomplish the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d . H e r e I w a n t to point out the
109
importance of this first preparatory phase, w h e n we
l a i d the foundations of the Front, because w i t h o u t t h i s
phase it w o u l d have been impossible to achieve t h e
historic Conference of Peza.
3. Towards the Conference of Peza
T h e w o r k of the P a r t y in a l l zones of the c o u n t r y
to b u i l d up its ideological, p o l i t i c a l a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l
strength and to arouse the people in the w a r w a s
y i e l d i n g its fruits. F r o m p o l i t i c a l and demonstrative
actions we were going over on a broader scale to t h e
armed struggle and, especially in the s p r i n g and s u m m e r of 1942, a large n u m b e r of partisan units a n d
çeta w e r e operating in d i f f e r e n t regions of the country. T h u s under the leadership of the P a r t y the m o n o l i t h i c u n i t y of the people in the battle for national l i b eration was becoming an ever more tangible reality.
The P r o v i s i o n a l C e n t r a l Committee, w h i c h was a t t e n t i v e l y f o l l o w i n g the situation and the w a r w h i c h was
developing gradually, a r r i v e d at the logical d e d u c t i o n
that we w e r e passing into a more developed s i t u a t i o n
w i t h broader horizons, therefore it was concluded that,
along w i t h the organization and extension o f the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, the time had come to consider
the p o l i t i c a l organization of this w a r .
and
To our P a r t y w h i c h was clear on the character
the f i n a l objective of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
110
War, it was obvious that the organs a n d organisms of
the o l d state power, its f o r m s and content w e r e no
longer appropriate o r useful. O u r w a r w o u l d m o b i l i z e
the broad p o p u l a r masses, a n d we w o u l d be unable
to accomplish this task w i t h the o l d f o r m s of the Z o gite regime. T h e P a r t y , w h i c h was far-sighted, w a s
certain that the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t w o u l d
be extended and strengthened, that çeta, battalions,
a n d brigades w o u l d emerge f r o m the people and a
t r u e a r m y of the insurgent people w o u l d be created.
B u t the w a r was not w a g e d o n l y i n the mountains, i t
was waged everywhere, in the mountains, in the cities,
in the villages, in the suburbs. It w o u l d be and was a
people's w a r to w h i c h the y o u n g pioneer w h o stuck
up leaflets or c a r r i e d a letter, the housewife w h o w e l comed a n d f a r e w e l l e d i l l e g a l fighters a n d partisans,
and the f i g h t e r w h o attacked the enemy arms i n h a n d
a l l made t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n . A l l this struggle b e h i n d
the enemy's lines had to be organized and g u i d e d a n d
this w o u l d not be done by the organs of the q u i s l i n g
state, b u t by n e w p o l i t i c a l organs to w h i c h the people's w a r itself w o u l d have to give b i r t h .
T h u s the m a n y tasks f o r the u n i f i c a t i o n of the
masses, f o r the organization a n d extension of the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n W a r and the prospects of the d e v e l opment of the r e v o l u t i o n made it indispensable that
in the course of the war, the n e w state power, the
people's state power, w h i c h w o u l d have n o t h i n g in
c o m m o n w i t h the state p o w e r of the feudals a n d the
bourgeoisie, should be set up. T h e concrete forms in
w h i c h this state p o w e r was realized w o u l d be created
gradually, but r i g h t f r o m the outset the P a r t y was
111
clear about one t h i n g : its social basis w o u l d be the
broad popular masses.
As everyone knows, the foundations of the people's state p o w e r were l a i d d u r i n g the w a r w i t h the
national l i b e r a t i o n councils, w h i c h w e r e a n e w f o r m
that the P a r t y used as the most suitable f o r our c o u n t r y . It was an o l d t r a d i t i o n of o u r villages a n d regions
that, in the absence of a centralized p o l i t i c a l power,
the more important problems of the l i f e of the v i l l a g e
should be thrashed out in p o p u l a r assemblies and the
decisions w h i c h w e r e t a k e n there became l a w . W e
f i n d this f o r m o f p o p u l a r self-government realized i n
the m a j o r events of o u r history, w h e n , on the i n i t i ative of outstanding patriots, great conventions w e r e
s u m m o n e d for the defence of the H o m e l a n d . T h e A s s e m b l y of L e z h a (1), the A l b a n i a n League of P r i z r e n ,
the A s s e m b l y of Gërçe, (2) the Congress of L u s h n j a , (3)
etc., to w h i c h the people sent t h e i r o w n representatives to solve the problems a n d to defend t h e i r l a n d
and freedom f r o m the aims of imperialists a n d the
greed of chauvinists, w e r e of this type.
______________________________
1 Political
under
and
military
the leadership
of
alliance
Gjergj
created
Kastrioti
—
in
March
Skanderbeg,
1444
for
the unification of the country in the w a r against the Ottoman
invaders.
2 T h e assembly was convened in J u n e 1911 in the N o r t h
of A l b a n i a to demand the territorial-administrative autonomy
of A l b a n i a .
3 Summoned on
J a n u a r y 28, 1920. It rejected the secret
L o n d o n Treaty of the year 1915 w h i c h envisaged the division
of
Albania,
demanded
the
country's
complete
independence,
p r o c l a i m e d the overthrow of the traitor government of D u r r ë s
in w h i c h A l b a n i a n secret agents of Italian i m p e r i a l i s m p a r t i c i pated, and elected the n e w n a t i o n a l government.
112
N o w w e h a d t o e m p l o y this sound popular t r a d i t i o n w h i l e , of course, e n r i c h i n g it in content and
f o r m in accord w i t h the tasks of the w a r and the future.
T h e P r o v i s i o n a l C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e issued the
i n s t r u c t i o n for the setting up of councils, for the first
time, in F e b r u a r y 1942. I remember that the comrades
a n d I discussed this p r o b l e m at length, especially to
define the tasks that these councils were to c a r r y out
a n d the w a y i n w h i c h t h e y w o u l d b e formed. O f
course, such discussions w e r e natural, because none
of us h a d either experience or even the necessary
k n o w l e d g e i n connection w i t h the functions a n d p r e rogatives of organs of state power. Nevertheless we
proceeded cautiously in this direction, and determined
those functions in c o n f o r m i t y w i t h the needs of the
w a r a n d the r e a l possibilities w h i c h these councils
w o u l d have in that period. A f u n d a m e n t a l and v e r y
i m p o r t a n t t h i n g i n the directive o f the C e n t r a l C o m mittee was that these councils w e r e described e x p l i c i t l y as the e m b r y o of the n e w state power. F o r the
f i r s t t i m e in the h i s t o r y of our people, the l i b e r a t i o n
w a r was combined w i t h the struggle f o r the establishm e n t of a n e w p o l i t i c a l p o w e r after the v i c t o r y . T h i s
is due solely to the correct leadership of our M a r x i s t L e n i n i s t P a r t y , thanks t o w h i c h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation W a r assumed the character of a popular, d e m o cratic r e v o l u t i o n .
T h e leaders of the p a r t y organizations in the
t e r r a i n in p a r t i c u l a r were instructed that the members
of these councils should be supporters and activists in
the w a r f o r f r e e d o m in words a n d deeds, those w h o
h a d w o n the love and respect of the people. I n i t i a l l y ,
113
these councils were to serve to r a l l y the masses to the
w a r against the occupiers, w o u l d provide volunteers
for the partisan çeta, w o u l d administer justice and
m a i n t a i n order among the people in the liberated zones, w o u l d organize propaganda and the collection of
aid for the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Movement, and so o n .
The w o r k began q u i c k l y in this direction, too. and in
certain districts of the country, especially in the south,
the first councils began to be set up in the liberated
zones.
A l l these successes w h i c h w e were a c h i e v i n g
step by step were h a v i n g ever greater influence in
the life of the c o u n t r y and seriously d i s t u r b i n g the
«security» and «calm» w h i c h the occupiers proclaimed.
W h i l e the communists and the A l b a n i a n people
rejoiced over these successes, over the correct and r e liable course w h i c h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r w a s
t a k i n g under the leadership of the C P A , those of the
i l k of the self-styled «fathers of the nation» reacted
quite differently. Since they were r a b i d a n t i - c o m munists, the h e r d of «patriots», «democrats», « a n t i Zogites» and «anti-Italians», who, in fact, were a l l
subsidized f r o m Jacomoni's treasury, were i n f u r i a t e d
and seriously shocked by the direction w h i c h events
were taking.
To their astonishment and terror, precisely those
«children» w h o m u p t i l l yesterday they had u n d e r rated and labelled w i t h a l l sorts of epithets, w e r e
r e a l l y t a k i n g over the leadership of the war, w i n n i n g
the support of and u n i t i n g the people around t h e i r
program. E v e n «worse», the organs of the fascist state
were being o v e r t h r o w n and n e w organs, the national l i b 114
eration councils, w e r e being f o r m e d ! These things, esp e c i a l l y the question of councils, could not f a i l to
f r i g h t e n the «fathers of the nation» to the depth of
t h e i r souls. W e r e events to continue in this w a y there
was the danger that they w o u l d be left b i t i n g t h e i r
fingernails. Therefore, the m o m e n t came w h e n p r e c i sely those who, u p t i l l yesterday h a d left n o t h i n g u n said against us a n d disdained us, scenting w h i c h w a y
the p o l i t i c a l breeze w a s b l o w i n g and on the orders of
J a c o m o n i , w e r e obliged to m a k e approaches to us, of
course, w i t h t h e i r h a u g h t y politeness, seeking to meet
us «children» in order to «consult w i t h us and to
f i n d a c o m m o n language».
We, of course, on the basis of the d e f i n e d l i n e
a n d p l a t f o r m of the P a r t y , d i d not refuse to meet
and talk w i t h them, although w e were convinced, a n d
became even more convinced, that t h e i r a i m was n o t
to reach agreement to collaborate in the w a r against
fascism, but «to f i n d a c o m m o n language» w i t h us,
that is, to d i v e r t us f r o m the course on w h i c h we had
set out and to integrate us into their o w n c a p i t u l a t i o n ist and collaborationist p o l i c y !
One day, e a r l y in the s u m m e r of 1942, w h i l e I
was w o r k i n g in a base, I was i n f o r m e d that a comrade
w a n t e d to meet me, because he had some news f o r
me personally. I k n e w that comrade, w h o was f r o m
K o r ç a , and I told t h e m to b r i n g h i m i n . W h e n he
came in we embraced, I asked h i m h o w things w e r e
going, had h e a r r i v e d f r o m K o r ç a i n recent days
and about my o l d comrades. T h e n the comrade t o l d
me:
« T w o or three days ago, F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i sought
115
me out and said to m e : 'Please f i n d the p o s s i b i l i t y
to i n f o r m the Professor that M r . F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i wants
to have a m e e t i n g w i t h h i m . I am ready to go a n y where the Professor chooses.' I told him,» c o n t i n u e d
the comrade, «that I d i d not k n o w w h e r e the Professor
was, but if I met h i m , I w o u l d t e l l him.»
«The old fox!» I exclaimed, a n d t h e n t o l d the
comrade: «Come back t o m o r r o w and I'll give y o u m y
answer.»
F a z l l i B e y F r a s h ë r i , w h o posed as a democrat,
was one of those elements of the f e u d a l bourgeoisie
w i t h a h u n d r e d flags in his pocket, w h o t u r n e d w h i c h ever w a y the w i n d blew. I had heard about h i m a n d
had also met h i m m y s e l f w h e n I was in K o r ç a , espec i a l l y in the days w h e n we w e r e t r y i n g to organize
the resistance against the Italian occupation. As a m a n
w i t h o u t scruples or principles, he t r i e d to increase his
a u t h o r i t y among the strata of intellectuals in K o r ç a ,
amongst the ranks of the mercantile bourgeoisie in
the city, to be on good terms w i t h the beys, the l a n d owners, such a s M a l i q B e y F r a s h ë r i a n d m a n y aghas
of K o r ç a , and to preserve his influence among a l l the
Zogite politicians and pseudo-democrats, the s y c o phants of the tyrant. He posed as a l i b e r a l anti-Zogite,
but in fact was a camouflaged Zogite. In K o r ç a there
were rumours, and these were in the interests of the
regime, that Z o g s u m m o n e d h i m to the palace f r o m
time to time and consulted w i t h h i m .
T h i s «fame» was fostered by his o w n supporters
and those of the regime w h o s a i d : «Zog w a l k s on t w o
legs i n K o r ç a : w i t h the M o s l e m leg o f F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i
and the C h r i s t i a n leg o f K o ç o K o t a and P a n d e l i E v a n 116
gjeli.» T h e latter two w e r e openly advisers of Zog,
w e r e even appointed p r i m e ministers, w h i l e F a z l l i kept
out of the l i m e l i g h t . He was I'éminence grise of
the despotic m o n a r c h . At the time w h e n I met h i m
i n K o r ç a h e r a r e l y w e n t t o T i r a n a , but i n K o r ç a h e
was the f r i e n d of a l l the prefects w h o came and
went.
F a z l l i B e y h a d a d i v i s i o n of roles w i t h his brother
Q a z i m , or Qazka, as the people called h i m derisively,
one of the biggest and the most r u t h l e s s l y e x p l o i t i n g
employers and merchants of K o r ç a . F a z l l i ' s influence
w i t h Zog, K r o s i a n d K o ç o K o t a was channelled t h r o u g h
Qazka, w h o received the favours of the regime, doing
business for it, made deals w i t h the b i g merchants
of K o r ç a , w i t h the beys and the aghas, w h i l e F a z l l i
B e y p l a y e d the role of someone w h o was not i n v o l v e d
in these affairs because m a t e r i a l matters w e r e allegedly of no interest to h i m . F a z l l i posed as an idealist, a
great politician, a m a n of culture and a philosopher.
A h , in these directions «he was n u m b e r one»!
In Qazka's house, because F a z l l i was a bachelor,
he c e r t a i n l y gave advice and concocted intrigues w i t h
T e f i k M b o r j a , w h o after the occupation become m i nister of the « A l b a n i a n » Fascist P a r t y , and his b r o ther S e l i m M b o r j a (a b i g merchant who, together
w i t h an Italian, was the owner of the brewery), w i t h
P e t r a q K a t r o , another b i g merchant and fascist of
the first hours. These and their associates were F a z l l i
Frashëri's true friends, but he guarded against e x posing himself, g a m b l i n g or w h o r i n g as t h e y did. As
the c u n n i n g f o x of the bourgeoisie he was, F a z l l i
r a r e l y frequented the centres w h e r e these degenerate
117
bourgeois gathered. He went o n l y to the café near the
c h u r c h of Shëngjergj where o l d K o r ç a patriots such
as G a v r i l l Pepo, Idhomene B r a t k o a n d others gathered.
He c a r e f u l l y pursued this «line» in order to create
his reputation as a «patriot».
In the afternoons y o u c o u l d see F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i ,
w i n t e r and summer, s t r o l l i n g u p a n d d o w n the b o u l e v a r d , t a l k i n g u s u a l l y w i t h the same professors of the
Lycée of K o r ç a , especially S t a v r i S k ë n d i , w h o became
one of the leaders of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r of K o r ç a , a
certain N i k o Stralla, the agent of the Italians, V i l i J a t r u ,
w h o m our g u e r i l l a units executed in the name of the
people, and the u t t e r l y i m m o r a l A n d o n a q k a of F r a shëri, an agent of the A m e r i c a n s . These comprised his
select and permanent «intellectual» associates. He was
v e r y r a r e l y seen in p u b l i c w i t h merchants, beys or
aghas; as for students, w o r k e r s or craftsmen they d i d
not come into the question at a l l .
F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i posed as a peripatetic philosopher,
but not because he was a f o l l o w e r of A r i s t o t l e , because he k n e w nothing about his philosophy; f r o m the
famous t h i n k e r of a n t i q u i t y F a z l l i had t a k e n o n l y the
custom of discoursing on his «thoughts» to his «disciples» d u r i n g long strolls i n the b o u l e v a r d . W h e n
t h e y were weary, p a r t l y f r o m w a l k i n g and p a r t l y f r o m
the reasoning of the teacher, the members of this
group of «philosophers» r e t u r n e d to Nando's café
where they d r a n k tea a n d ate cake. There, too, F a z l l i
F r a s h ë r i w i t h that p o c k m a r k e d face, w h i c h he sometimes stroked as if he were r u b b i n g d o w n his horse,
continued his «discourse». F a z l l i t a l k e d a n d his acolytes listened. S t a v r i S k ë n d i and Foto B a l a , professor
118
at the Lycée, ardent s y m p a t h i z e r of the Duce and fascist of the first hours, were the «nightingales» w h o
sang, of course, in tune w i t h F a z l l i . These t w o were
«disciples» of F a z l l i , but possibly also something more
t h a n this. T h e former, S t a v r i S k ë n d i , o u r s w o r n enem y and agent o f the A m e r i c a n s , f l e d f r o m A l b a n i a o n
the eve of L i b e r a t i o n and went to the U n i t e d States
of A m e r i c a w h e r e he continues the struggle against
socialist A l b a n i a , w h i l e F o t o B a l a was jailed as an
agent of fascist Italy and his father, D h i m i t ë r B a l a ,
another active enemy of our state, was shot by sentence of the people's court.
Twice, or at the most three times, I had occasion
to meet F a z l l i d u r i n g his strolls, w h e n I h a d no a l ternative, because I happened to be s t r o l l i n g w i t h my
colleagues f r o m the Lycée in the b o u l e v a r d w h e n
F a z l l i appeared in front of us and joined us in our
stroll. On these occasions I heard the conversations
w h i c h were carried o n i n these circles. W h e n m y
«colleagues» introduced me to F a z l l i he appeared to
be pleased; he k n e w me, of course, by sight, w h i l e we
o f the C o m m u n i s t G r o u p o f K o r ç a k n e w w h a t F a z l l i
r e a l l y was. D u r i n g these brief strolls I heard h o w the
«philosopher» bey o u t l i n e d the «grand» p o l i c y of
B r i t a i n , A m e r i c a , G e r m a n y and Italy. Once I i n t e r v e ned i n the conversation and asked h i m :
« B u t w h a t do y o u t h i n k about the p o l i c y of R u s sia, M r . F a z l l i ? Y o u are a liberal, a democrat and I
k n o w y o u are not a f r a i d to tell us.» A n d I stressed
these last words because he himself l i k e d to repeat
them. My question f e l l on the others l i k e a bombshell,
t h e y looked at one another and were waiting, c u 119
rious to k n o w h o w the «professor» w o u l d get out of
this predicament. F a z l l i paused, stroked his c h i n and
replied v e r y g r a v e l y :
«I don't k n o w m u c h about it, M r . H o x h a , because
the Soviets and S t a l i n conduct a closed and c o n s p i r a torial policy.»
« H o w can that be?» I asked h i m . «The p o l i c y of
L e n i n and S t a l i n has always been clear, w h i l e A m e r ica, B r i t a i n , France and the others have concluded
secret treaties and agreements to the detriment of the
peoples and to the detriment of A l b a n i a . We A l b a n ians k n o w v e r y w e l l that i t was L e n i n w h o made
these back-stage deals public. W h i l e today, f r o m w h a t
we hear, a l l the bourgeoisie and fascism are attacking the Soviet U n i o n and they have their reasons,
because t h e y k n o w that the Soviet p o l i c y w i l l b r i n g
t h e m defeat.»
«That is y o u r opinion,» said F a z l l i , «but we t h i n k
differently. We are democrats, but not extremists.»
«I see that,» I replied w i t h a tone of i r o n y a n d
said no more.
R i g h t t i l l the end F a z l l i B e y t r i e d to p l a y the role
of the «democrat». As soon as the T r o t s k y i t e Z a i F u n d o
a r r i v e d in K o r ç a , a little before the occupation, his first
meeting was w i t h F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i , the fascist P e t r a q
K a t r o , the A m e r i c a n agent S t a v r i S k ë n d i and the
pseudo-communist K o ç o Tashko. T h e G r o u p o f K o r ç a
rejected Koço's proposal for collaboration w i t h Z a i
Fundo, w h o had come to A l b a n i a to sabotage the
f o u n d i n g of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a and the
w a r against the enemy. B u t he w a s quite unable to do
120
this. L a t e r h e joined u p w i t h the B r i t i s h and G a n i
K r y e z i u (1) a n d received the sentence he deserved.
This, then, was F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i , the representative
of the mercantile bourgeoisie a n d the arrogant part of
the intelligentsia of K o r ç a who, already u t t e r l y corrupt, become even more corrupt and placed t h e m selves completely in the service of the n e w patrons,
the fascist occupiers.
I consulted w i t h the comrades, w h o k n e w w h o
F a z l l i was just as w e l l as I did, and we decided that
I should meet h i m . T h e f o l l o w i n g d a y I s u m m o n e d
o u r comrade and instructed h i m :
«Go t o F a z l l i a n d t e l l h i m : 'The Professor w i l l
meet y o u in a house at such and such an hour.' Go
and get h i m , take h i m by a round-about route t h r o u g h
the alleys to G a b r a n i ' s house.»
A l l the members of the household of our u n f o r gettable comrade, S a b a u d i n G a b r a n i , were friends of
m i n e and their home, one of our w a r t i m e bases. G a brani's father was f r o m L i b o h o v a , a v e r y fine m a n
and a f r i e n d of my father's. H i s sons a n d daughters
w e r e a l l w i t h us, v e r y active fighters of the y o u t h .
A l l o f them, w i t h o u t hesitation, h u r l e d themselves
into the f i r e of the l i b e r a t i o n w a r . S a b a u d i n f e l l a
m a r t y r , w h i l e his sisters emerged f r o m the w a r sound
and w e l l and are communists a n d outstanding p a r t y
w o r k e r s today. G a b r a n i ' s mother, too, was a v e r y f i n e
person, sweet-spoken, wise, quiet and brave. She w e l comed and f a r e w e l l e d us w i t h o u t any fear. These two
e l d e r l y people were some of those thousands and
_______________________________
1 Secret agent of the B r i t i s h .
121
thousands of patriots w h o not o n l y gave t h e i r c h i l d r e n
to the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, but
also placed themselves in its service. Nevertheless
t h e y w o u l d say to us: «What are we doing? N o t h i n g .
We o n l y hope that y o u come out of it alive.» T h e y
w e r e simple f o l k and d i d not appreciate w h a t great
assistance they gave the l i b e r a t i o n war. T h e y were
the people w i t h o u t w h o m we could not have fought,
w i t h o u t w h o m we, the a r m e d fighters, w o u l d have
been left «like f i s h out of water».
I said goodbye to the comrade w h o m I sent to
f i n d F a z l l i a n d w e n t to my friends' home. T h e r e I
f o u n d Sabaudin's father w h o welcomed m e w a r m l y ,
as always.
«In a little w h i l e a m a n w i l l come here to meet
me,» I told h i m , «they c a l l h i m F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i . W i l l
y o u a l l o w me to do this?»
«Our home is yours,» said the wise o l d m a n . He
w e n t o n : «I have heard the name of F a z l l i B e y , b u t
w a t c h out for the beys, don't forget the bey f r o m
o u r part, M y f i t L i b o h o v a . Y o u m u s t never trust them.»
«Don't w o r r y , » I t o l d h i m , «because we k n o w
this f e l l o w and a l l his i l k v e r y w e l l . T h e y are just as
y o u said, but we have our eyes open a n d brains in
o u r head.»
« W h e n he comes,» said the o l d man, «I s h a l l b r i n g
y o u a coffee and y o u w i l l excuse me if I i n t e r r u p t the
conversation.»
I t h a n k e d h i m and at the appointed h o u r I was
a w a i t i n g F a z l l i B e y . I heard the gate creak as it
opened and saw our comrade enter the y a r d together
w i t h F a z l l i . I met h i m on the p o r c h ; I shook hands
122
w i t h h i m , w e exchanged greetings and w e n t into the
room.
As soon as he sat down, F a z l l i stroked his face
a n d after asking about m y h e a l t h began the conversation.
« B a d times have come u p o n us, Professor. T h e
f o r e i g n e r has occupied our Homeland,» and he shook
h i s head g l o o m i l y .
«This is the d o i n g of Z o g and his friends,» I t o l d
h i m . « T h e y fleeced the people t h o r o u g h l y a n d i n the
end sold the c o u n t r y to Italy. I believe y o u remember
t h e m e e t i n g i n the t o w n h a l l o f K o r ç a , F a z l l i B e y ? I t
was y o u r f r i e n d , the prefect V a s j a r i , w h o precisely
w h e n we w e r e d e m a n d i n g arms threatened us and
c o r d o n e d off the K a p s h t i c a road t h r o u g h w h i c h Z o g
was going to abscond w i t h the people's gold. Is that
n o t so?»
«I remember, Professor,» a d m i t t e d F a z l l i , «but
y o u k n o w that I am a democrat and I w a n t the c o u n t r y to be free.»
«Then, sir, w h a t do y o u i n t e n d to do to liberate
t h e c o u n t r y ? » I asked. «We are greatly interested in
this and if we f i n d a c o m m o n language we s h a l l f o r get the past. It is the present we are concerned about,
because we have the e n e m y in o u r H o m e l a n d , therefore, f i r s t of a l l , we m u s t get r i d of h i m , t h e n sort
out w h a t disagreements we have between ourselves.
Because we have disagreements, M r . F a z l l i , is that
not so?»
«That is so, Professor, but I, too, am of the o p i n i o n that it is precisely the existing situation on w h i c h
we should concentrate and exchange ideas.»
123
«Go, ahead, M r . F a z l l i , I am listening,» I said, w h i l e
I thought to myself, «Who k n o w s w h a t he w i l l b r i n g
up now.» A n d so he began to outline to me his o w n
ideas about the e x t e r n a l situation. He emphasized the
strength a n d savagery of the Italian fascists, spoke
about the rise of H i t l e r and the attack on the S o v i e t
U n i o n , sang the praises of the great strength of B r i t a i n and A m e r i c a and d i d not f a i l t o m e n t i o n also
«the strength of the Soviets w h o are fighting,» as he
put it.
A f t e r b o m b a r d i n g me l i k e this for a good half
hour and satisfied w i t h the analysis he made of t h e
situation, he f i n a l l y got r o u n d to the purpose of h i s
mission :
«In v i e w of a l l these things,» continued F a z l l i ,
«we consider that we are in a grave situation, t h a t
we are a s m a l l c o u n t r y a n d at the m e r c y of great
powers w h i c h , if y o u dare to raise y o u r voice, w i l l
crush you.»
U n a b l e to contain m y s e l f I butted i n : « T h a t
means, M r . F a z l l i , we s m a l l countries should just suffer in silence?!»
«No,» the bey hastened to say, «obviously we
have to fight, because n o t h i n g can be w o n w i t h o u t
fighting, and up to this point I agree w i t h y o u . B u t
since we are a s m a l l people it is v e r y i m p o r t a n t f o r
us to pursue a wise policy. P o l i c y , Professor,» F a z l l i
raised his voice in the tone of a teacher, s t r o k i n g h i s
face as usual, «now has great importance for us. We
must begin w i t h a wise p o l i c y towards Italy, m u s t o u t w i t them, must put t h e m to sleep and g r a d u a l l y raise
o u r voice in such a w a y that 'the meat is roasted
124
w i t h o u t b u r n i n g the spit', as the outstanding patriot,
M i t h a t B e y , says.»
«Are y o u speaking on behalf of M i t h a t B e y ? » I
asked h i m .
«Yes,» he said, «on behalf of h i m and m a n y
others.»
«Go ahead then, continue!» I said.
« V e r y w e l l , excuse me, but I am going to speak
f r a n k l y : y o u are communists, we are not; y o u f o r m e d
a party, we have not f o r m e d one and are against f o r m i n g a n y p a r t y ; y o u are doing a great deal of p r o paganda among the people to arouse t h e m to f i g h t
immediately, we have another tactic; y o u are also
t a k i n g steps towards the seizure of power, we have
a different idea about the future. We do not l i k e a l l
these things that y o u are doing, b u t that is y o u r affair. It seems to us, however, a n d please understand
m e correctly, M r . H o x h a , that y o u are t a c k l i n g the I t a lians head on, b i t i n g off more t h a n y o u can chew. Y o u
are k i l l i n g some of them, but t h e y are k i l l i n g and i m p r i s o n i n g thousands. We are concerned about the
youth, the f l o w e r o f o u r country, M r . H o x h a . H a v e
y o u considered w h a t great h a r m w i l l be done to the
f u t u r e of A l b a n i a if the e n e m y destroys them? T h i s
is w h a t worries us, M r . Hoxha.»
«Then, i n y o u r opinion, M r . F a z l l i , w h a t ought
we to do?» I asked h i m , i n w a r d l y s i m m e r i n g w i t h u n controllable anger.
«Look here, Professor, we t h i n k that for the t i m e
being y o u should not act; let us organize a n u m b e r
of meetings in order to study a j o i n t p o l i c y w h i c h
we s h o u l d pursue towards the Italians, because we,
125
too, are many, M r . H o x h a , and y o u w i l l excuse m y
s a y i n g so, but we are older and the people k n o w us
better. T h u s our t w o sides w i l l reach accord a n d the
people w i l l agree to this, too, because we s h a l l save
t h e m f r o m death and destruction.»
«Is y o u r brother Q a z k a s t i l l engaged in trade w i t h
the Italians?» I asked h i m .
«What has Qazim's trade to do w i t h this question?» retorted F a z l l i Bey, f e i g n i n g surprise, because
I had touched h i m on a tender spot.
«I asked this question, M r . Fazlli,» I said s m i l i n g
at h i m , «because I w a n t to s u m up the p o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n
y o u presented to me. F o r you, to conduct a wise a n d
cautious p o l i c y means we should engage in trade w i t h
fascist Italy, because for y o u the w o r d 'policy' c o u l d
be translated as 'Qazka's trade'.»
«Qazim is engaged in trade and not in politics,»
replied F a z l l i , «these are two separate things, Professor».
«They are not as separate as y o u say,» I t o l d h i m ,
«but if y o u have f i n i s h e d I can t e l l y o u the o p i n i o n
of our Party.»
«Please do,» said F a z l l i , «I have finished.»
«We, the communists, have been sure a l l a l o n g
that the f o r m a t i o n of our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y was a
bullet in the heart of the Italian invaders and t h e i r
friends w h o are v e r y w e l l aware of the great v a l u e
w h i c h the existence of a leading force, and especially
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , has for a people w h o are g o i n g
t o fight. B u t n o w y o u have c o n f i r m e d f r o m y o u r o w n
m o u t h that y o u , w h o c a l l yourselves nationalists, too,
were displeased that w e communists f o r m e d o u r P a r ty and are f i g h t i n g to a p p l y its program for the l i b e r 126
ation of the H o m e l a n d . Y o u told me this yourself, b u t
y o u produced no argument to show me what m i s t a k e
we communists made in f o r m i n g the Party.»
«We think, Professor, that this is not the time to
f o r m parties. Y o u have f o r m e d the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y ,
we could f o r m our party, others m i g h t f o r m a t h i r d
party, a n d so on. W h a t do these b r i n g apart f r o m
d i v i s i o n of the people? Is this not to the detriment of
the war, and in f a v o u r of those w h o w a n t to h a r m
Albania?»
«No,» I r e p l i e d to F a z l l i B e y , «if this w e r e so the
fascists and their friends w o u l d not be so upset about
it. We set up the P a r t y precisely in order to unite the
people and not to d i v i d e them, and this w i l l certainly
be achieved, because our p r o g r a m is w h a t the people
want. M o r e o v e r , M r . F a z l l i , » I continued, «you c o n d e m n us communists because we have f o r m e d a party,
but y o u said n o t h i n g about w h e t h e r y o u are against
the ' A l b a n i a n ' Fascist P a r t y w h i c h y o u r friends set up.»
F a z l l i scratched his face and said:
«We are opposed to it, too.»
« Y o u are opposed to it o n l y in words,» I told h i m ,
«because a l l y o u r friends h u r r i e d to enlist in it.»
« T h e y have to eat, M r . H o x h a , because otherwise
t h e y can't keep t h e i r jobs.»
« B u t the people and we, the sons of the people,
don't we w a n t to eat? A n d we do eat, but we eat the
crusts of the people and not the rolls of the fascist
G i r o ( 1 ) and his friends. Y o u yourself said that y o u n a ___________________________________
1 G i o v a n n i G i r o — Italian fascist hierarch, expert in A l b a nian
affairs
in
the
plans
of
the
for the i n v a s i o n of A l b a n i a .
127
Italian
fascist
government
tionalists do not w a n t to f o r m a party. W h y not? L e t
me tell y o u : y o u are unable to do so, because h o w ever m u c h influence y o u m a y pretend to have the people do not trust y o u and do not f o l l o w y o u . A p a r t
f r o m this, you, and I am not speaking just of y o u p e r sonally, do not w a n t to f a l l out w i t h the occupier. He
does not a l l o w y o u to f o r m y o u r party, therefore, he
shows y o u the way, j o i n the fascist p a r t y .
«The other m a i n reason that y o u do not w a n t to
have a p a r t y is that y o u neither w a n t n o r i n t e n d to
fight against the occupier. Y o u issue the reactionary
slogans: ' Y o u can't f o r m a h e r d of rabbits', ' T w o A l banians never get together', a n d so on, w h i l e we have
complete confidence in the u n i t y of the people w h o
have always risen i n struggle against f o r e i g n i n v a ders. The feudal lords, the beys, the merchants and
the spies have always d i v i d e d the people, and n o w
t h e y are t r y i n g to p l a y the same game, b u t n o w the
A l b a n i a n people have their o w n t r u s t w o r t h y leader,
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . Y o u do not w a n t the people to
have this leadership so that t h e y w i l l not rise in i n surrection and w i l l not k n o w w h i c h w a y t o go. W i t h out the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y there is no struggle and w i t h out struggle there is no C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . M r . Fazlli,» I
continued, «our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y is at w a r to the death
w i t h the fascist Italy and its collaborators. F o r the
Italian fascists we have o n l y rifles a n d bombs, there
is no diplomacy and compromise w i t h them. T i m e
after time, we have called on y o u and y o u r friends to
j o i n forces w i t h us in the f i g h t against fascism, but
y o u want to p l a y 'politics' w i t h them. Hence, we are
not in agreement, we are d i v i d e d on the m a i n thing,
128
on the basic issue. N o w we consider it necessary to
warn you:
«The f i r s t course: y o u should unite w i t h u s i n
the w a r against the occupiers a n d traitors, a n d w h e n
I say unite, I m e a n not w i t h deception and t r i c k e r y ,
a s y o u have done u p t i l l now, b u t i n fact. Y o u m u s t
take this seriously, and don't t h i n k for one m o m e n t
that y o u w i l l be able to deceive us. T h i s is the course
of honour, the o n l y patriotic course w h i c h o u r f o r e fathers have taught us.
«The second course is to sit idle, to r e m a i n n e u t r a l ,
neither w i t h us n o r w i t h the Italians. T h i s is not an
honourable course, not in the least patriotic, a n d it is
h a r d to m a i n t a i n such a stand in these times w h e n the
w h o l e w o r l d is ablaze a n d o u r people are f i g h t i n g .
O n l y cowards take this stand.
«The t h i r d course is that of betrayal, of secret or
open collaboration w i t h the occupiers against the people w h o are f i g h t i n g . T h e traitors c a n p u t o n a n y k i n d
of mask, b u t we s h a l l tear it f r o m t h e m . T r e a c h e r y
w i l l be m e r c i l e s s l y crushed by the strength of the
people.
«The C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a has chosen the
first course and it c o u l d not do otherwise. Y o u p r o posed a course to u s : ' P l a y politics w i t h the Italians!'
We reject this proposal and propose to y o u o u r course
w h i c h is the o n l y course for t r u e patriots.»
« Y o u are s t u b b o r n and don't k n o w h o w to conduct
politics,» said F a z l l i .
«That is just w h a t M i t h a t B e y also t o l d us at the
time w h e n the c o u n t r y was i n v a d e d and I was s t i l l
legal and h a d a shop w h e r e I sold cigarettes.»
129
«Mithat B e y w a n t e d to come, personally, to meet
y o u and h e ' l l be sad w h e n I report to h i m about our
conversation,» F a z l l i t o l d me.
«It w o u l d have been d i f f i c u l t for M i t h a t B e y to
come and meet me and he h a d no reason to do so,
because it was he, a n d not I w h o broke off our c o n nections. Nevertheless, he has sent you, and I received
you, I listened to y o u a n d y o u heard my r e p l y a n d no
doubt y o u w i l l transmit w h a t was said here t o M r .
M i t h a t . Nevertheless,» I continued, «I w a n t to stress,
and I speak on behalf of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , that
we w i l l be w i t h a l l those w h o f o l l o w the course of
the war. The w a r w i l l unite u s even w i t h L u m o S k ë n do and his associates, p r o v i d e d t h e y j o i n in the f i g h t
against the Italians and the quislings. I w a n t to t e l l
y o u also, M r . F a z l l i , something i n connection w i t h
y o u r c l a i m that the people are w i t h y o u , that 'the
people k n o w y o u and that no one k n o w s or listens
to us'. First, that is y o u r opinion, b u t not ours. Second,
and this is the m a i n thing, be sure that y o u r o p i n i o n
is w r o n g . Indeed y o u sought this meeting, because y o u
can see that the people are and w i l l be completely
w i t h us, w i t h the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a . Y o u
w i l l be left w i t h the degenerate beys, the aghas, the
blood-sucking merchants, the spies and the quislings.
That is a l l that w i l l r e m a i n of y o u r ' a r m y ' if y o u stick
to y o u r present course. D o n ' t take this as a threat.
Take it as the last assistance we are o f f e r i n g y o u .
Consider y o u r situation w e l l : we do not need you, but
y o u need us, because the people, justice and p o w e r are
w i t h us.
« Y o u say, M r . F a z l l i , that the y o u t h w i l l b e k i l l e d
130
and the c o u n t r y devastated. E v e r y l i b e r a t i o n w a r w i l l
have its sacrifices, heroes and m a r t y r s . T h e c o u n t r y
m a y be devastated, but the people and the y o u t h w i l l
not be w i p e d out, a l t h o u g h the fascists w i l l be. A f t e r
the war, the people and the y o u t h w i l l be steel, w i l l
strike the sparks f r o m the flints. T h e P a r t y and the
w a r w i l l temper t h e m and teach t h e m not to be d e ceived by i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h a h u n d r e d flags in t h e i r
pockets. T h e people themselves w i l l take p o w e r i n t o
their o w n hands and w h a t N a i m said about A l b a n i a
w i l l occur: ' H a p p y the m a n w h o lives to see A l b a n i a
a lady!'
«This is o u r reply, M r . F a z l l i . I beg y o u r p a r d o n
if this conversation has been somewhat heated, b u t
i t was frank. W e say t o y o u : T h i n k over o u r p r o p o sals a n d we hope to see y o u again in the f i g h t against
the occupiers.»
I stood up to i m p l y that f o r my part the c o n v e r s a t i o n was over. F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i stood up, too, we
parted and I never saw h i m again.
As soon as F a z l l i left, our host entered the r o o m
and, seeing m e tired, p u t his h a n d o n m y shoulder,
p o i n t i n g to the coffee cups on the table and s a i d :
« T h i s coffee that y o u d r a n k w i t h the b e y doesn't
count. L e t us d r i n k another together, to m a k e y o u
feel better.»
«Yes, let's d r i n k a coffee together,» I r e p l i e d to
that good old m a n . A n d we sat and t a l k e d together f o r
a w h i l e . W h e n the t i m e came for me to leave I h a d
forgotten both the bey p o l i t i c i a n and a l l his f i l t h y ilk.
T h i s m e e t i n g w i t h the representatives o f the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y sought by the pseudo-patriotic elements
131
was neither the first nor the last in that period. As
I said, the café politicians w h o w e r e p l a y i n g the game
of fascism had begun to be f r i g h t e n e d by o u r g r o w i n g
strength among the people and w e r e to m a k e a l l k i n d s
of efforts to d i v e r t us f r o m the course on w h i c h we
had set out. In this s u r p r i s i n g «zeal» of theirs to «reach
agreement» w i t h the communists, we ourselves saw
another indication of the g r o w t h of the role a n d a u t h o r i t y of our P a r t y . Nevertheless, p r u d e n t a n d p e r sistent i n p u r s u i n g the line w h i c h w e h a d decided, w e
w o u l d receive them, w o u l d a l w a y s g i v e t h e m the
answer t h e y deserved.
M e a n w h i l e w e pressed o n v i g o r o u s l y w i t h the
w o r k for the extension and strengthening of l i n k s
w i t h the broad masses of t o w n and countryside, w i t h
intellectuals and patriots of a l l ages, and the t r u t h
is that this m a i n and most important «sector of w o r k »
was also the most successful for us.
A m o n g s t the scores of people w i t h w h o m I was
l i n k e d d u r i n g that time, the figure of an o l d patriotic
teacher, in w h o m the f i r e of patriotism and h a t r e d f o r
feudal lords, traitors and the occupier was u n q u e n ched and never w o u l d be quenched, remains u n f o r g e t table and dear to me personally. I h a d seen h i m and
learned something about his life at the time w h e n I
was a teacher in the secondary school in T i r a n a .
I was sitting d r i n k i n g a coffee w i t h a colleague
of mine, another teacher at the secondary school, in
a s m a l l café near the O l d B a z a a r w h e n a s l i g h t l y built,
rather e l d e r l y man, dressed i n a n o l d blue suit and
w i t h a faded felt hat passed by. He greeted my c o l league w h o rose f r o m his chair and r e t u r n e d the
132
greeting w i t h great respect; i n s t i n c t l y I stood up, too.
W h e n the m a n was out of earshot I asked my colleague.
«Who was that m a n y o u spoke to?»
«Don't y o u k n o w h i m ? » said m y colleague. « H e
is X h a f ë Z e l k a , a patriotic teacher of the A l b a n i a n
school here in T i r a n a . T h e y c a l l him ' X h a f ë the rebel',
because he was a 'scribe' a n d f i g h t e r w i t h H a x h i Q a mili.» (1)
M y c u r i o s i t y about X h a f ë Z e l k a , o r «Xhafë the
rebel», as t h e y called h i m , was i m m e d i a t e l y aroused
and I said to my colleague:
«That i s interesting. T e l l m e w h a t y o u k n o w about
h i m , a n d if possible I w o u l d l i k e y o u to introduce me
to h i m one day.»
M y colleague k n e w something about X h a f ë ' s s i m ple l i f e f u l l o f m i l i t a n t strivings. H e t o l d m e that
X h a f ë was anti-feudal, h a d fought against the forces
of T o p t a n i a n d against V ë r l a c i , (2) and later, as the democrat he was, h a d supported the government of F a n
N o l i . W h e n Z o g came to power, t h e y made a thousand
d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r X h a f ë , dismissed h i m f r o m his job, r e appointed h i m a n d dismissed h i m again, u n t i l t h e y
abandoned h i m to his fate.
« Y o u ought t o hear h i m t e l l about the vicissitudes
o f B a b ë Qamil,» m y f r i e n d said, «but I'll t e l l y o u one
story m y s e l f just as X h a f ë t o l d it to m e :
_________________________________
1 Leader
(1914-1915),
imperialist
of
which
the
Peasant
had
a
Uprising
democratic,
of
Central
anti-feudal
Albania
and
anti-
country,
agent
character.
2 O n e of the biggest f e u d a l
lords
of the
of I t a l i a n fascism, p r i m e minister of the first q u i s l i n g g o v e r n ment in A l b a n i a (1939-1941).
133
«Babë Q a m i l and his soldiers emerged on the
shore at S h ë n g j i n . T h e r e he raised the long telescope
he carried and began to e x a m i n e the sea. On the h o r i z o n he saw quite a b i g vessel approaching. It w a s
one of those b i g m e r c h a n t ships that sailed to the
A d r i a t i c ports.
«'Xhafë,' called Babë Q a m i l . 'Come here, X h a f ë ,
b r i n g out y o u r paper a n d i n k a n d w r i t e to that s o n of-a-bitch steering that ship to keep clear of the shores
of A l b a n i a because if he approaches I'll open f i r e on
h i m w i t h a r t i l l e r y a n d m a k e such a hash of h i m that
even the f i s h w o n ' t eat h i m . '
« X h a f ë h a d stared at Babë Q a m i l , but w i t h a
stern look he had made h i m drop his gaze a n d w r i t e
w h a t he was told. T h e n , B a b ë Q a m i l ordered three
soldiers to take a s m a l l r o w i n g boat w h i c h was l y i n g
there and d e l i v e r the letter to the captain. 'If t h e y
take y o u prisoner', Babë Q a m i l said to them, ' t r y to
k i l l one or two of t h e m a n d say y o u r last prayers,
because my shells w i l l smash both the e n e m y and
you, my friends. W h a t else can I do, this people m u s t
be defended and y o u w i l l go to paradise.' H o w e v e r ,
they d i d not go to paradise because they came back
safe and sound to the shore w h i l e the ship t u r n e d
r o u n d and sailed away.
«That is what X h a f ë t o l d me, but he m u s t k n o w
m a n y such stories,» my colleague concluded his tale.
«Do y o u k n o w a n y others?» I asked my colleague
w h e n he had finished, because I was v e r y interested
in the question of rebellions, especially the u p r i s i n g
of the peasants of C e n t r a l A l b a n i a .
«If y o u want to k n o w more, y o u h a d better ask
134
X h a f ë yourself,» he said. «I s h a l l introduce y o u to
h i m one day, but don't imagine that he w i l l start to
t e l l y o u these things as soon as y o u meet. F i r s t y o u
have to w i n his confidence, otherwise he w i l l shut
his mouth.»
T i m e w e n t by. M y colleague d i d not manage t o
introduce me to X h a f ë Z e l k a , but w h e n e v e r I saw h i m
on D i b r a Street I greeted h i m respectfully, speaking
l o u d l y enough to m a k e sure he noticed me.
H e looked a t m e w i t h surprise, r e t u r n e d m y greeti n g and continued o n his w a y . Despite m y great desire to become better acquainted w i t h X h a f ë I was
unable to do so because I was transferred to K o r ç a .
O n l y after the occupation, w h e n I began w o r k in the
«Flora» shop, was I able to get to k n o w h i m and t a l k
w i t h h i m . D u r i n g this period, I was c o n t i n u a l l y s t r i v ing to learn as m u s h as possible about the peasant
uprising of Central Albania led by H a x h i Qamili. Our
erudite comrade, S e l i m Shpuza, told me in detail about
the phases of that epoch, w h i c h the beys, the feudal
lords a n d the emerging bourgeoisie called «the epoch
of rebels
Since L i b e r a t i o n I have recorded my ideas about
that i m p o r t a n t p e r i o d of the peasant u p r i s i n g in an
article ( 1 ) , i n w h i c h , i n the l i g h t o f the M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t
philosophy, I have t r i e d to e x p l a i n the objective r e a sons w h i c h caused it a n d to refute as baseless and
anti-scientific both the distorted v i e w s a n d denigrating
theories spread about the «rebellion» by the supporters of Toptani, Z o g and the bourgeois usurers, w h o
_______________________________
1 E n v e r H o x h a , W o r k s , v o l . 23, pp. 128-175, A l b . ed.
135
took over f r o m the f e u d a l lords, that is, c l i m b e d on
the backs of the poor peasantry, and the incorrect
opinions of certain progressive elements of the time
who d i d not understand the class essence and complex i t y of that movement.
B u t here I am t a l k i n g about X h a f ë Z e l k a .
One day, f r o m the w i n d o w I saw X h a f ë entering
the «Flora» shop. I stood up and said to h i m :
«What can I do f o r you, M r . X h a f ë ? »
« H o w d o y o u k n o w m y name, m y boy?» h e asked
me.
«The teachers k n o w y o u r name and have respect
for old patriotic teachers l i k e you.»
«Why, are y o u a teacher or a tobacconist?» asked
X h a f ë , w h o was unable to hide the pleasure he felt
w h e n he heard that he w a s respected a n d described
as a patriotic teacher.
«I was a teacher, but the occupiers dismissed me
f r o m my job and n o w I sell cigarettes,» I replied.
He looked me in the eye and s a i d :
«Could y o u let me have a carton of cigarettes?»
«Two, if y o u like,» I said.
«I haven't enough m o n e y for two but o n l y for
one.»
«Excuse me, M r . X h a f ë , » I said, «but we s u p p l y
our friends o n credit. B r i n g m e the m o n e y w h e n y o u
have it. Do y o u have a shop?» I asked h i m .
«No, my son, but I peddle them, because I w a n t
to raise my children.»
I put three cartons of cigarettes in f r o n t of h i m ,
t e l l i n g h i m t o take t h e m a n d b r i n g m e the m o n e y
w h e n he had sold the cigarettes.
136
He looked at me again and s a i d :
« S h o u l d I accept this f a v o u r y o u are doing me?»
« W h e n the p u p i l does this for the teacher this
seems so little that I w i l l not a l l o w y o u to t h a n k me.»
X h a f ë Z e l k a touched his hat, took the cartons,
said, «See y o u again my boy,» and went out.
N o w m y interest was not o n l y t o l e a r n f r o m
X h a f ë Z e l k a about the peasant u p r i s i n g l e d b y H a x h i
Q a m i l i , but also t o l i n k h i m w i t h the w a r w h i c h w e
had begun. A n honoured teacher a n d patriot l i k e X h a fë w o u l d do a great deal of w o r k in the circles that he
k n e w . H i s words, i n s p i r e d b y o u r war, w o u l d have
t h e i r effect, especially among the youth, w h e n t h e y
saw that this w a r h a d r e v i t a l i z e d the energies even
of the elderly. T h e w o r d s and example of s u c h people
as X h a f ë Z e l k a , w i t h that w e a l t h of experience of
life a n d struggle w h i c h they had, w o u l d c e r t a i n l y
serve also to expose those «patriots» w h o w a n t e d to
l i v e with the a u r a of t h e i r «glorious» past, w h e n t h e i r
a c t i v i t y d i d not amount to even a tenth of that of
X h a f ë Z e l k a . Of course, I c o u l d not speak openly to
h i m on the f i r s t day. I w o u l d keep close to h i m , w o u l d
welcome h i m as he deserved and later o u r a c q u a i n tance w o u l d take its n a t u r a l course.
A f e w days later he came and brought me the
money. I brought out three more cartons.
« A r e y o u g o i n g to do the same t h i n g again, s i r ? »
asked X h a f ë .
«No,» I said, «it's not the same t h i n g . T h i s t i m e
y o u have paid, there's y o u r m o n e y on the counter.»
«What's y o u r name, m y boy?» X h a f ë asked me,
l o o k i n g a t m e a t t e n t i v e l y w i t h his l i v e l y eyes.
137
«They c a l l me E n v e r Hoxha,» I said, «and I am
f r o m G j i r o k a s t r a . A l l o w m e t o introduce m y father.»
My father was sitting q u i e t l y in a chair, listening.
X h a f ë t u r n e d t o h i m and greeted h i m . M y father, w h o
was a simple man, rose to his feet a n d b o w e d .
«A long life to y o u r son,» said X h a f ë .
«If G o d wills,» said m y father, a n d being curious
asked h i m : «Where are y o u f r o m , sir, have y o u a f a mily?»
X h a f ë r e p l i e d that he h a d daughters and sons,
picked up the cartons, t h a n k e d us, said good bye and
left.
W h e n he w e n t out the door, my father asked m e :
«Who was that m a n ? Does he have a shop?»
«What sort of shop c o u l d he have, he's stony
broke,» I said. «That old m a n was together w i t h H a x h i
Q a m i l i w h e n they set f i r e to the palaces of Esat T o p tani.»
« Y o u don't say!» said my father. «So we are
even, he set f i r e to the palace of Esat Pasha, w h i l e
A v n i R u s t e m i f i n i s h e d off the v i l l a i n o u s Pasha» and
he f e l l silent for a moment, w r a p p e d in thought.
« B u t where does this o l d m a n f i n d the m o n e y to
b u y three cartons?»
«I give t h e m to h i m on credit.»
«Say no more,» said my father, «I understand.»
W h e n X h a f ë came n e x t time, not for cartons of
cigarettes but s i m p l y because he was passing that way,
I d i d not let h i m go immediately, but i n v i t e d h i m to
d r i n k a coffee. X h a f ë d i d not refuse.
« T e l l me, M r . Enver,» said X h a f ë , «is it s i m p l y
because I have been a teacher a n d y o u yourself have
138
b e e n a teacher that y o u respect a n d honour me in this
way?»
« B o t h for that, M r . X h a f ë , b u t more especially
f o r the love w h i c h y o u have for the H o m e l a n d a n d
the struggle y o u have waged for the good of the poor
people. Y o u have been deeply h u r t b y the occupation
w h i c h Italy has imposed on us, a n d w i t h o u t doubt
y o u have thought that the people w i l l not endure
this, b u t w i l l rise a n d get r i d of it. T h e insurgent s p i r i t
of the A l b a n i a n s has never ceased to exist. Of course,
the times have changed, the e n e m y is more ferocious,
better armed, b u t are we going to be i n t i m i d a t e d
by this? I say no, M r . X h a f ë , a n d I w o u l d l i k e to k n o w
w h a t y o u , as a f i g h t e r of H a x h i Q a m i l i ' s uprising,
think?»
T h a t wise and honest man, the patriot X h a f ë
Z e l k a , thought for a m o m e n t and s a i d :
« X h a f ë Z e l k a i s n o longer young, M r . Enver, because w e r e he y o u n g he w o u l d not be i d l i n g a r o u n d
l i k e this.»
«The w a r for the H o m e l a n d takes no account of
age,
Mr.
Xhafë.
Everybody
can
contribute,»
and
I
looked h i m in the eye, e m p h a s i z i n g the words, «and
ought to contribute to the freedom of the H o m e l a n d .
Therefore, I was s o r r y to hear y o u say that y o u are
o l d . X h a f ë Z e l k a does not age easily and he w i l l f i n d
the r e m e d y w i t h w h i c h to combat the aging of his
body, but not of his spirit.»
X h a f ë d r a n k his coffee in silence, l o o k i n g at me
as though t r y i n g to m a k e me out. It seemed to me I
h a d said enough for that day. T h e rebellious s p i r i t
139
of X h a f ë Z e l k a was such that it needed o n l y a s t i m u lus to burst out.
« Y o u r words have g i v e n me something to t h i n k
about,» said X h a f ë and, l o w e r i n g his head, added in a
voice w h i c h made m e tremble f r o m e m o t i o n : «See y o u
again, son!»
I could h a r d l y r e t u r n his greeting and I w a t c h e d
h i m for a long time as he w a l k e d s l o w l y away.
X h a f ë Z e l k a was a n outstanding patriot a n d d e mocrat. It seemed to h i m that I was « b u r d e n i n g m y self» w i t h the «assistance» I gave h i m . T h e honest o l d
man, X h a f ë Z e l k a , thought that I w a s m a k i n g some
sacrifice.
One day he came to the shop and I asked h i m :
« H o w m a n y cartons do y o u w a n t today?»
«None, M r . Enver,» he replied.
« W h y so, M r . X h a f ë , » I asked, «don't spare me.»
«No, my boy,» he said, «but I am tired. N o w j u s t
give me a coffee.»
I called t o M a l i , our f r i e n d f r o m T i r a n a w h o w a r ned us w h e n spies came into the s m a l l café he r a n to
eavesdrop on us, to m a k e us a coffee. M a l i w a s an
e l d e r l y m a n , dressed i n the t r a d i t i o n a l T i r a n a w a y ,
and w h e n h e brought the coffee, X h a f ë , w h o c e r t a i n l y
k n e w h i m , said:
«Take good care of the boys for me, M a l o . »
«Don't y o u w o r r y about that, B a b ë X h a f ë , » r e plied M a l i .
W h i l e he drank his coffee, X h a f ë Z e l k a shook his
head, s a y i n g :
« N o w I k n o w what's going on in that m i n d of
yours.»
140
I replied with a laugh:
« W h y , do y o u t h i n k I don't k n o w what's going on
i n yours?»
W e both laughed.
«Listen, son,» said X h a f ë Z e l k a . I s i m p l y cannot
h e l p y o u n o w as m u c h as I ought to do, my legs are
done for, b u t I don't stop t a l k i n g and I s h a l l never
stop t a l k i n g against these fascist dogs.»
« M r . X h a f ë , » I said, «the tongue is not steel, yet
it cuts. Y o u have been and s t i l l are a fighter for the
c o m m o n people and we are f o l l o w i n g y o u r course to
save the Homeland.»
«You k n o w better t h a n we h o w to f i g h t and good
l u c k to y o u ! C o m e closer and listen to me,» said X h a f ë
a n d spoke in a l o w voice. «I can't become a c o m m u nist, but I w a n t y o u to teach my c h i l d r e n so that t h e y
l i n k u p w i t h the P a r t y . »
«There is no doubt about that,» I said. « L i k e a l l
the c h i l d r e n of the people, they w i l l f o l l o w the road
a n d teachings o f t h e i r father. T h e w a r w i l l teach t h e m
a n d the P a r t y w i l l a l w a y s keep close t o t h e m a n d
educate t h e m to become v a l u a b l e people.»
A n d , in fact, one of his sons became a resolute
P a r t y m e m b e r and a n excellent journalist, w h i l e one
of his daughters, as N e x h m i j e [ X h u g l i n i — H o x h a ]
w h o had her as a class-mate in the G i r l s Institute in
T i r a n a of that t i m e has t o l d me, was an active t e a cher, both d u r i n g the years of the w a r and later. As
I have heard, X h a f ë Zëlka's three other children, too,
are simple people and honoured workers, just as their
father, the patriot X h a f ë Z e l k a had w a n t e d t h e m to
be. A l l his life he fought for the poor people, for p r o 141
gress and freedom, and he l i v e d for m a n y years after
the L i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d h a p p y and contented
i n his old age.
A l l over A l b a n i a there were m a n y such patriots
who, although of advanced age, put a l l their strength
in the service of the H o m e l a n d and the P a r t y and,
along w i t h their fighter sons and daughters, became
f i e r y agitators and propagandists for the freedom a n d
independence of the country. Thus, regardless of t h e
manoeuvres and attempts of the pseudo-patriots, we
carried o n energetically w i t h the w o r k f o r the u n i fication and organization of the masses to raise t h i s
u n i t y to a higher l e v e l and place it on sounder f o u n d ations.
In a meeting w h i c h we organized in J u n e 1942,
a t w h i c h R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u , N a k o S p i r u , K o ç o Tashko,
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i and, possibly, one or t w o others t h a t
I don't remember, were present, w h i l e we w e r e t a l k ing about our contacts w i t h the nationalist elements,
I said to the comrades:
«The w o r k is extending and the w a r is b u i l d i n g
up, but don't y o u t h i n k that the t i m e has come for a l l
this to be organized and centralized?»
«It is organized!» objected K o ç o .
«So it is,» I replied, «in a certain sense. T h e w o r k
w h i c h we, as a party, are doing w i t h the masses a n d
the nationalists is organized and centralized because
the P r o v i s i o n a l C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e is leading it. B u t
in this direction there is s t i l l w o r k to be done because
there are comrades w h o do not keep the leadership
i n f o r m e d about their connections, movements a n d v a rious contacts,» and I glanced at M u s t a f a , but he s a i d
142
n o t h i n g . «What I am getting at,» I went on, «is t h a t
the broad masses of the people, the patriots, must be
organized, m u s t have a u n i f i e d p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y
leadership, so that the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n or P o p u l a r
Front, w h a t it w i l l be called is not v e r y important,
w h i c h we are creating in fact, should be embodied
concretely in certain organizational forms of its o w n
and have its competent organs w h i c h w i l l guide the
w o r k for the m o b i l i z a t i o n of the people in the war.»
K o ç o Tashko spoke a g a i n : «The P a r t y leads t h e
w a r and the masses!» he pontificated.
«That is one of our f u n d a m e n t a l principles,» I r e p l i e d quietly, «the P a r t y w i l l lead the F r o n t and l i k e wise the y o u t h . B u t w e m u s t bear i n m i n d that not
o n l y the communists and the sympathizers of t h e
P a r t y are t a k i n g part i n the war. B o t h i n p r i n c i p l e
and tactically we need to organize the masses in a
m i l i t a n t organization w i t h a program w h i c h w i l l unite
a l l those w h o w a n t to fight.»
B a c a (1) and N a k o supported me, s a y i n g : «Taras (2) is
right.» A n d even M u s t a f a expressed himself i n f a v o u r
o f m y idea. F o r h i m this offered possibilities o f w o r k i n g for his o w n aims and a v o i d i n g the control of the
Party.
«We should meet and decide about this as q u i c k l y
as possible,» proposed G j i n i s h i . «We should create a
leading staff and announce it t h r o u g h a Proclamation.»
«No,» I objected, «we m u s t n ' t be hasty in t h i s
________________________________
1 R a m a d a n Çitaku's pseudonym.
2 One of Comrade E n v e r Hoxha's pseudonyms d u r i n g the
National Liberation War.
143
matter. We have no need for leading staffs on paper,
no one w i l l take any notice of them. My idea is that
we should organize a meeting w i t h representatives of
our P a r t y , as the o n l y P a r t y in the country, a n d v a rious patriots and there we should decide h o w a n d
w h e n it should be done.»
«I can speak for n o r t h e r n a n d central A l b a n i a
here!» boasted M u s t a f a . « M y s l i m P e z a w i l l not go
against me, n o r w i l l . . . »
«Listen, Mustafa,» I said to put G j i n i s h i , exalted
by his «own influence», in his place, « M y s l i m does not
go against the P a r t y , because he is l i n k e d w i t h the
P a r t y and not w i t h y o u o r a n y other i n d i v i d u a l . I n
any case this was o n l y an idea w h i c h we s h o u l d d i s cuss and the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e w i l l decide on it.»
In fact this idea had been h a m m e r i n g a w a y in
m y b r a i n for some t i m e and i n one w a y o r the other
I had already presented it to some comrades. I was
convinced, and time c o n f i r m e d this, that it was up to
our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , after the w o r k w h i c h i t h a d
done for about s i x to seven months, to take the i n i t i a t i v e to embody the u n i o n of the A l b a n i a n people p o l i t i c a l l y and organizationally in concrete forms. I t a l k ed it over w i t h other comrades w h o m I met d u r i n g
those days and we decided that we s h o u l d discuss it
more extensively in a regular m e e t i n g of the C e n t r a l
Committee, define the measures w h i c h had to be taken
about the content of the meeting and decide w h e r e
and w h e n it w o u l d be held.
Immediately after this, we issued the i n s t r u c t i o n
that the contacts and w o r k w h i c h the comrades w o u l d
c a r r y out w i t h nationalists and other elements w e r e
144
to be directed towards the idea w h i c h the leadership
of the P a r t y was developing in concrete forms for the
organization of the m e e t i n g at w h i c h the p o l i t i c a l
foundations of the u n i t y of the A l b a n i a n people in the
w a r against fascism w o u l d be l a i d . S p e c i a l instructions
w e r e issued to the comrades in the districts to collect,
s t u d y and send us i n f o r m a t i o n about those elements
w h o m it was thought m i g h t take part in s u c h a meeting.
M a n y of these elements we d i d not trust, n e v e r theless we t r i e d w i t h t h e m , because the a i m was to
organize a broad m e e t i n g at w h i c h a l l the strata and
p o l i t i c a l forces w h i c h expressed t h e i r readiness to
fight, w o u l d be represented. It was i m p o r t a n t that
the organs w h i c h w o u l d emerge should have the
broadest possible representative basis and the decisions
operative force. L i k e a l l the comrades I, too, was e n gaged d i r e c t l y in the accomplishment of the n e w and
i m p o r t a n t task w h i c h we undertook and, to this end,
I w e n t to P e z a to meet Babë* M y s l i m .
As on a l l other occasions, M y s l i m expressed his agreement and readiness to take part in the meeting w h i c h
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y proposed. Moreover, through
his contacts and acquaintances, t h r o u g h the influence
he had among various nationalist elements, he helped us
to f u r t h e r extend our contacts. I asked M y s l i m for
and he gave me recommendations for a n u m b e r of
people w h o m we c o u l d i n v i t e to the m e e t i n g and he
expressed his readiness to t a l k w i t h t h e m himself, if
____________________________________
* D a d — t e r m of respect a n d affection
145
w e charged h i m w i t h this task w h e n the matter w a s
f i n a l l y decided. A m o n g the f i r s t w h o m h e m e n t i o n e d
were H a x h i L l e s h i and M u s t a f a X h a n i , w h o h a d long
since expressed their agreement w i t h the p r o g r a m of
the P a r t y , therefore, I asked M y s l i m to p u t us in c o n tact w i t h them, a n d if possible, to b r i n g t h e m to P e z a
for a p r e l i m i n a r y m e e t i n g w i t h t h e m .
N o t long after this conversation, M y s l i m sent m e
w o r d that H a x h i L l e s h i h a d a r r i v e d i n Peza. T h e n e x t
day or the day after, I set out for P e z a a n d a r r i v e d
a t M y s l i m ' s house where H a x h i h a d stayed d u r i n g
those days.
I embraced H a x h i a n d M u s t a f a K a ç a ç i w h o h a d
accompanied H a x h i t o Peza. H a x h i was s t i l l y o u n g
but looked older t h a n his years on account of the d i f f i c u l t life he h a d l i v e d . He was a short, s t u r d y - l o o k i n g
chap w e a r i n g a leather jacket. I l i k e d his quiet and
mature w a y of t a l k i n g .
I t o l d h i m that M y s l i m and the other comrades
had spoken to me about his a c t i v i t y in f a v o u r of the
people, both against the regime of Z o g and against
the Italian occupiers. I spoke more extensively about
the program of the P a r t y , about the organization of
the w a r u n t i l we w o u l d achieve the general u p r i s i n g
of the whole A l b a n i a n people, about the efforts we
had made up t i l l that time, about the successes and
shortcomings o f o u r w o r k , told h i m w h e r e w e h a d
had results and w h e r e we had not, stressed that the
P a r t y w a n t e d to f u r t h e r strengthen its w o r k , especially in the N o r t h , a n d that it w o u l d base this a i m on the
people of the N o r t h and the honest patriots of those
districts. T h e n , I went on to t e l l h i m a n d asked his
146
o p i n i o n about the idea of organizing a broad meeting
of representatives of the A l b a n i a n people.
H a x h i listened t o m e attentively, f r o m t i m e t o
t i m e a n s w e r i n g some questions I asked h i m . As I h a d
expected, i n his r e p l y h e once again expressed h i m self in f a v o u r of the p r o g r a m of the P a r t y for the w a r
and approved the idea of a conference for the u n i f i c a t i o n of the A l b a n i a n people in this w a r .
In response to my request, he also gave me an
outline of the situation in D i b r a , spoke about the v a rious influences there, a n d stressed that despite the
d i s r u p t i v e a c t i v i t y of the gentry, the bayraktars, the
people of D i b r a w o u l d soon begin an organized a r m e d
struggle. T h e judgements and precise i n f o r m a t i o n
w h i c h H a x h i L l e s h i gave m e w e r e o f great assistance
to o u r work. A m o n g s t other things I asked H a x h i to
r e c o m m e n d to us some of the nationalist elements
w h o m he knew, in order to put us in contact w i t h t h e m
so that we could t r y to i n v o l v e them, too, in the w a r .
H a x h i L l e s h i m e n t i o n e d a n u m b e r of names and
spoke p a r t i c u l a r l y about M u s t a f a X h a n i .
«We k n o w B a b a Faja,» I t o l d h i m , «our comrades
have t a l k e d w i t h h i m . I am h a p p y that y o u have the
same o p i n i o n of him.»
« W h a t about B a z i i Canës, [Abaz K u p i ] , H a x h i ? »
asked B a b ë M y s l i m , w h o u p t i l l that time h a d sat
quietly, l i s t e n i n g to our conversation.
«True, we k n o w that he is one of Zog's f o r m e r
officers, and w i t h Zogite sentiments,» I t o l d H a x h i ,
«but it is said that he is one of those w h o w a n t to
fight.»
A f t e r a moment's reflection H a x h i r e p l i e d : «I
147
came t h r o u g h K r u j a o n m y w a y t o P e z a . I met B a z i ,
because I have a certain f r i e n d s h i p w i t h h i m ; w h e n
the Italians i n v a d e d us he stayed for some w e e k s in
m y home, together w i t h his f a m i l y and several f r i e n d s
of his. I spoke to h i m and he expressed his opposition
to the occupation of the country, cursed M ë r l i k a (1) a n d
Jacomoni, but w h e n I asked h i m his o p i n i o n about an
organized war, he r e p l i e d : 'It's too soon, H a x h i , the
Italians have the n u t a n d the n u t - c r a c k e r in t h e i r
hands. T h e y w i l l smash us.' To p u t it b r i e f l y , » said
H a x h i , «it seems to me that B a z i w o u l d not w a n t to
take part in it.»
I stayed a long t i m e t a l k i n g w i t h H a x h i a n d M y s l i m a n d after we spent a night in C i k a l l e s h , in the
home o f the patriotic peasants A r i f X h a f a a n d Q e r i m
S h i m a , friends of M y s l i m , I set out the f o l l o w i n g m o r ning to return to Tirana.
T h a t same day H a x h i and K a ç a ç i left for M a r t a nesh w h e r e t h e y were to meet B a b a F a j a at o u r r e quest, to put to h i m the idea of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
about the organization of the meeting. A f t e r l i s t e n i n g
a t t e n t i v e l y t o H a x h i , B a b a F a j a s l o w l y l i f t e d his sheeps k i n rug, showed h i m his r i f l e and s a i d :
« Y o u are not the o n l y ones to take up a r m s to
f i g h t the foreigners w h o have i n v a d e d the country. I,
too, cannot tolerate the bondage w h i c h Z o g brought
us by selling our c o u n t r y to Italy. I personally a n d
t h e w h o l e of M a r t a n e s h are w i t h you.»
_______________________________
1 Mustafa
Mërlika
(Kruja),
inveterate
agent
of
Italian
fascism, p r i m e minister of the q u i s l i n g government (December
1941-January
1943).
148
T h e case of this patriotic clergyman, B a b a F a j a ,
was not the o n l y one. L a t e r there were other c l e r g y m e n w h o j o i n e d the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r heart
and soul a n d fought in it. T h e activities of M u s t a f a
X h a n i had great propaganda importance among the
people, because he showed the people that t h e i r r e l i gious convictions are one thing, w h i l e being A l b a n i a n
patriots is another t h i n g . «Regardless of w h e t h e r y o u
are a M o s l e m , O r t h o d o x or Catholic, y o u r f i r s t d u t y is
the w a r for the f r e e d o m of A l b a n i a , » this is w h a t
B a b a F a j a t o l d a l l A l b a n i a n s t h r o u g h his personal
fight. A n d this was completely i n c o n f o r m i t y w i t h the
line of our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y for the u n i t y of the
w h o l e A l b a n i a n people i n the w a r for freedom.
W h i l e the comrades a l l over the c o u n t r y c o n t i n u e d the w o r k on the basis of the orientations and
instructions w h i c h w e h a d sent them, s t u d y i n g e v e r y t h i n g t h o r o u g h l y w i t h c o m m u n i s t coolheadedness, the
leadership of the P a r t y decided that it should h o l d a
special m e e t i n g to analyze the results achieved and
define the tasks and concrete measures for the o r g a n i z a t i o n of the N a t i o n a l Conference of representatives
of the A l b a n i a n people. T h i s was done in the f i r s t
days of J u l y 1942, at that m e e t i n g of the P r o v i s i o n a l
C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the C P A at w h i c h a series of
i m p o r t a n t decisions w e r e t a k e n for the l i q u i d a t i o n of
the hostile factional w o r k of Anastas L u l o a n d S a d i k
P r e m t e . ( 1 ) A t this meeting, w e put f o r w a r d the idea
and t h r a s h e d out opinions about the organization of
__________________________________
1 For
When
the
more
Party
extensive
Was
Born
information
(Memoirs),
149
p.
see
317,
3rd
Enver
Alb.
Hoxha,
ed.
the N a t i o n a l Conference w h i c h w o u l d o f f i c i a l l y decide
on the u n i f i c a t i o n of the A l b a n i a n people in a m i l i t a n t
organization w h i c h w o u l d b e the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Front. To this end, I presented to the comrades at the
meeting a s u m m a r y c o m p r i s i n g a n u m b e r of points
o u t l i n i n g the p o l i t i c a l p l a t f o r m w i t h w h i c h the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a w o u l d go to the Conference
as its initiator, about the necessity of h a v i n g a caref u l l y considered and e x t r e m e l y precise p r o g r a m , as
w e l l as about the measures w h i c h we w o u l d have to
take to ensure that the Conference was conducted
normally.
«There are t w o things that we have to bear in
mind,» I pointed out to the comrades. «First, we are
going to present the p l a t f o r m , our program, to the
Conference, but in fact we are presenting it to the
people, and t h e y w i l l approve it; t w o or three i n d i v i duals won't l i k e this but that doesn't matter. Second,»
I continued, «to those w h o m a y raise the question of
the f u t u r e regime i n A l b a n i a w e s h a l l say that the
people themselves w i l l decide this after L i b e r a t i o n ,
through regular democratic elections. Besides this,»
I stressed, «we m u s t go to the Conference as a P a r t y
and not as individuals, w i t h a delegation w h i c h we
s h a l l appoint j o i n t l y w h i l e the others w i l l be nationalists w h o are already f i g h t i n g , or w h o m we t h i n k
we can persuade to fight in the f u t u r e . R e p r e s e n t a t i ves of the C o m m u n i s t Y o u t h and the A n t i - f a s c i s t
W o m e n w i l l also go to the conference.»
A f t e r I had spoken a l l the comrades took part in
the discussion and the general outline of the p l a t f o r m
of the Conference was adopted. It was decided that
150
one m a i n report, w h i c h I w a s charged w i t h drafting,
as w e l l as t w o s u b s i d i a r y reports, one about the youth,
the other about the w o m e n , w o u l d be d e l i v e r e d at the
Conference. In regard to p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the C o n f e rence, we agreed in p r i n c i p l e on the c r i t e r i a and app o i n t e d a group of comrades to prepare the list of
those to be i n v i t e d .
T h e place at w h i c h the Conference w o u l d be h e l d
was also discussed in that meeting. I h a d considered
this matter i n advance a n d j o i n t l y w i t h some other
comrades we h a d a r r i v e d at the o p i n i o n that we should
h o l d the Conference in P e z a e M a d h e . I p u t this p r o posal to the m e e t i n g of the C e n t r a l Committee, backing it up w i t h a n u m b e r of arguments.
«The h o l d i n g of such a m e e t i n g in Peza, so close
to Tirana,» I p o i n t e d out, « w i l l be a strong challenge
t o the occupiers and M e r l i k a . B y h o l d i n g this event
i n P e z a w e w i l l say t o t h e m : 'See, right u n d e r y o u r
noses, we organized the Conference of the whole people to discuss the a r m e d u p r i s i n g . ' In this way, w e ' l l
demonstrate to the i n v a d i n g e n e m y and the traitors
the political, organizational a n d m i l i t a r y strength of
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a . T h i s w i l l t e r r i f y and
i n f u r i a t e the enemy, w h i l e it w i l l give the people c o u rage a n d confidence.»
T h a t was the p o l i t i c a l aspect of the question. In
regard to the other aspect: e n s u r i n g the safety of the
participants a n d the h o l d i n g of the Conference w i t h out incident, in this direction, too, P e z a f u l f i l l e d a l l
the conditions. P e z a w a s the birthplace and battlefield
of B a b ë M y s l i m . There, in P e z a e M a d h e the partisan
f i g h t i n g forces made up of communists and peasant
151
patriots, l i k e the whole district of P e z a w h i c h had
j o i n e d in the a r m e d struggle against the occupiers,
w o u l d guarantee the peaceful conditions needed to
conduct the m e e t i n g and take the historic decisions.
T h e comrades agreed and it was decided that the
meeting s h o u l d be h e l d in P e z a e M a d h e , w h i l e the
question of the time, if I am not m i s t a k e n , was set for
the m i d d l e of A u g u s t .
I m m e d i a t e l y after this we set to w o r k p r e p a r i n g
for the organization of the Conference. We w e r e aware
that the Conference for w h i c h w e w e r e w o r k i n g w o u l d
be a m a j o r event of historic importance, a concretization of the M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t l i n e of the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y of A l b a n i a . T h e repercussions of it w o u l d be
incalculable.
At the J u l y meeting we h a d decided to seek the
agreement of patriots and «nationalists» to participate
in the Conference and w o u l d present to t h e m a g e n eral outline of its purpose, in order to enable t h e m
to prepare themselves to speak, b u t for security reasons
we w o u l d t e l l t h e m neither the day n o r the place.
The meeting h a d to be a broad one, not in the n u m e r i c a l sense, however, because for reasons of secrecy
a meeting w i t h 50 or a h u n d r e d people w o u l d not be
suitable, but in the sense of its breadth of r e p r e sentation. It was important that the participants s h o u l d
be m e n w i t h weight and i n f l u e n c e among the people,
patriots w h o represented the c o u n t r y f r o m the N o r t h
to the South. T h e names of a n u m b e r of outstanding
patriots, l i k e M y s l i m Peza, H a x h i L l e s h i a n d M u s t a f a
X h a n i , h a d long been on the list, a n d beside t h e i r
names there was no question m a r k about t h e i r stand
152
towards the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . A b o u t the others w e h e l d c o n t i n u a l d i s cussions.
«Abaz K u p i m u s t b e i n v i t e d w i t h o u t fail», M u stafa G j i n i s h i said to me one day.
«Why w i t h o u t f a i l ? » I asked h i m , m o s t l y to cool
his ardour, because in fact we had decided to i n v i t e B a z i .
«He is a great patriot», said M u s t a f a in a less
imperious tone. «He fought in D u r r ë s on A p r i l 7.»
«That he was in D u r r ë s I know,» I replied. «He
m a y even have fought. B u t w h e t h e r he fought f o r
A l b a n i a or for Zog, this I do not k n o w . I k n o w , also,»
I told h i m , «that since he returned, not o n l y is B a z i
doing no f i g h t i n g but s u r p r i s i n g l y , the Italians are not
harassing h i m . D o y o u k n o w a n y t h i n g about this?»
«He has influence i n K r u j a and M e r l i k a i s a f r a i d
of him,» r e p l i e d M u s t a f a .
« T i m e w i l l tell,» I said and bent my head over the
m a t e r i a l I had in front of me, i m p l y i n g that I was busy.
M u s t a f a t u r n e d to leave, but w h e n he reached the
door I s a i d :
«Listen, M u s t a f a , w h a t do y o u think, if we i n v i t e
A b a z K u p i , w i l l h e come t o the Conference?»
G j i n i s h i brightened u p i m m e d i a t e l y and a p p r o a ched the table w h e r e I was w o r k i n g .
«Leave this i n m y hands, Comrade Taras!»
« V e r y well,» I said, «you have a talk w i t h B a z i ,
a s t h o u g h c o m i n g f r o m you, w i t h o u t t e l l i n g h i m
a n y t h i n g concrete, and take care,» I instructed h i m ,
«that B a z i does not t h i n k we are begging h i m to come.
If he w a n t s to come w e l l and good, if he does not
want to, let h i m go his o w n way.»
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«I assure y o u he w i l l come!» W i t h these words
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i left a n d w i t h o u t doubt, as it was to
become clear later, he went to co-ordinate matters w i t h
the other resident agent of the Intelligence Service,
A b a z K u p i . ( 1 ) M e a n w h i l e , w e h a d been sounding people
out and we k n e w that B a z i and other p r o - Z o g elements
h a d said that t h e y w o u l d come.
P r e c i s e l y in the heat of these preparations the
comrades f r o m V l o r a proposed that w e s h o u l d i n v i t e
S k ë n d e r M u ç o t o T i r a n a and t a l k w i t h h i m . I h a d h e a r d
the name o f S k ë n d e r M u ç o b u t d i d not k n o w h i m p e r sonally. I had heard h i m w e l l spoken of in the i n t e l lectual circles in T i r a n a , he was said to be a capable
l a w y e r and was advertized as a learned, erudite, clever
m a n and not corrupted. I n T i r a n a , V l o r a a n d elsewhere, he had the reputation of a democrat a n d the c o m rades of V l o r a recommended h i m to us as a p r o m i s i n g
element. He must have been a f e w years older than
I, had studied jurisprudence in Italy. He was not one
of those w h o w e r e openly opposed to Zog, b u t neither
was he openly pro the regime. He was, so to say, a
«reluctant» conformer and it was r u m o u r e d that p r e c i sely for this reason he h a d p r e f e r r e d to become a
l a w y e r rather t h a n a judge and to be «free a n d
uncommitted».
K n o w i n g a l l these things, as w e l l as the special
i n f o r m a t i o n w h i c h H y s n i K a p o ( 2 ) a n d the other comrades
______________________________________
1 Enver
(Memoirs),
2 At
Hoxha,
The
Anglo-American
Threat
to
Albania
T i r a n a 1982, pp. 173-297, E n g . ed.
that
time
political
secretary
Committee of the C P A .
154
of
the
Vlora
Regional
f r o m V l o r a sent us, we agreed to the proposal to meet
h i m a n d i n f o r m e d the comrades that he should set out
for T i r a n a . M e n t o r (1), one of the most active comrades
in the region of V l o r a , escorted S k ë n d e r M u ç o .
A t the appointed t i m e S k ë n d e r M u ç o , accompan i e d by M e n t o r , presented h i m s e l f at the base. It seems
to me we h a d chosen the house of a legal patriotic
f r i e n d , a i m i n g b o t h to m a k e some impression on this
l a w y e r of the bourgeoisie and to enable h i m to see the
r e a l i t y as it was, to be convinced that we h a d strong
links w i t h other w e l l - k n o w n patriots, too, and that we
w e r e not a f r a i d of the reprisals of the occupiers.
We met, exchanged the usual greetings and w h e n
I saw that S k ë n d e r was w a i t i n g f o r me to begin, I
said t o h i m :
« N e i t h e r y o u nor I have time to waste M r . S k ë n der, therefore, I t h i n k that first I should present the
v i e w s of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y about the situation a n d
what m u s t be done in the f u t u r e . T h e n I, as representative of the P a r t y , w o u l d l i k e to hear y o u r opinion.»
« V e r y well,» S k ë n d e r M u ç o replied.
T h e n I gave h i m a brief outline of the p o l i t i c a l
situation and the war, pointed out the barbarities and
aggressive nature of the G e r m a n nazis and Italian fascists, before going into o u r i n t e r n a l situation and p o i n t ing out b r o a d l y h o w we assessed it.
« O u r o p i n i o n is, a n d this we have begun to put
into practice,» I said c o n c l u d i n g this question, «that a l l
of us m u s t rise in the f i g h t against the occupiers, to
repeat the epic of V l o r a of 1920 and a l l the heroic
__________________________________
1 T h e pseudonym of I b r a h i m D e r v i s h i .
155
wars w h i c h the A l b a n i a n s have waged against various
invaders since the time of Skanderbeg.»
«But, M r . Hoxha,» S k ë n d e r M u ç o objected i m mediately, «allow me to r e m i n d y o u that present-day
Italy is no longer the Italy of 1920. N o w . . . » .
«I k n o w w h a t y o u w a n t to say,» I i n t e r r u p t e d h i m ,
«but we m u s t not be i n t i m i d a t e d by the strength of
fascist Italy. If we study the h i s t o r y of the wars of
our people, we s h a l l see that our enemies of a l l times
have been m u c h greater, more p o w e r f u l , and w e l l armed, but o u r s m a l l people have never been a f r a i d .
T h i s is an historical fact. O u r people have risen in
insurrection, have fought and t r i u m p h e d in battle over
their enemies, hence, although s m a l l t h e y have c o n quered them, just as D a v i d fought and conquered G o liath. A n d w e m u s t not forget either, M r . Skënder, that
in our wars of the past we have a l w a y s been alone
against the enemies. No state has supported us, either
materially, p o l i t i c a l l y o r m o r a l l y . I n h i s t o r y w e w i l l
f i n d o n l y some w r i t e r s or poets w h o subsequently
wrote a book or a poem about the v a l i a n t deeds of
Skanderbeg and the A l b a n i a n s and their great role in
defending W e s t e r n c i v i l i z a t i o n f r o m the O t t o m a n i n v a sion. Today, however,» I continued, «matters are d i f ferent: the whole democratic w o r l d , a l l the progressive
states, first of a l l the Soviet U n i o n , but also B r i t a i n ,
the U n i t e d States of A m e r i c a , and so on, have risen in
struggle against the savage G e r m a n - I t a l i a n nazi-fascist
beast. So, in this war, we are not alone, as in the past.
B u t w e have t o consider h o w w e s h o u l d organize o u r selves, because, as the people say, 'If the baby does
not cry, the mother does not p u t it to the breast'; if
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we do not organize ourselves for w a r and rise and
fight, neither the freedom, n o r the independence a n d
sovereignty of the H o m e l a n d can be w o n .
«This is h o w our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y sees the s i t u a tion, a n d we have been w o r k i n g for some t i m e to r a l l y
our people in a m i l i t a n t u n i t y , we are e x p l a i n i n g the
aims of the w a r to the people a n d c o n v i n c i n g t h e m
that o n l y i n this w a y w i l l the H o m e l a n d b e liberated
a n d t h e i r desires and aspirations be realized. As our
comrades in V l o r a have told you, we are w o r k i n g to
unite the people in an anti-fascist organization a n d we
have s t r i v e n and are s t r i v i n g to unite a l l the honest
patriots, w h e r e v e r t h e y are, t a k i n g no account of their
regional differences, religious beliefs, or p o l i t i c a l outlooks, r o u n d this p l a t f o r m w i t h the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
o f A l b a n i a . F r o m this F r o n t w e m u s t exclude the
A l b a n i a n fascists and traitors. T h i s w i l l be a f i g h t i n g
Front, a great u n i o n of the w h o l e people to d r i v e
fascism into the sea. I believe y o u understand these
things w e l l , M r . M u ç o , because y o u originate f r o m h e roic Vlora.»
«I understand them,» said the l a w y e r , «but to
wage this war, as y o u say, requires arms. W h e r e are
we going to f i n d the arms?»
« M a n y have asked us this question,» I replied, «but
we m u s t not forget that neither our forefathers, our
grandfathers nor we today have had or have arms factories, but arms w e have h a d a n d w e w i l l have t h e m
again. We s h a l l start w i t h those o l d rifles we possess,
and t h e n we s h a l l seize the weapons f r o m the e n e m y
b y f i g h t i n g a n d k i l l i n g h i m and attacking his depots.
«That is w h y M r . Skënder,» I continued, «we r e 157
gard the situation as favourable for the w a r and are
optimistic about its outcome. T h e H o m e l a n d belongs to
a l l of us, therefore a l l of us must defend it a n d f i g h t
for its liberation. We consider that the cause of l i b e r a t i o n is not a m o n o p o l y of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of
A l b a n i a and its members alone, but a d u t y of the w h o l e
people, therefore our P a r t y and its members are m e e t i n g and t a l k i n g openly w i t h a n u m b e r of democratic
patriots and anti-fascists a l l over the c o u n t r y in o r d e r
to organize a meeting, n a t u r a l l y in great secrecy f r o m
the enemy, w h i c h we could c a l l an assembly or a c o n ference at w h i c h we s h a l l t a l k as brothers, as comrades
in such a great cause as the cause of the w a r against
the occupier for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d . At t h i s
conference we should talk and decide to f i g h t together,
should thrash out o u r opinions about h o w we should
f i g h t w i t h weapons, w i t h the pen, w i t h policy, h o w w e
should organize and lead this war, w h a t m i l i t a r y and
political organs we have to set up in order to achieve
the great success of l i b e r a t i o n . As I have t o l d y o u , o u r
P a r t y has a series of ideas, but in general outline, w h a t
I have told y o u constitutes o n l y the essence and basis
of these ideas. I presented t h e m to y o u so that we c o u l d
exchange opinions in p r i n c i p l e in order to achieve this
historic meeting. Of course, y o u w i l l w a n t to express
y o u r opinion, too, and I s h a l l listen to y o u w i t h the
greatest attention and good w i l l . »
Skënder M u ç o listened c a r e f u l l y t o m y exposé a n d
for this I t h a n k e d h i m s a y i n g in c o n c l u s i o n :
«We believe that y o u , as a patriot and democrat,
w i l l be for this m e e t i n g in p r i n c i p l e and we hope that
y o u w i l l add the weight of y o u r a u t h o r i t y to assist this
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sacred deed. N o w I g i v e y o u the floor to express y o u r
opinion about the matters I p u t before you.»
As the l a w y e r he was, S k ë n d e r M u ç o began and
ended his talk w i t h a n allegedly b r i l l i a n t logic w h i c h
i n r e a l i t y was not i n the least b r i l l i a n t . H e began w i t h
emphasis, s w i t c h e d to a c a l m tone, made assertions,
r e t u r n e d to m e t a p h o r i c a l language, e m p l o y e d the
phraseology of symbols, raised some doubts w i t h o u t
asking direct questions and a r t f u l l y retracted w h a t he
had said a l i t t l e earlier in order to a v o i d c o m m i t t i n g
himself t o a n y definite decision. I n t a l k i n g w i t h h i m ,
I realized that the o n l y «arguments» w h i c h supported
his r e p u t a t i o n as a «clever a n d capable» m a n w e r e his
dodges, h i s incoherence in judgements and u n p r i n c i p l e d
assertions and retractions. H i s «ability» and «cleverness» w e r e fictitious, the qualities of the l a w y e r w h o
w i t h c u n n i n g and e m p t y rhetoric defended the g u i l t y
before a bourgeois court, w h i c h represented n o t h i n g
but a bourgeoisie w i t h thieves a n d criminals, f r o m the
ranks of w h o m emerged those l a w - b r e a k e r s w h o m
S k ë n d e r M u ç o defended. I n his conversation w i t h me,
too, he t r i e d to appear b r i l l i a n t t h r o u g h the use of
smooth and c a r e f u l l y chosen words, but his rhetoric
and w o r d s c o u l d neither convince n o r impress us w h o
were equipped w i t h M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t logic.
In essence, this is w h a t he h a d to say: he agreed
that the s i t u a t i o n of the country was d i f f i c u l t and
condemned the fascist occupiers, posed as an a n t i fascist democrat, but d i d not f a i l to give me a l o n g
tirade, although it was neither the place nor the m o ment, to convince me that the Italian people w e r e
«talented, fine, industrious and democratic» and t h a t
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t h e y should not be confounded w i t h the Italian fascists (!). I i n t e r r u p t e d h i m s a y i n g :
«Fascist Italy has i n v a d e d us and here we have
on our backs w h o l e armies w h i c h we have to fight. As
to w h a t the Italian people are in p r i n c i p l e , that's
another matter, but at the m o m e n t M u s s o l i n i has
engaged them in w a r against us, therefore we m u s t
fight.»
«Agreed,» said S k ë n d e r M u ç o , «but I cannot go a l l
the w a y w i t h y o u r arguments that G e r m a n y a n d I t a l y
w i l l be defeated a l l that easily. L o o k h o w t h e y have
got the Soviet U n i o n , B r i t a i n , F r a n c e a n d so on on the
r u n . T h e U n i t e d States of A m e r i c a is s t i l l not p r o p e r l y
committed, therefore we s h o u l d look before we leap
a n d not bite off m o r e t h a n we can chew.»
«I cannot accept this assessment that y o u m a k e of
the situation,» I said. «It is true that the A x i s countries
have a t e m p o r a r y supremacy, b u t we m u s t not forget
that H i t l e r ' s ' b l i t z k r i e g ' has f a i l e d a n d his armies are
being engaged in a long a n d d i f f i c u l t w a r . T h e t i m e
factor is w o r k i n g for the allies. Besides, the s i t u a t i o n
b e h i n d the lines, and here I include A l b a n i a , is b e c o m i n g ever more w o r r y i n g for the occupiers. I am c o n f i d ent that the anti-fascist coalition of the peoples w i l l
triumph.»
S k ë n d e r M u ç o listened to me w i t h the superior
smile of a m a n w h o «is w e l l acquainted w i t h these
matters».
« M r . Hoxha,» he said, «you k n o w that I am a
democrat and as such I hope for the v i c t o r y of B r i t a i n
and A m e r i c a , and I add, of Russia, b u t I t h i n k we ought
to w a i t s t i l l and a v o i d the devastating attacks, ought
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to w a i t u n t i l our allies consolidate the fronts a n d l a u n c h
t r i u m p h a n t counter-attacks and t h e n we should j o i n in.»
«That is a l l v e r y w e l l , M r . Skënder,» I said, «but
even f r o m the stand-point of s o l i d a r i t y w i t h the allies
it is not r i g h t that we should not f i g h t w h e n they are
f i g h t i n g . Y o u w a n t the allies to stabilize the f r o n t and,
on the other hand, w a n t the fascists to have a quiet
situation b e h i n d the lines. T h a t is not logical. F r o m the
national aspect it is even worse. We have the e n e m y in
our H o m e l a n d oppressing us and shedding our blood,
t h e n s h o u l d w e not f i g h t and defend ourselves? S k a n derbeg cleared out f r o m T u r k e y , r e t u r n e d to the H o m e l a n d a n d began the w a r against the T u r k s . T h e n
h o w can w e w h o are i n our o w n H o m e l a n d f a i l t o
fight? T h a t w o u l d be a tragic and inexcusable error.»
Skënder Muço interrupted me:
«Don't m i s u n d e r s t a n d me, I w a n t to fight, b u t we
are unorganized.»
«Our c a l l is precisely that we s h o u l d organize
ourselves, and in order to organize we m u s t meet,
discuss and decide. T h i s is w h a t we propose.»
« B u t we w o u l d not be equal in that m e e t i n g that
y o u propose,» objected S k ë n d e r M u ç o , «you w i l l come
as a P a r t y and we as individuals.»
«Is there a n y other p a r t y in the country, M r . S k ë nder?» I asked l o o k i n g h i m straight in the eye.
«No, there isn't,» m u r m u r e d the l a w y e r .
« T h e n we are obliged to appeal to i n d i v i d u a l s . We
k n o w that the i n d i v i d u a l s to w h o m we address our
appeal have influence among other people and this
pleases us, just as the existence of our P a r t y ought to
please you.»
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«That is so,» said S k ë n d e r Muço, «but we cannot
agree w i t h the p r o g r a m of y o u r P a r t y ; y o u are for the
establishment of soviets.»
« Y o u are mistaken,» I said. «Our P a r t y has its
p r o g r a m in w h i c h it speaks clearly of its aims. It does
not say that we are going to establish soviets as in the
Soviet U n i o n ; we have declared and declare again t h a t
the people themselves w i l l decide the question of state
power w h e n they are liberated. In fact, M r . Skënder,
I can tell y o u that Zogite elements have agreed to
come to the meeting, therefore w h a t y o u say is not a
sound reason for y o u to refuse to come.»
«Please understand me, M r . H o x h a , I have not yet
said whether or not I s h a l l come, but I am a s k i n g some
questions and seeking clarification.»
«I have no objection at a l l to questions and c l a r i fications,» I told h i m .
« W e l l then,» continued S k ë n d e r M u ç o , «for e x a m ple, w h y do y o u communists w e a r the star on y o u r cap
and not the eagle? W h y do y o u place the r e d star over
the head of the eagle on the flag? Excuse me for
saying so,» said Skënder, «but Z o g added his c r o w n
and Italy two axes to the eagle, w h i l e y o u place a red
star.»
« M r . Skënder Muço,» I said, «we communists have
fought Z o g who k i l l e d and i m p r i s o n e d us, therefore we
hate h i m and the c r o w n w h i c h he had placed on the
flag and the eagle. No one can deny the fierce f i g h t
w h i c h our P a r t y is w a g i n g against fascist Italy and the
Lictor's fasces.
«Our star is the star of freedom, of that freedom
w h i c h is w o n at the cost of blood by f i g h t i n g , it is the
162
s y m b o l of the n e w w o r l d , of a democratic A l b a n i a . O u r
red star is the distinctive badge of partisans w h o are
f i g h t i n g w i t h the star on their b r o w and the f l a g of
A l b a n i a in t h e i r hand, w i t h the r e d star over the eagle.
W h e n our people w a n t to define a v a l i a n t fighter t h e y
call h i m an eagle, a brave m a n w i t h a star on his b r o w .
T h i s is a r i g h t of ours and should not be an obstacle to
y o u r c o m i n g to the meeting. Y o u c o u l d raise this question there, y o u are free to do so and as a j u r i s t y o u
should k n o w that the C o n s t i t u t i o n a l M e e t i n g , w h i c h
must be s u m m o n e d w h e n the c o u n t r y is liberated, w i l l
decide both the f o r m of the regime and the flag, and
it w i l l decide w h e t h e r or not the f l a g w i l l have a star.»
« T h e n that is clear,» said S k ë n d e r M u ç o . «Thank
y o u for y o u r exposé and y o u r i n v i t a t i o n . I cannot
accept it r i g h t now, because I m u s t r e t u r n to V l o r a ,
discuss i t w i t h m y f r i e n d s and w i l l send y o u m y
answer.»
«I trust that w i t h i n ten days we s h a l l have a
positive answer.» I t o l d h i m .
«Oh, c e r t a i n l y w i t h i n ten days.»
S o w e parted w i t h S k ë n d e r M u ç o . F r o m the c o n versation w h i c h I had, and I t o l d the comrades this, I
f o r m e d the c o n v i c t i o n that the people and the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n W a r could not expect a n y good f r o m h i m .
He was a bourgeois i n t e l l e c t u a l who, in his soul, w a s
embued w i t h the features of that bourgeoisie w h i c h
passed judgement on those l a w breakers he defended,
but w h o c a r e f u l l y preserved his disguise as a democrat,
and since he secured h i s income f r o m his occupation,
he posed as a free professional m a n , independent of
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any state power, w h o had his o w n «independent o p i nion», w h i c h he t r i e d to d i s p l a y to me.
Subsequently, the «democrat» S k ë n d e r M u ç o t u r n e d
his r i f l e against the P a r t y and the people, and we
r e p l i e d to this traitor w i t h the r i f l e .
P r e c i s e l y at this time the comrades charged me
w i t h proposing to B a h r i and his group to take part at
the conference.
« I have h a d m a n y talks w i t h B a h r i O m a r i and
his clan,» I told the comrades, «and I am c o n v i n c e d that
a l l of t h e m have already chosen their course.»
«We should t r y once more, Enver,» the comrades
told me, «and y o u can do this best.»
«Since y o u are charging me w i t h this task, I accept it,» I replied.
I went, met h i m a n d said, «We t h i n k we ought to
exchange opinions w i t h one another, we ought to i r o n
out our disagreements and in the interest of the H o m e l a n d organize a j o i n t meeting against the e n e m y occupier
just as the patriots of o u r c o u n t r y have done in the
past,» and so on. As I expected, B a h r i d i d not accept
such a proposal. So I d i d not press the matter f u r t h e r
with him.
1 told the comrades about the result of my meeting
w i t h B a h r i and we decided to m a k e approaches to K o l ë
T r o m a r a and S h e h K a r b u n a r a . Despite the doubt w h i c h
I had about the success of this «mission» I undertook
this task, too. I decided to m a k e contact w i t h the S h e h
w i t h w h o m I m a i n t a i n e d «good» relations, b u t I d i d not
get along at a l l w i t h K o l ë T r o m a r a and I k n e w that I
could not talk to h i m .
164
S h e h K a r b u n a r a w a s not i n T i r a n a . H e stayed i n
his religious residence in L u s h n j a . so I decided to get
into contact w i t h h i m t h r o u g h his son, H y s e n , w i t h
w h o m I was acquainted because he was the brotheri n - l a w o f S y r j a Selfo. M y relations w i t h h i m w e r e
good and I had v i s i t e d h i m p r e v i o u s l y and d i d so later,
too, w h e n I w a s w o r k i n g in illegality, because at that
time H y s e n posed as being w i t h us. L i k e w i s e , d u r i n g
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r he posed as a s y m p a t h i z e r
w i t h the war, but after L i b e r a t i o n he began to d i s p l a y
his t r u e colours and was m i x e d up w i t h the enemies
of the people such as Shefqet B e j a and others.
I w e n t to H y s e n ' s house and said to h i m :
«Listen, H y s e n , y o u are to go to L u s h n j a to B a b a
S h e h and say to h i m that E n v e r w a n t s a m e e t i n g w i t h
y o u a n d K o l ë T r o m a r a and i f they like, also, w i t h S e j f i
Vllamasi.»
H y s e n opened his eyes in surprise, but he agreed
to c a r r y out my instructions. A p p a r e n t l y he was d y i n g
to k n o w w h a t this was a l l about so he asked m e :
«If the S h e h asks me w h a t the meeting is about,
what should I t e l l h i m ? »
« T e l l h i m that E n v e r has something i m p o r t a n t t o
t a l k over w i t h t h e m . J u s t that,» I replied.
I k n e w that the Sheh's curiosity w o u l d be t i c k l e d
and he w o u l d agree to the meeting. «Qorri» (the blind)
as we called H y s e n , because he had a wall-eye, set off
for L u s h n j a .
A f e w days later the news reached me at the
illegal base where I was s t a y i n g that H y s e n w a n t e d to
meet me. I w e n t to his house unexpected one night and
165
he t o l d me that the S h e h agreed in p r i n c i p l e to meet
me, but w h e n he came to T i r a n a he w o u l d discuss the
matter w i t h his friends and w o u l d let m e k n o w .
E v e n t u a l l y the news came that S h e h K a r b u n a r a ,
K o l ë T r o m a r a , a n d S e j f i V l l a m a s i agreed to the meeti n g w h i c h w e w o u l d h o l d i n the home o f K o l ë K u q a l i ,
our c o m m o n f r i e n d . I accepted and went there at the
appointed t i m e and date. G j i k ë K u q a l i was our c o m r a de, w h i l e his father, K o l ë , was a s y m p a t h i s e r of ours.
W h e n i entered the r o o m I f o u n d the three h a d
a r r i v e d before me.
«Shall I leave you?» asked K o l ë K u q a l i .
«Not as far as I am concerned,» I said, «so long
as our friends don't object.»
«Bah,» sneered K o l ë T r o m a r a , «you c l i n g to the
branches, w h i l e the t r u n k is ours,» a l l u d i n g to G j i k ë
and K o l ë . «We have been friends w i t h the K u q a l i s in
A m e r i c a , have been members of Vatra (1) together,»
continued K o l ë T r o m a r a .
«It's v e r y good that K u q a l i is y o u r f r i e n d and
ours,» I said to K o l ë , «but I t h i n k that the w i n n e r is
he who has both the t r u n k and branches w i t h him.»
« O k a y then, and what has 'Comrade R e d ' got to
tell us that he brought us here?» said K o l ë T r o m a r a .
I began to speak to t h e m about the need for the
w a r against the occupiers and quislings, the need for
a joint meeting at w h i c h we w o u l d f r e e l y express our
opinions about the organization of this war, etc., etc.
_________________________________________
1 Association
created
by
the
U n i t e d States of A m e r i c a .
166
Albanian
emigrants
in
the
W h e n I was done K o l ë T r o m a r a took the floor and
gave me a «lecture» studded w i t h those opinions w i t h
w h i c h I was f a m i l i a r f r o m B a h r i and others, but w i t h
greater haughtiness and arrogance, indeed, even in
insulting tones w i t h such expressions as «I k n o w what
y o u reds are up to», «I've had to do w i t h you», «you
listen to Stalin», and so on.
I i n t e r r u p t e d h i m and s a i d :
« M r . T r o m a r a , I have not come here to discuss
ideological issues. I made no m e n t i o n of y o u r p o l i t i c a l
views, although I, too, have p l e n t y I can say about
you.»
«Go on then,» said K o l ë , «we can h o l d our heads
up.»
« A n d we can hold our heads up, too,» I said, «and
our conscience is clear. B u t I w a n t e d to meet y o u not
to quarrel, although I am ready to do that too, if y o u
like, but I have come to t r y to reach agreement, to
put aside our differences for the sake of the great
cause of liberation.»
«But w h o do y o u t h i n k is going to liberate this
H o m e l a n d and h o w w i l l it be done?» he asked.
«The people,» I replied, «all of us, together w i t h
the people t h r o u g h w a r and w i t h o u t compromise.»
« W i t h o u t compromise! H a ! H a ! H a ! » K o l ë T r o m a ra laughed i r o n i c a l l y , «But what was it S t a l i n made
with Hitler, M r . Red?»
T r o m a r a was r e f e r r i n g to the non-aggression pact
w h i c h the Soviet government had concluded w i t h G e r m a n y in 1939 after a l l the proposals w h i c h it had made
to B r i t a i n and F r a n c e for joint resistance to the nazi
167
danger had been refused. T h i s wise act of Stalin's,
w h i c h b l e w up a l l the plans of those w h o w a n t e d to sit
back and w a t c h the destruction of the Soviet U n i o n
by H i t l e r i t e G e r m a n y , i n f u r i a t e d the reactionaries w h o
began a compaign of slander, the echo of w h i c h we
hear to this day, that S t a l i n allegedly made a c o m p r o mise w i t h H i t l e r , that the Soviet U n i o n d i v i d e d the
spheres of influence w i t h G e r m a n y a n d so on and so
forth.
«Stalin,» I told h i m , «offered his h a n d to y o u r
C h a m b e r l a i n and Daladier, the f r i e n d of y o u r idol,
Herriot, and they not o n l y refused his hand, but t r i e d
to a n d succeeded in unleashing H i t l e r against the S o viet Union.»
«Oh,» said K o l ë , «how m a n y times have I read
this r u b b i s h f r o m M a u r i c e Thorez i n P a r i s ! »
« M r . K o l ë Tromara,» I replied, s t r i v i n g to keep
calm, «you asked me a question, I replied. It is no
fault of m i n e that y o u a p p a r e n t l y are not w e l l a c q u a inted w i t h recent history. W e ' d better r e t u r n to the
point we had reached in the conversation. I t o l d y o u
the people w i l l wage the w a r and we together w i t h the
people. W h a t have y o u to say about this? It seems to
me that these ways y o u are using to change the
essence of the conversation and dodge the issue are not
good and show that y o u do not want to r e p l y to my
question. A r e y o u or are y o u not going to f i g h t
against fascist Italy together w i t h its ally, n a z i G e r many, w h i c h the whole w o r l d is f i g h t i n g ? »
K o l ë T r o m a r a snorted and said n o t h i n g . W h e n h e
saw that K o l ë was hard-pressed, S h e h K a r b u n a r a took
a h a n d in the conversation.
168
«We are going to fight. Since the E n g l i s h are
f i g h t i n g , we s h a l l fight, too,» said the Sheh.
« T h e n the m a i n t h i n g unites us,» I t o l d them, «and
this is the c r u c i a l issue.»
« A r e we going to go to w a r w i t h f i v e pence in
our pocket? W h e r e are y o u r weapons?» said K o l ë
rudely.
« F r o m w h a t M r . K o l ë says,» I said addressing
S h e h K a r b u n a r a , «it seems to me that he does not w a n t
to f i g h t even in principle.»
I hoped to d r i v e a «wedge» between K o l ë and the
Sheh, but this was not successful, because the S h e h ,
scratching his beard, s a i d :
«What K o l ë said is right. W h e r e are our weapons?
Italy has stores f u l l of them.»
«We m u s t capture t h e m f r o m Italy and in order to
capture t h e m we m u s t dare to fight,» I replied. « M r .
K o l ë , y o u k n o w Danton's words 'Courage, courage and
courage again'.»
«We are Cartesians and put reason, logic, above
everything,» r e p l i e d K o l ë .
«It seems to me that y o u are Cartesians o n l y in
words, because if y o u had some sort of reason and
were to analyse the situation at least as Descartes d i d ,
our talks w o u l d have h a d some result. At least, l a y
y o u r cards on the table M r . Kolë,» I said. «If y o u are
a rationalist, as y o u claim, don't complicate matters as
y o u are doing, and s h o w yourself at least a nationalist.»
H o w e v e r , K o l ë had put i n the w o r d «Cartesian»
o n l y to impress the S h e h and S e j f i w h o had never
heard the name of Descartes. S e j f i V l l a m a s i j u m p e d in
169
and repeated the old r e f r a i n of the pseudo-patriotic
«fathers»:
«That's a l l v e r y w e l l , Enver, but have y o u c o n s i dered that if y o u f i g h t this means that people w i l l be
k i l l e d and the c o u n t r y devastated? We have great
responsibility for this.»
« W h e n y o u decide to fight, M r . Sejfi,» I replied,
«you m a y be k i l l e d , but y o u w i l l also k i l l , the e n e m y
w i l l devastate the country, but we w i l l destroy them,
too. T h e whole w o r l d is in flames. W h y is it in flames?
W h y is it f i g h t i n g ? Because it wants to be liberated
f r o m nazi-fascist slavery. D o y o u gentlemen t h i n k y o u
w i l l be an exception to this l a w of the w a r ? »
«No,» r e p l i e d S e j f i , «we intend to fight and to
manoeuvre politically, that is, to t r i c k t h e m so that
the meat is roasted w i t h o u t b u r n i n g the spit.»
«That is the wisest course,» said the Sheh, «and
that is the course that we must follow.»
« B u t this means don't fight, but collaborate w i t h
the occupier, B a b a Sheh, that course is suicide!» I
t o l d them. «No, we communists are for a course c o m pletely opposite to yours.»
«Then w h a t do y o u w a n t from us?» said K o l ë
raising his head f l u s h e d w i t h anger, «Go and fight, no
one is stopping you.»
«No, we have not asked and are not a s k i n g y o u
for permission to fight, but the P a r t y is appealing to
you to fight together w i t h us, and this we consider a
patriotic duty.»
« M r . Enver, h o w are we to go to this meeting?»
asked S e j f i V l l a m a s i .
170
«In secret ways,» I replied, and I e x p l a i n e d to t h e m
i n general the m a i n v i e w s w h i c h o u r P a r t y w o u l d present f o r discussion. W h i l e I was m a k i n g these e x p l a nations K o l ë i n t e r r u p t e d m e :
« H o w are y o u going to the meeting, as i n d i v i d u a l s
l i k e us, or as a P a r t y ? »
« A s a P a r t y , obviously.»
« H o w b e a u t i f u l l y the reds have w o r k e d it out!
T h e y go as a P a r t y w h i l e we are to go there l i k e pigs
so that t h e y can lead us by the nose,» said T r o m a r a
to his friends.
«What y o u say is not true,» I r e p l i e d to K o l ë . «It's
not our f a u l t that y o u have no party.»
K o l ë i n t e r r u p t e d again s a y i n g :
«Then w a i t t i l l we f o r m a p a r t y and are equal.»
« A l l o w me to finish,» I said to T r o m a r a . «Second,
we have no i n t e n t i o n of leading anyone by the nose
and w o u l d never p e r m i t ourselves such a t h i n g . As
for w a i t i n g u n t i l y o u f o r m a party, w h i c h y o u m a y o r
m a y not do, this cannot be a reason for us not to meet.»
«But w h o w i l l be the others at the meeting?»
asked the Sheh.
«We have i n v i t e d a l l those patriots w h o m we
t h i n k w i l l be ready to f i g h t for the Homeland,» I
replied, «Some of t h e m have agreed to come and we
are s t i l l t a l k i n g w i t h the others. I, for example, am
charged w i t h the task of getting y o u r agreement.»
«That's a l l v e r y w e l l , Enver,» said the Sheh, «but
we should w a i t a bit to see h o w the situation develops
and what we are going to do. W h y do we need to
meet. Moreover, y o u propose to meet in secrecy!»
«Baba Sheh,» I t o l d h i m , «our people have never
171
taken historic decisions hastily. H a v e y o u forgotten
the Congress of L u s h n j a w h i c h was h e l d near y o u r
tekke! Do I have to tell y o u w h y that congress w a s
held, w h y w e needed that congress, a n d w h y w e d i d
not w a i t a bit before h o l d i n g it? No, B a b a S h e h , y o u r
idea is not reasonable.»
Seeing that his f r i e n d was w a v e r i n g , T r o m a r a said
angrily:
« M r . E n v e r , do y o u w a n t the answer f r o m us?
H e r e it is: We do not accept y o u r proposal, we do not
agree and w i l l not collaborate w i t h you.»
«That is quite clear,» I t o l d them, «but y o u are
assuming a grave r e s p o n s i b i l i t y before the people a n d
history. We have no f u r t h e r obligations to y o u . B u t let
me tell y o u that we are going to f i g h t the occupiers
and the traitors, are going to h o l d the m e e t i n g e v e n
w i t h o u t y o u , because the people are and w i l l be w i t h
us!» (I was disgusted w i t h them, but I managed to k e e p
cool d u r i n g the w h o l e t i m e that the conversation c o n tinued, some f i v e hours.) I stood up, t h a n k e d o u r
f r i e n d K o l ë K u q a l i , shook hands c o l d l y w i t h the others
and left. N o t h i n g else could be expected f r o m s u c h
elements. H o w e v e r , w h i l e these false patriots d e m a n d e d
time «to t h i n k it over» or f o u n d a thousand a n d one
«justifications» to sabotage the u n i t y of the people in
their u n c o m p r o m i s i n g war, the people themselves, t o gether w i t h the communists, d i d not waste t i m e « t h i n k i n g the matter over» or in academic discussions. T h e
r e a l i t y was s h o w i n g w i t h numerous examples that,
under the leadership of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , the
armed struggle and the p o l i t i c a l organization of the
masses were being raised to a h i g h e r l e v e l and one of
172
the m a i n l i n k s in the p r o g r a m of the P a r t y , the f o r m a t i o n of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, was being
achieved. T h e m o m e n t had come to sanction its f o u n d i n g de jure.
4. September 16, 1942
T h e people, w i t h the communists in the forefront,
w e r e w r i t i n g glorious pages in their age-old history.
I n V l o r a , Skrapar, K u r v e l e s h , Elbasan, Përmet, D i b r a ,
S h k o d r a , Mat, and elsewhere actions w e r e being carr i e d out and units and çeta raised ; in T i r a n a the w o m e n
h e l d a p o w e r f u l demonstration, in w h i c h t h e y clashed
w i t h the fascists, against the i n t e r n m e n t of their sons on
the Italian islands; on J u l y 24, 1942, the telephone and
telegraph lines w e r e cut; the people's w a r was b e c o m i n g a reality, just as the panic w h i c h h a d seized the
e n e m y was becoming a reality.
D u r i n g this period, together w i t h the j o y o f v i c tories we w e r e also to feel great grief over the c o m rades w h o f e l l w i t h h o n o u r on the f i e l d of battle. In
S h k o d r a the h i s t o r y of Oso K u k a (1) was to be repeated
____________________________________
1 Commander
of an
Albanian
volunteer
unit
in
the 60's
of the 19th century. F i g h t i n g for the defence of the A l b a n i a n
territories, he was encircled by M o n t e n e g r i n bands in a house
near the S h k o d r a L a k e a n d rather than f a l l in their hands,
blew
up
the
house
with
himself
and
his
w i t h m a n y of his M o n t e n e g r i n enemies.
173
23
men
together
b y P e r l a t R e x h e p i , B r a n k o K a d i a and J o r d a n M i s j a ( 1 ) ,
w h i l e such communists a s M y z a f e r A s q e r i u i n G j i r o kastra. T e l i N d i n i i n V l o r a . M i s t o M a m e and M i h a l
D u r i in T i r a n a , were to raise the popular and p a r t i s a n
heroism to h i g h e r levels.
T h e reports about their heroic sacrifice f o u n d me
in the heat of the w o r k for the preparation of the
Conference of Peza. I overcame my grief and sat d o w n
again to prepare the report. T h e r u m b l e of the w a r
w h i c h the people, headed by the communists, h a d
launched and w h i c h had to g r o w even stronger after
the Conference, must echo in every phrase of it. T h e
t i m e gave no one greater right than the communists to
appeal to the people for merciless w a r against the
enemy that h a d occupied the country, in the new h i s t o r y w h i c h was being w r i t t e n w i t h the blood of the
finest sons of the people no one could emerge w i t h
greater pride and honour t h a n the communists.
A b o u t the b e g i n n i n g of A u g u s t I had completed
the report w h i c h I was to d e l i v e r at the Conference of
Peza and m e a n w h i l e I had also drafted a R e s o l u t i o n
w h i c h w o u l d be presented to the participants in the
Conference for their approval. M e a n w h i l e w e had r e ceived positive answers f r o m a large n u m b e r of those
invited. F o r our part we appointed a delegation w h i c h
was to represent the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a as
________________________________
1 Similarly, these three communists,
besieged
in a house
in Shkodra, sacrificed their lives in J u n e 1942 after a heroic
fight against hundreds of carabinieri and m i l i t i a w h o , f a i l i n g
repeatedly
to take
the house
in
which
the
communists
had
entrenched themselves, w e r e compelled to c a l l in an a i r c r a f t
to bomb it.
174
w e l l as the C o m m u n i s t y o u t h and the A l b a n i a n a n t i fascist w o m e n at the Conference, and w e r e ready and
had taken a l l the necessary measures; Babë M y s l i m
was o n l y a w a i t i n g the precise date and l i k e w i s e H a x h i
L l e s h i , M u s t a f a X h a n i and some others. W e had decided
on a date in the m i d d l e of August, or a little later, as
the day w h e n the Conference should commence its
proceedings, but m a n y «nationalists» l i k e L u m o S k ë n d o
and company either «delayed» g i v i n g us their replies
or sought to postpone a little the date because t h e y
«were not prepared» and so the days w e r e going by
while we waited.
Of course we could not postpone the meeting i n d e finitely.
«We s h a l l a l l o w these gentlemen, 'the fathers of
the n a t i o n ' just a little longer, but if they don't come
we w i l l hold the m e e t i n g w i t h o u t them,» I t o l d the
comrades one day.
Thus, we f i n a l l y decided that we should h o l d the
Conference in the m i d d l e of September.
In the first ten days of September the other c o m rades and I established ourselves in P e z a and m o v e d
o n l y w h e n this became essential. There we h a d e s t a b l i shed a s m a l l p r i n t i n g press on w h i c h the materials that
the Conference approved, the Resolution, an appeal,
leaflet, or c o m m u n i q u e w o u l d be p r i n t e d . Those w e r e
days f u l l of tension, because although the measures had
been taken in time, there were problems right up to
the last moment. On the eve of the Conference we also
held a m e e t i n g of the C e n t r a l Committee there, at
which we discussed m a i n l y the p o l i t i c a l event w h i c h we
were organizing. Besides the members of the P r o v i s 175
i o n a l C e n t r a l Committee, K r i s t o Themelko, R a m a d a n
Ç i t a k u , T u k J a k o v a and me, N a k o S p i r u also took part
a s political secretary o f the C o m m u n i s t Y o u t h o f A l bania as w e l l as K o ç o Tashko as the comrade in charge
o f the w o r k w i t h the nationalists. A t the m e e t i n g w e
approved the report w h i c h I was to deliever and the
t w o other reports.
Special measures were taken by the P a r t y c e l l of
the çeta as w e l l as by its commander M y s l i m P e z a to
protect the Conference f r o m a n y possible attack by
the enemy. To this end partisan patrols h a d been
stationed at a l l points f r o m w h i c h the movements of
the enemy forces could be observed a n d on a l l the
tracks on w h i c h their movements could be h i n d e r e d .
T h e p r o v i s i o n of food was a p r o b l e m in itself. T h e
comrades of T i r a n a as w e l l as the patriotic peasants of
Peza were able to ensure that the participants l a c k e d
nothing d u r i n g those days. W h e n I say «nothing» this
does not m e a n that the comrades had secured roast
m e a t and sweets, but we were not short of bread, stew
a n d an occasional piece of cheese.
Those i n v i t e d began to a r r i v e after the f i r s t ten
days of September and by the e v e n i n g of the 15th the
m a j o r i t y were there. We decided to w a i t no longer. If
someone came d u r i n g the n i g h t w e l l and good, b u t the
Conference w o u l d begin i n the m o r n i n g .
In Peza I had my first meeting w i t h Baba Faja
M a r t a n e s h i , w h o h a d come together w i t h H a x h i L l e s h i .
B a b a Faja's sincere face and quiet m a n n e r of speaking
made an immediate impression on me. In those f e w
d a y s w h i c h h e stayed i n Peza, H a x h i L l e s h i also had
a m e e t i n g w h i c h surprised h i m .
176
In one of the breaks in the meeting H a x h i was
t e l l i n g me about the situation in D i b r a , about the
influence o f bayraktars l i k e F i q r i D i n e and S e l i m K a loshi a n d the fanaticism w h i c h p r e v a i l e d especially
over the girls and w o m e n in that district.
«This i n f l u e n c e w i l l be smashed,» I t o l d h i m , «and
the patriotic people of D i b r a w i l l come over to the
w a r and the P a r t y . T h e w o m e n and girls i n D i b r a w i l l
awaken, too, a n d their energies w i l l burst out.»
« A l i t t l e w h i l e back,» H a x h i told me, « H a k i S t ë r m i l l i t o l d me about a g i r l w h o h a d w r i t t e n h i m a
w o n d e r f u l letter about his book 'Were I a B o y ' . He read
me the letter w h i c h the g i r l h a d signed w i t h the
p s e u d o n y m ' F l a k a ' (Flame) and H a k i said to me, 'Look,
H a x h i , w h a t f i r e i s latent i n the A l b a n i a n women'.»
I laughed because I already k n e w w h o F l a k a was
and I asked H a x h i :
« W o u l d y o u l i k e to meet F l a k a ? »
«Where is she? he e x c l a i m e d in surprise.
I despatched a comrade and a little w h i l e later
N e x h m i j e came.
«Here she is,» I t o l d H a x h i . «Let me introduce
y o u . T h i s comrade i s N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i o r ' F l a k a '
that H a k i S t ë r m i l l i spoke to y o u about.»
«But y o u are f r o m D i b r a ! » exclaimed H a x h i , w h o
knew Nexhmije's family well.
T h e two of t h e m w e r e h a p p y to meet and I saw
that H a x h i was pleased that a g i r l f r o m D i b r a was taking part a c t i v e l y in the w o r k of the w a r and the P a r t y .
T h e f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g , on September 16, 1942,
the meeting w h i c h has gone d o w n and w i l l r e m a i n i n
history as the 1st N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference of the
177
A l b a n i a n people, or the Conference of Peza for short,
commenced. F o r the whole A l b a n i a n people and for
us communists, in particular, this was a red-letter day.
The years w h i c h have passed since have not d i m i n i s h e d the significance and historic importance of
this event, but on the c o n t r a r y the colossal value of
this historic event stands out even more c l e a r l y f r o m
the heights to w h i c h the P a r t y has raised our beloved
Homeland.
We held the Conference in a hall, or rather in a
big room, (it could h a r d l y be called a hall!) in Babë
[ M y s l i m Peza's] house, w i t h a table at the head a n d
filled w i t h chairs and forms. T h e comrades engaged in
the organization had done their utmost to decorate t h e
room. At the entrance, over the door, t h e y h a d placed
a thick piece of cardboard w i t h the w o r d s : «Welcome
to the delegates!». Inside, on the walls, t h e y had h u n g
our national f l a g and the portraits of heroes and
outstanding figures in the h i s t o r y of our people, S k a n derbeg, Ismail Qemali, N a i m F r a s h ë r i , L u i g j G u r a k u q i ,
B a j r a m C u r r i and A v n i R u s t e m i , i n this w a y u n d e r l i n i n g the c o n t i n u i t y of the wars for freedom, w h i c h
our people had waged d u r i n g the centuries against a n y
invader and enslaver.
We took o u r places on the chairs and the forms,
each sitting alongside his o w n friends and a c q u a i n t a n ces. Of course there was no protocol in the seating of
the participants, but the v e r y places w h i c h each one
took automatically indicated his position. B a b ë M y s l i m ,
H a x h i and M u s t a f a X h a n i h a d sat d o w n beside us,
the delegates of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , A b a z K u p i w a s
alongside Ndoc Çoba, both representatives of the « Z o 178
gite trend», the «nationalists» of M i t h a t B e y ' s school a
bit to one side, and so on. A l l t o l d 17 delegates took
part in the Conference. T h e delegation of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a was made up of E n v e r H o x h a ,
R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u , Y m e r D i s h n i c a , K o ç o Tashko and
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i , N a k o S p i r u represented the A n t i fascist Y o u t h and N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i the A n t i - f a s c i s t
W o m e n at the Conference. T h e «nationalist youth» w e r e
represented by H a l i m Begeja, w h o w a s also the delegate
of the «father» of patriotism, L u m o Skëndo, w h o d i d
not come himself.
In opening the m e e t i n g on behalf of the delegat i o n of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y w h i c h was the i n i t i a t o r
of the Conference, I t h a n k e d the delegates for t h e i r
p a r t i c i p a t i o n and proposed that N d o c Çoba, as the
oldest present, s h o u l d be c h a i r m a n of the meeting.
N d o c Çoba h a d been a m e m b e r of the government
w h i c h emerged f r o m the Congress of L u s h n j a and
since that t i m e h a d enjoyed the reputation of an ardent
patriot. L a t e r he became one of the leaders of L e g a l i teti and placed h i m s e l f openly in the service of the
occupiers.
A n o t h e r delegate proposed N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i as
secretary of the m e e t i n g to keep the minutes, etc.
T h e proposals w e r e approved and N d o c Ç o b a took
the chair. T h e m e e t i n g was declared open, the historic
Conference o f P e z a commenced.
At firts a l l present rose to t h e i r feet to sing the
N a t i o n a l A n t h e m and t h e n stood i n silence i n m e m o r y
of the f a l l e n in the A n t i - f a s c i s t W a r . At these moments
a partisan of the Çeta of P e z a entered the r o o m w i t h
a camera to take some pictures, but on the insistence
179
of Ndoc Ç o b a he was not a l l o w e d to photograph those
t a k i n g part in the Conference.
A f t e r a little discussion d u r i n g w h i c h the agenda
was adopted, I was g i v e n the floor to d e l i v e r the m a i n
report on the national liberation councils. Since this
report has been lost I s h a l l t r y to give a s u m m a r y of
the m a i n points w h i c h were dealt w i t h i n i t and w h i c h
constituted the basic m o b i l i z i n g principles w h i c h the
P a r t y presented to the Conference of the representatives of the A l b a n i a n people. N o w these principles have
become historic. T h e N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and l i f e
completely c o n f i r m e d their correctness.
T h e m a i n f u n d a m e n t a l idea w h i c h was presented
by the C e n t r a l Committee of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of
A l b a n i a at the Conference of P e z a w a s the unification
of the whole Albanian people and their organization
in the war against the occupiers. T h i s was the c a r d i n a l
point w h i c h I, on behalf of the C e n t r a l Committee,
elaborated to the Conference in the m a i n report on the
national liberation councils.
In p a r t i c u l a r I stressed in the report:
«These are tragic moments for the fate of the
H o m e l a n d and the people. F a c e d w i t h the c r u e l r e a l i t y
of the fascist occupation the people m u s t be u n i t e d to
a man, the things w h i c h m i g h t d i v i d e us in o u r ideological, religious and other beliefs m u s t be put aside and
we should mobilize a n d l i n k ourselves w i t h one another
for a great cause: for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d ,
for the salvation of the people as a f o r m e d n a t i o n in
order to bar the w a y to the predatory aims of the
enemies who, at a l l periods, have operated in order to
split us up a n d to d e n y our existence as a nation. He
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w h o t r u l y loves the people and wants to see the H o m e l a n d free, independent a n d sovereign, m u s t display
this now, irrespective of his p o l i t i c a l convictions, r e l i gious beliefs or his region of o r i g i n .
«The w a r against the Italian fascist invaders and
their collaborators,» the report stressed, «is the o n l y
alternative for the true patriots. A n y other course
leads to n a t i o n a l a n d i n d i v i d u a l captivity, enslavement
and m i s e r y . T h e Italian enemy and the quislings w a n t
to d i v i d e us, to split us, and their m a i n a i m is to
isolate the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a f r o m the
people and the war. F o r the enemy occupier this
objective is decisive. F o r the l i b e r a t i o n of the people
and the H o m e l a n d , however, the existence and f i g h t
of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a at the head of the
people, w h o are f i g h t i n g and resisting, is decisive.»
W h e n I reached this part of my report, I noticed that
some of those present reacted by fidgeting or e x c h a n g ing whispers. Of course, I expected that some of them,
l i k e B a z i , the «nationalist» elements, l i k e H a l i m Begeja
and one or two others, w o u l d be none too h a p p y about
the leading role of the P a r t y , but we h a d decided we
must stress this factor strongly and h a d prepared
ourselves to r e p l y to t h e i r open reactions. H o w e v e r ,
there was no such reaction and I continued w i t h the
report w i t h the a i m of m a k i n g things clear to those
elements i n w h o m the f i l t h y a n t i - c o m m u n i s t p r o p a ganda of the occupiers and quislings m i g h t have taken
root to one extent or another.
I w e n t on to deal w i t h the problems of the c o n crete p o l i t i c a l a n d m i l i t a r y organization of our war,
saying in substance:
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«Our w a r is a national l i b e r a t i o n war w h i c h has
as its objective the complete l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d and the establishment of a democratic regime,
the f o r m of w h i c h the people themselves w i l l decide
after liberation. Hence, our w a r w i l l be a p o l i t i c a l and
military war.
«In order to achieve these two great objectives, it
is necessary to organize the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e ration Front, w h i c h w i l l have national l i b e r a t i o n c o u n cils a l l over the c o u n t r y a n d the partisan çeta, w h i c h
are the a r m e d forces of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t .
L a t e r we s h a l l go on to f o r m bigger units and w i l l
also set up the G e n e r a l Staff.
«The A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t w i l l
be extended a l l over our c o u n t r y in the liberated and
non-liberated zones a n d its a c t i v i t y w i l l be a c c o m p l i shed t h r o u g h the national l i b e r a t i o n councils. T h e n a tional l i b e r a t i o n councils,» continued the report, « w i l l
c a r r y out the p o l i t i c a l a n d propaganda work, the m o b i l i z a t i o n of people for the w a r a n d for resistance, and
w i l l ensure m a t e r i a l supplies of e v e r y sort for the çeta,
w h i l e in liberated places and zones, in w h i c h the old
oppressive state power w i l l be l i q u i d a t e d to its f o u n d ations, these councils w i l l b e a n d w i l l a f f i r m t h e m s e l ves as the n e w people's democratic state power, a n d in
their f o r m and content, w i l l be n o t h i n g l i k e either the
feudal bourgeois state a d m i n i s t r a t i o n or the o l d c o u n cils of elders. These w i l l be councils w i t h a n e w c o n tent and spirit, because those t a k i n g part in t h e m w i l l
be m e n of the people, fighters f r o m a l l strata and of
a l l religious and p o l i t i c a l beliefs, p r o v i d e d o n l y t h e y
are anti-fascists and f i g h t against the occupiers.»
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I went on to speak concretely about the organization and leadership of the partisan çeta w h i c h w o u l d
be the e m b r y o of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y of the
A l b a n i a n people.
A m o n g other things, I s a i d : «The partisan çeta w i l l
be led by commanders w h o m a y be communists, n o n p a r t y patriots, and at the same time, by p o l i t i c a l c o m missars w h o must be communists. T h e decisions must
be t a k e n j o i n t l y by the commander and the commissar
in complete h a r m o n y ; in the relations between t h e m
and towards t h e m there m u s t not be any d i s c r i m i n a tion. T h e partisan çeta w i l l fight u n d e r our national
flag, under the f l a g of Skanderbeg, the f l a g w h i c h Ism a i l Q e m a l i raised i n V l o r a . O n their caps the p a r t i sans w i l l w e a r the f i v e - p o i n t e d r e d star w h i c h s y m b o lizes a b r i l l i a n t n e w era, w h i c h is being opened up to
the H o m e l a n d and our people.»
In the report on the national l i b e r a t i o n councils I
also stressed as a m a i n issue that the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
of A l b a n i a , the o n l y p a r t y in the country, leads the
A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the doors of
the F r o n t w i l l be open to a n y person w h o wants to
fight against the enemy and, who as an i n d i v i d u a l ,
considers the F r o n t his o w n , in w h i c h he can f r e e l y
express his opinions and suggestions in f a v o u r of the
National Liberation War.
As to the question of the admission of other p a r ties to the Front, this was not raised at those moments,
because no such parties existed. No other class, s t r a tum, or p o l i t i c a l g r o u p i n g had emerged w i t h its o w n
party o r w i t h a n y p r o g r a m for national liberation. A n d
any organization w h i c h was created after the C o n f e 183
rence of Peza, l i k e the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , was n o t h i n g
but a creation of the fascist occupiers a n d other f o r e i g ners to h i n d e r the l i b e r a t i o n of the country.
In the report I d w e l t in p a r t i c u l a r on the role and
concrete tasks of the national l i b e r a t i o n councils and
on the practical organization of o u r w o r k in order to
intensify the setting up of the councils a l l over the
country. A f t e r reporting o n the w o r k w h i c h h a d been
done up t i l l that t i m e a n d the results w h i c h had been
achieved, amongst other things, I pointed out:
«The councils, w h i c h m u s t be f o r m e d f r e e l y by
the people, should be set up both in the liberated zones and in the zones not yet liberated. Of course, in
the villages and towns w h i c h are in the hands of the
enemy, it is impossible to h o l d open and broad elections, but we s h a l l w o r k to ensure that these secret
elections have the broadest possible representation so
that those w h o become members of the councils are
precisely those persons w h o m the people k n o w a n d
want.»
A f t e r I had delivered the report it was t h r o w n
open to discussion. M y s l i m strongly supported the t h e ses of the P a r t y . R e p l y i n g to the dodges of the « n a tionalists» w h o had no desire to c o m m i t themselves
concretely to the w a r against the occupiers, he asked
the question:
«When are we going to f i g h t ? We cannot w a i t a n y
longer. T o d a y there are o n l y t w o courses: either to
fight against the occupier together w i t h the people or
to f i g h t against the people; one t h i n g is t r u e : the
people no longer trust those 'nationalists' w h o appeal
to us to wait.»
184
B a b a F a j a M a r t a n e s h i , H a x h i L l e s h i and others
also took the same stand. In their contributions the
other comrades of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y delegation
gave an outline of the international situation and p o i n ted out its repercussions on the i n t e r n a l situation.
A p a r t f r o m o u r comrades, others present who, as
time showed, h a d come to P e z a w i t h different aims,
also spoke at the meeting. In general t h e y expressed
agreement w i t h the report as w e l l as w i t h the w a r
against the occupier, but by means of f o r m a l objections they t r i e d to d i v e r t the Conference f r o m its
concrete a n d m i l i t a n t decisions.
One nationalist «democrat» present w h o subseque n t l y became a Ballist, expressed h i m s e l f for the
Front, but f r o m his n a r r o w and distorted concepts he
w a n t e d to restrict the role of the Conference of Peza
b y c o m p a r i n g i t w i t h the Congress o f L u s h n j a w h i c h
was s u m m o n e d against the government of D u r r ë s . It
was p l a i n that this person's inclinations w e r e for the
creation of a «democratic government» by o v e r t h r o w ing that o f M u s t a f a K r u j a rather t h a n for the w a r
against the occupiers, w h i c h he «forgot» to stress.
«What y o u propose is utter nonsense,» I said in
r e p l y t o h i m . «Do y o u t h i n k the occupier w i l l a l l o w
y o u to o v e r t h r o w M e r l i k a a n d establish a democratic
government? On t h e contrary, the occupier himself
m a y o v e r t h r o w M e r l i k a and put another M e r l i k a i n his
place. T o d a y the problems of the people and the H o m e l a n d cannot be solved by government combinations,
but o n l y by w a r against the occupiers and traitors.
W h e n the w a r has been extended, w h e n we have our
o w n army, w h e n we set up and strengthen the c o u n 185
cils, t h e n we s h a l l set up our o w n government, not
w i t h the a p p r o v a l and signature of the D u c e and H i t ler, but signed w i t h the r i f l e of the people.»
H a l i m Begeja, w h o came as representative of the
«nationalist youth» but in fact was the eyes and ears
of M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i and his clan, also spoke allegedly
in f a v o u r of the w a r and the Front, but in fact he
wanted to eliminate f r o m t h e m the leadership of the
P a r t y w h i c h w o u l d give t h e m their m i l i t a n t spirit.
«We admit that the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y is c a r r y i n g
on extensive a c t i v i t y . . . , » he said.
It was precisely this fact that t e r r i f i e d the occupiers and traitors, therefore, by means of their
tools, they were bound to t r y to m i n i m i z e , indeed to
eliminate, the role of the P a r t y in the N a t i o n a l L i b eration F r o n t . Therefore, the spokesman for M i t h a t
B e y proposed:
«There should be no leading p a r t y in the F r o n t .
Those who a f f i r m themselves in the course of the w a r
should lead it. If c o m m u n i s m t r i u m p h s there is no
force w h i c h can stop it. A n d l i k e w i s e for nationalism.»
T h i s «youth leader» w h o became one of the l e a d ing figures of the B a l l i s t youth, this «patriot» w h o
abandoned the H o m e l a n d and took to his heels together
w i t h the G e r m a n occupiers, w a n t i n g to prevent the
participation of our y o u t h in the war, also s a i d :
«We are of the o p i n i o n and insist that the y o u t h
should be w i t h d r a w n f r o m the f i g h t i n g activities, because w i t h its tender age it is incapable of c o n t r o l l i n g
its o w n actions or opinions.»
«Then, w h o is to do the fighting, o n l y the elderl y ? » asked one of our comrades.
186
A r i p p l e of laughter r a n r o u n d the r o o m w h e r e we
were gathered, because everyone understood that w i t h out the y o u t h there could be no thought of the w a r for
the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d . H e r e I w a n t to j u m p
ahead a little in the order of events w h i c h was f o l l o w e d
at the Conference to m e n t i o n that this p r o b l e m was dealt
w i t h e x t e n s i v e l y i n the report «The y o u t h i n the w a r
against the occupier». In this report, as w e l l as in that
w h i c h N e x h m i j e d e l i v e r e d o n the deplorable situation
and patriotic r e v o l u t i o n a r y a c t i v i t y of the w o m e n and
girls, the great importance of the w o r k e r , peasant and
school y o u t h a n d the w o m e n w o r k e r s and peasants and
housewives in this great w a r was raised and backed
w i t h sound arguments. In these t w o reports it was
argued that w i t h o u t a w a k e n i n g the y o u t h , w o m e n and
girls and u n i t i n g t h e m a r o u n d the great a i m of l i b e r ation, w i t h o u t engaging t h e m in the war, in active r e sistance, e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d t u r n out weak, the sound
and v i t a l forces of the H o m e l a n d w o u l d not be t o u g h e n ed, but on the contrary, w o u l d be enfeebled. «The
enemy m u s t not be a l l o w e d to corrupt a n y w o m a n
or a n y boy or g i r l politically,» was the line stressed
at the Conference.
In their contributions to the discussion most of
those present at the Conference enthusiastically approved the judgements and proposals of the C e n t r a l
Committee of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a about
the f u n d a m e n t a l problems w h i c h w e r e presented.
E v e n A b a z K u p i , the representative of the Zogite
trend, and some others approved the p l a t f o r m of Peza,
not because t h e y l i k e d it, but because t h e y intended
to disguise themselves in order to act, as they did, in
187
opposition to the F r o n t and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
T h e question of the regime w h i c h w o u l d be established in A l b a n i a after the w a r was also raised at t h e
Conference. T h i s was a delicate question a l t h o u g h f o r
the P a r t y the perspective was quite clear. T h e objective of the w a r of the A l b a n i a n people u n d e r t h e
leadership of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y was not o n l y the
complete l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d , but also t h e
o v e r t h r o w of any oppressive feudal-bourgeois regime.
T h e people were not going to f i g h t to clear the w a y
for Z o g or his lackeys, w h e t h e r his friends or «enemies». H i s t o r y was advancing, the people h a d a w a k e n ed and their aspirations, w h i c h were represented by
their finest sons and daughters, the communists a n d
true patriots, w e r e for a n A l b a n i a free f r o m a n y
oppression, either e x t e r n a l or i n t e r n a l .
Therefore, in the discussion of this question, I
expressed the o p i n i o n of o u r P a r t y that we s h o u l d
proclaim the l i b e r a t i o n of the c o u n t r y and the creation
of democratic people's A l b a n i a as the a i m of the w a r .
As to the f o r m of the regime, let this be decided by
the people after the w a r . Someone at the Conference
advocated that we should p r o c l a i m a «democratic r e public» as the f o r m of the regime, b u t we, the r e p r e sentatives of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , rejected this as
inappropriate for the moment. T h e l a u n c h i n g of s u c h
a slogan w o u l d not serve the u n i f i c a t i o n of a l l t h e
forces in the w a r and r i g h t f r o m the outset w o u l d
create a h a r m f u l and unnecessary opposition towards
the Front.
E v e n A b a z K u p i expressed his s o l i d a r i t y w i t h o u r
formulation.
188
B a z i i Canës declared «solemnly»: «I love A l b a n i a
first, and then Z o g . A f t e r the war, the people can
decide if t h e y w a n t him.»
B u t we h a d understood the state of m i n d of A b a z
K u p i a n d the other Zogites and w e r e not s u r p r i s e d
w h e n t h e y took the f i r s t step against us. B a z i j o i n e d
u p w i t h the b a y r a k t a r g e n t r y and collaborated w i t h
the G e r m a n occupiers. He d i d not accept the star, the
partisan s y m b o l (there was discussion about this a n d
the w o r d «partisan» at the Conference), and this was
not s i m p l y because something s y m b o l i c of the n a t i o n was allegedly violated, but because it was an
issue o f p r i n c i p l e for h i m : w h a t w o u l d post-war
A l b a n i a be, a n e w genuine democracy, or the old
regime of Z o g and the feudals a n d bayraktars? Of
course, A b a z K u p i hoped a n d w o r k e d for the r e t u r n
of Z o g ; we took account of the c o m p l e x i t y of this
person, h a d our doubts a n d reservations and, w i t h the
passage of time, w e r e to k n o w h i m better and to become completely convinced that right f r o m the start
h e was a n agent and m a n o f Zog, smuggled into A l bania b y the B r i t i s h Intelligence Service, w h i c h f i nanced and instructed h i m . H e h a d received i n s t r u c tions to accept o u r i n v i t a t i o n , to take part in the Front,
to pose as a fighter but not f i r e a shot against the occupier, and to await the t i m e w h e n he w o u l d receive
f u r t h e r orders on h o w to act.
The discussion continued late into the n i g h t a n d
on the f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g . A f t e r the conclusion of the
discussion, N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i , as secretary of the C o n ference, read out the draft of the R e s o l u t i o n w h i c h
189
we had prepared in advance. There was no essential
objection and the Resolution was adopted. T h i s d o c u ment is published and w e l l - k n o w n , therefore I s h a l l
not d w e l l on its content. T h e n we proceeded to the
elections. The Conference elected the P r o v i s i o n a l A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l composed of seven
people. F r o m the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a ,
E n v e r H o x h a , Y m e r D i s h n i c a and M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i
were elected. A l s o elected as members of the C o u n c i l
were M y s l i m Peza and f r o m the «nationalists» A b a z
K u p i , N d o c Çoba and K a m b e r Q a f ë m o l l a (the latter i n
his absence).
In the organization of the Conference e v e r y t h i n g
went w e l l . T h e residents of P e z a took care of e v e r y t h i n g and in p a r t i c u l a r the secrecy was perfect. T h e r e
was enthusiasm among the peasants and partisans,
especially w h e n the delegates sat a n d t a l k e d w i t h t h e m
d u r i n g some break in the proceedings. In one of these
breaks an episode occurred w h i c h made the others of
u s laugh but left A b a z K u p i v e r y g l u m .
We were t r y i n g our s k i l l at shooting at a target
w h e n A b a z K u p i took the rifle, f i r e d t w o o r three
shots, but f a i l e d to h i t the target. T h e n in order to
tease h i m N e x h m i j e said t o h i m :
«Let me have a try, M r . A b a z , because I have never
f i r e d a rifle.»
B e l i e v e it or not, she hit the target w i t h the f i r s t
shot.
A b a z was furious that a y o u n g g i r l should outdo
such a «great f i g h t i n g man». A n d H a x h i said to h i m :
«Don't be upset, A b a z , this is h o w it is w i t h us
190
f r o m D i b r a . E v e n the girls k n o w h o w to use the rifle.»
A n d as t h o u g h to add even more to Bazi's d i s comfiture, M y s l i m said w r y l y :
«It seems y o u r rifle's a bit r u s t y ! »
So ended the Conference of Peza, w h i c h sanctioned
the f o r m a t i o n of the m i l i t a n t organization of the A l banian people, the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Front. T h e v e r y name of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t had a p r o f o u n d p o l i t i c a l a n d m i l i t a r y
meaning; those three words s u m m e d up the idea of
the u n i t y of the people. B u t w h y ? In order to create
a f i g h t i n g front. T h e idea and the action dominated
in the w o r d «front». T h i s w o r d expressed the sense of
the m o b i l i z a t i o n of the active forces of the people o r ganized in a f i g h t i n g front, w h i c h r e q u i r e d courage,
heroism, policy, strategy and various tactics against a
savage enemy. B u t for w h a t w a r was this F r o n t created? T h e answer comes i m m e d i a t e l y : for the l i b e r a t i o n
of the nation. Hence, it was this N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
F r o n t w h i c h w o u l d m o b i l i z e and r a l l y t o its ranks a l l
those anti-fascist forces w h i c h were to f i g h t to l i b e r ate the H o m e l a n d . A f t e r this, our H o m e l a n d w o u l d
assume a n e w f o r m , w o u l d have a n e w regime w h i c h
the a r m e d people themselves w o u l d decide, the people
who, b y f i g h t i n g w i t h arms and m a k i n g great s a c r i f i ces, w o u l d have the right to determine the f o r m of the
regime w h i c h pleased them. N o b o d y else, no external
or i n t e r n a l enemy, w o u l d be a l l o w e d or w o u l d be
able to impose his w i l l on the A l b a n i a n people. T h i s
situation w h i c h was being created was the glorious
deed of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a , the l e a d i n g
role of w h i c h was a f f i r m e d at the Conference of P e z a .
191
W h e n the proceedings of the Conference h a d come
t o a n end Skënder M u ç o , A z i z Ç a m i , M u s a P u k a a n d
K a m b e r Q a f ë m o l l a a r r i v e d , too late to take p a r t in
the «wedding». W e w e l c o m e d t h e m w a r m l y , t a l k e d
w i t h t h e m and t o l d t h e m i n detail about the C o n f e r ence and the decisions that h a d been t a k e n there. We
also gave t h e m the R e s o l u t i o n w h i c h we a p p r o v e d so
that they could read it. T h e y said t h e y w e r e satisfied,
expressed their regret that t h e y h a d not a r r i v e d i n
time, but endorsed both the decisions a n d R e s o l u t i o n
of the Conference.
As I said above we h a d t a k e n a l l the necessary
measures to p r i n t the materials of the Conference.
Indeed, d u r i n g those days, we prepared an issue of the
newspaper Zëri i popullit (1), w h i c h w o u l d announce
this historic event and echo the R e s o l u t i o n of the C o n ference of Peza. T h e R e s o l u t i o n was p r i n t e d q u i c k l y
a n d a l l present took copies in order to d i s t r i b u t e t h e m
a n d discuss the R e s o l u t i o n w i t h the people. Of course,
the b u l k of t h e m w e r e to be d i s t r i b u t e d by o u r c o m rades in T i r a n a and the other cities a n d villages of
the country.
M e a n w h i l e , as soon as we f i n i s h e d the w o r k in
hand, I w i t h several comrades decided to r e t u r n to
__________________________________
1
T h e reference is to Zëri i popullit, nos. 3-4 (October 1942),
included the article The Albanian People in the War for
Freedom, (pp. 7-11), w h i c h gave the good news about the
successful h o l d i n g of the Conference of P e z a and enlarged on
the importance of this meeting; and The Appeal of the National Liberation General Council,
(pp.
11-13), w h i c h called on
the A l b a n i a n people to rise united in the w a r for freedom,
f o r a free, democratic and independent A l b a n i a .
which
192
T i r a n a . T h i s j o u r n e y had to be made in great secrecy
because it was suspected that the enemy m i g h t have
heard about the m e e t i n g a n d tightened up the control
of travellers. Besides this, we w e r e to take w i t h us no
small q u a n t i t y of materials for the comrades in T i r a n a
and to send in other directions.
Babë M y s l i m promised us he w o u l d f i n d a vehicle
d r i v e n by a reliable comrade w h o had carried out such
missions previously, especially in the p e r i o d of the
preparations for the Conference of Peza. He was a
d r i v e r closely l i n k e d w i t h the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , w h o m I t h i n k was called M e t i
[Muhamet Q o l i ] .
A d a y or t w o later M e t i a r r i v e d at l u n c h time
w i t h a F I A T 1100 cc w h i c h he h a d b o r r o w e d f r o m a
f r i e n d of his and in the afternoon we set out for T i rana, together w i t h Y m e r D i s h n i c a and M u s t a f a G j i nishi. We three were dressed as «intellectuals». I w a s
also w e a r i n g a p a i r of d a r k sun-glasses. U n d e r my
waistcoat I had my r e v o l v e r in my belt, w h i l e I had
a twenty-shot automatic p i s t o l in my briefcase. As I
said, in the car we also h a d one or two sacks of m a terials, leaflets, and the R e s o l u t i o n of the Conference.
T h e j o u r n e y f r o m P e z a to the outskirts of T i r a n a
passed w i t h o u t incident, b u t precisely w h e n we had
passed the check-point and thought that we w e r e out
of danger, T a f a r i (1), w i t h o u t consulting us at a l l , said
to the d r i v e r :
«Turn over there!»
«Where?» I asked in astonishment. «Do y o u w a n t
_____________________________________
1 T h e pseudonym of M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i .
193
to lead us to the Italians l i k e lambs to the slaughter?»
and I pointed to the barracks r i g h t beside the place
w h e r e he w a n t e d to put the car.
«The barracks are f a r enough away,» he r e p l i e d
quietly, « w h i l e right here there i s a n i n n o w n e d b y
a f r i e n d of m i n e . W e ' l l leave the sacks of documents
there and enter the c i t y w i t h n o t h i n g dangerous
aboard.»
I h a d no t i m e to object because the car stopped
before a f i l t h y and delapidated i n n of sorts. T h e r e was
n o t h i n g for it but to get out q u i c k l y , hide the sacks in
a corner of the i n n a n d get back into the car.
It seems to me that o u r brief stop there attracted
the attention of the soldiers a n d m i l i t i a m e n w h o w e r e
not f a r off a n d w h e n w e started off again i n the d i rection of K a v a j a Street (today the Conference of
P e z a Street) t w o or three c a r a b i n i e r i s i g n a l l e d to us
to stop.
It was a Saturday, leave d a y f o r the I t a l i a n fascists, w h e n the soldiers and especially the officers w e n t
into t o w n and spent the time celebrating in cafés a n d
restaurants. Because of the considerable t r a f f i c on t h e
road w e m a n o e u v r e d w i t h d i f f i c u l t y . M e a n w h i l e w e
noticed that t w o motorcycles were f o l l o w i n g us. B u t
M e t i d i d not stop and s k i l f u l l y managed to shake
them off. Thus, we escaped that great danger t h i s
time, too, and a r r i v e d at K o d r a e K u q e .
F u r i o u s that t h e y were unable to catch us, the
fascists had r e t u r n e d to G j i n i s h i ' s b r o k e n - d o w n i n n ,
searched it, and a l l the m a t e r i a l w e brought f r o m P e za (the Resolution and leaflets) f e l l into their hands.
A t h o u g h w e had another purpose for this m a t e r i a l , w e
194
«consoled» ourselves w i t h the fact that the fascists
were among the first to l e a r n the great n e w s : the
A l b a n i a n people had decided to unite as a w h o l e in
the w a r to w i p e t h e m out!
L a t e r w e learned that N a k o S p i r u and two other
comrades h a d r u n into a n enemy p a t r o l a t N d r o q and
had been arrested on their w a y f r o m P e z a to D u r r ë s .
As f a r as I r e m e m b e r N a k o was not long in j a i l b e cause he managed to escape.
T w o or three days after our departure f r o m P e z a
the Italians a n d the q u i s l i n g government forces began
their p u n i t i v e operations in that zone. T h e fascists,
who h a d n o w l e a r n e d about the m e e t i n g h e l d there
and understood the danger of s u c h a base of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r so close to T i r a n a , h a d d e c i d ed to clear P e z a of the partisans and sympathizers of
the movement. A force of 3,000 Italian a n d q u i s l i n g
soldiers attacked P e z a in a p o w e r f u l pincers m o v e ment. T h r o u g h surprise attacks and r a p i d movement,
our partisan çeta, under the c o m m a n d of M y s l i m Peza,
together w i t h the peasants w h o w e r e u n i t e d w i t h it,
escaped the encirclement w i t h v e r y f e w losses. T h e
savage e n e m y p o u r e d its f u r y on the inhabitants, the
women, the c h i l d r e n and the homes of the people of
Peza. One of the f i r s t to be b u r n t was the home of
M y s l i m , the house of the Conference of Peza, w h i c h
has been r e b u i l t today on the same foundations, just
as it was, in order to keep it as a glorious r e m i n d e r
for the c o m i n g generations.
In T i r a n a we f o l l o w e d the development of events
i n Peza w i t h attention and concern, although w e had
unshakeable confidence that the communists, the p a r 195
tisans and the people of P e z a w o u l d cope w i t h the
situation courageously and wisely. A n d that is what
occurred. T h e enemy failed i n his purpose and w i t h d r e w f r o m Peza.
T h e Conference had a colossal effect a m o n g the
people, aroused hope and trust in the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y o f A l b a n i a , confidence i n the w a r a n d i n v i c t o ry. A m o n g the enemies it aroused anger, fear and
terror. T h e organization a n d decisions of the C o n f e r ence were a h e a v y p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y slap in the
face for them. T h e i r positions in A l b a n i a w e r e being
shaken. A f t e r this, t h e y w o u l d i n t e n s i f y the terror,
the killings, the i m p r i s o n m e n t of communists, p a triots and the people, w o u l d put villages and whole
regions to the torch, w o u l d hatch up and a p p l y new
manoeuvres w i t h the chiefs of A l b a n i a n reaction, the
pseudo-patriots and pseudo-democrats. B u t a l l this was
in v a i n . N o w the w a r of the people under the leadership
of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y w o u l d become fiercer and better
organized, and step by step, w o u l d d r i v e out the occupiers w h i l e the reactionary r u b b i s h in the service
of the occupiers w o u l d be tossed into the garbage b i n
of history.
*
*
*
196
II
FROM PEZA TO LABINOT
(September 1942 — September 1943)
T h e success w h i c h we a c h i e v e d at the 1st A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference of the A l b a n i a n
people gave us heart. A b i g stride f o r w a r d h a d been
taken towards a c h i e v i n g the f i n a l v i c t o r y over the occupiers a n d the quislings. Nevertheless w e w e r e f u l l y
aware that w e h a d o n l y l a i d the foundations, w h i l e
n o w the fortress h a d to be b u i l t u p o n these f o u n d ations. A h e a d of us l a y the m a i n struggle a n d work,
the most d i f f i c u l t a n d c o m p l e x to cope w i t h a n d accomplish. Thus, on the basis of the l i n e of the C P A
and the m i l i t a n t p r o g r a m w h i c h the Conference a p proved, people, communists a n d genuine patriots had
to step up t h e i r efforts one h u n d r e d f o l d to m a k e the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t a steel s t r i k i n g force, a n d
197
the national liberation councils genuine organs for the
m i l i t a n t mobilization, the defence a n d representation
of the insurgent people.
1. In the forefront of the struggle
A t the t i m e w h e n w e were i n P e z a w e h a d d e f i n e d and shared out the tasks for o u r w o r k in the
subsequent period. I was to w o r k m a i n l y in T i r a n a ,
where, apart f r o m tasks on the l i n e of the P a r t y (of
course there was no reason f o r this to be stated at the
meeting of the Council), I was to c a r r y out various
tasks w h i c h were the responsibility of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
C o u n c i l elected at Peza, was to w o r k for the organization of the illegal national l i b e r a t i o n c o u n c i l in the
capital and, apart f r o m this, I was also to have the
w o r k w i t h the intelligentsia at the centre of my attention; Y m e r D i s h n i c a was t o w o r k w i t h those n a tionalists w h o showed promise but h a d s t i l l not l i n k e d
themselves w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t ;
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i had C e n t r a l A l b a n i a u n d e r his « p a tronage», A b a z K u p i , as is k n o w n , had K r u j a and M a t ,
and so on. M y s l i m P e z a was not charged w i t h special
tasks since he was commander of the çeta of Peza,
w h i c h of course, was a v e r y responsible d u t y and made
it d i f f i c u l t for h i m to move.
A l l the members of the C o u n c i l and the others
who participated in the Conference w e r e instructed
that, as soon as they r e t u r n e d to their towns and v i l 198
lages, t h e y s h o u l d begin the w o r k to convey the s p i r i t
and decisions of the Conference of P e z a to the people,
to discuss the R e s o l u t i o n a n d to c a l l for and lead the
concrete w o r k f o r the setting up of national l i b e r a t i o n
councils and p a r t i s a n çeta and units. T h e people had
to t h o r o u g h l y understand the importance of the C o n ference a n d be m o b i l i z e d to a p p l y the decisions t a k e n
at it. A p a r t f r o m this, the comrades w e r e instructed
to increase t h e i r contacts w i t h i n f l u e n t i a l nationalist
elements, to speak to t h e m about the p l a t f o r m w h i c h
we h a d approved a n d to appeal to t h e m , on the basis
of this p l a t f o r m , to unite w i t h the w h o l e A l b a n i a n
people i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
Of course, the great success w h i c h we achieved
at Peza, the election of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n eral C o u n c i l , a n d the fact that it h a d commenced its
work, i n n o w a y meant that f r o m n o w o n o n l y the
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l w o u l d b e engaged i n and answer for
the problems of the F r o n t and the national l i b e r a t i o n
councils. H a d w e j u d g e d the matters i n t h i s w a y and
acted accordingly, t h a t is, h a d we considered our w o r k
for the F r o n t completed w i t h w h a t was achieved a t
Peza, a n d subsequently left e v e r y t h i n g in the hands of
the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , this w o u l d have been one of the
gravest a n d most fatal mistakes both f o r the fate of
the c a r d i n a l issues of the w a r a n d people a n d f o r the
fate of o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y itself. T h i s was not
s i m p l y because in the composition of the C o u n c i l ,
apart f r o m representatives of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
and some consistent true patriots, the rest w e r e u n reliable v a c i l l a t i n g elements or u n i t e d w i t h us for
long-term aims of sabotage. No, even if a l l the m e m 199
bers of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l h a d been tested elements,
genuine and consistent fighters, the w o r k a n d role
of the P a r t y w o u l d s t i l l have r e m a i n e d irreplaceable.
O n l y the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , w i t h its correct line,
its clear program, the m i l i t a n c y of a l l its members
and its consistency in c a r r y i n g things t h r o u g h to the
end, w o u l d enable the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l to c a r r y out
its tasks and functions properly, the F r o n t to be e x tended and strengthened on the soundest possible f o u n d ations and the councils f o r m e d and f u n c t i o n i n g p r o p e r ly a l l over the country and, as a consequence, the w a r
w o u l d be ceaselessly extended, assume the character
of a true general people's w a r and be c r o w n e d w i t h
success.
We were faced w i t h m a n y responsible tasks to
ensure that this n o r m and m a x i m of M a r x i s m - L e n i n i s m for the w o r k of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y in the
F r o n t was applied correctly and consistently in the
concrete conditions of our country.
True, the Conference of P e z a h a d a f f i r m e d the
leading role of our P a r t y in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
War, but it should by no means be thought that after this
e v e r y t h i n g had been f i n a l l y settled. There w e r e w h o l e
zones, especially i n the N o r t h , i n w h i c h o u r p r o g r a m
and propaganda about the w a r h a d not penetrated to
the proper extent and no results necessary for the
u n i f i c a t i o n and m o b i l i z a t i o n of the people h a d been
achieved. L i k e w i s e , even w h e r e o u r successes w e r e
obvious there remained certain strata and groups
w h i c h d i d not yet understand the role a n d the tasks
w h i c h the moment r e q u i r e d . Hence, we s t i l l h a d to
w o r k and struggle to ensure that the name of the
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Party, the w o r d and deeds of its members, w e r e made
k n o w n e v e r y w h e r e , penetrated e v e r y w h e r e and w o n
the whole people over to our cause. Otherwise, w i t h o u t
concrete struggle, w i t h o u t great a n d continuous e f forts, the leading role cannot be w o n . T h a t nobody
w i l l h a n d to y o u on a platter.
We have a l w a y s m e n t i o n e d the fact that the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a was the o n l y p o l i t i c a l p a r t y
w h i c h operated in A l b a n i a as a positive factor and a i d
for our work. B u t w h i l e a f f i r m i n g this truth, i t m u s t
in no w a y be thought that the leading role in the w a r ,
in the Front, etc., belonged to our P a r t y and w o u l d be
g i v e n to it automatically, since there was no o t h e r
party to «compete» w i t h or anyone else to w h o m t h i s
role could be g i v e n ! No, the r e a l i t y was quite different,
e x t r e m e l y complex, d i f f i c u l t a n d w i t h m a j o r problems.
True, there w e r e no bourgeois p o l i t i c a l parties of
various hues i n o u r country, but there were a l l k i n d s
of groups and circles a n d trends of the most v a r i e d
hues and tendencies a l l of w h i c h , to a greater or lesser extent, h a d i n f l u e n c e a n d connections. True, these
groups and trends d i d not rise or express themselves
against the occupiers, but they w e r e not and no one
allowed t h e m to r e m a i n inactive, aloof f r o m politics
and activity. A n d since, i n general, t h e y w e r e not
against fascism, necessarily t h e y w o u l d be against us,
against our P a r t y , a n d its p r o g r a m a n d line about t h e
Front, the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils, the war, etc.
W e w e r e b o u n d t o clash w i t h a l l o f t h e m a n d t h i s
clash became e x t r e m e l y complicated because, just as
they d i d not come out o p e n l y against the occupiers, at
first most of t h e m d i d not come out o p e n l y against
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us, either, but on the contrary, engaged in t r i c k e r y and
manoeuvres.
L e t us not forget, either, that the i n h e r i t e d backwardness and ignorance, b a c k w a r d m e n t a l outlooks,
both feudal and bourgeois, and in this context, the
feverish propaganda against c o m m u n i s m c a r r i e d out
by Z o g and fascism for m a n y years, w e r e to r e m a i n
m a j o r obstacles to o u r work.
Hence, a l l these groups, tendencies and m e n t a l
outlooks stood alongside fascism, c o n f r o n t i n g our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y as expressions of the bourgeois and f e u dal partisanship. Therefore, although i n o u r w o r k w e
were not confronted w i t h organized p o l i t i c a l parties of
the bourgeoisie and reaction, we w e r e confronted w i t h
t h e class interests of the bourgeoisie a n d reaction, and
t h e i r aims to safeguard their d o m i n a n t positions, w h i c h
were no less fierce a n d complex, no less c u n n i n g , u n d e r m i n i n g and dangerous and the outlooks a n d backwardness of the past. We h a d to do battle and f i g h t
against these, to c l a r i f y the m i n d s and w i n the hearts
of the people in order to m a k e t h e m aware of the right
road w h i c h h a d to be f o l l o w e d .
It was essential that the P a r t y increase its s t r u g gle and efforts a h u n d r e d - f o l d w i t h the a i m not m e r e l y
of extending its leading role in the F r o n t a n d the
national l i b e r a t i o n councils a l l over the country, but
also, and most importantly, of safeguarding a n d ceaselessly strengthening it and ensuring that others d i d not
seize this role f r o m the P a r t y . We h a d foreseen clearl y that even that section o f i n t e r n a l reaction w h i c h
s t i l l had not declared itself as such, also, w o u l d o r g a n ize itself and t r y to destroy the F r o n t and the national
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l i b e r a t i o n councils w i t h the a i m of sabotaging the people's w a r for f r e e d o m and democracy. So, it can be
i m a g i n e d w h a t a catastrophe w o u l d have occurred in
these n e w situations h a d o u r P a r t y , after the C o n f e r ence of Peza, considered its tasks f o r the F r o n t a n d
the councils «completed», a n d subsequently concentrated its o w n forces, let us say, s i m p l y as an «assault
force» to c a r r y out combat actions. W i t h the A b a z
K u p i s a n d H a l i m Begejas not o n l y w o u l d A l i K ë l c y r a
a n d c o m p a n y never be brought out in t h e i r true colours, but o n the contrary, B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w h i c h was
to be set up w i t h a l l its c r i m i n a l s a n d gentry, w o u l d
seize the reins a n d the P a r t y w o u l d s u d d e n l y f i n d itself faced w i t h the organized and l e t h a l attack of the
forces of fascism a n d reaction.
T h e P a r t y ' s being in the leading position was
also essential for the prospects of the w a r w h i c h we
were o r g a n i z i n g w i t h the broad p a r t i c i p a t i o n of the
masses of workers, peasants, the youth, women, p a triots and others. T h e patriotism, the f r e e d o m - l o v i n g
spirit of our people had been and were a great factor
and m o t i v e force w h i c h p l a y e d a m a j o r role for the
u n i t y and m o b i l i z a t i o n in the war, but n o w this alone
was insufficient. O t h e r elements and demands, the
v i t a l interests of the w o r k e r and peasant for the f u t ure had to be t a k e n into account. So, if we were to
assure t h e m that these things w o u l d be settled j u s t l y
and in their f a v o u r after liberation, u n d o u b t e d l y the
u n i f i c a t i o n w o u l d be accomplished more q u i c k l y and
the readiness to f i g h t w o u l d be greater.
T h e basic and f u n d a m e n t a l element w h i c h was
to assure the masses of a new future, different f r o m
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the past, was precisely the fact that the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y was at the head of the F r o n t and the war, p l a y e d
its leading role there. On this issue we p e r m i t t e d no
i n f r i n g e m e n t or compromise, no agreement or attempt
at sharing roles.
It should never be thought that this was somet h i n g clear to a l l , and that it could be accomplished
easily. On the contrary, the d i f f i c u l t i e s and obstacles
were enormous, we faced attacks, accusations and pressures f r o m a l l sides. N o t o n l y the fascists a n d their c o l laborators, M e r l i k a and company, but m a n y of those w h o
s t i l l stood «aloof», w a i t i n g for «the day to come»(!),
made accusations against us, o u r P a r t y and o u r i d e ology, w i t h a l l the a n t i - c o m m u n i s t arsenal elaborated
over the years. E s p e c i a l l y after the v i c t o r y we achieved
at Peza, this campaign, a n t i - c o m m u n i s t «in p r i n c i p l e »
and against the C P A i n practice, assumed ferocious
proportions. The «spectre of c o m m u n i s m » w a s b r a n d ished in e v e r y speech of the traitor M e r l i k a , w h o « l a mented» that the people w e r e being c o r r u p t e d by a f e w
i n d i v i d u a l s w h o h a d «sold» themselves to M o s c o w a n d
Stalin, that we w e r e allegedly against the honour,
the f a m i l y , religion, fraternity, A l b a n i a , etc., etc.!
It is obvious w h y this campaign w a s l a u n c h e d : n o w
our enemies w e r e more t h a n ever t e r r i f i e d by the fact
that the C P A was becoming the m a i n force w h i c h
step by step was r a l l y i n g the masses, the people,
around itself and engaging t h e m in the w a r . As a r e sult of this a n t i - c o m m u n i s t attack, there were even
some of o u r o w n comrades (I am not t a l k i n g about
the pseudo-patriots w h o were completely of one m i n d
w i t h M e r l i k a ) , w h o as a result of the a n t i - c o m m u n i s t
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pressure of open a n d concealed reaction as w e l l as
of t h e i r o w n unclarity, lack of f o r m a t i o n or l o n g i m p l a n t e d o p p o r t u n i s m , «demanded» that we should
not p r o c l a i m the name and role of the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y a m o n g the masses and in the Front, because a l legedly this brought us h a r m and alienated the people,
especially the nationalists, f r o m us!
« W h a t do y o u t h i n k ? » I asked one of these elements. « S h o u l d we hide the fact of the existence of
o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , w h i c h is fighting, created the
F r o n t and called and organized the Conference of
P e z a and is in the forefront of the w a r ? »
«Amongst ourselves, to the p a r t y members and
s y m p a t h i z e r s we can m e n t i o n these things, but for
the t i m e being, not among the masses!» he replied.
«We should not give the e n e m y the p o s s i b i l i t y to accuse and slander us. We should r e m a i n w i t h i n the
F r o n t a n d p r o c l a i m o n l y the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o u n c i l as
the leadership.»
I felt not o n l y that this comrade had gone too far,
but that the other comrades, too, although they opposed h i m , w e r e in need of a thorough e x p l a n a t i o n so
that t h e y w o u l d understand this p r o b l e m properly,
therefore, I c o n t i n u e d :
«In p r i n c i p l e the c o m m u n i s t p a r t y never hides its
existence i n a n y circumstances. Otherwise, w h y was
i t formed, w h y s h o u l d i t exist? T h e p a r t y must keep
its methods of organization, bases, i n t e r n a l documents,
plans of actions a n d activities secret f r o m the enemy,
but never its existence, or its m a i n slogans for a g i v e n
phase a n d m o m e n t . O u r m a i n slogan at present i s :
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W a r against the occupiers and traitors for the l i b e r a t i o n
of the c o u n t r y ! There is absolutely no reason w h y we
should hide the fact that we, the communists, w e r e t h e
first to l a u n c h this slogan and are adhering to and
a p p l y i n g it consistently w i t h the blood of our c o m rades. The fascists are t e r r i f i e d by this f i g h t i n g slogan,
the traitors shy a w a y f r o m it, but not the people or
the true nationalists. O u r n e x t slogan is: U n i t y of the
w h o l e people i n the A n t i - f a s c i s t F r o n t ! A n d there i s
no reason w h y the people or the true nationalists
should be f r i g h t e n e d off by this slogan. On the c o n trary, it is precisely because we m a k e this a p r i m a r y
slogan that the people l i k e us and are r a l l y i n g r o u n d
us.
«However, these are not the o n l y reasons w h y we
must p r o c l a i m the name and w o r k of the P a r t y , » I
w e n t on. «Look w h a t f i l t h y slanders and accusations
reaction is p o u r i n g out against us and against c o m m u n i s m in general. W e r e we to retreat, to hide o u r selves, to r e m a i n silent, we w o u l d give the open and
secret enemies the satisfaction of w h i c h t h e y dream,
w h i l e we w o u l d leave people w h o don't see t h i n g s
clearly at the m e r c y of the accusations of M u s s o l i n i
and the M e r l i k a s . Therefore, w i t h a l l our forces and
means we must do m u c h more t h a n hitherto to m a k e
clear to the people w h a t c o m m u n i s m is and what we,
the communists, are, w h y we are f i g h t i n g , w h a t o u r
stands are towards the H o m e l a n d , the f a m i l y , society
and the present and f u t u r e of the country.
«I agree that these things are effective among the
common people, but the nationalists w i l l not feel s u r e
of themselves,» the comrade made another sally to
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«defend» his v i e w s w i t h another attack. «Perhaps we
s h o u l d restrict ourselves at least in regard to the p o p u l a r i z a t i o n of the Soviet U n i o n . »
«Why?»
«Because d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y we i m p l y that we
are for the Soviet order, hence, we are already expressing ourselves about the f o r m of our f u t u r e regime.
T h i s is c o n t r a r y to the p l a t f o r m of the Conference of
P e z a on this point.»
«These things s h o u l d not be m i x e d up a n d c o n fused!» I replied. «To popularize the Soviet U n i o n
and the great w a r w h i c h Stalin's glorious a r m y is
w a g i n g is one thing, and to d e m a n d the Soviet order
is another t h i n g . A p p a r e n t l y , » I said to h i m , «you have
not read the articles we p u b l i s h in Zëri i popullit c a r e f u l l y . N e i t h e r there n o r in a n y of our other p r o p a ganda have we raised or do we raise the question of
the order w h i c h w i l l be established after liberation.
B u t w e defend the Soviet U n i o n , S t a l i n and B o l s h e v ism and w i l l continue to defend t h e m openly because
the enemies accuse t h e m openly. We m u s t t e l l the
t r u t h about them, so that the people, the patriots k n o w
that beside t h e m t h e y have such a p o w e r f u l a l l y as
the Soviet people l e d by S t a l i n . On the other hand,»
I continued, «true, we are consistent in o u r support f o r
the p l a t f o r m of the Conference of P e z a about the A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r , and this is our i m mediate aim, but we m u s t never forget that the classes of the poor, the w o r k e r s and peasants, are r i s i n g in
this w a r for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d and for
their l i b e r a t i o n f r o m a n y sort of bondage. As to h o w
and w h e n this w i l l be achieved, that is another m a t 207
ter. W h e n the time comes, we w i l l p r o v i d e the possibilities for the people to express themselves f r e e l y
about the regime they want. B u t it is our d u t y as c o m munists, as enemies of a n y k i n d of bondage, to prepare
a n d make the masses conscious, in proper ways, in
c o n f o r m i t y w i t h the f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b l e m o f the m o ment, so that they choose the most reliable f u t u r e .
At the moment we do not t e l l t h e m that the p r i v a t e
property and the w e a l t h y classes w i l l be w i p e d out
a s i n the Soviet U n i o n , but s i m p l y t e l l t h e m h o w life
in the Soviet U n i o n has been built, h o w the w o r k e r s
a n d collective farmers l i v e there. N o n e of this goes
beyond the bounds of the slogans of the moment,» I
concluded. «Therefore, our P a r t y , t h r o u g h its l i n e and
the concrete w o r k of its members, has to be not m e r e l y
the most active in the F r o n t and the war, but, more
important, m u s t be the promoter of the F r o n t , the
inspirer and true leading force of the war.»
A t the same t i m e w e were being v e r y c a r e f u l t o
a v o i d a n d s t e r n l y attacked a n y m a n i f e s t a t i o n of e x t r e m i s m or sectarianism, a n y excess in the tasks and
slogans in the moments t h r o u g h w h i c h we w e r e passi n g . H a d we t a k e n a soft stand towards the bearers of
s u c h v i e w s and actions, the consequences w o u l d have
been bitter and the image a n d role of the P a r t y in
particular, and the whole of its w o r k w i t h the masses
in general w o u l d have been sabotaged.
Regrettably, i m m e d i a t e l y after the Conference of
Peza, the P a r t y organization i n T i r a n a was faced w i t h
s u c h a danger for a moment. T h i s was the t i m e w h e n
Jacomoni, M e r l i k a and the pseudo-patriotic reaction,
i n f u r i a t e d by the success we h a d just achieved at Peza,
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were i n t e n s i f y i n g and co-ordinating a campaign to
discredit o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , to accuse it of being
an organization of «terrorists», «sower of disruption»,
of « d r i v i n g the people into a w a r of extermination»,
«disturbing the peace», «leading astray the masses,
and especially the youth,» etc., etc.
P r e c i s e l y d u r i n g those days, one of the cadres of
the P a r t y R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e of T i r a n a at that time
(a little later he was e x p e l l e d f r o m the P a r t y for grave
mistakes) came to me and said that t h e y had decided
to c a r r y out a m a j o r sabotage action as a r e p l y to the
fascist reprisals.
«I agree in principle,» I t o l d h i m , «but w h a t w i l l
this action be concretely?»
«We are going to b l o w up a school,» r e p l i e d the
comrade, a l l self-assurance.
« B l o w up a school?» I was so shocked I almost
shouted at h i m , but in order to f i n d out h o w f a r m a t ters h a d gone, I added «calmly», «Indeed? A n d w h i c h
is this school?!»
«It is at the T i r a n a airport and it is i m p o r t a n t
because the fascists have t u r n e d some of its rooms
into a store,» he t o l d me and was t r y i n g to show me
where the school lay.
« Y o u m u s t not do this!» I i n t e r r u p t e d h i m . «We are
talking e v e r y d a y about the importance of actions and
acts of sabotage, w h i l e y o u have thought of something
w h i c h is u t t e r l y h a r m f u l to our cause.»
« C o u n t i n g the desks and the blackboards, too,
there m a y be more t h a n a h u n d r e d cubic metres of
pine t i m b e r in the building,» the comrade t r i e d to
persuade me. « A n d apart f r o m the m a t e r i a l damage,
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t h i n k what a n enormous fire i t w i l l m a k e ! T i r a n a w i l l
be lit up for the w h o l e night and it w i l l have a great
effect among the people!»
«Yes!» I said in an i r o n i c a l tone. «The flames w i l l
rise f r o m the boards at night w h i l e in the m o r n i n g
the 'flame' of the M e r l i k a s w i l l burst out: ' L o o k w h a t
the communists do!' the traitors w i l l shout. ' T h e y are
b u r n i n g y o u r children's schools! If we fascists h a d
not stopped them, they w o u l d have b u r n e d the p u p i l s
w i t h the school.'»
«It's a fascist school!» the comrade persisted.
«Do y o u t h i n k the fascists are going to e x p l a i n
to the people w h a t sort of school it i s ? ! T h e y w i l l
s i m p l y seize on the fact that a school was b u r n e d and
w i l l scream:
«'The communists are against schools, against c h i l dren, against e v e r y t h i n g g o o d . . . ' So y o u see w h a t a
fine action y o u have planned to c a r r y out!» I t o l d h i m ,
and w h i l e I was c o n t i n u i n g to e x p l a i n the damage that
such an action w o u l d b r i n g us, I saw that he was f i d geting.
«What's w r o n g w i t h you?» I asked h i m . «Don't
y o u agree?!»
He was silent for a moment, pursed his lips a n d
said in a l o w v o i c e :
«The p r o b l e m is that the u n i t has received its
orders. I thought that y o u w o u l d agree and I approved
the plan.»
«Off w i t h y o u at once!» I shouted. «That action
must be stopped i m m e d i a t e l y and y o u m u s t report to
us on h o w it ends.»
I w a i t e d a n x i o u s l y but he d i d not come back a n d
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neither d i d we see the flames «lighting up» T i r a n a that
night. We learned later that the action h a d been attemped, but h a d ended in ignominious f a i l u r e : one
m e m b e r of the u n i t h a d been w o u n d e d and captured
by the e n e m y a n d this led to a f u r t h e r wave of searches and arrests.
At just about the same period as this h a r m f u l
action we w e r e faced w i t h another u g l y act: I was
i n f o r m e d that t w o or three comrades of the T i r a n a
organization, i n c l u d i n g s u c h adventurers a n d factionists
as Beaverbrook, F i q r e t S a n x h a k t a r i (the fiancée of
the a d v e n t u r e r A g r o n Ç o r a t i before she became e n gaged to and m a r r i e d M e h m e t Shehu) and others,
allegedly in order to g a i n the release f r o m prison of
a n e w l y arrested comrade, k i d n a p p e d the y o u n g d a u g h ter of M a n K u k a l e s h i , the commander of the g e n d armerie of T i r a n a , a n d sent the father a ransom note:
«The comrade or y o u r daughter.»
W h e n they told m e about this disgraceful b u s i ness, I could not b r i n g m y s e l f to believe that such a
thing could cross the m i n d of any A l b a n i a n , let alone
a n A l b a n i a n communist. B u t the comrades v e r i f i e d
the i n f o r m a t i o n i m m e d i a t e l y and assured me that the
action had been carried out.
«This is a d v e n t u r i s m and terrorism!» I shouted,
j u m p i n g to my feet. «The k i d n a p p e d c h i l d must be
released immediately, w h i l e the terrorists must be
tried b y the P a r t y . A t the v e r y least t h e y m u s t b e
expelled f r o m o u r r a n k s ! This, if they have done this
f r o m s t u p i d i t y or f r o m p o l i t i c a l and ideological shortsightedness, but if t h e y have acted f r o m other motives
(and here I had in m i n d the possibility of some trap or
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provocation), the judgement and sentence w i l l be d i f ferent.»
As a result of our immediate i n t e r v e n t i o n this
ugly incident, the o n l y one of its k i n d even in the
history of our i n t e r n a l enemies (because this act could
in no w a y s u l l y the P a r t y ) was avoided.
A f e w days later we were to l e a r n that the c r i m i n a l spy, M a n K u k a l e s h i , had r e p l i e d there a n d t h e n
to the terrorist-type «demand» of B e a v e r b r o o k a n d
F i q r e t S a n x h a k t a r i for the «exchange» w i t h a fascisttype u l t i m a t u m : «If y o u do not free my daughter by
such and s u c h a time ten of y o u r comrades, w h o m we
have arrested, w i l l be hanged in the m i d d l e of Tirana.»
A n d in order to c o n f i r m that on matters of c r i m e the
fascists and their lackeys d i d not separate t h e i r w o r d s
f r o m their deeds, the order was issued on the same
day and the b u i l d i n g of ominous scaffolds in the c e n tre of T i r a n a h a d begun.
Imagine what bitter consequences that adventurist
action w h i c h I mentioned w o u l d have brought, h a d we
not condemned it severely and stopped it i m m e d i a t e l y !
N o t o n l y w o u l d ten comrades have lost their lives, but
the enemies w o u l d have been g i v e n a n e w «excuse»
and «argument» to l a u n c h another w a v e of fascist terror
and anti-communist demagogy among the people! A l though the f u r t h e r complications w e r e avoided w e
analysed this case t h o r o u g h l y and sternly, p o i n t i n g out
that such actions and attempts w e r e not o n l y a l i e n to
and detested by communists, but were also v e r y h a r m f u l t o the u n i t y o f the P a r t y and the people. W e i n structed a l l the cells and g u e r r i l l a units to be p r u d e n t
in the activities w h i c h t h e y carried out, to attack the
212
enemy ceaselessly, to m a k e life as d i f f i c u l t as possible
for them, but never according to the w h i m s of this or
that i n d i v i d u a l .
«The actions w h i c h we n o w are c a r r y i n g out at
present in the cities,» I pointed out to the comrades,
«have the purpose of d a m a g i n g and m a k i n g life i n secure for the enemies, but they also have another
great purpose: in t h e m the people must see our
strength, our a b i l i t y and courage to attack the enemy
even in his m a i n strongholds. Therefore, the actions,
e l i m i n a t i o n of enemies a n d acts of sabotage m u s t be
most t h o r o u g h l y studied, v e r y p r u d e n t l y p l a n n e d and
prepared and c a r r i e d out so that they are always
c r o w n e d w i t h success. Otherwise, the consequences,
especially among the people, w i l l have a negative effect. On no occasion m u s t we p e r m i t any action, h o w ever d a m a g i n g it m a y be to the enemy, at the same
time to p r o v i d e the e n e m y w i t h the o p p o r t u n i t y to
talk and slander against o u r P a r t y and its line.»
These t w o h a r m f u l actions w h i c h occurred one
after the other in a v e r y short period, as w e l l as the
fact that at these moments the enemies managed to
capture a n u m b e r of comrades of the p a r t y organization and the c o m m u n i s t y o u t h in T i r a n a , not o n l y
hindered us in the w o r k just begun for the i m p l e m e n t ation of the decisions of the Conference of Peza, but
as I said, created a grave m o m e n t f r a u g h t w i t h d a n g ers for us. It was necessary to overcome this unpleasant
situation immediately, to avoid any h a r m f u l consequence and to f u r t h e r e n l i v e n and strengthen the w o r k
of the P a r t y in a l l directions.
At a m e e t i n g of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e of
213
T i r a n a w h i c h w e organized those days, i n w h i c h w e
discussed the tasks we faced for the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n
of the p l a t f o r m of the Conference of Peza, we also
stressed the problems w h i c h had emerged for us and
those w h o had made mistakes w e r e severely criticized
and the necessary measures taken against t h e m . (1) In o r der to strengthen the w o r k in the P a r t y R e g i o n a l C o m mittee and the w h o l e w o r k in the p a r t y organization
of T i r a n a , amongst other things, we decided to d i s miss the f o r m e r organizational secretary (precisely the
author of the «action» of the timber, w h o had d i s p l a y ed mistakes and distortions on other occasions, too),
and I proposed in his place my unforgettable comradein-arms, the communist w o r k e r of the first hours,
K o z m a N u s h i . L i k e w i s e , i n place o f M i s t o M a m e w h o
had fallen h e r o i c a l l y on the f i e l d of battle in A u g u s t ,
N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i , the p o l i t i c a l secretary of the
Y o u t h R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e of T i r a n a , was elected
member of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l Committee.
«We are a p a r t y of ceaseless action,» I t o l d the
comrades, «but we are p r u d e n t in e v e r y t h i n g we do,
and w o r k e v e r y t h i n g out c a r e f u l l y so that we have
o n l y victories. We must not forget that the people
have their eyes on us. T h e y do not believe the s l a n ders and accusations of the M e r l i k a s a n d other l i c k spittles against c o m m u n i s m and the communists, but
y o u can imagine w h a t a negative effect a n y w r o n g
_______________________________
1 A p a r t f r o m other things, this meeting r u l e d that A g r o n
Çorati, Beaverbrook, and F i q r e t S a n x h a k t a r i be expelled f r o m
the
Party
as
factionalist
elements
infected
with
the
group
spirit as w e l l as on account of their adventurist a n d terrorist
views and actions.
214
action or stand on the part of our comrades could
cause. N o t o n l y must we not p e r m i t any w r o n g action,
any sectarian or terrorist act w i t h i n our ranks, but
we must keep our eyes open and g u a r d against p r o vocateurs and provocations w h i c h the e n e m y and its
agents m i g h t h a t c h up.»
I stressed these things because it seemed astonishing and suspicious that both the action of the t i m b e r
and the k i d n a p p i n g of the c h i l d occurred i m m e d i a t e l y
after the Conference of Peza, and at a time w h e n a
furious w a v e of terror and fascist demagogy had been
launched against our P a r t y and its line.
Hence, we had to be a l w a y s in action, v i g i l a n t
and cautious in order to cope w i t h the m a n y problems
of that p e r i o d and to ensure that the image of our
P a r t y among the people and its l e a d i n g role were kept
unsullied and increased in strength f r o m day to day
as a decisive condition for the u n i t y of the people and
their m o b i l i z a t i o n in the w a r .
A n d the t r u t h is that the reputation and role of
the P a r t y w e r e ceaselessly enhanced, w i n n i n g the love
and trust of the masses. T h e heroic act of our brave
comrades V o j o K u s h i , S a d i k S t a v a l e c i and X h o x h i
M a r t i n i , w h o f e l l in a bloody battle w h i c h lasted s i x
hours in October that year, saddened our hearts but,
at the same time, f u r t h e r enhanced the name of our
P a r t y and its members in the m i n d s of the people.
P r e c i s e l y at these moments, in the upsurge of
these events, we had to w o r k for the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n
of the decisions of the Conference of Peza. As I pointed
out above, after this Conference, too, we were to c o n centrate our m a i n attention on the w o r k i n g class, the
215
peasantry and their component parts, the w o m e n a n d
the youth, w h i c h constituted the social basis of the
Front, of course, w i t h o u t in a n y w a y neglecting the
w o r k w i t h the nationalists, the intellectuals, and so on.
True, we pointed out that the w o r k i n g class and
the peasantry recognized the C P A as the p a r t y w h i c h
expressed and championed t h e i r interests, but it s h o u l d
not in any w a y be thought that a l l the contingents of
the workers and peasants had become conscious, as
early as those moments, about the role of the P a r t y
or of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t . There was s t i l l
a v e r y great deal to be done to b r i n g these classes
closer to and activize t h e m in the F r o n t and the war,
and we were more than aware of this.
In the direction of the countryside, in particular,
and especially in certain zones of the N o r t h , both the
F r o n t and the national l i b e r a t i o n councils w e r e being
introduced w i t h greater difficulties. U n d o u b t e d l y , this
was p a r t l y due to the influence of the bayraktars, the
pronounced socio-economic and c u l t u r a l backwardness,
a series of old mentalities, etc., etc., but at the same
time it was p a r t l y a result of the weaknesses of our
work, and concretely of the p a r t y r e g i o n a l committees
and organizations that operated in those parts. S e r i o u s l y concerned about the situation, the P r o v i s i o n a l
C e n t r a l Committee of the P a r t y several times a n a l y z e d
its o w n work, the w o r k of the regional committees
and its delegates in those zones, and c o n t i n u a l l y issued orientations and instructions for the i m p r o v e ment and enlivenment of the w o r k . O b v i o u s l y , we d i d
not expect, or even think, that the situation e v e r y where w o u l d be t u r n e d in our f a v o u r w i t h i n one or
216
even s i x m o n t h s but we insisted that the w o r k s h o u l d
be done, that the communists s h o u l d penetrate e v e r y where, c a r r y i n g the w o r d of the P a r t y , the decisions
of the Conference of Peza, and together w i t h them, the
crack of the p a r t i s a n r i f l e .
1 remember how, w h i l e we were t a l k i n g about t h e
results achieved and the d i f f i c u l t i e s w h i c h presented
themselves at a m e e t i n g w i t h some comrades w h o h a d
just r e t u r n e d f r o m the zones of the N o r t h , one of t h e m
said:
«It is d i f f i c u l t to get a n y w h e r e on p o l i t i c a l issues
w i t h the highlanders of the remote zones. T h e i r ignorance and conservatism is so great that t h e y d o n ' t
even listen to w h a t y o u say to them.»
«No doubt,» I said, «if we go to a peasant to t a l k
about 'grand politics', if we t r y to lead h i m up a l l
sorts of b l i n d alleys he has the r i g h t to refuse to l i s t e n
to us, indeed, close his door to us. A l l his life the deputies and officials of the anti-popular regimes and the
reactionary hacks and impostors have been t r y i n g
to f i l l his head w i t h e m p t y talk about 'grand politics'.
The peasant doesn't listen to it and has no reason to
do so. B u t if we sit d o w n w i t h h i m by his fireside, if
we speak to t i m o p e n l y and f r a n k l y about the h a r v est, about his problems, about his poverty, about the
enslaved H o m e l a n d , about the roguery, the k i l l i n g s
and looting carried out by the occupier and his men,
the peasant does not consider this politics, he considers
it a talk about his d a i l y problems, and y o u w i l l see
that he is able to speak about these things better t h a n
you. L e t us leave p o l i t i c a l subtleties for those w h o
are engaged in 'politics'. The c o m m o n people, the
217
w o r k e r s a n d peasants, are for action, are interested
i n w h a t pains t h e m and n o w their greatest pain, the
source of a l l pains, is the enslavement w h i c h is s t r a n g l i n g the H o m e l a n d . W h a t should we do to get r i d of
this enslavement, this is w h a t we s h o u l d t a l k about
w i t h the peasant and the worker, that is w h a t he has
in his heart w h i c h throbs f o r the cause w h i c h we are
fighting!»
Fortunately, however, s u c h «excuses» and « a r g u ments», w h i c h h a d t h e y been taken at face v a l u e
w o u l d have meant f o l d i n g o u r arms a n d g i v i n g u p the
w o r k , w e r e f e w and f a r between. I n e v e r y instance i n
w h i c h tendencies t o underrate the w o r k i n the c o u n tryside o r i n the c i t y w e r e expressed i n a n y f o r m , w e
criticized t h e m severely and the fact is that step by
step the results of our struggle began to become a p parent even in the most remote zones. T h e w o r k of
communists, and hundreds of patriots, w h o w e r e n o w
closely l i n k e d w i t h the line o f the P a r t y and the p r o g r a m of the Front, brought about that in the f i r s t
months after the Conference of P e z a the role a n d
a u t h o r i t y of our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y was f u r t h e r e n h a n ced, and the m i l i t a n t u n i t y of the people became even
stronger a n d more consolidated.
T h e months w h i c h f o l l o w e d the Conference of P e z a
once again c o n f i r m e d the correctness of the line, the
strategy and tactics of our y o u n g P a r t y . T h e results
were obvious: the ranks of the P a r t y had been i n creased w h i l e day by day the broad masses of the
people, the workers, peasants, the intellectuals, the p a triots, the A l b a n i a n youth, were p o u r i n g into the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n Front, the f i g h t i n g organization w h i c h
t h e P a r t y led.
218
T h e N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t h a d n o w become a broad m o v e m e n t of the masses w i t h a p o w e r f u l
political basis consisting of the national l i b e r a t i o n
councils a n d a g r o w i n g m i l i t a r y force. In the towns
and villages, in the occupied zones a n d in the liberated
zones, the councils carried out their functions and
their a u t h o r i t y among the people steadily increased.
The f i r e of the a r m e d struggle was spreading f r o m
South to N o r t h , the partisan çeta and units and g u e r r i l l a
units were m a k i n g l i f e intolerable for the occupiers and
the q u i s l i n g traitors. U n d e r the ceaseless ideological,
political a n d m i l i t a r y attacks, the e v i l regime w h i c h
the blackshirts had established was e x p e r i e n c i n g a
deep crisis. A f t e r V ë r l a c i , the h a n g m a n M e r l i k a was
squeezed d r y and t h r o w n aside, and E q r e m L i b o h o v a
was brought to power. B u t neither the bey of L i b o h o va nor the others w h o were to f o l l o w h i m w o u l d be
able to p r o v i d e a safe h a r b o u r for the rotten s h i p of
the fascist regime; the ocean of the people's w a r and
hatred was r a g i n g a r o u n d it.
Of course, s u c h a situation disturbed the e n e m y
occupier w h o was obliged to m a k e desperate efforts
to alter the situation in his favour. A p a r t f r o m the
changes of puppets in the « A l b a n i a n » government and
administration, apart f r o m the stepping up of its
m i l i t a r y and police measures, a separate chapter in
these efforts consisted of the total m o b i l i z a t i o n and
r a l l y i n g of reaction, especially that part w h i c h fascist
Italy had p e r m i t t e d to r e m a i n in the «second echelon»
u p u n t i l that time. A s the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y realized
clearly and h i s t o r y confirmed, the traitor «nationalist»
organization, the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , was to have its o w n
219
m a i n role i n this. O u r struggle w i t h this g r o u p i n g o f
reaction w a s to comprise another chapter in the h e r oic efforts of the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
F r o n t of the A l b a n i a n people.
2. The front of traitors
At the moments w h e n we w e r e in the heat of the
w o r k to put into practice the decisions of the C o n f e r ence of Peza, especially in the m o n t h of November, a
n u m b e r of comrades f r o m T i r a n a and other districts
reported to us about m a n y movements, meetings a n d
contacts of certain «nationalist» chiefs, p r o m i n e n t
amongst w h o m was M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i . W e w e r e certain
that something was being prepared and issued i n s t r u c tions that the greatest vigilance must be d i s p l a y e d a n d
e v e r y t h i n g must be reported to us.
N o t m u c h later, about the end of N o v e m b e r and
the beginning of December, t h r o u g h the first issue of
the paper, The War for National Liberation (1), w h i c h h a d
been published and distributed «illegally», we learned
the news about the f o r m a t i o n of the «nationalist» o r ganization called the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . As soon as we
received the news about this organization and its
leaders, as w e l l as a little later, w h e n we w e r e a c quainted w i t h its program, the notorious «Decalogue»,
we were convinced that we had to do w i t h an o r g a n i z ation spawned by the enemy occupier w h i c h h a d
_____________________________
1 O r g a n of the B a l l i Kombëtar.
220
t h r o w n this «reserve» into the struggle against the
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a , the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the partisan N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
War.
T h e name of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r itself explains
the w h o l e p l a n of the local feudal-bourgeois reaction
and the aims of the occupiers. «Balli» is not s i m p l y
a l i t e r a l translation of «front» and l i k e w i s e
«Kombëtar» is not s i m p l y a translation of the w o r d «national».
No, the t e r m does not have a patriotic or linguistic
character b u t has a p r o f o u n d ideological significance.
F o r reaction the «Balli» w o u l d not m e a n «war» as
the «Front» meant for us. F o r t h e m the «Balli» meant
the «head», the «pre-destined national leadership»,
that is, the o l d unchangeable w o r l d «without end», the
conservative w o r l d w i t h oppressors and oppressed, the
« A l b a n i a n national» w o r l d w h i c h rejects and fights
progress and c o m m u n i s m . T h i s was the m e a n i n g of the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r created b y the Italian occupiers and
by means of w h i c h the heads of A l b a n i a n reaction
dreamed o f h o w t h e y could organize and r u n A l b a n i a
i n the f u t u r e . T h e w o r d «war» d i d not exist i n the
name of this organization or in its content, because it
represented a w o r l d in its death throes. T h e B a l l i was
t o engage i n war, both w i t h propaganda and w i t h
arms, not against the occupier, however, but against
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a , against the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n A r m y and the n e w state p o w e r of the
national l i b e r a t i o n councils.
M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i , an arch-traitor, was placed at
the head of this assembly of traitors, and a r o u n d h i m
such notorious elements a s A l i B e y K ë l c y r a , K o l ë
221
Tromara, F a i k Q u k u , N u r e d i n V l o r a , and others s u c h
as F u a t D i b r a , H a s a n Dosti, L e f Nosi, a n d so on, but
in fact the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was l e d by Jacomoni, the
viceroy o f K i n g V i c t o r E m m a n u e l III and G e n e r a l D a l mazzo, the commander of the Italian a r m y in A l b a n i a .
As to the local s c u m w h o f o r m e d and led this o r ganization, w h i c h they advertized as «patriotic» (!),
the m a j o r i t y were precisely those pseudo-patriotic n a tionalist elements w i t h w h o m w e h a d been t r y i n g for
more than two years on end and had done e v e r y t h i n g
possible to w i n their support for the war, the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the cause of the freedom and i n dependence of the H o m e l a n d .
Earlier, w h e n I mentioned the meetings a n d f i e r c e
debates w h i c h we had w i t h them, I also said s o m e t h i n g
about their character, o r i g i n and their p o l i t i c a l a n d
ideological baggage. N o w , however, I want to d w e l l
somewhat more extensively on this aspect, to indicate
the essence and o r i g i n of these i n d i v i d u a l s who, at the
end of 1942, were a d v e r t i z i n g themselves as the «head»,
the «cream» of the nation, and w h a t A l b a n i a could
expect f r o m their organization, the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
The b u l k of these «certified patriots» comprised
the caravan of the «anti-Zogite» elements w h o after
a 15 years a s y l u m on foreign soil h a d r e t u r n e d to A l bania in the wake of the Italian a r m y a n d u n d e r the
protection of fascist bayonets. In the past t h e y h a d
been deputies to the A l b a n i a n parliament, p r i o r to
the government of F a n N o l i , and had been present
at the f u n e r a l of A v n i R u s t e m i and t a k e n part in the
R e v o l u t i o n of 1924. T h e y h a d differences in their p o l i t i c a l convictions because they expressed the most
222
varied opinions in a n u m b e r of newspapers w h i c h t h e y
brought out d u r i n g the bourgeois-democratic r e g i m e
w h i c h the coalition of beys and feudals headed by
A h m e t Z o g o v e r t h r e w . T h e democratic v i e w s of some
of t h e m w e r e s u p e r f i c i a l and q u i c k l y faded, w h i l e the
most of those w h o had posed as «partisans of Opinga» (1)
were in fact champions of the aghas and the m e r c a n t i l e
bourgeoisie w h i c h was b u i l d i n g itself u p b y b u y i n g the
lands of b a n k r u p t f e u d a l families. A l l of them, even
i n c l u d i n g those w h o posed as farthest to the «left»,
were f a r f r o m being r e v o l u t i o n a r y democrats, l i k e
A v n i R u s t e m i , H a l i m X h e l o and others w h o w e r e l o y a l
sons of the people and consistent fighters for democracy.
A l l the. elements of the «anti-Zogite» e m i g r a t i o n
w i t h the exception of the communists, or «reds», as the
«anti-Zogites and democrats» in exile called t h e m ,
claimed to be supporters of F a n N o l i .
B u t after the f a i l u r e of the 1924 R e v o l u t i o n that
erudite w r i t e r , F a n N o l i , t r a v e l l e d f r o m place to place,
visited the Soviet U n i o n , spoke and wrote w e l l about
it, stayed in G e r m a n y , w r o t e b e a u t i f u l and p o w e r f u l
anti-Zogite verses, went to the U n i t e d States of A m e r ica w h e r e he became head of the C h u r c h , became
more bourgeois, assumed a l l k i n d s of colours, and f r o m
being an anti-Zogite came to terms w i t h Z o g and h i s
men. True, he d i d not become a convinced and active
Zogite, nevertheless, he accepted m o n e y f r o m Z o g .
H e never f u l l y understood our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
War, d i d not prove to be a zealous c h a m p i o n of it to
____________________________
1 T h e c o m m o n people.
223
the end, while, w h e n the people were d r i v i n g out the
occupiers and traitors and establishing their o w n p o w er, F a n N o l i approved the B r i t i s h p l a n for the f o r m ation of an « A l b a n i a n government in exile». N e v e r theless, we appreciate F a n N o l i as a bourgeois d e m o cratic w r i t e r and politician, l i m i t e d in his views, it is
true, but who, on the whole, loved A l b a n i a .
Whereas these «disciples of F a n N o l i » in exile
were not even supporters of his, and before t h e y w o r ried about A l b a n i a , they hastened to ensure the m a n ger f r o m w h i c h they w o u l d eat. M u s s o l i n i ' s Italy p a i d
some of them, A l e x a n d e r ' s Y u g o s l a v i a others, w h i l e
s t i l l others were paid by the F r e n c h secret service, the
B r i t i s h Intelligence Service, the G r e e k A s p h a l i a , the
A m e r i c a n secret service, and so on. T h e y w e r e d i v i d e d
into groups, but not according to their p o l i t i c a l t e n dencies and views, each w i t h its o w n p r o g r a m and o r ganization, newspaper and other publications. A l t h o u g h
they t r i e d to present their p o l i t i c a l squabbles as o r i ginating f r o m differences i n their p o l i t i c a l views, i n
fact they were grouped according to the sources f r o m
w h i c h they received their subsidies, their f l o w of i n come. E a c h group had its «premises» in a café w h i c h
the members of other «groups» d i d not enter. A l l
their a c t i v i t y as «great politicians» amounted to r e a d ing that newspaper w h i c h was p r o v i d e d by the café
where they sat a l l day i n d u l g i n g in idle talk and «academic» discussions about international problems w h i c h
were accompanied by a f e w curses about Zog. W h e n
they r a n out of words and their «opposition» s p i r i t
dried up, t h e y began p l a y i n g poker and bridge and
each t r i e d to rob the other at g a m b l i n g .
224
T h e chiefs, of course, conducted the f i n a n c i a l p o l icy, s h a r i n g out the m o n e y according to the orders of
the centre f r o m w h i c h they received it, as w e l l as according to their personal sympathies. T h e pockets of
some of t h e m w e r e f u l l but there w e r e others w h o h a d
n o t h i n g to eat for days on end. T h i s u n d o u b t e d l y
created quarrels amidst groups feeding f r o m the same
manger a n d f r e q u e n t i n g the same café. Of course,
there were some w h o received income f r o m more than
one source, came afloat again, and if one of t h e m
were asked w h e r e he f o u n d this money, he w o u l d
reply, «I w o n it at gambling.» In fact, however, these
i n d i v i d u a l s w e r e spies for various agencies.
I am not exaggerating these things. W h e n I was
a student in France, on my w a y back to A l b a n i a for
holidays or on the r e t u r n journey, I stopped both in
B a r i , w h e r e I caught the ship, and in P a r i s . D u r i n g
these transit stops I have seen h o w they l i v e d w i t h my
o w n eyes. F o r instance, I was several times in the
Stoppani C a f é in B a r i w h i c h was one of the «best
known» cafés of these emigrants in w h i c h the «honourables», f o r m e r deputies and other members of the
«Zogite opposition», l i k e B a h r i O m a r i , S h e h K a r b u n a ra, M u h a r r e m V l l a m a s i , Q a m i l Çela, w h o m they c o n sidered a «red», an officer called L e k ë M a r g j i n i and
others of the same t y p e gathered. In B a r i there were
other emigrants w h o came around, but these were
the m a i n ones, the «heirs to the anti-Zogite p o l i c y »
and the Stoppani café w a s t h e i r «parliament». A l legedly to protect t h e i r lives the Italian government
had openly appointed an o f f i c i a l police g u a r d for these
«honourables» apart f r o m others w h o shadowed t h e m .
225
W h e n I passed t h r o u g h B a r i on my w a y to France,
they asked m e : «What's the news f r o m A l b a n i a , w h a t
is going on? Do t h e y or do t h e y not l i k e Z o g ? W h e n
is he going to die?» and lots of other questions l i k e
these. I don't remember a n y time w h e n t h e y asked me
about the troubles of the people, the workers a n d p e a sants, or expressed r e v u l s i o n about the w a y the w o r k e r s
and peasants w e r e p l u n d e r e d and exploited. W h e n I
spoke about these things t h e y listened to me w i t h i n d i f ference, because the situation and movements of the
masses w e r e of no importance to these «partisans of
Opinga»; for t h e m the best news was if y o u told t h e m
that Z o g had been i l l because it seemed to t h e m that
the w a y was being opened for t h e m to take p o w e r in
Albania.
In the Stoppani café t h e y dealt in «grand p o l i tics». E a c h of t h e m expressed his o w n tendencies a n d
sympathies i n t h e i r conversations. S h e h K a r b u n a r a ,
for example, apparently ate the bread of the Italians
but had a special a d m i r a t i o n for the E n g l i s h . T h e S h e h
was l i v e l y i n conversation and attracted attention w i t h
his m a n n e r of speaking in the M y z e q e dialect and his
l o u d laughter. H e was clever and c u n n i n g b u t h a d
not the slightest culture. H e w a i t e d for B a h r i O m a r i
to read h i m a newspaper because B a h r i k n e w several
eastern and western languages. B a h r i ' s culture, h o w ever, was «a little of everything», and of no depth. In
his political views, he posed as a radical socialist b e cause he h a d great a d m i r a t i o n for E d o u a r d H e r r i o t ,
one of the leaders of the F r e n c h radical socialists. Le
Temps, a l i b e r a l newspaper w i t h great influence in
France at that time, was the source of B a h r i ' s i n f o r m 226
ation and interpretations. S h e h K a r b u n a r a and t h e
others w a i t e d for h i m in the Stoppani café w i t h the
newspaper Le Temps in f r o n t of h i m .
«Come on, read it to us!» said the S h e h .
«Wait a minute,» said B a h r i , « t i l l I have a coffee
w i t h cream.» T h e n he began to glance over the h e a d lines and gave t h e m a brief resumé of the news and
articles in the paper.
M e a n w h i l e , the S h e h d i d not f a i l t o s a y :
«That's a l l v e r y w e l l , but see w h a t the E n g l i s h
say about this problem. Forget about the others, it's the
E n g l i s h that count.»
In t h e i r conversations they posed as anti-Zogitea
and consequently, i n l o w voices, s a i d the odd w o r d
against M u s s o l i n i , w h i l e t h e y «bombarded» Z o g w i t h
words. B u t Z o g d i d not w o r r y about t h e m at a l l , had
no fear of t h e m and s i m p l y ignored t h e m because he
k n e w that t h e y represented no danger to h i m .
O n m y w a y back f r o m F r a n c e t o A l b a n i a I asked
these «honourable» g e n t l e m e n : «What's the news f r o m
A l b a n i a ? » B u t there w a s n o t h i n g I could learn f r o m
them apart f r o m scandalous r u m o u r s about the goingson of the regime.
I remember once I f o u n d t h e m in v e r y h i g h spirits.
«Things are going on v e r y w e l l ! » t h e y t o l d me.
«What has happened?» I asked.
«Zog is dying,» said the Sheh. «We have reliable
i n f o r m a t i o n that he has cancer and t w o famous doctors
have gone f r o m V i e n n a to e x a m i n e him.»
«Baba Sheh,» I said, «have we a n y organization
inside the c o u n t r y to o v e r t h r o w h i m apart f r o m t h i s ? »
The S h e h looked m e i n the eye and s a i d :
227
«Yes, . . . w e have. B u t y o u reds w a n t t o k n o w
e v e r y t h i n g and y o u hide y o u r i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m us!»
and he looked at Q a m i l Ç e l a w h o m t h e y considered a
communist.
These pseudo-politicians, these supporters of the
mercantile bourgeoisie and aghas had hatred for c o m m u n i s m i n their blood stream a n d this t h e y d e m o n strated later. As for a n y organization on t h e i r part
w i t h i n the country, not o n l y d i d this not exist, but
they had not sent a n y newspapers, pamphlets or e v e n
a single leaflet into A l b a n i a . T h e i r «activity» could
not be compared even w i t h that of democratic elements
among the exiles l i k e O m e r N i s h a n i o r F a n N o l i h i m self, whose disciples they c l a i m e d to be, let alone w i t h
the a c t i v i t y of r e v o l u t i o n a r y communist m i l i t a n t s l i k e
A l i K e l m e n d i , H a l i m X h e l o and R i z a Cerova, w h o
w o r k e d abroad but also entered A l b a n i a l e g a l l y o r i l legally, and w o r k e d under the threat of imprisonment,
internment and murder. B u t w h a t sort of organization
could the clients of the Stoppani café c l a i m to have
w h e n their l i n k s w i t h the c o u n t r y w e r e non-existent?
A p a r t f r o m a f e w f o r m e r acquaintances, m e n of the
bourgeoisie, aghas, top officials or some o l d intellectuals, no one in A l b a n i a remembered t h e m .
T h e latter had considered it m o r e advantageous
to m a k e their peace w i t h Z o g t h a n to rove the
cities of Europe, had submitted to the regime, l i v e d
and carried out their a c t i v i t y u n d e r the protection of
the K r o s i s and Zog's ministers and had e v e n gained
some posts in the capital or were appointed its prefects
in the districts. T h e S k ë n d e r Pojanis, R e i z Selfos, V e h i p
Runas, Q e m a l V r i o n i s and m a n y others were of this
228
type. N o w even t h e i r opinions w e r e u n i f i e d , t h e y h a d
become convinced Zogites, although some posed as
apolitical, others as n e u t r a l and w h e n t h e y w e n t abroad,
especially to Italy, because that is w h e r e t h e y w e n t m o s t ly to strike trade deals, t h e y d i d not forget their o l d
friends. T h e y w o u l d meet in the Stoppani café, crack
a f e w jokes, pose as democrats, relate some of the
crimes of the regime and, as «friends and acquaintances», put a bit of m o n e y in their pockets.
Hence, the contacts of the emigrant «politicians»
w i t h A l b a n i a w e r e made t h r o u g h m e n of the Zogite
regime w h o w e n t abroad, t h r o u g h officials, b i g m e r chants, l a n d - o w n e r s and aghas, and these contacts
were m a i n t a i n e d not in order to conspire or do something
against the regime, but in order to get some economic
aid f r o m it and to delude themselves by s a y i n g that
they had not lost contact w i t h A l b a n i a . T h i s was not
surprising. E v e n i n the time o f the F a n N o l i g o v e r n ment w h e n these m e n w e r e members of it, or elected
as deputies, t h e i r l i n k s w e r e not w i t h the masses of
the people but m a i n l y w i t h the l i b e r a l g e n t r y of the
city and, up to a point, w i t h the g e n t r y of the c o u n tryside. It was not the idea of the progress of A l b a n i a
w h i c h l i n k e d t h e m w i t h the gentry, but t h e i r f a m i l y
and marriage links, a n d chance friendships w h i c h w e r e
w i d e l y developed in the social l i f e of that time.
The «anti-Zogite democrats» of P a r i s comprised
another group of t h i s category of p o l i t i c a l exiles. T h a t
included A l i K ë l c y r a , K o l ë T r o m a r a , Q a z i m K o c u l i ,
S e j f i V l l a m a s i , R e x h e p M i t r o v i c a and others, but T r o mara, A l i B e y , K o c u l i a n d M i t r o v i c a posed a s leaders.
In fact none of t h e m recognized the other as leader,
229
because t h e y a l l «led», but they w e r e leaders in words,
commanders w i t h o u t a n a r m y .
I d i d not have the o p p o r t u n i t y to get to k n o w
these people w e l l , because I was a student w i t h o u t a
bursary, w i t h n o money, and c o u l d b a r e l y p a y for m y
board and lodging and r a r e l y w e n t out to v i s i t some
museum, to see a performance or to d r i n k a cup of
coffee. Sometimes my father sent me a f e w napoleons,
sometimes my friends gave me a c o i n or t w o a n d sometimes I w a s able to give lessons in A l b a n i a n at a f e w
francs per hour. B u t f r o m w h a t l i t t l e I k n e w of t h e m
a n d w h a t I heard f r o m other A l b a n i a n s t h e y passed
their time in the cafés and g a m b l i n g clubs, going to
the races, the cinema, etc. O b v i o u s l y t h e y h a d p l e n t y
of money.
«Where do t h e y f i n d it?» I asked R e m z i Fico, a
medical student w h o k n e w K o l ë T r o m a r a .
«They are w e l l p a i d by the F r e n c h government
as the politicians t h e y are,» R e m z i t o l d me.
T h e i r centres w e r e La Coupole, La Source and
other w e l l - k n o w n cafés. There they gambled, p l a y e d
politics, «overthrew Zog», «aroused the A l b a n i a n people», and shared out the francs a n d the dollars w h i c h
the course of b e t r a y a l on w h i c h t h e y had set out secured for them. T h e «anti-Zogites» of the Stoppani café
had good relations w i t h this group w h i l e t h e y q u a r relled w i t h the group o f M u s t a f a M e r l i k a w h i c h M u s s o l i n i kept i n D a l m a t i a and prepared for his f u t u r e
plans of invasion.
As soon as fascist Italy invaded A l b a n i a a l l these
exiles r e t u r n e d f r o m the cafés of Europe. N a t u r a l l y ,
they w e r e pleased to see t h e i r friends and established
230
political contacts w i t h other «anti-Zogites» w h o had
remained w i t h i n the c o u n t r y or h a d r e t u r n e d earlier.
Now, w i t h the occupation of the country, these socalled anti-Zogite democrats either s t i l l h e l d the posts
w h i c h t h e y h a d h a d in the time of Zog, or h a d been
raised in responsibility, a n d w i t h the a i d of fascism,
were f u r t h e r e n r i c h i n g themselves at the people's e x pense.
The «outstanding patriots» r e t u r n e d f r o m Europe,
sounded out the t e r r a i n , s n i f f e d out w h e r e the l i r e
came f r o m and how, sounded out the quislings, the
Italian and A l b a n i a n fascist hierarchs, posed as p o l i t ically «undefiled», as «able m e n and politicians,» as
«men w h o h a d made sacrifices for this nation», w h i l e
«languishing» on foreign soil, so n o w that the «sea h a d
turned into y o u g h u r t » t h e y ought to be g i v e n not
spoons but ladles. T h e y w e r e installed in homes, t h e i r
salaries continued, but in w h a t way, nobody k n e w .
The occupier w a n t e d to legalize these salaries, but the
«fathers of the nation» put up resistance in this d i r e c tion because this w o u l d m e a n that the pseudo-patriots
w o u l d be compromised in the eyes of the people a n d
committed to the dance. H o w e v e r , fascist Italy was to
allow t h e m to retain their disguise, just as long as it
was in its interests, because it had taken into account
the role of the reactionary chiefs of the p o l i t i c a l exiles
in its plans for the occupation of A l b a n i a . It was not
for nothing that Zog's «great f r i e n d » had l o n g been
w o r k i n g to organize them, had kept and subsidized
them, allegedly in secret ways, because Z o g d i d not
dare m a k e the slightest protest. F a s c i s m h a d considered
and was to use these m e n as a reserve for the d o m i n 231
ation of A l b a n i a and they were an important c a r d in
the Italian game of «the l i b e r a t i o n of A l b a n i a f r o m
Zog». These elements had become puppets a n d as such
nobody was going to ask t h e m w h a t role t h e y w e r e
going t o p l a y i n the prepared plot. A n d fascism d i v i d e d
the roles amongst the groups of these p o l i t i c a l exiles.
Some of them, such as M u s t a f a K r u j a a n d others, it
used d i r e c t l y to govern its «colony», w h i l e the others
it kept in reserve.
It was not that fascist Italy h a d no need of t h e m ,
but it k n e w that it could not b r i n g t h e m into use before
Vërlaci, Mustafa Merlika, Eqrem B e y Libohova, M a l i q
B u s h a t i , and so on. T h e y w e r e «the first violins», w h i l e
the others had to s u b m i t to the q u i s l i n g regime of the
occupiers and w o r k f o r it and, moreover, at f i r s t shed
the odd tear for A l b a n i a and A l b a n i a n i s m . A l l this was
a puppet p l a y but the captor Italy had not staged it for
nothing. In this way, these pseudo-patriots, pseudo-democrats and fascists were brought into the dance of the
Italian fascist occupiers. Some of t h e m w e r e made m e m bers of the « C o u n c i l of State» created especially for
them, while, as I said, the others became local fascist
chiefs, and others s t i l l received «pensions» and bribes
w i t h o u t occupying a n y definite post, so that t h e y c o u l d
retain for a w h i l e the reputation of «unblemished p a t r i ots» although a l l the t i m e t h e y carried on disguised p r o paganda against the people's resistance. T h e elements
of this group t e m p o r a r i l y left in reserve were closely
l i n k e d w i t h fascist Italy, but their role was to c a r r y
out subversive a c t i v i t y w i t h i n the struggle o f the A l b a n i a n people and to co-ordinate t h e i r demagogy w i t h
the bludgeon w h i c h M u s t a f a M e r l i k a w i e l d e d o p e n l y .
232
T h e i r m i s s i o n was to l i n k the m a x i m u m n u m b e r of
people to the fascist b a n d - w a g o n through d e c e p t i o n
and threats and to w i n over the peasantry and the
intellectuals. In the end this dangerous a c t i v i t y of
theirs h a d some results, especially among v a c i l l a t i n g
and c o w a r d l y elements. Thus, in order to suppress the
people and their struggle, the fascist occupier w o r k e d
f r o m both sides: f r o m the side of the A l b a n i a n fascist
officials placed i n government posts f r o m w h i c h t h e y
oppressed and exploited the people, and f r o m the side
of the pseudo-patriots, pseudo-democrats a n d Zogites
allegedly f a l l e n in disgrace. These latter were the «politicians» of the Kursaal café and g a m b l i n g clubs l i k e
the Savoy and other notorious establishments.
T h e fascist secret agency, w h i c h was e v e r y w h e r e
and reported e v e r y t h i n g , t u r n e d a b l i n d eye and a
deaf ear w h e n one of these «politicians» expressed
some «criticism» of persons in p o w e r or the f a s cist regime in the country. T h e w h o l e lot of t h e m
were a f i l t h y scum among w h o m it was h a r d to f i n d
even one, h o w e v e r insignificant, w h o was u n d e f i l e d .
Of course, apart f r o m the knowledge w h i c h we
had f r o m the p e r i o d p r i o r to the occupation, we created a more complete and accurate o p i n i o n about them
d u r i n g our m a n y attempts to «fan up» their patriotism,
that is, to unite t h e m w i t h the war, w i t h the Front,
w i t h the great cause of the H o m e l a n d . As I have a l ready s h o w n in detail, however, i n i t i a l l y they treated
us w i t h total disregard, and, indeed, i m p l i e d that t h e y
could h a r d l y deign to t a l k w i t h us «hot-headed young
reds». T h e r e were two m a i n reasons for this stand of
theirs towards us in the i n i t i a l stage of our contacts
with them:
233
First, among these «nationalist-democrats», w h o
l i v e d o n fascist hand-outs and w h o w e r e neither n a tionalists n o r democrats, the idea p r e v a i l e d that t h e y
were the «most capable», were «proven politicians»,
that «the people l o v e d a n d respected them» and, hence,
t h e y thought t h e y were destined, w h e n the favourable
m o m e n t came, to take p o w e r a n d g o v e r n the country.
Thus, w i t h their d e l i r i u m a n d these absurd illusions
t h e y had about themselves they could not e v e n think,
let alone accept, that their t i m e had passed and that
n o w n e w m e n were e m e r g i n g f r o m the r a n k s o f the
common people, ready to take over r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for
the fate of the H o m e l a n d . Second, this «disdainful» attitude towards us in this f i r s t phase of the w a r was
dictated to t h e m by the fascist occupier and open reaction, w i t h the a i m that we, «young people», w o u l d be
overawed by their «profound reasoning» and lose heart,
hence, w o u l d «come to our senses», as t h e y advised
us, reconcile ourselves to the situation and, w h i l e
s w a l l o w i n g the misfortunes of the H o m e l a n d , «enjoy
the blessings of the fascist order»!
A f t e r years of idle talk and dreams in cafés, h o w ever, t h e i r calculations w e n t even f u r t h e r t h a n this,
for t h e m the occupation of the c o u n t r y by fascist Italy
w a s a passing phenomenon for A l b a n i a and t h e y
thought that, w h e n the Italians left t h e y « w o u l d s t i l l
have t h e m as a support, p r o v i d e d we don't annoy
them, as these boys are doing». T h e i r ideas w e n t f u r ther s t i l l : «If n a z i G e r m a n y replaces Italy, that w i l l
be even better and it w i l l help us; on the other hand,
if both Italy and G e r m a n y are defeated, then B r i t a i n
a n d the U n i t e d States o f A m e r i c a w i l l t r i u m p h , t h e y
234
w i l l m a k e the l a w and in that case we s h a l l be even
better off.»
As a result of these dangerous v i e w s and the
economic and p o l i t i c a l interests they regarded the w a r
of the A l b a n i a n people against the occupier, for w h i c h
we were appealing a n d s t r i v i n g , as something terrible.
In no w a y d i d t h e y w a n t to f i g h t the fascist occupier,
therefore, they d i d t h e i r utmost a n d e m p l o y e d every
means to strangle the r e v o l u t i o n in its e m b r i o n i c phase.
Of course, regardless of the «disdain», «gibes»
a n d «remonstrances» of these o l d m e n , harnessed to
the fascist plough, w e c a r r i e d o n w i t h our w o r k and
were to witness a l l their metamorphoses w h i c h a p peared ridiculous but, in fact, were done u n d e r orders.
W h e n , to their astonishment, t h e y saw that we were
r e a l l y t a k i n g the reins of the w a r in hand, t h e y w e r e
obliged and ordered to come and seek us out, to t r y
a n d persuade us «for the sake of s u f f e r i n g A l b a n i a »
to proceed no f u r t h e r on the course of «adventurism»
w h i c h w e had t a k e n . Q u i e t l y and patiently, w e e x plained o u r stand to t h e m once again and continued on
o u r course.
H o w e v e r , w h e n a l l these manoeuvres and efforts
of theirs to «soften» us got nowhere, w h e n we o r g a n ized the Conference of P e z a and achieved one v i c t o r y
after the other, t h e n «the fathers of the nation» r e ceived orders to change their tactic i m m e d i a t e l y : the
notorious B a l l i K o m b ë t a r emerged, or more precisely,
was produced in the w o r k s h o p s of the vice-regal a d m i n i s t r a t i o n as a counterweight to the N a t i o n a l L i b eration Front, the councils and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r w h i c h our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y was leading.
235
Some two years later, in the course of the w a r ,
w h e n we w e r e on the eve of the l i b e r a t i o n of A l b a n i a
and f i n a l l y settling accounts w i t h the occupier a n d the
whole of i n t e r n a l reaction, precisely on this p r o b l e m
we w e r e to hear, amongst m a n y others, this absurd
paradox:
T h e B a l l i K o m b ë t a r emerged allegedly as a result
of the inadequate w o r k of the C P A (!), moreover, as a
consequence of a sectarian stand w h i c h we h a d allegedly adopted towards those elements w h o subsequently
became leaders of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r (!).
This «gem», w h i c h we had heard for the first t i m e
f r o m the m o u t h of Tempo in M a r c h 1943 in L a b i n o t ,
was repeated at O d r i ç a n and later at B e r a t by Tito's
other delegate, V e l i m i r S t o j n i c and was q u i c k l y t a k e n
u p b y S e j f u l l a Malëshova, K o ç i X o x e and others w h o
t r i e d to «justify» it.
Shocked and angry at the same time, I asked them,
«What do y o u consider sectarianism?! The fact that a l l
of us, w i t h o u t exception, have h e l d meeting a f t e r
meeting, f r e q u e n t l y for w h o l e days a n d nights, w i t h a l l
those dregs of h i s t o r y and patriotism? T h e fact that we
have listened p a t i e n t l y to a l l their f i l t h y insinuations
and accusations against us w h e n they deserved to be
t o l d 'go to the devil'?!»
«Then, w h y d i d t h e y not come w i t h y o u , but o r ganized themselves in a separate organization?» S t o j n i c
t r i e d to «catch» me. «What drove t h e m to the r i g h t ?
W h y d i d they oppose the F r o n t and the P a r t y ? »
«I can answer y o u r question,» I t o l d h i m , « b u t
first it w o u l d be better for us to hear y o u r o p i n i o n
because y o u have more experience : w h y d i d the M i h a j 236
lovićes (1), the Ustaše the C e t n i c i and a lot of others of
t h e same type, become enemies of the N a t i o n a l L i b ­
e r a t i o n F r o n t and the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f Y u g o s l a v i a ?
W h a t took t h e m f r o m the side of ' p a t r i o t i s m ' and
pushed t h e m to the right?»
S t o j n i ć stared at me, d u m b w i t h f u r y . It was not
just the anger and i r o n y of my w o r d s w h i c h struck
h i m d u m b . H e d i d not k n o w what t o say. S e j f u l l a
t r i e d to come to his a i d :
«Each concrete p r o b l e m must be e x a m i n e d and
analyzed in the concrete conditions and c i r c u m s t a n ­
ces of each country. Y u g o s l a v i a is different f r o m A l ­
bania. W e w e r e t a l k i n g about our c o u n t r y . . . »
«I k n o w this p r i n c i p l e of M a r x i s m , » I said to
S e j f u l l a , «but you, at least in this concrete case, are
i n d u l g i n g in sophistry. A l t h o u g h I have no f i r s t - h a n d
knowledge of the concrete conditions in Y u g o s l a v i a , or
o f the w o r k o f the C P Y w i t h the 'nationalists' and
other elements, in p r i n c i p l e I can state w i t h c e r t a i n t y :
those same factors, those same conditions, those same
social forces, dictates and interests w h i c h gave b i r t h
to the C e t n i c i and Ustaše in Y u g o s l a v i a or the Zervistas
i n Greece, gave b i r t h t o the B a l l i s t s i n A l b a n i a ! H o w ­
ever, I do not w a n t to go into the experience of others
because I have no intimate knowledge of it. B u t one
thing I can assert w i t h c o n v i c t i o n : our P a r t y acted
towards the nationalist elements w i t h the greatest
__________________________________
1 D r a ž a M i h a j l o v i ć , agent of E n g l i s h i m p e r i a l i s m , minister
of
war
in
the
Yugoslav
puppet
government
of
London
in
1942. He collaborated w i t h the G e r m a n occupiers against the
Yugoslav
national
liberation
movement
,Kosova people.
237
and
terrorized
the
m a t u r i t y . I n our relations and w o r k w i t h t h e m i n t h e
phase before they emerged as an organization there
m a y have been illusions, undue hopes and even a cert a i n overestimation of some of them, but there w a s
certainly never any sectarianism!»
There is no need to d w e l l at length on these long
arguments of those d i f f i c u l t days (many of t h e m I h a v e
mentioned in greater detail in the book The Titoites [1])
but I brought up this fragment f r o m the a u t u m n of
1944 in order to compare it w i t h the p e r i o d and c o n crete situation under discussion, that is, the p e r i o d
w h e n the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r had emerged on the scene
at the end of 1942. F r o m this comparison between t h e
Titoite accusation of «sectarianism» and our concrete
stand, anyone, even the most i l l - i n f o r m e d or i l l - i n t e n tioned, can see clearly what a correct stand we adopted,
w h a t great w o r k and efforts w e made w i t h the m i x t u r e
of pseudo-patriots, what w i s d o m and patience we d i s played in order to convince t h e m to j o i n in the w a r
together w i t h the people. A n d we should not forget:
above I have mentioned o n l y those efforts, meetings
and debates (naturally not a l l of t h e m and in f u l l
detail) w h i c h I made personally w i t h the nationalists.
B u t other comrades of the C e n t r a l Committee, of t h e
regional committees, other communists and cadres,
honest patriots and revolutionaries a l l over the c o u n try, had m a n y m a n y s i m i l a r meetings w i t h such e l e ments!
Hence, the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r emerged on the scene
__________________________________
1 This
foreign
book
languages
is
published
by
«8
in
Nëntori»
1982.
238
English
and
in
some
P u b l i s h i n g House,
other
Tirana
not for any fault in our w o r k w i t h them, but because
w e l l before this, the C P A h a d emerged on the scene
of history w i t h a correct line, w i t h a clear program,
w i t h the w i l l , d e t e r m i n a t i o n and a b i l i t y to go among
the masses a n d w i n t h e m to its cause. H a d our P a r t y
not existed, had we not achieved the successes w h i c h
we achieved in less t h a n a year of the existence and
activity of the P a r t y , that is, had we remained silent,
then perhaps, reaction w o u l d not have made the effort to assemble and organize itself! In brief, they
emerged as reaction not against the occupier, but as
reaction against us, against the C P A , against the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t a n d the national l i b e r a t i o n
councils, against the p a r t i s a n çeta, units and d e t a c h ments w h i c h w e r e f i l l i n g the country.
We w e r e clear about this «development» of r e a c tion f r o m the outset. Indeed, even before we l e a r n e d
of the f o r m a t i o n of the B a l l i we h a d discussed a n d
taken into account the p o s s i b i l i t y of an organization of
pseudo-patriotic reaction in order to oppose us.
N o w we had to define a n d m a i n t a i n such a correct,
vigilant and p r u d e n t stand thanks t o w h i c h w e w o u l d
ensure the greatest possible progress of our cause
towards victory, regardless of the organizations a n d
groupings w h i c h i n t e r n a l reaction was assuming and
might alter in the f u t u r e .
It is the m e r i t of o u r P a r t y that it accomplished
this e x t r e m e l y c o m p l e x and d i f f i c u l t task, too, w i t h
honour, w i t h o u t p e r m i t t i n g a n y sectarianism or o p portunism and as a consequence of this the solutions
and results achieved w e r e the best possible and most
acceptable for the years of the war, but above a l l ,
239
t h e y were solutions w h i c h were v i t a l to the f u t u r e of
the H o m e l a n d , the people and socialism in A l b a n i a .
On this problem, too, the w o r k of our P a r t y c o n stitutes a r i c h experience of v e r y great p o l i t i c a l a n d
ideological value and importance. H i s t o r y has had its
say about this experience. Since that p e r i o d I have
f r e q u e n t l y w r i t t e n and spoken about that stern, c o m p l e x but t r u l y v i t a l struggle w h i c h we had to wage
along w i t h the w a r against the occupier.
F i r s t of a l l . aware f r o m the outset that reaction
was organizing itself not against the occupiers b u t
against us, convinced that if it were to f i g h t w i t h arms
it w o u l d do this o n l y against the C P A , the Front, the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y and councils (and this is
w h a t occurred), towards the organizations of reaction
we defined and applied a line and tactics w h i c h made
it possible to avoid f r a t r i c i d a l w a r in the ranks of the
A l b a n i a n people, and the d i s r u p t i o n and d i s o r g a n i z ation of the patriotic u n i t y of the masses.
Second, w h i l e c o m p e l l i n g reaction, w h i c h had not
raised a h a n d to fight the occupier, not to engage in
open fight against the P a r t y and the people, either
(for as long as possible), at the same t i m e we d i d not
for one moment permit a n y w e a k e n i n g of the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n W a r of the people or a n y v i o l a t i o n of the
leading role of the P a r t y in the Front, in the councils
or in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , for the sake of
« m a i n t a i n i n g peace between us»; we d i d not p e r m i t
any deviation f r o m the p r o g r a m of the P a r t y , that is,
we d i d not accept or reach a n y opportunist or socialdemocratic u n i t y o r «fraternization» w i t h the B a l l i o r
a n y b o d y else.
240
T h i r d , thanks to the correct line, neither sectarian
nor opportunist, towards reaction, and in the concrete
case towards the B a l l i we managed to b r i n g about
a p r o f o u n d d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n in its ranks; we w e r e able
to separate a n d save those w h o were deceived by
b r i n g i n g t h e m over to our side; those w h o adhered
to the p r i n c i p l e «neither w i t h one side nor the other»
w e n e u t r a l i z e d and kept f r o m f i g h t i n g us; a n d w e
were able to b r i n g out clearly before the eyes of the
people the detestable f i g u r e and c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y
action of the traitor chiefs of reaction. A n d w h e n m a t ters reached the phase w h e n we had in our possession
a w h o l e series of facts exposing the a c t i v i t y of these
collaborators w i t h the occupier, w h e n they had been
discredited in the eyes of the masses, their o w n t r e a chery was to compel t h e m to p l a y the f i n a l act: left
like a h a n d f u l of dregs, w i t h o u t a n y hope for support,
without a n y basis among the people, they went over
openly to support the n a z i detachments against our
partisan forces and against the people who had risen
in the general insurrection.
N o w the a r m e d struggle carried the d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n
through to the end. Thus, thanks to the line pursued
by our P a r t y , the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d f r o m
the nazi-fascist occupiers coincided w i t h the e l i m i n a tion of a l l those criminals, the f o r m e r representatives
of the e x p l o i t i n g classes, f r o m the scene of A l b a n i a n
life. A f i n a l result was achieved: the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation W a r had been t r a n s f o r m e d into a popular r e v olution and w a s about to be c r o w n e d w i t h success.
P r e c i s e l y in this p a r t i c u l a r experience of coping
w i t h and defeating reaction lies one of the greatest
241
merits of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a , a m e r i t
w h i c h had p r o f o u n d and decisive repercussions both
on the development of the w a r and for the reliable
future of the r e v o l u t i o n in A l b a n i a .
Then, h o w was the C P A able i n those d i f f i c u l t
years to define and a p p l y s u c h a l i n e w h i c h saved
the country f r o m the c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y organization and groupings of i n t e r n a l reaction?!
A b o v e all, we a r r i v e d at this line and the great
results achieved t h r o u g h our reliance on a correct a n d
consistent policy, w h i c h h a d as its w a t c h w o r d f r o m
beginning to e n d : merciless, u n c o m p r o m i s i n g w a r
against the foreign occupier and their collaborators,
and the u n i t y of a l l the v i t a l forces of the n a t i o n in
this life-and-death struggle!
W i t h this w a t c h w o r d w e a w a i t e d the emergence
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r on the scene and were to p i n
it w i t h its back to the w a l l r i g h t to the end u n t i l its
total degeneration and destruction.
Thus, once we had learned the f o r m a t i o n of the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and w e r e acquainted w i t h its so-called
Decalogue i n w h i c h the B a l l i p r o c l a i m e d its p r o g r a m ,
we discussed the matter extensively and decided to
attack it precisely on its weakest point, on its d e m a gogy and vows about «patriotism».
A m o n g the points of the «Decalogue» of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r there was one about «a free A l b a n i a » , a n d
«the e l i m i n a t i o n of exploitation», and even the odd
timorous w o r d about «the w a r against the occupier»,
but apparently the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was p r e p a r i n g for
w a r against the M a r t i a n s because the Italian occupiers
w e r e not m e n t i o n e d ! In this w a y the chiefs of the
242
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e r e t r y i n g t o safeguard their n a tionalist colours, so that they w o u l d be better able to
play the role of the T r o j a n Horse in the ranks of the
A l b a n i a n people w h o hated and were f i g h t i n g the occupier.
We seized on this «reluctant patriotism» of the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and at the proper moment, at a meeting organized in T i r a n a , we t o l d the representatives of
that o r g a n i z a t i o n :
«We have heard about y o u r organization and have
read the p r o g r a m w h i c h y o u proclaimed. T h e r e y o u
express y o u r desire for a 'free A l b a n i a ' , 'for d r i v i n g
out the foreigners', etc. These are things w h i c h unite
us because we have been f i g h t i n g and shedding blood
for these things t w o years now. As y o u k n o w , the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t o f the A l b a n i a n people w h i c h
unites a l l the masses, anti-fascist nationalist currents
and organizations in its ranks, w a s f o r m e d some t i m e
ago. On the basis of the p l a t f o r m of the war, y o u , too,
ought to adhere to this Front.»
«We do not recognize y o u r F r o n t ! » r e p l i e d the
representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
We t a l k e d to t h e m p a t i e n t l y about the Conference
of Peza, the p a r t i c i p a t i o n in it and its decisions, b u t
the m e n of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r again objected:
«We do not recognize either the Conference of
Peza or its decisions!»
Since t h e y w e r e f e i g n i n g ignorance, we, w i t h o u t
losing our aplomb, t o l d t h e m that their chiefs, such as
M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i , K o l ë T r o m a r a , A l i K ë l c y r a and others,
were i n f o r m e d about the Conference, that M r . M i t h a t
had sent his o w n representatives, that S k ë n d e r M u ç o
243
had come to P e z a in person, although he w a s late, a n d
had accepted the platform, etc., etc.
Since they could not d e n y these facts, the r e p r e sentatives o f the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r p l a y e d another c a r d :
«Yes, yes, we k n o w a l l this,» t h e y said, «but y o u
w e n t to the Conference as a P a r t y , w h i l e we n a t i o n a l ists w e r e i n v i t e d as i n d i v i d u a l s . We d i d not take p a r t
in it as an organization, therefore we do not recognize
either the Conference of P e z a or the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation F r o n t ! »
«We w o u l d not have f a i l e d to i n v i t e y o u as an
organization,» we told them, «but h o w c o u l d we i n v i t e
y o u w h e n y o u r organization d i d not exist at the time
w h e n the Conference of P e z a was held?!»
« H o w can y o u say the B a l l i d i d not exist? W e
were alive!» objected one of the representatives of the
pseudo-patriots.
«We k n e w that y o u were alive, that's w h y w e
i n v i t e d you,» was our reply. « B u t we c o u l d not read
the cups to foretell the existence of an organization of
w h i c h there was no l i v i n g sign, not e v e n w i t h a leaflet
or proclamation, let alone w i t h rifles, and indeed none
of y o u e v e n mentioned it!»
B u t the delegates o f the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e r e
deaf in that ear. T h e n , the representatives of the F r o n t
said to t h e m :
« Y o u r objections are baseless a n d u t t e r l y f o r m a l .
In our o p i n i o n it is of no importance w h e t h e r or not
y o u were at Peza. T h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g is that we agree
to fight together against the same enemy. A r e y o u f o r
the w a r ? »
244
«We are!» «agreed» the representatives of the
Balli Kombëtar.
«Then, w h a t is stopping y o u ? We are presenting to
y o u a concrete p l a t f o r m of struggle and u n i t y w h i c h
thousands a n d thousands of people a l l over the c o u n t r y
have embraced months ago, so let us discuss the matter
on this basis. We say to y o u : j o i n the F r o n t and take
part in the war.»
«The N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t y o u are t a l k i n g
about is y o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y itself camouflaged w i t h
the name F r o n t . By t e l l i n g us to j o i n the Front, w i l l y n i l l y y o u are asking us to take part in y o u r P a r t y ! »
«No, even if y o u beg us we w o u l d neither ask this
of y o u n o r ever p e r m i t it,» we said. « Y o u are t r y i n g
in v a i n to confuse things w h i c h are clear as the light
of d a y : the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y is a political p a r t y the
doors of w h i c h are open o n l y to those w h o embrace
a definite ideology — the communist ideology, to those
who accept and a p p l y g i v e n norms and p r i n c i p l e s
w h i c h are e x t r e m e l y scientific and rigorous. Y o u c a n not do this and no one is asking y o u to do.
« W h i l e the Front, gentlemen,» we continued, «is
a broad organization of the masses, the doors of w h i c h
are opened to a l l genuine patriots, to a l l anti-fascist
trends and organizations w h i c h are ready to take part
in the a r m e d struggle against the occupier. T h e m a i n
thing n o w is that we should a l l unite to w i n freedom.
This m i l i t a n t u n i o n is the Front.»
«Even if this w e r e so we could not j o i n it, because
the F r o n t fights w i t h the p r o g r a m and slogans of the
Communist P a r t y ! » the representatives of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r t r i e d to f i n d a w a y out.
245
« B u t w h a t are our concrete p r o g r a m and slogans?»
w e asked them, and c o n t i n u e d : «The v e r y t h i n g that
o u r N a t i o n a l A n t h e m says: ' A r o u n d the f l a g u n i t e d /
w i t h one desire / for one a i m . ' W a r against the occupier
f o r the l i b e r a t i o n of the c o u n t r y ! Go ahead and present
some more m i l i t a n t p r o g r a m o r slogan w h i c h w i l l serve
the aims of the H o m e l a n d and the people better and
we s h a l l accept them.»
T h e representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e r e
nonplussed by our suggestion a n d looked at one another
in doubt u n t i l one of them, as the most senior, in a
quiet tone of the m a n of w i s d o m , began to «teach» us
t h e i r «great» «refined» policy. In essence the «lesson»
was t h i s :
«We recognize the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y as a p a r t y
w h i c h does not l i k e fascism, and we, the B a l l i , do not
l i k e i t either. B u t w e d i f f e r over the w a y i n w h i c h w e
should fight it. Y o u communists are hasty, y o u are
f a n n i n g up feuds, y o u are i n f u r i a t i n g the Italians w h o
are v e r y strong and this f u r y i s f a l l i n g a n d w i l l c o n t i n u e to f a l l on the people, on the y o u t h . We m u s t
safeguard these forces because we need t h e m for the
f u t u r e ; after all, it's a p i t y to shed a l l this blood,» s a i d
the representative of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and c o n c l u d e d : «The B a l l i is for w a i t i n g u n t i l the t i m e comes,
hence hasty actions should not be undertaken.»
«What t i m e have y o u i n m i n d ? » w e asked t h e m .
« W h e n fascism has been b a d l y k n o c k e d about and
has one foot in the grave. T h e n , we should rise, give
it a shove and w i n freedom w i t h o u t m u c h bloodshed!»
replied the representative of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
«A strange strategy!» we said. « B u t there is one
246
thing we don't u n d e r s t a n d : if we have to sit idle, if
all the enslaved peoples are going to sit idle, t h e n w h o
w i l l k n o c k fascism about and prepare it for us to give
it the f i n a l shove?»
O u r question left the representatives of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r i n stony silence. T h e y m u r m u r e d something
between themselves and t h e n s u d d e n l y one of t h e m
raised his v o i c e :
«It's impossible to t a l k w i t h y o u . Y o u are just
t r y i n g to t r a p us w i t h words. That's y o u r aim!»
«No, our a i m is to appeal to y o u and to convince
you, since y o u r c l a i m that y o u are a nationalist o r g a n ization and do not l i k e fascism, to unite in the w a r
against fascism. A p a r t f r o m this line, apart f r o m this
logic, we recognize no other line or logic. Therefore
think it over and decide. T h e doors Of the F r o n t are
open to y o u . It is a w a i t i n g you, but there is a l i m i t
to the waiting.»
«No, no,» the B a l l i s t s insisted, «we accept o n l y
the existence of y o u r P a r t y and agree to talk as p a r t y
to p a r t y about w h a t we s h o u l d do.»
«As to w h a t we should do, the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
decided this at the t i m e it was f o r m e d : w a r against
the occupier! No one permits us to r e t u r n to that
phase w h i c h has long been over. E v e n if we w a n t e d
this, the w h e e l of h i s t o r y cannot be t u r n e d back.
Therefore, if y o u are t r u l y for w h a t y o u say there is
only one w a y : either y o u must j o i n that m i l i t a n t
unity w h i c h has long been created, or it is no use our
talking.»
In essence that is h o w the first meeting of the
representatives of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l
247
C o u n c i l and the representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ,
a meeting w h i c h was organized on the i n i t i a t i v e of the
C P A i n T i r a n a i n J a n u a r y 1943, began and ended.
We had foreseen and expected this stand of theirs;
they came to the meeting w i t h the a i m of d r a w i n g us
into an endless series of talks and «discussions» in
w h i c h we w o u l d beat the a i r and, m e a n w h i l e , t h e y
w o u l d act w i t h c u n n i n g and demagogy to disintegrate
the ranks of the Front, to u n d e r m i n e the a u t h o r i t y
w h i c h the P a r t y had gained among the masses and,
consequently, to q u e l l the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
w h i c h we w e r e stepping up f r o m day to day. T h a t is
what fascism had demanded of this c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y grouping, therefore, in the i n i t i a l phase the a i m
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was to neutralize our a c t i v i t y
and to «gently» displace the P a r t y f r o m its correct
line and the role w h i c h it h a d gained. T h i s w o u l d have
been a great v i c t o r y and gift for J a c o m o n i a n d M e r l i k a , and at the same time, a v i c t o r y for the t r a i t o r
chiefs o f the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r : t h e y w o u l d have e l i m i n ated f r o m the scene the greatest obstacle and s w o r n
enemy of their aims and v i t a l interests.
O b v i o u s l y , however, these w e r e the aims and
calculations of the occupier and reaction, w h i c h we
had long foreseen and w h i c h w e opposed and w o u l d
continue to oppose w i t h a l l our m i g h t w i t h o u t m a k i n g
the slightest concession in o u r p r o g r a m and stand.
Someone m a y ask: w h e n matters stood l i k e this,
that is, w h e n the P a r t y understood c l e a r l y from the
outset w h a t the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r represented a n d for
w h a t sinister aims it was created, w h y was it necessary
t o talk w i t h its representatives? W h y d i d the P a r t y and
248
the partisan forces not oppose this organization of the
occupiers w i t h stern measures right f r o m the s t a r t ? !
Of course, at first sight it m i g h t seem s i m p l e r
and easier to have declared the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r en
bloc an e n e m y organization and t u r n the r i f l e against
it f r o m the start. B u t these matters m u s t not be judged
f r o m those v i l e deeds of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w h i c h the
people saw and learned about in the s u m m e r or w i n t e r
of 1943-1944, or f r o m w h a t e v e r y b o d y k n o w s about
now. These matters m u s t be judged f r o m the c o n crete situations of the a u t u m n of 1942 and the b e g i n n i n g of 1943. These w e r e the f i r s t months w h e n the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r h a d just emerged o n the scene and, a l though i n r e a l i t y i t was w i n t e r , for the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
these months w e r e the first and last s p r i n g in w h i c h it
«flowered».
A l t h o u g h the backbone of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
was comprised m a i n l y of the elements of the r e a c t i o n ary bourgeoisie l i n k e d w i t h the occupier, as w e l l as
the a n t i - p o p u l a r feudal lords and intellectuals it m u s t
not be forgotten that both through their reputation
f r o m the past and by means of manoeuvres, m o n e y
and t r i c k e r y , t h e y managed to m i s l e a d and line up in
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r a n u m b e r of people f r o m the backw a r d strata and other confused elements. O u r P a r t y
had taken this r e a l i t y into account and could not u n derrate it. On the other hand, in order to m a k e up for
the t i m e it had lost, the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r set to w o r k
«vigorously»: it set up çeta and «councils», organized
«regional committees», brought out a newspaper and
leaflets allegedly illegally, but, in fact, w i t h the k n o w ledge and a p p r o v a l of the quislings and occupiers. In
249
o r d e r t o give their organization, stuffed w i t h a l l k i n d s
of traitors and pseudo-patriots, a certain r e v o l u t i o n a r y » flavour, it was arranged that the «communists»
of « Z j a r r i » (Fire) [1] l i k e H y s e n Lepenica and company,
w o u l d set up t h e i r camp beds along w i t h the o r d i n a r y
c r i m i n a l s and thieves, in this l a i r of bandits w i t h felt
hats and bow-ties!
Moreover, before l o n g the leaders of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r began to m a k e the absurd assertion that
t h e y had f o r m e d their organization before the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t w a s set up and, as a result of a l l
these things, illusions and opinions w e r e created among
certain i l l - i n f o r m e d strata that allegedly there were,
not one, but two anti-fascist nationalist organizations.
H a d w e i m m e d i a t e l y declared open w a r o n the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r this w o u l d have meant leading the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r on a course e x t r e m e l y d a n g erous to its outcome: we w o u l d have been faced w i t h
a new, open e n e m y at a t i m e w h e n o u r p r o c l a i m e d
enemy was the foreign occupier. E v e n worse, a r e a l
f r a t r i c i d a l w a r w o u l d have f l a r e d u p f i e r c e l y and this
is precisely w h a t the occupier d r e a m e d of a n d d i d its
utmost to k i n d l e amongst our people.
These and other reasons compelled us to define
and pursue a most correct and cautious line possible
towards this g r o u p i n g of reaction. If we w e r e to save
the m i s l e d and neutralize some of the other elements
_______________________________________
1 Trotskyite group f o r m e d in Greece in 1936 w h i c h c a r r i e d
out
a
pronounced
hostile
activity
against
the
Communist
Groups a n d the C P A i n A l b a n i a . I t was definitively smashed
in the beginning of 1943.
250
and also strengthen and consolidate the Front, the
councils a n d the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , this w o u l d
depend g r e a t l y on this line.
We gave a l l the organizations of the P a r t y correct
instructions on these matters, stressing that t h e y must
pursue prudent and f l e x i b l e tactics in the d i r e c t i o n of
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w i t h o u t p e r m i t t i n g a n y s p l i p p i n g
into o p p o r t u n i s m or into sectarianism, the latter being
the more l i k e l y danger at those moments.
It is w e l l - k n o w n that the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w a s
created at a t i m e w h e n the prestige of the C P A a n d
the F r o n t had been enhanced, w h e n the partisan çeta
and units h a d been extended and their n u m b e r was
increasing continuously, w h e n the people w e r e seeing
and becoming more and m o r e convinced each day w i t h
facts that t h e y w e r e the o n l y real forces in the w a r
against the occupier. T h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l position of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t had been strengthened
also, especially after December 1942 w h e n the foreign
ministers of the three G r e a t P o w e r s of the anti-fascist
coalition, the Soviet U n i o n , the U S A and G r e a t B r i t a i n ,
recognized the w a r of the A l b a n i a n people and the
post-war independence o f A l b a n i a i n p u b l i c d e c l a r a tions. T h a t was a b l o w to reaction w i t h i n the c o u n t r y
w h i c h screamed that allegedly the A x i s P o w e r s w o u l d
guarantee the f r e e d o m and sovereignty of A l b a n i a ,
w h i l e the heads of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r were not pleased
about this recognition because the a u t h o r i t y of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t was increased.
In a talk w i t h one of the m a i n comrades of the
P a r t y R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e of G j i r o k a s t r a (if I am not
m i s t a k e n w h e n he came to L a b i n o t to take part in the
251
meetings w h i c h we organized on the eve of the 1st
N a t i o n a l Conference of the C P A ) , [1] in speaking about
our attitude to the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r he s a i d :
«We do not waste m u c h time w i t h the B a l l i s t s .
E i t h e r w i t h us, or no s h i l l y - s h a l l y . T h i s divides us
f r o m them,» and slapped the b a r r e l of his r i f l e .
« I don't k n o w what y o u have i n m i n d w i t h t h a t
'shilly-shally',» I said, «but our line is t h i s : we m u s t
m a k e every effort to d r a w the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r effecti v e l y into the f i g h t against the occupier w i t h o u t at
a n y time f a l l i n g for their 'tactic' of endless, m e a n i n g less, fruitless talk. A s for the r i f l e , w e w i l l a i m i t a t
t h e m o n l y if they come out openly on the side of t h e
occupier against us.»
« W h y , d o y o u t h i n k A l i K ë l c y r a can b e b r o u g h t
r o u n d w i t h talks?» persisted the comrade. «There is no
end to his words, l i k e his estates.»
«If it w e r e o n l y a matter of A l i K ë l c y r a or t e n
others l i k e him,» I said, «I believe there'd be no need
even for talks. H o w e v e r , w e have i n m i n d those m i s l e d
elements w h i c h he and his associates have deceived
and w o n over. We must w i n these elements, this base,
a w a y f r o m t h e m and they cannot b e w o n either w i t h
e m p t y words a n d appeals or by t r a i n i n g o u r r i f l e s on
them. Then,» I continued, «we m u s t not forget t h a t
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r presents itself t h r o u g h a democratic
p r o g r a m as a nationalist organization, and u n l i k e t h e
quislings, it has not come out against the w a r for t h e
____________________________________
1 H e l d on 17-22 M a r c h 1943 to examine the question of
the
preparation
of
the
general
people's
uprising
and
organization o f the A l b a n i a n N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y .
252
the
l i b e r a t i o n o f the H o m e l a n d . W e k n o w v e r y w e l l w h y
A l i K ë l c y r a and c o m p a n y present themselves i n this
way, b u t it s h o u l d not be thought that everybody,
especially certain strata of the people, see matters as
clearly as we do. A w r o n g sectarian and extremist
stand towards the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r n o w w o u l d do us
great harm.»
«Advanced», or more precisely, hasty opinions
i n connection w i t h this p r o b l e m had been manifested
at those moments in the organization of the region
of K o r ç a , too. Of course, the comrades of K o r ç a w h e r e
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r had a r e l a t i v e l y great influence,
were t h o r o u g h l y fed up w i t h the activities of the
spokesmen of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and the bands of
c r i m i n a l brigands of Safet B u t k a and company w h o
engaged i n propaganda against the P a r t y and the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and t r i e d to sabotage the w a r
a n d our w o r k in that region. T h e anger of the c o m rades was understandable. B u t here we had to do
w i t h a delicate p o l i t i c a l question, and in such matters
anger and r e v u l s i o n , w h i c h on m a n y occasions are
bad counsellors, m u s t give w a y to correct analysis of
the situation, clear perspectives and f l e x i b l e tactics.
So, the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e could not give its a p p r o v a l
for attacks on the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , because s u c h an
action w o u l d have had negative repercussions for our
war, and instead we sent a letter (1) to the leaders of
_____________________________________
1 This
letter w h i c h
organizations
in
the
Selected Works, v o l . 1,
1974, p. 77, E n g . ed.
at
regions
«8
that
t i m e was
sent
is
published
in
Nëntori
253
Publishing
to a l l
party
Enver
Hoxha,
House»,
Tirana
the P a r t y i n K o r ç a i n w h i c h w e d r e w t h e i r a t t e n t i o n
to and explained the line towards the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
O u r position w o u l d be t h i s : k n o w i n g the strategy
and tactics of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , our d u t y w a s to oppose t h e m w i t h our correct and far-sighted strategy
and tactics. These w o u l d u n m a s k and w e a k e n the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r , it w o u l d undergo a process of erosion a n d
at a t i m e w h e n our f i g h t was stepped up the leaders
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w o u l d be openly recognized as
collaborationists, the ranks of their organization w o u l d
t h i n out a n d disintegrate, hence, its basis of honest
but misled elements w o u l d abandon it, just as t h e y
did. L i k e w i s e , the comrades i n the districts w e r e i n structed that the w o r k of the P a r t y a n d the F r o n t m u s t
be f u r t h e r intensified and meetings a n d conferences
should be organized w i t h the people, the intellectuals
and others in order to ceaselessly p u b l i c i z e a n d m a k e
clearer the line of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a
and the p r o g r a m of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t .
Thus, by p u r s u i n g a correct strategy and wise a n d
f l e x i b l e tactics towards the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e h a d
the i n i t i a t i v e in our hands r i g h t f r o m the start and
step by step forced the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
to come out more and more in t h e i r t r u e colours. A f t e r
their categorical refusal t o j o i n the F r o n t i n the w a r
against the occupier we sent t h e m a f u r t h e r proposal,
«more advantageous» for t h e m :
«Let us set up an i n i t i a t o r y commission w i t h d e legates of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and
hold a big conference at w h i c h y o u can express y o u r
254
ideas about the organization of the w a r and we can
express ours.»
«No,» t h e y replied, «because there y o u w i l l be in
the majority.»
«The m a j o r i t y or the m i n o r i t y cannot determine
who is r i g h t a n d w h o is wrong,» we said to t h e m .
«However, since y o u are a f r a i d of a conference between ourselves, let us go to the people. L e t us come
before the people, each express his o w n v i e w s a n d let
the people judge us!»
T o o u r surprise, either f r o m b l i n d f a i t h i n their
o w n strength a n d influence among the masses or because t h e y j u d g e d the masses w i t h their o w n yardstick,
at first t h e y accepted this proposal of ours. Indeed,
some meetings a n d assemblies of this type w e r e o r ganized. T h e r e the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r p a r a d e d
p r o u d l y before the people w i t h endless r e a d y - p r e p a r e d
panegyrics, f u l l of great oaths, tears a n d sighs, but
i n the end, w e n t a w a y w i t h their tails between t h e i r
legs. A l t h o u g h t h e y h a d l i t t l e schooling i n oratory, our
comrades, communists a n d cadres, stood up before
the people a n d w i t h the simple b u t f i e r y w o r d s of
the P a r t y , t a l k i n g about the w a r for f r e e d o m a n d love
for the H o m e l a n d , gave the people heart so that there
and t h e n t h e y d e r i d e d a n d d i d short w o r k of the demagogues a n d traitors. Immediately, on order f r o m the
«centre» the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r gave up this « f o r m of
w o r k » a n d decided to «explain» matters to the people
on its o w n , w i t h o u t «opposition»!
A n e w phase began in the «development» of the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , the phase of slanders a n d accusations
against the Front, against the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n c o u n 255
c i l s and the line of o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . B u t it was
already doomed. T h e people d i d not w a n t pledges and
«expressions of concern» but w a n t e d concrete o r g a n i z ation and extension of the a r m e d struggle against
the occupiers and, of course, expressed themselves in
f a v o u r of the line of the P a r t y a n d the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front. Moreover, at these «meetings of its o w n
w i t h the masses» the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was o p e n l y d i s p l a y i n g its features not o n l y as a t r a i t o r organization,
but also as a gang of o r d i n a r y thieves w h o stole e v e r y t h i n g f r o m chickens to women's dresses. T h e process
of exposure and self-exposure n o w began to assume
broader proportions. N o t o n l y the people but the m i s l e d
elements w h o had joined this nest of rogues by m i s take began to f a l l off f r o m the chiefs a n d the c r i m i n a l
thieves. M e a n w h i l e , w i t h a l l our means a n d forms o f
propaganda, w i t h leaflets, appeals, at meetings w i t h
the people, in the press, etc., s t i l l w i t h o u t a t t a c k i n g
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r b y name, w e defended a n d d i s seminated the correct line of the P a r t y about the war,
replied to the accusations a n d slanders of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r as t h e y deserved, a n d above a l l , exposed its
demagogic slogans of wait-and-see.
O u r best propaganda, however, was p r o v i d e d by
the partisan units, çeta and battalions w h i c h w e r e m a k ing l i f e h e l l for the enemy, a n d the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n
councils in the liberated zones in the activities of
w h i c h the people w e r e seeing the b i r t h of the n e w
state power, their o w n state power. T h i s propaganda
was v e r y effective a n d the broad masses of the people
were c o m i n g closer and closer each d a y to the war, the
F r o n t and the P a r t y . F o r us this had colossal importance.
256
E s p e c i a l l y after the 1st N a t i o n a l Conference of
the C P A i n M a r c h 1943, the need arose f o r more i n tensive w o r k to speed up the deepening of the d i f ferentiation w i t h i n the ranks of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
The m a i n t h i n g w h i c h dictated to us the intensification
of our w o r k in regard to this organization w a s the
orientation of the Conference to f u r t h e r strengthen
and consolidate the u n i t y of the people, the councils
and the a r m e d partisan detachments n o w that we
were on the verge of the general a r m e d u p r i s i n g . As
was decided at the Conference and the C e n t r a l C o m mittee instructed, i n the w o r k w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
the stress was placed especially on those o r d i n a r y f o l k
who had no l i n k s w i t h the treacherous a c t i v i t y of the
chiefs except the h e r e d i t a r y influence of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r chiefs and their o w n p o l i t i c a l u n c l a r i t y . I n
these efforts a l l our means, propaganda, direct talks
and relations w i t h those people and patient w o r k to
convince t h e m w o u l d be used. L i k e w i s e , it was decided
that f u r t h e r efforts w o u l d be made t h r o u g h talks w i t h
the leadership of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
As the leadership of the P a r t y c o n t i n u a l l y pointed
out, the basis of these talks, as always, w o u l d be the
uncompromising w a r against the occupier and the
traitors and acceptance of the p l a t f o r m of the N a t i o n a l
Liberation F r o n t . By means of these talks, w h i c h we
were becoming more and more convinced each d a y
were the f i n a l ones, we a i m e d to f a n up even f u r t h e r
the contradictions w h i c h existed w i t h i n this organization right up to its leadership and, on the other hand,
to deepen the process of the exposure of the B a l l i
Kombëtar among the people so that it w o u l d lose even
257
w h a t little credit it m i g h t s t i l l have among them.
As we had decided in the B u r e a u , I, personally,
had t w o or three meetings w i t h the representatives
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r at this time. One such meeting,
as far as I remember, was h e l d in the home of B a h r i
O m a r i i n T i r a n a . I had Y m e r D i s h n i c a and M u s t a f a
G j i n i s h i w i t h me, w h i l e B a h r i O m a r i and K o l ë T r o m a ra represented the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . It w a s almost n i g h t
w h e n we a r r i v e d at B a h r i ' s house. We w e n t inside a n d
f o u n d the two of t h e m w a i t i n g for us. We greeted t h e m
and took our seats.
«Go ahead and t e l l us what y o u have to say,»
B a h r i said to me.
« A i l right,» I replied, lit a cigarette and began
to speak. First, I outlined to the representatives of
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r our v i e w s about the development
of the situation in our country, the successes w h i c h
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t h a d achieved, and
the grave economic, p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y crisis w h i c h
the fascist coalition was experiencing not o n l y in o u r
country but also in the w o r l d .
«As y o u see,» I pointed out among other things,
«the development of the situation shows that we and
not y o u are right. C o n t r a r y to w h a t y o u have said in
o u r earlier talks, not o n l y has our w a r developed, and
the people are t a k i n g part in it more and more each day,
but this w a r has placed the occupier in great d i f f i c u l ties and is d r i v i n g it to defeat. T h e people listened to
us, and this was not because they l i k e d the look of us,
but because our p r o g r a m responded to t h e i r interests
and the patriotic spirit w h i c h has never been e x t i n g u i shed in the hearts of a l l honest A l b a n i a n s .
258
«The Juggernaut of fascism,» I continued, «is
heading f o r disaster and there is no force in the w o r l d
w h i c h can save it f r o m f i n a l destruction. H i t l e r ' s r i b s
are c r a c k i n g under the blows he is r e c e i v i n g f r o m
Stalin's army, w h i l e the foundations of the Duce's
empire are collapsing. Hence the day is not f a r off
w h e n the people w i l l t r i u m p h and t h e n they w i l l judge
w h o have been true patriots and w h o traitors a n d
cowards.»
I w e n t on to t a l k about the prospects of the d e v elopment of o u r war, and pointed out that at those
moments, p a s s i v i t y a n d s p l i t t i n g the people w e r e
equivalent to treason. In conclusion, in the name of
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , I appealed
to t h e m once again to abandon the course or w h i c h
they had set out and unite w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
F r o n t in the w a r to d r i v e the enemy f r o m the s o i l of
the H o m e l a n d .
«This w i l l never occur,» objected K o l ë T r o m a r a
immediately. «We have t o l d y o u w e w i l l not j o i n t h e
Front.»
« V e r y w e l l , then, don't j o i n the Front,» I r e p l i e d
coolly. «Instead let us cooperate in the war, y o u as
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r a n d w e a s the F r o n t . B u t w e d e m a n d f i g h t i n g and not words, and w i l l a l l o w no one to
put a spoke in the w h e e l of our w a r . »
B a h r i O m a r i spoke up, «We are not against cooperation. B u t do y o u come here as representatives of
the F r o n t or the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y ? ! » he asked.
«We are delegates of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n eral C o u n c i l , that is, representatives of the Front,» I
replied.
259
« N o ! We have t o l d y o u that we do not agree to
t a l k to y o u on this basis!» he replied. «We have l a i d
d o w n the c o n d i t i o n : w e talk o n l y w i t h the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y as p a r t y to party.»
«But y o u are not a party,» said Y m e r D i s h n i c a .
«Then w h a t are we?» objected both B a h r i and
K o l ë immediately, feeling insulted.
«As far as we can see the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r is an
organization w i t h nationalists of various p o l i t i c a l t e n dencies,» I told them. « A c c o r d i n g to o u r concept, a p a r t y
has a u n i f i e d political and ideological p l a t f o r m a n d an
immediate and long-term program. The F r o n t is not and
cannot be a party, but is an organization in w h i c h
the whole people take part. There are communists in
it, but there are also nationalist elements w h o m a y
have different opinions f r o m us on m a n y issues.»
«That's a l l v e r y w e l l , but the w h o l e w o r l d k n o w s
that the communists lead the Front.»
«We have never concealed this and have declared
it openly to you,» I told them. « A r e y o u so f r i g h t e n e d
o f the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y ? U p t i l l yesterday, y o u described us as c h i l d r e n w h o m no one w o u l d follow, w h i l e
n o w y o u are so t e r r i f i e d that the P a r t y is at the head
of the Front. Moreover,» I continued, «neither t o d a y
nor at any other time have we called on y o u to f i g h t
for communism, but for the freedom of A l b a n i a . »
«We are f i g h t i n g for A l b a n i a . We have our çeta
everywhere,» said B a h r i . « B u t we also k n o w h o w to
conduct politics and to conduct politics means 'seven
feints and one bold deed'.»
We must give the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
their due: for feints and t r i c k e r y they beat the band.
260
B u t as for bravery, w h a t little t h e y had they e m p l o y e d
against the A l b a n i a n people. That is h o w this t a l k
continued: we made proposals, t h e y dodged them, u n t i l late into the night, w i t h o u t a c h i e v i n g a n y result.
I n one o f m y last meetings w i t h B a h r i O m a r i ,
after a bitter argument, I said to h i m a n g r i l y (because
I f o u n d it h a r d to keep my temper w i t h such i n d i viduals) :
«The people can never f o l l o w the traitors and
their course of betrayal, t h e y are going to f i g h t against
the occupiers and the traitors and w i l l w i n ! »
B a h r i O m a r i understood that I was m a k i n g a
direct attack o n h i m a n d r e p l i e d :
«We s h a l l see w h o are the traitors, y o u or we.»
«Yes, we s h a l l see,» I t o l d h i m , «but I w a n t to
make it absolutely clear that those w h o h i n d e r the
people's w a r a n d collaborate w i t h the enemy are t r a i tors.»
«Please, Enver,» said B a h r i , «I don't want to t a l k
politics w i t h y o u a n y more. It is clear that we are
opponents.»
«That is so,» I replied, «but I w a n t to save y o u
f r o m a course w h i c h is a terrible disaster. I am s o r r y
for you, but I tell y o u openly, I am even sorrier for
my sister and y o u r t w o sons.»
P o o r F a h r i j e h a d dropped her head and was w e e p ing. It was a tragic w a r : her husband on one side, her
brother on the other. N e i t h e r gave w a y to the other.
Fahrije was one of my dearest sisters, an intelligent
woman and k i n d l y to a l l . I loved her v e r y m u c h a n d
I was s o r r y f o r her.
261
One evening w h e n I w e n t there B a h r i was not at
home and F a h r i j e asked m e :
«Oh, Enver, t e l l me h o w is a l l this going to e n d
up?»
«We m u s t save B a h r i f r o m this course,» I t o l d
her, «because it is the course of b e t r a y a l . T h e r e is
o n l y one remedy, either w i t h the people a n d t h e i r w a r
against the occupiers, or w i t h the latter.»
« B u t w h a t ought I to do?» she asked me. «I t e l l
h i m constantly: ' H a v e nothing t o d o w i t h A l i K ë l c y r a ,
he is a bey. G i v e up y o u r job in the state a n d we s h a l l
manage somehow, l i k e e v e r y b o d y else.' B u t y o u k n o w
he is so stubborn.»
«Whether or not y o u r h u s b a n d is stubborn, that
makes no difference. T o d a y the o n l y i m p o r t a n t t h i n g
is the life and freedom or the people w h o m we m u s t
save. I am g i v i n g h i m every chance and I s h a l l go
on struggling as h a r d as I can to t r y to save B a h r i ,
but I w a r n you, sister, if he continues on this course
we s h a l l settle matters w i t h the rifle.»
T h r o u g h her tears my sister said to m e :
«Enver, L u a n can j o i n y o u in the war, but I can't
persuade B a h r i . » A n d i n fact B a h r i was not p e r suaded either by his w i f e or by me, and w e n t e v e n
f u r t h e r b y t a k i n g part i n the q u i s l i n g government
d u r i n g the G e r m a n occupation. H o w e v e r , L u a n had
l i n k e d himself w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r f r o m
the beginning and w o r k e d a c t i v e l y in the organization
o f C o m m u n i s t Y o u t h , together w i t h G j i k ë K u q a l i and
others. W h e n I was in their home, t h r o u g h L u a n I sent
and received letters f r o m the comrades; he became a
partisan and later became a p a r t y m e m b e r and a cadre
262
w i t h a good f o r m a t i o n . D u r i n g the War, Fatos was a
little boy, but later he went to school and n o w he
works as an engineer.
A t the same p e r i o d w e also h a d two meetings w i t h
representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , one in the home
o f N e x h a t Peshkëpia, a t w h i c h B a h r i O m a r i and H a l i m
Begeja w e r e present, and the other in the home of
M u h a r r e m V l l a m a s i i n w h i c h , besides B a h r i and K o l ë
Tromara, S h e h K a r b u n a r a took part as the «intermediary». As the s l y f o x he was, he t r i e d to keep the
balance, m a i n t a i n e d contacts w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ,
but also kept his bridges intact w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b eration M o v e m e n t .
In the past I had been in N e x h a t Peshkëpia's
home on m a n y occasions because we had f a m i l y c o n nections: N e x h a t ' s w i f e was a niece of the H o x h a t s
of G j i r o k a s t r a . Therefore I was often in N e x h a t ' s
home, w h i c h we considered as our o w n home, f o r
l u n c h or for d i n n e r a n d on these occasions we h a d
vigorous p o l i t i c a l discussions. T h e r e w e r e not m a n y
points on w h i c h I had p o l i t i c a l differences w i t h N e x h a t
or his brother M a n u s h , w h o had pretensions as a
writer, as a poet, and was f r i e n d l y w i t h Shevqet M u saraj. At the t i m e w h e n I was u n e m p l o y e d and had no
income, N e x h a t occasionally lent me a little money,
u n t i l I was appointed teacher. Fero, the w i f e of N e x h a t
and our niece, was a good w o m a n l i n k e d w i t h the people.
M o r e o v e r at that t i m e N e x h a t himself claimed to be
an anti-Zogite a n d anti-fascist, indeed he posed as a
«leftist» and his v i e w s w e r e somewhat anarchist. W h e n
I joined the partisans in the mountains I made several appeals to h i m to unite w i t h the Movement, but,
263
l i k e B a h r i , he was not convinced and became a B a l list. On the eve of the l i b e r a t i o n of the c o u n t r y N e x h a t
Peshkëpia, together w i t h other traitors, f l e d to the
U n i t e d States of A m e r i c a w h e r e he fought us savagely
u n t i l he died.
These last two meetings w h i c h we organized w i t h
the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r in T i r a n a began and
ended l i k e the previous ones, w i t h the same t r i c k e r y
on their part and the same s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d and u n y i e l d i n g stand on our part. T h i s time, however, in c o n c l u sion we pointed out:
«Overlooking the bitter past we again h e l d out
our hand to save you, but once again y o u do not w a n t
to follow the course that s h o u l d be f o l l o w e d . V e r y
w e l l then, time is p r o v i n g w h o is right. B u t there is
one t h i n g y o u m u s t bear i n m i n d : i f y o u don't w i s h
to f i g h t against the occupier at least don't p l a y the
occupier's game, don't t r y to oppose our war, the w a r
of the A l b a n i a n people against fascism and its collaborators. Y o u must put an immediate stop to y o u r c a m paign of slanders and attacks against the F r o n t a n d
the national liberation councils and the t h i e v i n g and
looting w h i c h y o u r m e n are doing i n the villages. Y o u
can take this as advice or as a w a r n i n g , w h i c h e v e r
y o u like. We are v e r y clear about h o w m u c h can be
endured and tolerated.»
A f e w days after these meetings w h i c h w e r e h e l d
in T i r a n a in the first half of M a y 1943, I set out u r gently for V l o r a to attack and f i n a l l y clean up the
dangerous a n t i - P a r t y faction w h i c h S a d i k P r e m t e ( 1 ) had
___________________________________
1 Enver H o x h a , Selected Works, vol.
1, «8 Nëntori» P u b l i -
shing House, T i r a n a 1974, pp. 125-129, E n g . ed.
264
hatched up there. D u r i n g the days that I was in t h e
highlands o f V l o r a and i n M a l l a k a s t r a , t h r o u g h H y s n i
K a p o I took the o p p o r t u n i t y to have a m e e t i n g w i t h
Tahir H o x h a (one of the heads of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
in Vlora) a n d H y s n i Lepenica, an officer and a m e m b e r
of the « Z j a r r i » G r o u p w h o w i t h a «çeta» of ten to f i f t e e n
men had attached h i m s e l f to the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r as an
«attack force». The purpose of this m e e t i n g was t h e
same as that f r o m w h i c h we proceeded in the analogous
cases w h i c h I m e n t i o n e d above: to m a k e one more appeal to the m a i n elements of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w h o
were operating in the districts to come to their senses
and d e f i n i t e l y decide w h e t h e r t h e y were going to set
out on the course of the w a r and true p a t r i o t i s m or
going to s i n k f u r t h e r into the m i r e of b e t r a y a l a n d
collaboration w i t h the enemies.
As I have described in detail in the book When the
Party Was Born, (1) however, this meeting too, w h i c h was
held i n the home o f G a n i A l i k o i n the v i l l a g e o f S h k o za, began and ended w i t h o u t any result.
B o t h T a h i r H o x h a and H y s n i L e p e n i c a t r i e d t o
sidestep the appeal and strong and unshakeable a r g u ments w h i c h H y s n i K a p o and I presented about the
necessity of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r j o i n i n g in the war, by
harping on the same old r e f r a i n as the other leaders
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r : «The w a r can't be fought t h e
way y o u are doing», «you can't fight a w a r w i t h boys»,
«we must safeguard our forces to be ready to s t r i k e
the occupier the f i n a l blow», «the situation is not ripe»,
etc., etc.
________________________________
1
Enver
Hoxha,
When
the
T i r a n a 1983, p. 429, 3rd A l b . ed.
265
Party
Was
Born
(Memoirs),
A f t e r several hours of argument d u r i n g w h i c h
T a h i r H o x h a tried to c a l m things down, it was quite
p l a i n that the B a l l i chiefs of the district were going
to continue the line of the chiefs in the centre. T h e r e fore, in conclusion I said to t h e m :
«The w a r i s raging, T a h i r H o x h a , and y o u k n o w
this v e r y w e l l , but y o u don't w a n t to a d m i t i t ! T h i s
w a r is organized and led by the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of
A l b a n i a , b y the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l
w h i c h represents the people and this is precisely w h y
t h e end of the Italian occupiers is near. Y o u k n o w
this, too, although y o u don't want to a d m i t it. We c a l l
on y o u to t h r o w yourself u n r e s e r v e d l y into the w a r
against the occupiers and traitors w h i l e you've s t i l l
time, because the interests of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r require that we should be united. Y o u are free
to choose y o u r o w n course, but it is our d u t y to t e l l
y o u that if y o u proceed against the interests of the
people, y o u are lost!»
We stood up, and as we were p r e p a r i n g to leave,
H y s n i Lepenica said to us:
«I want to have a talk w i t h y o u on my own.»
W e agreed, parted w i t h T a h i r H o x h a and the three
of us, I, Comrade H y s n i K a p o and H y s n i L e p e n i c a set
off for the home of U n c l e M u r a t in D u s h k a r a k w h e r e
w e began the conversation w i t h H y s n i Lepenica. Since
Lepenica had displayed some w a v e r i n g d u r i n g the
debate w i t h T a h i r H o x h a and because of the fact that
he was f r o m the « Z j a r r i » G r o u p , had some sort of a
çeta and pretended to have f i r e d a f e w shots, we
thought that he was going to break w i t h the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r and unite w i t h the F r o n t and the N a t i o n a l
266
L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t . It seemed to us for a moment
that it was h a r d for h i m to abandon the B a l l i K o m b ë tar in f r o n t of T a h i r H o x h a and that is w h y he sought
this meeting alone w i t h us. H o w e v e r , r i g h t f r o m the
start of the conversation it was quite p l a i n that H y s n i
Lepenica had other aims. He raised t w o matters: first,
the question of the «Zjarri» G r o u p , «of w h i c h I have
been a m e m b e r along w i t h F e t a h B u t k a and others»,
as he said, a n d second, the question of S a d i k P r e m t e .
H y s n i L e p e n i c a was opposed to the treatment of
his a r c h e o - M a r x i s t group and the struggle w h i c h o u r
P a r t y had waged against it, and also «to the w a y y o u
and the V l o r a R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e dealt w i t h the
question of S a d i k Premte».
I gave h i m the answer he deserved on both these
matters, t e l l i n g h i m : «We agree w i t h n o t h i n g of the
things y o u have said, M r . Lepenica. W e reject such
views and w i l l combat them.»
« Y o u are wrong,» H y s n i L e p e n i c a replied. « Y o u
w i l l lose and w i l l be the cause of bloodshed.»
«It is not we that are w r o n g but you,» I t o l d h i m .
«You and not we are b e g i n n i n g the fratricide. We have
begun the w a r against the occupiers and t h e i r c o l laborators and are going to c a r r y it t h r o u g h to the
end. We appeal to y o u once again, M r . Lepenica, to
unite w i t h u s and w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
without hesitation.»
«In that case,» said Lepenica, «our conversation is
over. W e cannot agree w i t h y o u o n any question. Y o u
are threatening me w i t h the rifle.»
«That is not true,» I told h i m . «It depends on
you w h e t h e r we exchange shots, but we are not going
267
to change o u r course. There is no force that can m a k e
us budge f r o m our principles and f r o m the sacred
aims w h i c h the P a r t y has set itself.»
« A n d we s h a l l not change our course either,» s a i d
Lepenica.
So we parted w i t h this arrogant Ballist, pseudonationalist and collaborator w i t h the Italians, w h o w a s
k i l l e d at G ë r h o t of G j i r o k a s t r a by his fascist f r i e n d s ,
immediately after the capitulation of Italy.
F o r me personally these were the last meetings
I had w i t h the traitor elements of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
I parted w i t h them never to see t h e m again.
M e a n w h i l e , w e carried o n the w o r k v i g o r o u s l y i n
a l l the other directions to put into practice the w h o l e
program of the P a r t y and especially to a p p l y the decisions and accomplish the important tasks w h i c h the
1st N a t i o n a l Conference of the C P A set us. A n d the
fact is that the w o r k of the P a r t y progressed, the w a r
was extended, the people were being organized and
armed. The a r m y of the insurgent people was e m e r g ing in the heat of the w a r and already its rifles h a d
been heard in a series of battles in w h i c h the e n e m y
had suffered c r u s h i n g blows.
Other major events lay ahead of us.
3. An historic meeting
(Labinot, 4-10 July 1943)
T h e events w h i c h had occurred since the C o n f e r ence of Peza and the m a j o r tasks w h i c h emerged before
268
us dictated the need for a regular meeting of the leading f o r u m of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, the P r o visional G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , e a r l y in the s u m m e r of 1943.
S u c h a m e e t i n g was essential both to analyse the
work done by the C o u n c i l and each of its i n d i v i d u a l
members and to take a series of decisions w h i c h the
historic m o m e n t f o r c e f u l l y suggested. T h e m a i n one
of these decisions had to do w i t h the proposal of the
CC of the C P A about the formation of the G e n e r a l
Staff and the organization of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
A r m y , a task w h i c h had been put f o r w a r d at P e z a in
September 1942 and for w h i c h the conditions for carr y i n g i t out had n o w f u l l y matured.
W i t h these things in m i n d we decided that the
meeting of the C o u n c i l should be held in the first
days of J u l y and the members of the C o u n c i l should
be i n f o r m e d of this in time. A l t h o u g h this was to be
the first regular meeting of the f u l l C o u n c i l since
September 1942 it must be pointed out that d u r i n g
this t i m e this important organ had not remained idle
and passive. On the contrary, its i n d i v i d u a l members
h a d w o r k e d , had met a n d h e l d discussions according
to the possibilities w h i c h the situation offered. T h e
members of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l or other comrades a l located by it h a d f o l l o w e d the w o r k of the e x i s t i n g
councils in the terrain, had w o r k e d for the setting up
of n e w councils, had g i v e n instructions and brought
out leaflets and appeals addressed to the people. M e a n while, experience was s h o w i n g that a n u m b e r of m e m bers of the P r o v i s i o n a l G e n e r a l C o u n c i l elected at
Peza w e r e not o n l y f a i l i n g to j u s t i f y the trust placed
269
in them, but on the c o n t r a r y were either h i n d e r i n g
or sabotaging the work.
N o w , however, the question that presented itself
was to guide the w o r k w i t h a broader range of v i s i o n
and to p r o v i d e the most effective assistance to the
development of the w a r and the strengthening of t h e
power of the national l i b e r a t i o n councils.
We rejoiced at the fact that, besides workers a n d
peasants, large numbers of intellectuals and o t h e r
honest patriots w e r e entering the ranks of the F r o n t ,
the councils and our partisan units. T h e y were b e c o m ing aware that hatred of and refusal to reconcile t h e m selves to the occupier alone were not sufficient a n d
that the active contribution of each of t h e m was r e quired in the great w a r w h i c h was raging.
Precisely at this phase, in application of t h e
orientation of the 1st N a t i o n a l Conference for t h e
broadest possible participation of the school y o u t h in
the organized partisan war, the mass abandonment of
the secondary schools of the c o u n t r y began. T h e f i r s t
were a h u n d r e d senior students of the N o r m a l S c h o o l
of Elbasan who, in an organized and demonstrative
way, left the school on M a y D a y 1943 and w e n t
straight to the mountains where they were i n c o r p o r ated in the ranks of the partisan çeta and battalions.
A little later the students of the L y c é e of K o r ç a f o l l o w e d suit, at a time w h e n students and teachers f r o m
all the other schools of the c o u n t r y w e r e j o i n i n g t h e
partisan ranks. Thus, the fiercer and more extensive t h e
w a r became, the more p r o f o u n d became the great d i f ferentiation between the w o r k i n g masses of t o w n a n d
countryside, honest intellectuals, sincere patriots a n d
270
democrats, on the one hand, and the pseudo-patriots
and pseudo-democrats, on the other hand.
It was thanks to the P a r t y , to its w i s d o m and
bravery and its correct line that patriots and progressive people f r o m the S o u t h to the N o r t h , such as A b a z
Bekteshi, A v n i K a p i n o v a , M i l t i a d h Papa, H a k i Fejzo,
M a r k B a l i , H a s a n X h i k u , X h e v d e t Nepravishta, M a h m u t
Bedalli, R a s i m G u r i and others r a l l i e d r o u n d its p r o gram in the w a r for freedom. H u n d r e d s of patriots
and progressive intellectuals gave a great deal to the
National L i b e r a t i o n W a r , but the P a r t y gave t h e m a
great deal, too, raised and tempered them, educated
them more a n d more i n t h e i r v i e w s a n d outlook. T h e y
became able to understand and accept not o n l y the
current p r o g r a m of the P a r t y but also its f u t u r e s t r a t egy for the establishment of the socialist system in
A l b a n i a . T h e y i d e n t i f i e d themselves w i t h the P a r t y
and m a n y of t h e m were accepted into its ranks where
they have m i l i t a t e d as l o y a l sons and capable cadres
of the P a r t y .
I c l e a r l y remember that day w h e n M u s t a f a X h a n i
expressed to me the desire to be a d m i t t e d to the ranks
of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a . We w e r e in the
tekke of M a r t a n e s h (I went there m a n y times at d i f ferent seasons), and after we had had a long talk t o gether, M u s t a f a said to m e :
«Comrade Taras, I want to become a m e m b e r of
the Party.»
These words of B a b a F a j a made me v e r y h a p p y
and I i m m e d i a t e l y r e p l i e d :
« Y o u f u l l y deserve to become a m e m b e r of the
Party, M u s t a f a X h a n i , therefore, m a k e y o u r a p p l i c 271
ation and tell the comrades of the cell that E n v e r is in
f a v o u r of y o u r admission. I s h a l l support y o u in this
request because I am sure that y o u do not believe in
r e l i g i o n but believe o n l y in the P a r t y . »
«For the P a r t y I s h a l l discard my clerical robes,»
said Baba Faja Martaneshi.
«No,» I told h i m , «you s h o u l d stick to the robes
y o u wear. This is not a matter of deceiving people, but
y o u wore the religious robes as a priest before the w a r
a n d before the f o r m a t i o n of the P a r t y . Therefore, go
on w e a r i n g them, because we have to respect the
sentiments of believers and u t i l i z e the s y m p a t h y w h i c h
the people have for y o u and the tekke of M a r t a n e s h .
So, since y o u are resolutely for the w a r a n d love the
P a r t y , respect and apply its line, w e w i l l a d m i t y o u
as member of the Party.»
A n d the cell of the çeta admitted M u s t a f a X h a n i
as a member of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a . T h i s
w a s a great j o y for B a b a F a j a M a r t a n e s h i . He e m b r a c ed and kissed me, p r i c k l i n g me w i t h that black beard
w h i c h he combed w i t h his fingers.
In these notes I have w r i t t e n in rather great
length about B a b a F a j a M a r t a n e s h i , about his outstanding role in those years and the m a n y l i n k s I
had w i t h h i m , but I must say there w e r e tens of s u c h
patriotic clergymen all over the c o u n t r y w h o l i n k e d
themselves closely w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t and the program of the P a r t y and gave t h e i r
a l l for the freedom and independence of the H o m e l a n d . One of t h e m was Ismail T u f a f r o m T i r a n a , or
H o d j a T u f a , a s e v e r y b o d y k n e w h i m and called h i m .
I had k n o w n this fine patriotic old m a n in the
272
grave days of i l l e g a l i t y in T i r a n a w h e n his home became one of the m a i n bases of the P a r t y ' s p r i n t i n g
apparatus and the hodja h i m s e l f acted as g u a r d and
adviced us to block a l l the w i n d o w s a n d gaps f r o m
which a n y noise m i g h t emerge, w i t h quilts.
«It's t r u e y o u are a hodja,» I said to h i m , «but
I've never seen the K o r a n u n d e r y o u r g o w n . In place
of it y o u have a revolver. So y o u are a hodja w i t h a
revolver.»
T h e hodja c h u c k l e d and said to m e :
«We are f a c i n g a war, E n v e r , a n d y o u boys teach
us that we can't wage the w a r w i t h the K o r a n b u t
w i t h revolvers.»
A n d , i n fact, the patriot I s m a i l T u f a w e n t t h r o u g h
all the d i f f i c u l t years of the w a r in this w a y . He placed
himself, his home a n d his sons at the disposal of the
P a r t y and the l i b e r a t i o n w a r . One of his sons, a c o m munist a n d our comrade, Met, gave his l i f e on the
altar of freedom, w h i l e the 75 y e a r - o l d H o d j a T u f a
himself was captured a n d t o r t u r e d by the G e r m a n s
but he d i d not open his m o u t h . He was r e a d y to die
rather t h a n t e l l w h a t the executioners of the people
wanted f r o m h i m .
It was the great m e r i t of our P a r t y that w i t h its
correct political line it made approaches to, w o n over
and placed in the service of the cause of the people
and the H o m e l a n d s u c h patriotic c l e r g y m e n as B a b a
Laze and B a b a Fejzo, H a f ë z H a l i l T o p h a n a and H a f ë z
Zagonjori, F a t h e r P a s h k o V o d i c a and F a t h e r K o k o n e shi, Father I l i a Zagali, M u ç o the dervish, and m a n y
others a l l over A l b a n i a .
273
B r e a k i n g completely w i t h the top clergy of the
Catholic C h u r c h , w i t h those reactionary bishops and
chief muftis, w h o blessed the occupiers and enslavers
of A l b a n i a , the progressive and patriotic clergymen,
w h o had emerged f r o m the people and l i v e d close to
the people and regarded the collaborationist clergy
w i t h hatred and scorn, made a v a l u a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n
especially to the u n i f i c a t i o n of the people r o u n d the
program of the P a r t y and the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t w i t h t h e i r words, stands and actions,
w i t h the r i f l e they slung on their shoulders and the
partisan star t h e y placed on their caps.
D u r i n g the same period other intellectuals and
patriots, amongst w h o m O m e r N i s h a n i was to be
especially outstanding, w e r e activized and made t h e i r
contribution to the strengthening of the F r o n t and
the M o v e m e n t .
I had been introduced to O m e r N i s h a n i w h e n he
returned f r o m exile after the Italian occupation, but
I had heard about h i m w h e n I was at school in G j i rokastra, since his brother, Beso N i s h a n i , was one of
my teachers. Besides this I was f r i e n d l y w i t h h i s
nephews, E m i n and F e r i k Shtino, the sons of A u n t
A l o , the sister of the doctor, a v e r y s h a r p - w i t t e d o l d
w o m a n l i k e her brother. I have w r i t t e n about this
w o m a n i n m y reminiscences o f m y childhood ( 1 ) . A l l o f
t h e m had spoken to me about the doctor, but I had
never seen h i m i n G j i r o k a s t r a .
_____________________________________
1
llections
The
of
reference
is
Gjirokastra
to
the
which
book
was
1983.
274
Years
of
published
Childhood
in
—
Reco-
A l b a n i a n in
W h e n Z o g came to p o w e r at the head of the
counter-revolutionary forces in December 1924 I had
heard about Doctor N i s h a n i as a politician, w h i l e
amongst the p u p i l s in the Lycée of K o r ç a it was said
that he was a communist. Y e a r s later, we of the G r o u p
of K o r ç a learned that Doctor N i s h a n i had his centre in
Geneva, where he brought out the newspaper Liria
Kombëtare
on w h i c h he collaborated w i t h H a l i m
Xhelo, N a u m P r i f t i , A l i K e l m e n d i , R i z a Cerova, S e l i m
Shpuza and other r e v o l u t i o n a r y leftist and c o m m u n i s t
comrades. T h i s group had clearer p o l i t i c a l v i e w s t h a n
all the rest a n d i t was t h e y w h o organized K O N A R E
w h i c h the group o f A l i K ë l c y r a , M u s t a f a K r u j a , A z i s
Ç a m i and c o m p a n y u n d e r m i n e d and fought. A t a n
early age we had great a d m i r a t i o n f o r H a l i m and
Doctor N i s h a n i w h o w e r e called «reds» b y the n a tionalist group o f A l i K ë l c y r a , Q a z i m K o c u l i and others.
I do not k n o w for sure w h e t h e r the doctor e m i grated first to Greece, to the Island of Zante, or
whether he w e n t to Greece later f r o m S w i t z e r l a n d .
In any case he stayed for a time in S w i t z e r l a n d , in
Geneva, w h e r e the doctor, as he t o l d me subsequently
when w e talked together d u r i n g the w a r i n L a b i n o t
and Orenja, was f r i e n d l y w i t h a leader of the «left»
social-democrats of S w i t z e r l a n d , called N i c o l .
W h e n I heard that the doctor had r e t u r n e d to
A l b a n i a (he h a d graduated for medicine but never
practised this profession) after the fascist occupation,
I wanted to meet h i m , although I regretted that he,
along w i t h the others, had joined the « C o u n c i l of
State». It was not d i f f i c u l t for me to meet the doctor.
B a h r i introduced me to h i m .
275
«Doctor, a l l o w me to introduce Enver, the brother
of F a h r i j e and son of H a l i l . He is a 'red' l i k e you.»
«Oh,» said the doctor laughing, «Halil's son, are
y o u ? Y o u have a fine father.»
« L i k e father, l i k e son,» I replied, «as we say in
Gjirokastra.»
«Hi, hi, hi,» the doctor laughed loudly, and then,
« p t h . . . p t h . . . , » a s though clearing something f r o m
the t i p of his tongue, as we learned subsequently this
was his habit. « Y o u are not l i k e H a l i l in one t h i n g .
Y o u don't stutter l i k e him.»
H e i n q u i r e d about m y f a m i l y and m y personal
situation, asked whether I had f o u n d w o r k and w h y
not, etc. T h e n he s a i d :
«We old fogies have had o u r day, long l i v e the
youth, because y o u are the hope of the country. I
haven't done a n y t h i n g m u c h , but I fought Z o g as
m u c h as I could. A n d I had good comrades on the
newspaper w h o helped me in that direction. I d i d not
give up, but w h a t was I to do, die in e x i l e ? I w a s
l o n g i n g to see the c o u n t r y and my people. I came
back, but these fascists and occupiers a n d a l l the
rogues w h o serve t h e m l i k e dogs, I hate t h e m l i k e
death. B u t y o u are going to say (and he asked my
name again), then w h y d i d y o u j o i n the ' C o u n c i l of
State'? I had to, because I have nothing to l i v e on a n d
I have a w i f e to keep. So this is what I am reduced
to.»
«Doctor,» I said, «today I have met y o u personally
for the first time, w h i l e my comrades and I h a v e
heard about y o u r ideas and struggle a long t i m e ago,
a n d for this w e have always a d m i r e d y o u . Y o u say
276
y o u j o i n e d the ' C o u n c i l of State' because y o u w a n t e d
to l i v e . It w o u l d have been better h a d y o u not done
so, but we feel that in y o u r m i n d and heart y o u are
outside the C o u n c i l because y o u are w i t h the people,
w i t h the anti-fascist y o u t h and are not l i k e the K o l ë
Tromaras, A l i K ë l c y r a s and company.»
«Oh, so, y o u k n o w w h a t they are, my boy,» said
the doctor. «That is important. Don't expect a n y t h i n g
f r o m them.»
«Doctor, we are going to m a k e efforts to d r a w
everybody into the w a r against the occupiers, even
them, if t h e y are for the people's l i b e r a t i o n war,» I
told h i m .
«Try, if y o u have the patience, as for me I have
done a l l I can and can't be bothered w i t h t h e m a n y
more. A l l t h e y k n o w is to take their salaries, to eat
and d r i n k w e l l , to pose as if they are the salt of the
earth, but c a r r y on w i t h y o u r w o r k , Enver, because
perhaps y o u w i l l convince them.»
«Doctor,» I said, «the w a r against the fascist occupier requires the r a l l y i n g and organization of the
whole people. To d r i v e the occupier f r o m our l a n d
we have to m a k e v e r y great sacrifices. In the first
place, we communists have to do these things and we
are going to do t h e m , because I, too, am a communist,
Doctor,» I continued. «We are ready to sacrifice o u r
lives for the l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d and the people.»
«Thank y o u f o r the trust y o u have s h o w n i n
me, Enver, by t e l l i n g me that y o u are a communist,
when e v e r y b o d y k n o w s that fascism cuts the heads
of communists. I am not a communist, but I have l i v e d
and w o r k e d w i t h them, I have respected t h e m and t h e y
277
have respected me. I s h a l l t e l l y o u one t h i n g : for y o u
the road is not s t r e w n w i t h flowers, but go on, fight,
because o n l y b y f i g h t i n g y o u w i l l save A l b a n i a , » said
the doctor.
«Comrade Nishani,» I replied, «excuse me for
addressing y o u in this w a y but I can't b r i n g m y s e l f
to address y o u as a doctor. We communists are s t i l l
o n l y a f e w , but we are determined. In the f i g h t against
the occupiers, o u r ranks w i l l increase, because we
have or are going to have the w h o l e of the y o u t h a n d
the people w i t h us. W h e n w e f o r m o u r P a r t y , y o u n g
and old w i l l be w i t h it because it w i l l be the P a r t y of
the common people. There is o n l y one t h i n g on w h i c h
I cannot agree w i t h you,» I added, «the idea that y o u
expressed that y o u old fogies have h a d y o u r day. N o ,
the war, the people need everybody. People l i k e y o u
are a great assistance to the war, because y o u have
m a t u r i t y and a patriotic past. I am appealing to y o u
to put these qualities of yours in the service of the
people.»
«Enver,» replied the doctor, «your words a n d the
trust w h i c h y o u show i n m e move m e deeply. Y o u are
the first to speak to me l i k e this since I set foot again
on the soil of the Homeland.»
«I am a son of o u r people w h o have such great
love for freedom and independence,» I replied.
«Listen, Enver, I w i l l t e l l y o u one t h i n g and y o u
can r e l y on it: Doctor N i s h a n i is w i t h y o u to the death.
W h e n y o u consider it necessary let me k n o w and I
w i l l be ready to do whatever the y o u t h ask of me.»
W i t h these words we put an end to o u r first c o n versation.
278
I i n f o r m e d the comrades of the G r o u p of K o r ç a
about the conversation w i t h Doctor O m e r and t o l d t h e m
that he was an element w i t h good prospects for o u r
work. T h e y w e r e pleased, a p p r o v e d m y idea and e n t r u s ted me to m a i n t a i n contact w i t h h i m , to i n f o r m h i m
f r o m time to time about the general situation, the g r o w t h
of the resistance and the extension of the movement.
I met the doctor on a n u m b e r of occasions and
m y l i k i n g and respect for h i m increased. O m e r N i s h a n i
was a m a n of broad culture and w e l l - a c q u a i n t e d w i t h
a n u m b e r of languages of the West and the East. In the
meetings w h i c h we had I spoke to h i m about the
necessity of f o r m i n g a great u n i o n of a l l forces of the
people, c o m b i n i n g our possibilities in the d i f f i c u l t but
glorious struggle w h i c h l a y ahead of us. T h e doctor
openly expressed his j o y over this course on w h i c h
we h a d set out and d i d not f a i l to express wise and
mature opinions w h i c h w e r e v a l u a b l e to us in our
work. Thus, he became completely at one w i t h us in
his opinions and aims and my conviction was strengthened that w i t h s u c h patriots the people's w a r w o u l d
make progress.
W h e n we f o r m e d the P a r t y I had a long talk w i t h
him. I spoke about its importance, about the role it
w o u l d p l a y in the f u t u r e of the c o u n t r y and the f u r ther extension of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r . L i k e wise, I told h i m that f r o m n o w on we m u s t also do
extensive w o r k w i t h the masses of the people and w i t h
the patriotic and nationalist elements to w i n t h e m to
our side against fascism. He was enthusiastic and
very pleased about what I told h i m , congratulated me
and repeated his readiness to help.
279
W h e n we had prepared the Conference of P e z a
I had another meeting w i t h h i m , e x p l a i n e d its aims
t o h i m a t length, w h o m w e h a d i n v i t e d and w h o
had accepted. W e had decided that w e s h o u l d not i n vite the doctor at the Conference, because (and this I
e x p l a i n e d to him) we d i d not w a n t to expose h i m ;
his contacts a n d the propaganda w h i c h he c a r r i e d out
in f a v o u r of the Movement, w h i l e disguised as a m a n
of the regime associating w i t h «the fathers» of the
« C o u n c i l of State», w o u l d be u s e f u l to us for some
time to come.
Doctor N i s h a n i expressed his f u l l agreement w i t h
the initiative of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y and the p l a t f o r m of the Conference, w i s h e d me success for the
Conference, and s a i d :
«I, too, w i l l c a r r y out propaganda about the d e cisions y o u are going to take, I w i l l confuse the enemies i n m y o w n w a y and b r i n g m y friends closer t o
the Front. A n d mind,» he pointed out f i n a l l y , «when
y o u need me, y o u w i l l f i n d m e ready.»
O m e r N i s h a n i kept his w o r d and w o r k e d i n T i rana as a zealous activist of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Movement. A n d w h e n the moments r e q u i r e d h i m , the
comrades and I t a l k e d it over and we thought that he
w o u l d b e valuable i n the w o r k o f the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l as a mature, patriotic and c u l t u r e d m a n f o r the
w o r k of propaganda, the organization of the state,
etc. We sent h i m w o r d and the doctor left T i r a n a for
the mountains w h e r e he stayed u n t i l the c o u n t r y w a s
liberated.
O m e r N i s h a n i also brought w i t h h i m another
sympathizer of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, K o s t a
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B o s h n j a k u . I had heard the name of K o s t a B o s h n j a k u ,
but d i d not k n o w h i m personally. If I am not mistaken,
he h a d stayed in V i e n n a as an emigrant, w h i l e in his
youth he h a d been in Tsarist Russia, either w o r k i n g or
w i t h his f a m i l y , and hence, had a good knowledge of
Russian.
He was of i m p o s i n g appearance, spoke l i k e a
«seasoned politician», gave himself great importance,
and n a t u r a l l y abused Z o g and A l i K ë l c y r a and d e fended c o m m u n i s m , L e n i n , S t a l i n and our P a r t y .
Thus, more and more each day the f r u i t s of the
great w o r k the P a r t y h a d done w i t h the nationalists
were becoming apparent. A large n u m b e r of p a t r i otic individuals, w h o had understood the line of the
P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, were j o i n i n g
the ranks of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , the
Front and the partisan çeta and battalions. T h e y i n cluded, for example, Q i r j a k o Harito, A l i S h t ë p a n i i n
Tirana, H a s a n P u l o and J a h o G j o l i k u i n V l o r a , S p i r o
B a k a l l i i n Durrës, G a v r i l Pepo i n K o r ç a , D r . P e t r a q P o pa, F e t a h E k m e k ç i u , H a f ë z M u s a B a s h a i n Elbasan, P a sho H y s i in Skrapar, w h o m I k n e w personally and about
whom I retain the best memories. L i k e w i s e , in the
South and the N o r t h , along w i t h such honoured p a triots and fighters as S h p e n d B a l i a and S a l i M a n i in
Tropoja, G j o n M a r a s h i , H a j d a r A l i a and others i n
Shkodra, L l a z i Bozo i n M y z e q e , H a k i S t ë r m i l l i i n
Dibra, M u h a r r e m B u t k a i n K o l o n j a , S i r i S h a p l l o and
K a d r i Baboçi i n G j i r o k a s t r a , Stefan T h o m a g j i n i i n S a randa, H a x h i Seseri, Babë R e x h a and others i n K r u j a ,
Ollga P l u m b i , D r . J o r g j i J o r g o n i , E l a G j i k o n d i and
others i n T i r a n a , H o d j a D e l i u i n Elbasan, A l i K a m e and
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K o ç o S t e f a n i i n Përmet, T a f i l T ë r p a n i i n B e r a t a n d s o
on, scores of teachers, doctors, engineers, agronomists,
writers and other w h i t e - c o l l a r w o r k e r s a l l over the
c o u n t r y united w i t h the F r o n t and the N a t i o n a l L i b eration M o v e m e n t .
R i g h t f r o m the start the P a r t y also d i d c a r e f u l
w o r k w i t h the f o r m e r officers of the old a r m y because
it was convinced that although some of them, especially the senior officers of Zog's f o r m e r a r m y , w o u l d
be pre-disposed to place themselves at the service of
t h e occupier, a large n u m b e r of patriotic and progressive elements w o u l d j o i n us in o u r w a r . Of course,
we recognized the fact that the w o r k w i t h people of
this category presented d i f f i c u l t y , because in the past
t h e y had f o r m e d a p r i v i l e g e d caste educated w i t h a n t i popular concepts and w e r e w e l l - p a i d to protect the
r u l e of the «august sovereign». Nevertheless, we w e r e
aware of the opposition to Z o g among the officers of
l o w e r rank. Some of t h e m had even created a secret
organization, the « G r o u p of Officers», headed by B e d r i
S p a h i u , where they t a l k e d about a n d discussed c o m m u n i s m and, indeed, it called itself a communist
group, although in fact it w a s more of a v e r y t i g h t l y
closed organization of officers w i t h o u t a n y l i n k s among
t h e people and doomed to f a i l u r e in its activity, just
as it t u r n e d out. As w e l l as this we k n e w that w i t h i n
t h e i r ranks there were elements w i t h patriotic and
democratic inspiration and it was our d u t y to l i n k
t h e m w i t h our w a r .
W h e n the c o u n t r y was occupied, w h i l e a l l the
reactionary officers became tools of the occupiers, r e tained their r a n k and received fat salaries f r o m them,
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m a n y others, especially the j u n i o r officers, u n i t e d
w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r . Some of t h e m
like M u s t a f a M a t o h i t i , R e s h i t Ç o l l a k u , M e m o Meto,
A s i m Zeneli, P a n o X h a m b a l l o and others fought, became leaders of partisan battalions and brigades and
f e l l heroically i n the sacred w a r for freedom. F r o m
the ranks of f o r m e r officers emerged s u c h comrades
as Spiro M o i s i u , w h o m the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the
P a r t y and the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l appointed commander
of the G e n e r a l Staff of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y ,
or Shefqet P e ç i , w h o j o i n e d in the w a r against the occupiers f r o m the f i r s t days of the i n v a s i o n and after
the f o r m a t i o n of the P a r t y became one of the most
outstanding cadres in the formations of o u r N a t i o n a l
Liberation A r m y .
Others l i k e D a l i N d r e u , T a h i r K a d a r e a n d H u l u s i
S p a h i u fought a n d d u r i n g and after the w a r the P a r t y
charged t h e m w i t h various responsibilities, but after
Liberation, in particular, the bad habits acquired d u r ing the period w h e n t h e y were Zogite officers as w e l l
as other political, ideological and m o r a l disabilities i m pelled them on a w r o n g course and some of t h e m t h r e w
themselves into the arms of foreign secret agencies and
ended up as enemies of the P a r t y and the people. H o w ever, these things w e r e to be p r o v e d later. W h a t I w a n t ed to stress is the fact that the P a r t y was able to c a r r y
out good and f r u i t f u l w o r k w i t h the officers of the
old army just as w i t h other strata, and was able to
win over and m o b i l i z e in the w a r a l l those that could
be mobilized. In the s p r i n g a n d at the beginning of the
summer of 1943, w h e n we w e r e a c t i v e l y organizing
large formations of the partisan army, the better part
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of them were to become a valuable resource for t h e
P a r t y and the w a r .
P r e c i s e l y at these moments, that is at the b e g i n n i n g of the s u m m e r of 1943, w h e n we w e r e p r e p a r i n g
for the meeting of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , S e j f u l l a M a l ë shova t u r n e d up in A l b a n i a as a «late arrivai». I p e r sonally had never met S e j f u l l a , but Y m e r D i s h n i c a
and K o ç o Tashko w h o had k n o w n h i m abroad, the
f o r m e r i n F r a n c e a n d the latter i n the Soviet U n i o n ,
had spoken to me about h i m . However, it was d i f f i c u l t
to create a coherent idea about S e j f u l l a f r o m w h a t
Y m e r and K o ç o told m e about h i m because t h e i r j u d gements w e r e d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposite. K o ç o T a s h k o ,
who apparently had not l i k e d h i m , t o l d m e that S e j f u l l a insisted that the centre of the group of A l b a n i a n
communists, w h i c h the y o u t h w i t h democratic t e n dencies had organized w h e n t h e y w e n t to the S o v i e t
U n i o n after the r e t u r n of Z o g to A l b a n i a , s h o u l d be
established not in the Soviet U n i o n (and c e r t a i n l y n o t
i n A l b a n i a ) but i n Europe, i n Paris, V i e n n a o r G e n e v a .
W h e n I became better acquainted w i t h S e j f u l l a I
believed this and understood that S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a
certainly p r e f e r r e d the l i f e of the cafés in P a r i s to
the real w o r k and struggle i n the H o m e l a n d . D i s h n i c a
had spoken t o m e quite d i f f e r e n t l y about S e j f u l l a . H e
had k n o w n h i m i n France, h e l d h i m i n special a d m i r ation, and was ready to t a l k to me for hours on e n d
about the «wisdom» and «talents» of S e j f u l l a and
about his «activity».
To tell the t r u t h , some of the things that Y m e r
t o l d us impressed us and we thought that a comrade
l i k e this, w h o «had w o r k e d i n the Comintern», w h o
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«had been a professor» in Moscow, w h o had some e x perience and theoretical knowledge and was a w r i t e r
a n d poet, w o u l d be necessary for us.
I was not g r e a t l y impressed w i t h S e j f u l l a in the
first conversation I h a d w i t h h i m w h e n he a r r i v e d
in A l b a n i a about J u n e 1943. Indeed, I was rather
disappointed by the replies he gave me w h e n I asked
h i m about S o v i e t Russia, about the experience of the
B o l s h e v i k P a r t y or of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of France.
On these occasions S e j f u l l a assumed the appearance
of a philosopher overburdened w i t h the questions of
disciples and gave h i m s e l f an air of m y s t e r y saying,
«We s h a l l talk about these things.» Short and fat, w i t h
a voice that he deliberately deepened, he listened and
looked l i k e someone t o w h o m m i n o r matters w e r e a n n o y i n g . R i g h t f r o m the first days he d i d not f a i l to
g i v e «advice» a n d m a k e criticisms, i m p l y i n g that «now
that I have come we s h a l l correct these matters». F o r
my part I asked h i m about the situation in France,
about some c o m m u n i s t friends and acquaintances there,
but it seemed that S e j f u l l a k n e w little about them.
«Well, h o w does he seem to you?» D r . D i s h n i c a
asked me after the f i r s t conversation.
«I believe he w i l l help us,» I replied, but apparently w i t h o u t the enthusiasm w h i c h Y m e r expected.
A n d w h e n I saw that the doctor was surprised, I added :
«We s h a l l get to k n o w h i m better in the course
of the w o r k a n d the war.»
«He is a good comrade and w i t h training, Enver.»
«We s h a l l see,» I repeated, and left it at that.
B u t as it became clear, I was not the o n l y one
w h o «had some reservations» in the assessment of
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«Professor» Malëshova. Some time after his a r r i v a l in
A l b a n i a I was t a l k i n g to Doctor N i s h a n i one d a y a n d
w h e n o u r talk came r o u n d to S e j f u l l a , Doctor N i s h a n i
laughed a n d s a i d :
«I am going to have trouble w i t h S e j f u l l a , or he
w i l l have trouble w i t h me.»
« W h y ? » I asked w i t h interest, because I k n e w
that the doctor had k n o w n S e j f u l l a abroad a n d also
k n e w that O m e r N i s h a n i was a m a n correct in h i s
judgements.
«We have some old problems related to the n e w s paper,» the doctor told me, and w e n t o n : « W h e n we
were in exile b r i n g i n g out Liria Kombëtare, I asked
S e j f u l l a to send us the occasional article f r o m M o s c o w ,
but d i d S e j f u l l a bother? A f t e r I sent h i m f i v e letters
he deigned to send me his ' m a t e r i a l ' : the title a n d
two or three points as an outline, the supposed 'theses'
for the article. A f t e r another f i v e abusive letters, in
the end, he w o u l d send us the article. Sometimes I
w o u l d not p u b l i s h it at a l l and sometimes H a l i m a n d
I w o u l d completely r e w r i t e it. A lazier bastard y o u
could h a r d l y meet,» continued the doctor w i t h a
laugh. «He wrote me a load of rubbish, 'the p r o l e t a r i a t
this, the proletariat t h a t . . . ' . »
«Why, w e r e y o u opposed to the proletariat?» I
teased h i m .
«No, indeed, I was not against the proletariat, b u t
what S e j f u l l a w r o t e w a s a load of r u b b i s h . F o r instance, he w o u l d copy something f r o m a Soviet p a p e r
and w r i t e i n a n article destined for A l b a n i a : ' T h e
i n d u s t r i a l proletariat, especially that of the plants a n d
b u i l d i n g sites, must be at the head of the masses in
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A l b a n i a ' . A n d goodness k n o w s w h a t other r u b b i s h .
'What proletariat are y o u t a l k i n g about S e j f u l l a ? ' I wrote
to h i m a n g r i l y . 'The i n d u s t r i a l proletariat of y o u r
Malëshova ( 1 ) o r D u n a v a t ( 2 ) o f m y G j i r o k a s t r a ? D a m n it,
h o w are we going to keep up the paper w i t h s u c h
foolishness!' Those are the v e r y words I w r o t e to h i m ,
Enver, I swear to y o u . Go and ask h i m if it isn't true,»
and the doctor laughed a n d I laughed w i t h h i m over it.
M e a n w h i l e , S e j f u l l a «acquainted h i m s e l f w i t h the
situation», h e l d academic conversations, especially w i t h
Y m e r and K o ç o , t r i e d to m a k e out that he had been
eagerly a w a i t i n g the d a y w h e n he could come to take
part in the w a r (and to this day I have r e m a i n e d in
the dark w h y he w a i t e d u n t i l the s u m m e r of 1943 to
r e t u r n to Albania), and both because of the guarantees
w h i c h Y m e r and K o ç o Tashko gave u s about h i m and
because of the fact that «he came f r o m the C o m i n tern», we decided to co-opt h i m into the C e n t r a l C o m mittee, as a candidate and not as a f u l l member, n a t u rally.
S u c h , then, w e r e the conditions and circumstances
in w h i c h we prepared and, on J u l y 4, 1943, began the
meeting of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l ,
w h i c h w a s h e l d i n L a b i n o t i n the house w h e r e the
1st N a t i o n a l Conference of the P a r t y h a d been h e l d in
M a r c h . A p a r t f r o m the members of the P r o v i s i o n a l
General C o u n c i l w h i c h h a d been elected at P e z a we
had i n v i t e d to this m e e t i n g both H a x h i L l e s h i and
Sejfulla M a l ë s h o v a w h o were to be presented to the
___________________________________
1 V i l l a g e in South A l b a n i a .
2 Quarter in the city of G j i r o k a s t r a .
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C o u n c i l as candidates to be co-opted as members of it.
Thus, a l l t o l d w e w e r e eight people because t w o m e m bers of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , N d o c Ç o b a a n d K a m b e r
Qafëmolla, had not come although t h e y w e r e i n f o r m e d
about the meeting.
I proposed the outstanding f i g h t e r M u s t a f a X h a n i
as c h a i r m a n of this m e e t i n g and the others present
were i n f u l l agreement w i t h m y proposal. T h e n the
agenda was adopted, i n c l u d i n g as the f i r s t point a r e p o r t o n the e x t e r n a l and i n t e r n a l situation w h i c h
Y m e r D i s h n i c a delivered.
A f t e r listening to Y m e r ' s report we discussed the
development of the p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y s i t u a t i o n in
Europe, especially the delay in the opening of the sec o n d front b y the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s . I n m y c o n t r i b u t i o n I said that the allies m i g h t m a k e a l a n d i n g in
Italy w i t h the a i m of isolating I t a l y a n d the B a l k a n s
f r o m G e r m a n y and after this, i t was l i k e l y that G e r m a n y w o u l d b e attacked both f r o m F r a n c e a n d f r o m
elsewhere.
«In regard to the Balkans,» I pointed out, «I am
of the o p i n i o n that the second front in this sector s h o u l d
be left to the national l i b e r a t i o n forces of the B a l k a n countries themselves. T h e g r o w t h of national l i b eration movements, t h e i r successes i n A l b a n i a , Y u g o s l a v i a and Greece, s h o w that these movements are
able to c a r r y this b u r d e n successfully.»
I remember that S e j f u l l a , too, discussed this point
of the agenda. He had decided to overawe us w i t h his
first p u b l i c discourse, b y m a k i n g prophecies and b o m b a r d i n g us w i t h quotations f r o m v a r i o u s agencies and
radio stations. Indeed, he even m e n t i o n e d the name of
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a S o u t h - A f r i c a n general w h o it seems h a d spoken
about the development of events in the E u r o p e a n
theatre of the w a r !
In the discussion of this point on the agenda I
suggested that the comrades s h o u l d give us a short
description of the situation in the regions f r o m w h i c h
they came. I r e m e m b e r that a f i e r y discussion was
kindled w h e n H a x h i spoke about the situation i n D i bra. A f t e r m e n t i o n i n g the successes of o u r w a r there,
he dwelt on the stand w h i c h the g e n t r y of those parts
maintained towards the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t
and quoted facts to expose the game w h i c h s u c h elements o f the g e n t r y a s F i q r i Dine, A l i M a l i q i , M y f t a r
K a l o s h i and others w e r e p l a y i n g .
«Their w o r k stinks, comrades,» said H a x h i b l u n t l y .
«They m a i n t a i n connections w i t h us s i m p l y in order
to hinder us, to prevent us f r o m c a r r y i n g out actions.
The people have begun to understand this t r i c k e r y of
the gentry, the t r u t h w i l l out; m a n y of their r a n k and-file supporters have joined us v o l u n t a r i l y in o u r
actions. The g e n t r y have also h i n d e r e d the w o r k f o r
the extension of the national l i b e r a t i o n councils a l l
over the zone. N o w they have come out openly, the
fig leaf has f a l l e n f r o m t h e m . L i s t e n to h o w t h e y w a n t
to intimidate us,» said H a x h i f i n a l l y , and he read t w o
or three letters f r o m F i q r i D i n e to the partisan çeto
of D i b r a in the f o r m of an u l t i m a t u m d e m a n d i n g the
cessation of attacks on the enemy.
«We s h a l l be patient, but we must r e c k o n on
fighting the w a r w i t h o u t t h e m . Indeed, one day we
may be face to face against them,» said H a x h i and
sat down.
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«Don't be hasty,» said B a z i i Canës [Abaz K u p i ] .
«The oak is not separated f r o m its branches w i t h one
blow of the axe. We are f i g h t i n g to unite and not to
divide. We don't w a n t to benefit the enemy, do we?»
«Really, the enemy deserves a bullet, and that's
that,» said M y s l i m .
B a z i fidgeted and settled h i m s e l f more f i r m l y .
«By God, I cannot understand my f r i e n d H a x h i .
H e i s f r o m a n honoured household i n G r e a t D i b r a . B u t
we are brothers, d a m n i t ! We ought to be together. If
we are together the people w i l l be together.»
K n o w i n g f u l l w e l l what the reactionaries o f D i bra were, this i n d i v i d u a l demanded collaboration w i t h
them, in fact, in order to postpone i n d e f i n i t e l y a n y
armed attack on the occupiers; after all, this was the
task w i t h w h i c h he had been charged. He h i m s e l f
acted in the same w a y as the g e n t r y of D i b r a and
never f i r e d a shot; the o n l y difference was that for
ulterior motives he had come to P e z a and took part
i n the C o u n c i l .
«What good are resounding words, M r . A b a z ? » I
asked. «True u n i t y is tested in war, this gathering
today is an assembly of men. W h a t sense is there in
saying these things here today if t h e y don't help us
to step up the attacks on the enemy t o m o r r o w ? »
«Is there such a t h i n g as a pledge?» B a z i insisted
c u n n i n g l y , «a m a n is b o u n d by his word...»
«Today the A l b a n i a n is b o u n d by this,» said M y s l i m
and slapped the pistol in his belt. «I say, the w a r is
differentiating the true m e n . In P e z a and S h i j a k I d i d
not w i n over the chiefs but I d i d w i n the poor. We
have attacked fascism a n d see, we are stronger, the
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people trust us, b u t w h y ? Because we are f i g h t i n g
and not t a l k i n g . Am I r i g h t ? »
«Good f o r you,» said B a b a F a j a , «there is no other
remedy. I n M a r t a n e s h w e have councils i n e v e r y v i l lage and the people have s w a r m e d r o u n d t h e m l i k e
bees. We attack the enemy w h e r e v e r we can a n d as
m u c h as we can. If anyone w a n t s to j o i n up w i t h
us, we say come along, one r i f l e more!»
T h i s w a s the best answer to the v i e w s of A b a z
Kupi.
A f t e r the other comrades had made t h e i r c o n tributions, especially on the development of the w a r
in their regions, we took a short break before going
on to the other point on the agenda, about the a c t i v i t y
and tasks of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils. I had
been charged w i t h d e l i v e r i n g the report on this point.
In the report I stressed the importance of the
Conference of P e z a and spoke about the w o r k done up
t i l l that t i m e for the setting up of councils e v e r y where and about their f u n c t i o n i n g as organs of the
war and the p o l i t i c a l power, as w e l l as about the
obstacles we had encountered in this w o r k not o n l y
f r o m the occupier and the q u i s l i n g authorities, b u t also
from the «nationalists» gathered i n the B a l l i K o m bëtar.
I w e n t on to speak concretely about the s i t u a tion and the w o r k of the national l i b e r a t i o n councils
in various regions and cities of the c o u n t r y such as
Tirana, Durrës, V l o r a and M a l l a k a s t r a where, despite
the difficulties, the w o r k had proceeded w e l l , as w e l l
as about other regions, such as Shkodra, M a t , D i b r a
and K r u j a w h e r e w e w e r e s t i l l encountering great
291
obstacles f r o m reaction. I criticized some shortcomings
of our w o r k for a centralized leadership of the c o u n cils by the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and stressed that our contact w i t h the base had not been as continuous as the
situation and our w a r required.
«The g r o u p i n g of forces is becoming crystallized,»
I pointed out. «The b u i l d - u p of our w a r w i l l f u r t h e r
accelerate the process, therefore, it is an urgent task
for the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l to give the base greater assistance, to organize the people in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion F r o n t a n d to strengthen the councils in the v i l lages, the suburbs, the cities and regions.»
F o r this w o r k to be done better the need was
being felt for a document in w h i c h the rights, c o m petences, and functions of the councils w e r e c l e a r l y
defined. Therefore, I raised the issue of a C o n s t i t u t i o n for the national l i b e r a t i o n councils, the draft of
w h i c h we had prepared in advance and w h i c h I w o u l d
n o w read to the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l for discussion. T h i s
Constitution, together w i t h the R u l e s of the n a t i o n a l
liberation councils, w o u l d be f i n a l l y approved at the
2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference w h i c h w o u l d be
h e l d later.
I n dealing w i t h the w o r k w h i c h the P r o v i s i o n a l
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l had done I w e n t on to point out that
not a l l the members of this i m p o r t a n t organ of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r had p r o v e d up to t h e i r responsible tasks w i t h w h i c h the Conference of P e z a h a d
charged them.
«The complete i n a c t i v i t y of two nationalist m e m bers of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , N d o c Ç o b a and K a m b e r
Qafëmolla, has hindered the work,» I pointed out. « L i k e 292
wise, the w o r k w i t h the councils has not gone w e l l in
Abaz K u p i ' s zone. Indeed, the councils have been h i n dered i n t h e i r a c t i v i t y . M e a n w h i l e , w e hear that R a m a zan J a r a n i , w h o is not a m e m b e r of the C o u n c i l but
was appointed as a i d to M y s l i m P e z a for the w o r k of
the C o u n c i l , has changed his tune a n d joined the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . Thus, a l l the members have not been
properly engaged in practice w i t h the w o r k of the
Council
R a m a z a n J a r a n i was a T i r a n a teacher w i t h a good
past as an a n t i - Z o g i t e and anti-Italian. I had not
k n o w n h i m w e l l , but had m e r e l y been introduced to
him b y m y teacher friends. A t the t i m e w h e n w e w e r e
w o r k i n g for the preparation of the Conference of Peza
I asked to meet h i m , and this meeting was organized
by M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i w h o recommended R a m a z a n most
ardently. I h a d t w o talks w i t h h i m , c l e a r l y e x p l a i n e d
our v i e w s i n connection w i t h the m e e t i n g w e planned
to hold w i t h the nationalists and the p l a t f o r m w h i c h
we w o u l d present. Since R a m a z a n J a r a n i expressed
f u l l agreement w i t h us a n d promised that he w o u l d
support u s i n e v e r y t h i n g , w e charged h i m w i t h the
task of c a r r y i n g out propaganda against the occupiers
among the nationalists of T i r a n a . He accepted this task
and even t o l d me that in t i m e of danger I could go to
his home, a s i m p l e T i r a n a home, in the same street
as the house in w h i c h V o j o K u s h i and his comrades
were k i l l e d . I was pleased w i t h Ramazan's readiness
because every element gained for the w a r f o r l i b e r a tion was a success for the w o r k of the P a r t y . F o r a
time it seemed that he w o u l d keep his promise; he
took part in the Conference of Peza, expressed his
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solidarity w i t h its decisions and his readiness to w o r k
to c a r r y t h e m out. H o w e v e r , not long afterwards J a rani's enthusiasm cooled and M y s l i m complained to me
that he not o n l y d i d not c a r r y out any of the tasks
w h i c h were set h i m but had v i r t u a l l y b r o k e n off
contact w i t h Babë M y s l i m .
«What's going on w i t h R a m a z a n J a r a n i ? » I asked
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i one day.
«I k n o w h i m as a good man,» replied M u s t a f a . «I
s h a l l go and talk to him.»
N o t long afterwards, w h e n I was in Labinot, the
comrades f r o m T i r a n a sent me the news that R a m a z a n
J a r a n i had t u r n e d his coat, abandoned the F r o n t and
joined the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
This was the metamorphosis of this renegade,
w h i c h I e x p l a i n e d to the members of the G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l w h o w e r e present.
In close connection w i t h these problems and the
whole stage w h i c h our w a r had reached, the m e e t i n g
of J u l y 1943 h e l d an extensive discussion on the need
w h i c h had arisen for the f o r m a t i o n of the G e n e r a l
Staff of a l l the armed forces of the insurgent people.
It had been discussed and decided at the C o n ference of Peza that at the proper moment, w i t h the
extension of the armed resistance to the fascist occupier and, especially, w i t h the increase in the n u m ber of partisan çeta and units, a central staff should
be created as the centre to direct the m i l i t a r y operations of the n e w a r m y w h i c h the people w o u l d create.
A n d now, after a year of struggle and a l l - r o u n d
efforts, we judged that this moment had a r r i v e d .
294
In the s u m m e r of 1943 the a r m e d struggle of the
Albanian people had assumed wide proportions. The
number of partisan ç eta was i n c o m p a r a b l y greater t h a n
a few months earlier, their composition had been i n creased and strengthened and their f i g h t i n g activity,
which they c a r r i e d out a l l over the country, was d e a l ing the enemy c r u s h i n g blows. In those çeta , w h i c h
were called regular units because t h e y functioned p e r manently, about 10 thousand fighters took part, besides about 20 thousand other fighters in the t e r r i torial ç eta (1) and g u e r r i l l a units. On the r e c o m m e n d a tion of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the P a r t y , we had
gone over to the organization of battalions as bigger
and more p o w e r f u l units, capable of c a r r y i n g out
operations on a broader scale against the enemy, a n d
the instructions had been sent out and measures w e r e
being taken for the creation, in the near future, of
the first partisan brigades.
F o r a l l these reasons, charged by the C e n t r a l
Committee of the P a r t y , in one of the sessions of the
meeting of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l I
rose and said to the comrades:
«From the analysis w h i c h it has made of the s i tuation and our forces, the C e n t r a l Committee of the
Communist P a r t y has a r r i v e d at the conclusion that the
_______________________________
1 Volunteer
self-defence
units
formed
in
the
liberated
regions w h i c h carried out attacks on the enemy and opposed
enemy operations side by side w i t h the partisan çeta. T h e y were
also a source of m a n p o w e r for the completion of the regular
partisan units.
295
dimension w h i c h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r has assumed and the achievement of the f i n a l v i c t o r y over
the enemy have made the organic u n i f i c a t i o n of a l l
the partisan units in a n a t i o n a l army, directed f r o m a
single centre, u r g e n t l y necessary. We propose to this
C o u n c i l that it s h o u l d examine and endorse the p r o posal of the CC of the C P A about the f o r m a t i o n of the
G e n e r a l Staff of the A l b a n i a n N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
A r m y . If we accomplish this task the a r m e d struggle
of our people w i l l be more organized and w i l l be m o r e
successful in achieving its p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y objectives in the future.
I went on to stress that the f o r m a t i o n of this
specialized organ for the m i l i t a r y leadership of our
w a r was necessary also for the co-ordination and c o l laboration o f o u r N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r w i t h the
w a r of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition, especially w i t h the great allies, the Soviet U n i o n , U S A
and G r e a t B r i t a i n , and i n particular, w i t h the national
l i b e r a t i o n movements of the peoples of the B a l k a n s .
T h e members of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l w e l c o m e d
the proposal about the f o r m a t i o n of the G e n e r a l Staff
a n d expressed the belief that the existence of s u c h an
organ w o u l d f u r t h e r strengthen the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion W a r and w o u l d b r i n g the d a y of our v i c t o r y over
the enemy closer. A f t e r this historic decision was taken
the composition of the G e n e r a l Staff was discussed
and it was decided that the G e n e r a l Staff of the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n A r m y should be comprised of 12
people, concretely — S p i r o M o i s i u , E n v e r H o x h a ,
M y s l i m Peza, H a x h i L l e s h i , M u s t a f a X h a n i , R a m a d a n
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Ç i t a k u , A b a z K u p i , Y m e r Dishnica, D a l i N d r e u , M u s tafa G j i n i s h i , S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a and B e d r i S p a h i u .
The N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l also decided
that the organizational structure of the G e n e r a l S t a f f
should be left to the Staff itself at its first meeting.
On the f o l l o w i n g d a y the G e n e r a l Staff of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y met, decided o n its o r g a n i z a tional structure, and d i v i d e d the responsibilities among
the members. T h e Staff w o u l d have a commander as
w e l l as its p o l i t i c a l commissar, just as a l l our partisan
detachments had. I proposed that C o m r a d e S p i r o M o i siu, as a patriot a n d specialist on m i l i t a r y matters,
should be charged w i t h the task of commander of the
General Staff. T h e M a j o r , as we u s u a l l y called our
comrade, was one of those patriotic officers in w h o m
love for the H o m e l a n d and the people and hatred for
the foreign enslaver w e r e stronger t h a n their desire
for position and r a n k w i t h w h i c h Z o g and fascism
tried to l u r e them.
P r e c i s e l y on account of his patriotic merits, as
w e l l as the fact that S p i r o M o i s i u was a senior officer
w i t h experience, the G e n e r a l Staff appointed h i m as
its commander. I was appointed as p o l i t i c a l commissar
of the G e n e r a l Staff.
On J u l y 10, 1943 we p u b l i c l y proclaimed the h i s toric decision about the f o r m a t i o n of the G e n e r a l
Staff and the organization of the A l b a n i a n N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n A r m y . T h i s day has r e m a i n e d and w i l l
remain as one of the most outstanding events not o n l y
of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, but of the w h o l e
epoch of the P a r t y , as the day of our People's A r m y ,
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the liberator and glorious defender of our socialist
Homeland.
Besides other decisions w h i c h h a d to do w i t h the
organization of our army, w i t h the creation of region a l commands, and the c o m m a n d of the 1st O p e r a t i o n a l
Zone, w i t h the organization of the partisan m i l i t a r y
power in the rear, etc., at the meeting of J u l y 1943
we devoted special attention also to o u r stand towards
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r i n the future.
In the report w h i c h I presented to the meeting,
I made a detailed analysis of the w o r k we had done
a n d the efforts we had made right up t i l l those m o m ents to convince the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r to take part in
the w a r against fascism and accept the p o l i t i c a l line
w h i c h we had endorsed at the Conference of Peza. In
this w i d e - r a n g i n g analysis w h i c h I made of the p r o b l e m I had in m i n d two m a i n aims. First, to give those
members of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l w h o h a d not been in
continuous contact w i t h the C o u n c i l detailed i n f o r m a tion about the line pursued and the concrete activities
w h i c h had been carried out, and second, to define the
p l a t f o r m of talks w h i c h we envisaged to h o l d w i t h the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , c a l l i n g on it for the last time to r e a l l y
involve itself in the w a r and give up its collaboration
w i t h the enemy and the struggle against the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y .
Those w h o spoke in the discussion that f o l l o w e d
the report approved the line p u r s u e d and described
all the efforts made up t i l l that t i m e as correct. F i n a l ly it was decided that one more m e e t i n g s h o u l d be
h e l d w i t h the representatives of that organization, at
w h i c h they w o u l d be asked to give a clear and f i n a l
298
a n s w e r as to w h e t h e r or not the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was
g o i n g to take part in the w a r .
As far as I r e m e m b e r the first to take part in
the discussion of this question was Y m e r D i s h n i c a .
Y m e r concluded his c o n t r i b u t i o n by s a y i n g : «I
t h i n k that in the talks w h i c h are to be h e l d the B a l l ists m u s t be t o l d : ' W i t h y o u or w i t h o u t y o u we are
g o i n g to wage the w a r to the end,' and we should app e a l to t h e m once more for a f i g h t i n g u n i t y to defeat
the occupiers and for a free and democratic Albania.»
I m e n t i o n e d this c o n t r i b u t i o n of Y m e r Dishnica's
in order to stress that Y m e r , w h o was to head the
delegation of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l to M u k j e , was not
o n l y clear in advance about the position that ought
to be m a i n t a i n e d but, at least f r o m the words he said,
also seemed to have a correct view, personally, about
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and the stand w h i c h had to be
m a i n t a i n e d i n the m e e t i n g w i t h its representatives.
A f t e r Y m e r I took the floor again and said in
substance :
« O u r objective is to i n v o l v e those w h o have s t i l l
not understood the w a r w h i c h we are waging, in this
w a r . A l s o among the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
we s h o u l d differentiate those elements w h o have not
compromised themselves and should t r y once again to
convince t h e m to fight by speaking to t h e m f r a n k l y
a n d clearly, e x p l a i n i n g to t h e m the character of our
National Liberation War.
«In regard to the talks w h i c h we t h i n k should be
h e l d w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r we should send t h e m a
letter w i t h our proposal and give t h e m a short time,
299
not more than f i v e or s i x days, to r e p l y w h e t h e r or
not t h e y want to meet our delegation. We are not goi n g to give t h e m any longer t h a n this, and if t h e y do
not come to this meeting or conference, we s h a l l w a i t
no longer but s h a l l p u b l i s h our letter in the newspaper
Bashkimi (1) so that the people w i l l see once again w h o
is opposed to u n i t y in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
«We are not going to stand on ceremony w i t h the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , » I continued. «The basis of the agreement w h i c h we s h a l l propose to t h e m s h o u l d be t h i s :
organized, u n c o m p r o m i s i n g a r m e d struggle against the
occupier; the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r must recognize the n a tional liberation councils as the o n l y people's d e m o cratic state power; it must purge its ranks of the
collaborationists, criminals, spies and speculators; it
must i m m e d i a t e l y stop its f i g h t i n g and propaganda
against the F r o n t and the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , the p o s i tive elements of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r m u s t take part
in the Front, they must disperse their 'councils', etc.
This, then,» I concluded, «should be the p l a t f o r m for
the talks w h i c h our delegation s h o u l d h o l d and we
should appoint the delegation here.»
The members of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and those of
the Staff w h o had been i n v i t e d to the meeting, e n dorsed my proposals w h i c h w e r e accepted as the basis
for the talks that w o u l d be h e l d in the near f u t u r e
w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . It seemed that e v e r y t h i n g
was clear even t o Y m e r D i s h n i c a and M u s t a f a G j i n i ___________________________________
1 O r g a n of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l w h i c h
began to be published in M a r c h 1943.
300
shi, w h o o n l y a f e w days after this m e e t i n g were to
play a capitulationist role in a c h i e v i n g the notorious
M u k j e Agreement.
4. A dangerous trap and a betrayal
Conscious of the importance and the difficulties
of this f i n a l m e e t i n g of o u r delegation w i t h the r e presentatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , i m m e d i a t e l y after
the m e e t i n g of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l I s u m m o n e d Y m e r
Dishnica and M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i and t a l k e d w i t h t h e m
several times not o n l y to ensure that t h e y t h o r o u g h l y
understood their delicate m i s s i o n but also to define
precisely, d o w n to the smallest details, the m a i n points
on w h i c h the talks w o u l d be held.
«In y o u r conduct a n d presentation there m u s t not
be even the slightest tendency to w a v e r f r o m our platform. L i k e w i s e , y o u m u s t bear in m i n d that on no
account s h o u l d y o u beg the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r to unite
w i t h us; we d i d not beg t h e m at the beginning w h e n
we were f e w and we c e r t a i n l y w i l l not do so now. We
must set the tone for the talks,» I t o l d them, «and
they m u s t clearly understand that w i t h this we are
holding out a h a n d to t h e m for the last t i m e so that
they can get out of the impasse and m a k e amends for
their crimes.»
«Of course, of course,» approved Dishnica, w h i l e
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i nodded his head and added:
«Don't y o u w o r r y , we s h a l l act properly!»
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A f t e r discussing the matter at l e n g t h w i t h t h e
leading comrades of the P a r t y w h o were in L a b i n o t
d u r i n g those days, w e decided that A b a z K u p i s h o u l d
be added to the delegation of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Front.
«As y o u saw for yourself,» I said to Y m e r , « A b a z
approved the p l a t f o r m of the talks w h i c h y o u w i l l
lead as the head of the delegation of the F r o n t w i t h
the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , but both y o u a n d
M u s t a f a m u s t take care to control his activities and
not a l l o w h i m to get up to any of his tricks.»
«Don't y o u worry,» repeated M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i ,
w h o could h a r d l y contain his j o y that Abaz, too,
w o u l d be in the delegation. « A b a z m i g h t influence t h e
delegates of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . »
«We are i n f o r m e d that there is f r i c t i o n between
the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , and y o u must e x p l o i t
this. A s t o w h a t influence A b a z w i l l have, this w e
shall see. I s h a l l talk to h i m myself. If the need arises,»
I told Y m e r , «you can also d r a w in the comrades of
the P a r t y and the F r o n t f r o m T i r a n a or Durrës.»
«Probably this need w i l l not arise,» said Y m e r
confindently.
«Who knows,» I said, «but bear it in m i n d ! »
Before he left L a b i n o t I also had a talk w i t h
Abaz K u p i .
«You, M r . A b a z , w i l l be in the delegation,» I said,
«and we believe that y o u r a u t h o r i t y and acquaintance
w i t h the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w i l l have a good
influence on them.»
«I s h a l l do my bit,» A b a z «promised» and a d d e d :
«I have o n l y one request...»
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«What is it?» I asked.
«I w a n t to take M a j o r J a h j a w i t h me!»
«I have no objection,» I replied, «I k n o w J a h j a
Çaçi personally. T a l k it over w i t h the Doctor [Y. D i s h nica] and decide this between yourselves.»
W h o was this J a h j a Ç a ç i ? In the time of the Zog
regime J a h j a had been a senior officer, but after the
occupation it was said that he was a patriot w h o w a n t ed to fight, therefore, we h a d w o r k e d to w i n h i m over
to the M o v e m e n t . In this d i r e c t i o n we were helped
by the fact that his w i f e w a s a s y m p a t h i z e r of the
P a r t y and an activist of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
and r e m a i n e d s u c h to the end. T h e i r son, Hektor, too,
was completely w i t h us, was activized in the y o u t h
organization, subsequently fought in illegality, joined
the partisans and became a good communist and cadre.
Bearing i n m i n d w h a t was k n o w n about J a h j a , a s w e l l
as the p a r t i c i p a t i o n of his w i f e and son in the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , I w e n t to his home one
day and talked w i t h h i m : « M r . E n v e r , » he said, «I
cannot part w i t h m y w i f e o r m y son and, moreover,
I think that this course of yours is right and I am
going to f i g h t together w i t h you.»
In reality, however, he d i d not do so. He d i d not
follow the course of his w i f e or his son or the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n W a r . He r e m a i n e d w i t h us for the
sake of appearances, seemed to lean more and more
towards B a z i i Canës, and w h e n we broke w i t h B a z i
and expelled h i m f r o m the Front, J a h j a Ç a ç i f o l l o w e d
him, and u l t i m a t e l y j o i n e d the r a n k s o f A b a z K u p i
who appointed h i m «chief of staff of the Zogite forces»
303
w h i c h opposed us w i t h arms and w h i c h we l i q u i d a t e d
w h e n the 1st D i v i s i o n advanced to the N o r t h (1). T h a t
was the end of J a h j a Ç a ç i . At the t i m e about w h i c h
we are speaking, however, in the s u m m e r of 1943, we
had nothing against J a h j a except some reservations
about his closeness w i t h B a z i in w h o m , as I have said,
we had never placed any trust.
A l t h o u g h a l l the issues had been t h o r o u g h l y
thrashed out and e v e r y t h i n g was clear, s t i l l I was not
free of w o r r y because I k n e w w h a t traps the «diplomats» of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e r e capable of setting.
Therefore, before Y m e r left for T i r a n a I h a d one more
talk w i t h h i m .
«It was no accident that y o u w e r e appointed to
the delegation, and moreover as its leader,» I t o l d
D i s h n i c a . «We have been together i n talks w i t h v a rious nationalists on a n u m b e r of occasions, hence
y o u have some experience and k n o w w h a t traps t h e y
can set; on the other hand, y o u are not u n k n o w n in
their circles. B u t more importantly, y o u are a m e m b e r
of the B u r e a u , hence, have great r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to the
P a r t y ; there are two things y o u m u s t bear c l e a r l y in
m i n d : first, that the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t is the
o n l y force w h i c h has fought and is f i g h t i n g against
the occupier, and second, never forget that our P a r t y
is and w i l l always be the organizer and leader of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War...»
____________________________________
1 In J u n e 1944 the
regions
of
Central
general
offensive
of
and
the
1st Shock D i v i s i o n w e n t over to the
North
Albania
Albanian
for the complete liberation of A l b a n i a .
304
to
National
take
part
Liberation
in
the
Army
« W i t h o u t doubt, w i t h o u t doubt,» approved the
Doctor.
«If we insist on our positions, according to the
p l a t f o r m w h i c h w e have decided, y o u r w o r k and the
w o r k of the delegation is simple, otherwise, the s i t u a tion w i l l become complicated. Therefore, don't stray
in the slightest degree f r o m the theses we have a p proved. Y o u m u s t g u a r d against unexpected news and
m a k e contact w i t h the P a r t y R e g i o n a l Committee o f T i rana and keep us c o n t i n u a l l y i n f o r m e d about e v e r y t h i n g
through the comrades there. F o r o u r part, we s h a l l
assist y o u w i t h i n our possibilities, although y o u have
the issues clear. D o n ' t forget that this is a p r e l i m i n a r y
meeting, a n d this s h o u l d m a k e y o u r w o r k m u c h easier
because no decisions w i l l be taken at this meeting,
and y o u have o n l y to p u t to the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r those
matters about w h i c h we have talked so m a n y times
that I am sure y o u k n o w t h e m by heart.»
«But what if the delegates of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
declare that they accept our points?» asked D i s h n i c a .
«I don't t h i n k the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
w i l l accept them,» I replied. «Perhaps there are s t i l l
some elements left in the ranks of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
who w a n t to f i g h t and in fact there are such elements,
but I believe that most, if not a l l , of those w h o come
to the meeting w i t h you, w i l l not accept our demands.
Nevertheless, we openly p r o c l a i m our p l a t f o r m and
this w i l l have repercussions both w i t h i n the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r and among the people. W h e n t h e y refuse
to accept our demands, t h e n we s h a l l unmask t h e m
openly as traitors and the people w i l l understand once
again that L u m o Skëndo and company are to blame
305
for the 'fratricide' that the traitors l i k e to talk about.»
«Agreed,» said Y m e r , «but let us suppose that
the delegation of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r accepts o u r
platform.»
«In that case y o u w i l l consider y o u r w o r k c o m pleted, because this is y o u r task and y o u w i l l tell
the delegates of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r that they s h o u l d
p u b l i c l y declare that t h e y agree to take part in the
w a r against the enemy and that t h e y recognize the
national liberation councils as the o n l y p o l i t i c a l p o w e r
of the people in A l b a n i a . T h e n y o u w i l l t e l l t h e m that
they must begin the w a r concretely, that is, their
çeta must attack the Italians and the gendarmerie
and a r m y of the T i r a n a government, must e x p e l the
c r i m i n a l s f r o m their ç e t a , w i t h d r a w a l l the m e m b e r s
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r f r o m the q u i s l i n g institutions
and disperse the 'councils' of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r .
W h e n we see to w h a t extent they c a r r y out these
things in practice, because hitherto t h e y have told us
m a n y lies, then we can begin to t a l k about a n a t i o n a l
conference, a s w e discussed, i n w h i c h the B a l l i K o m bëtar w i l l take part and at w h i c h a l l the questions of
u n i f i c a t i o n w i l l b e put f o r w a r d and settled. B u t t h i s
belongs to the f u t u r e and y o u w i l l t e l l the B a l l i s t
delegates that y o u are not going to talk about this
n o w because y o u are not authorized to do so by the
Council.»
«I assure y o u that e v e r y t h i n g w i l l go well,» said
Dishnica.
«I hope y o u are right,» I laughed, «but don't f o r get that 'he w h o sleeps w i t h dogs wakes up w i t h
fleas'. Y o u w i l l have to do w i t h old foxes...»
306
« T h e i r t r i c k e r y is proverbial,» laughed the D o c tor, «but this time t h e y w i l l be penned up and have
no r o o m to move.»
« M a i n t a i n contact w i t h Gogo [Nushi] (1) in T i r a n a
and keep us i n f o r m e d of everything,» I repeated once
again.
« W i t h o u t fail,» p r o m i s e d Y m e r .
Thus, he set out for T i r a n a w h i l e we others took
the road for K o r ç a . T h e r e w e stayed i n S h t y l l a , K u c a ka and V i t h k u q , g i v i n g f i r s t - h a n d attention to the
f i n a l preparations for the i n a u g u r a t i o n ceremony of
the 1st S h o c k B r i g a d e .
Some days after Y m e r left a courier sent by Gogo
brought a letter f r o m the Doctor addressed to me. In
his letter Y m e r gave me a brief report on the s i t u a tion in T i r a n a and the «nationalist» circles, w r o t e about
the enthusiasm w h i c h the announcement of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l about the f o r m a t i o n of the G e n e r a l Staff
of o u r a r m y had aroused among the people and about the
shock w h i c h it had caused in the circles of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r and reaction; he reported on the f o r m a t i o n
of an anti-fascist committee of u n i v e r s i t y students
and other i n f o r m a t i o n w h i c h , of course, it was necessary for us to k n o w about. On the m a i n question for
w h i c h he had gone to T i r a n a , however, there w e r e
only a f e w words. The letter stated b r i e f l y that M u s tafa G j i n i s h i had had a meeting w i t h L u m o Skëndo
and H a s a n Dosti, but not a w o r d about w h a t was said
there. «Of course, they w i l l have t a l k e d about the
___________________________________
1 At that t i m e member of the CC of the C P A a n d p o l i t i cal secretary of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l Committee of T i r a n a .
307
meeting of our delegates w i t h theirs,» I thought to
myself.
In the evening of J u l y 25 on a battery radio w i t h
w h i c h I was never parted, we heard the news about
the coup d'état w h i c h brought Badoglio to p o w e r a n d
the arrest of M u s s o l i n i . T h i s was an event w h i c h spoke
clearly of the p r o f o u n d p o l i t i c a l and economic and
m i l i t a r y crisis of the fascist regime, w h i c h by s a c r i f i c ing its Duce w a n t e d to save itself. In a n y case this event
was bound to have repercussions in o u r c o u n t r y a n d
we had to be prepared for this. A f e w days after we
heard this news, since we had had no i n f o r m a t i o n e i t h e r
f r o m Y m e r o r the P a r t y R e g i o n a l Committee o f T i r a n a ,
I sent a letter to Gogo in w h i c h I criticized h i m over
the lack of i n f o r m a t i o n about the w o r k for the meeting w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , a n d about the reaction
w h i c h the f a l l of M u s s o l i n i had caused among the
people, i n the q u i s l i n g circles and i n the B a l l i K o m b ë tar. L i k e w i s e , in the name of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e
I gave instruction for the organization and e n l i v e n ment of the w o r k of the P a r t y , the press and p r o p a g anda, for s w i f t and s k i l f u l actions i n c o n f o r m i t y w i t h
the conditions and circumstances. «We m u s t get r i d
of the bureaucracy in o u r M o v e m e n t , otherwise we
w i l l lose,» I pointed out.
In the end, d u r i n g the first days of A u g u s t a l e t ter came f r o m Shafingo ( 1 ) i n w h i c h h e «informed» m e
about the first meeting w h i c h t h e y had h a d w i t h the
representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . I read the letter
q u i c k l y and w h e n I came to the end I thought perhaps
____________________________________
1 T h e pseudonym of Y m e r D i s h n i c a .
308
I h a d read it carelessly, because, to tell the t r u t h , I
understood v e r y little f r o m it. I read it again and w a s
convinced that, although Y m e r ' s report contained the
«minutes» of a m e e t i n g w h i c h had been h e l d in the
village of T a p i z a near T i r a n a , and although names a n d
facts w e r e mentioned, t e l l i n g us about L u m o and D o s ti, about B a z i and M u s t a f a , and describing the exodus
of the B a l l i s t s of T i r a n a to the «mountains», and so
on, it said n o t h i n g clear about the things we expected.
The f u n d a m e n t a l issues about w h i c h D i s h n i c a s h o u l d
have reported in the letter w e r e passed over superf i c i a l l y w i t h t w o or three obscure points w h i c h meant
nothing.
One point, w h i c h spoke of the idea of the creation
of a «Joint Committee», especially attracted my attention. It w a s not d i f f i c u l t to sense that there was a trap
l u r k i n g in the idea of the f o r m a t i o n of this «committee.»
«It seems that something strange is being drafted
at Tapiza,» I said and glanced at the comrades around
me.
«What was that?» said S e j f u l l a in an absentminded tone as t h o u g h h e a v i l y burdened by his o w n
thoughts.
«The Doctor w r i t e s that at T a p i z a they have p r o duced a draft on a f o u r - p o i n t agreement and one of
the points seems to be the f o r m a t i o n of a 'Joint C o m mittee'.»
«Is that so?» said S e j f u l l a , and after a moment's
thought, added, «nevertheless...»
I c o u l d stand no more of this and i n t e r r u p t e d
him:
309
«For the moment, since the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r is not
f u l f i l l i n g our conditions for unity, is not r e a l l y t h r o w ing itself into the w a r a n d is not p u r g i n g its o w n
ranks of the criminals, there can be no talk of a n y
k i n d o f organ o r 'committee' o f the F r o n t w i t h the
B a l l i Kombëtar.»
«Excuse me,» i n t e r r u p t e d S e j f u l l a , «but does Y m e r
e x p l a i n h o w the question of this committee was discussed?»
«No, he doesn't,» I replied, «but Y m e r has no
reason to enter into s u c h discussion for w h i c h no one
has authorized h i m , a n d indeed I p a r t i c u l a r l y w a r n e d
h i m about this.»
«What does he w r i t e regarding the reaction to the
o v e r t h r o w of D u c e ? » asked N a k o .
«It seems that this has f u r t h e r w h e t t e d the
appetite of the B a l l i s t s to capture the government
seats as q u i c k l y as possible,» I told the comrades,
«because, as Y m e r writes, the chiefs of the B a l l i have
left their easy chairs in T i r a n a a n d are 'hastening' to
the mountains.»
T h i s refers to that episode in the tragic-comic
history of the traitor chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
w h i c h occurred at the e n d of the s u m m e r of 1943
w h i c h e v e r y b o d y k n o w s about n o w and was described
so beautifully, precisely and h u m o r o u s l y a little later
b y our comrade a n d co-fighter, the r e v o l u t i o n a r y w r i ter, Shevqet M u s a r a j , in his famous «Epic of the B a l l i
Kombëtar».
As soon as t h e y learned the news of the o v e r t h r o w of the Duce, and after t a k i n g good care to m a k e
sure that the fascist horse had r e a l l y cast its shoes,
310
the «captains» of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r j u m p e d for joy,
thought that e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d n o w be p l a i n s a i l i n g
for t h e m and deemed that the time had come to share
out the government seats. H o w e v e r , in order to d r a w
a v e i l over t h e i r treachery up t i l l that moment and
give themselves the a u r a of «liberators» the Ballists,
in their ardour to take power, abandoned their « i l l e gal» offices and the cafés of T i r a n a for a f e w days and
sallied f o r t h to the «mountains» in a demonstrative
way, without, of course, forgetting to take along their
coffee services, supplies of r a k i and liquor, pyjamas
and camp beds. Dressed in u n i f o r m s and loaded w i t h
bandoliers of cartridges, w i t h revolvers, binoculars,
grenades and the dispatch cases of staff officers, the
çeta of the B a l l i , specially summoned to the zone
where the meeting between the delegation of the
Front and that of the B a l l i was held, put on a show
of «strength». T h i s pack of wolves was s t i l l l i v i n g in
the past and thought that although they had not f i r e d
a shot, it was their right to govern the s t i l l occupied
country. W h a t does it matter, they thought, that the
people, the partisans and the communists h a d shed
and were shedding t h e i r blood for freedom, he w h o
uses others to d r a w the chestnuts out of the f i r e for
h i m is the stronger. A c c o r d i n g to them, t h e y had o n l y
to strike a patriotic pose and put on some parade at the
proper moment, and as soon as the Italians left they
expected to enter T i r a n a and elsewhere as «liberators» a n d take the reins in hand. A c c o r d i n g to them,
the «élite» r e m a i n e d «élite» and w h a t could they do
other t h a n r u l e and g o v e r n ! ! As for the people w h o
had seen and heard of the e v i l deeds of the B a l l i
311
Kombëtar, the leaders of the B a l l i thought: We w i l l
close their eyes w i t h the «valiant deeds» we s h a l l
p e r f o r m in the closing stages and, if these are i n s u f ficient we s h a l l also stage an «historié act»: we s h a l l
declare the independence of the c o u n t r y and a n n u l the
decisions of the «assembly» of A p r i l 12, 1939 w h i c h
proclaimed the u n i f i c a t i o n of A l b a n i a w i t h Italy a n d
offered the c r o w n of Skanderbeg to V i c t o r of S a v o y !
H o w this first «sally» of the B a l l i to the m o u n tains ended up is w e l l k n o w n : as soon as the G e r m a n
armoured cars entered T i r a n a , the crestfallen «heroes»
of the closing stages hastily resumed their café « i l l e gality» and sent w o r d to the n a z i Kommandatur that
they had gone to the mountains s i m p l y to spend the
summer !
However, a l l this was to occur a little later; let us
r e t u r n to the moments w h e n we had just received the
first letter f r o m Y . D i s h n i c a and w e r e t r y i n g t o imagine
w h a t our envoys were engaged in h a t c h i n g up there
w i t h the traitor chiefs M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i , H a s a n D o s t i
and others.
F r o m the ironical tone i n w h i c h Y . D i s h n i c a described H a s a n Dosti's proposal about the «proclamation
of independence», I f o r m e d the impression that on
this, at least, our delegation w o u l d not f a l l into the
trap of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . Nevertheless, I said to the
comrades :
« F r o m w h a t Y m e r writes I can't understand a n y t h i n g concretely or clearly, but we m u s t insist w i t h
h i m that he must f i r m l y reject the proposal they are
m a k i n g . The Ballists must be told that the i n d e p e n dence of A l b a n i a is not w o n w i t h charters and agree312
ments. T h e y m u s t be t o l d : ' W i t h this agreement y o u
gentlemen w a n t to cover up a n d w a s h y o u r hands off
the act of occupation of A p r i l 7, 1939, in w h i c h y o u
and y o u r friends participated and gave y o u r blessing
to the Italian fascists. N o w y o u w a n t to involve us,
too, in covering up that grave act. N o ! ' T h e y m u s t be
t o l d : ' W e s h a l l w i n independence t h r o u g h f i g h t i n g ,
therefore we s h a l l talk about this and this alone'.»
These and other w o r r i e s w h i c h arose i n m y m i n d
f r o m Y m e r Dishnica's obscure i n f o r m a t i o n i m p e l l e d
us to d e m a n d detailed c l a r i f i c a t i o n as q u i c k l y as possible, therefore we decided to send h i m an u r g e n t
letter. H o w e v e r , I had h a r d l y completed the r e p l y to
the f i r s t letter w h e n a f u r t h e r letter a r r i v e d , a letter
w h i c h added to my concern and, to t e l l the t r u t h , also
made me angry.
«It seems to me the Doctor is w a s t i n g his time
there,» I told the comrades, and handed t h e m Y m e r
Dishnica's letter.
S e j f u l l a took i t and read i t q u i c k l y f r o m b e g i n ning to e n d assuming a t r o u b l e d expression.
«The issues are important, Enver, and there is
nothing w r o n g w i t h discussing t h e m a n d thrashing out
opinions,» w a s his reply.
«What r u b b i s h y o u talk, Sejfulla!» I said i m p a tiently. «We instructed Y m e r and M u s t a f a about w h a t
they s h o u l d discuss a n d they are discussing other
things. L i s t e n w h a t he writes,» I said and I took the
letter back and read, 'In the talks the idea of the
proclamation of independence and of ethnic A l b a n i a
confused us!' I cannot understand w h y he s h o u l d get
himself i n v o l v e d w i t h these questions.»
313
«The B a l l i w o u l d have raised these problems,»
put in Nako.
«Of course, the B a l l i has raised them, but Y m e r
a n d M u s t a f a s h o u l d not have p e r m i t t e d the discussion
of these issues. T h e y s h o u l d have presented our p l a t f o r m and demanded their r e p l y to it.»
« Y o u are right,» said N a k o , w h i l e S e j f u l l a said
n o t h i n g more.
Y m e r Dishnica's second letter s t i l l d i d not t e l l
us a n y t h i n g of m a j o r importance and, as I l e a r n e d a
f e w days later, d i d not i n f o r m us accurately about the
w a y the discussions h a d developed. O n l y one t h i n g
w a s clearly i m p l i e d : at M u k j e , near Tapiza, w h e r e the
«second phase» of the talks was held, the B a l l i K o m bëtar had conducted the orchestra and, instead of o u r
delegation and especially Y m e r D i s h n i c a a n d M u s t a f a
G j i n i s h i setting the tone f o r the meeting and d e m a n d ing answers to the questions w h i c h we put before
t h e m , M i t h a t B e y and H a s a n D o s t i h a d d i v e r t e d the
p l a t f o r m o f the talks i n the w a y t h e y w a n t e d . T h i s
fact alone was sufficient to d r a w the conclusion that
o u r delegates w e r e not c a r r y i n g out the instructions
w h i c h t h e y had received f r o m the leadership of the
P a r t y and the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l . Y m e r d i d not w r i t e that m e a n w h i l e the agreem e n t h a d been reached; not o n l y w a s he confused
b u t he had f a l l e n completely into the trap w h i c h the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r had set.
T h a t same day I sat d o w n a n d w r o t e a l o n g letter
w h i c h has been published, (1) therefore I s h a l l m e n t i o n
o n l y the m a i n issues w h i c h I p u t before Y m e r D i s h n i c a .
________________________________
1 E n v e r H o x h a , Works, v o l . 1, pp. 419-427, 2nd A l b . ed.
314
«It seems to us that the talks have developed on
the w r o n g course,» I p o i n t e d out in the letter. « Y o u
d i d not go there to discuss independence a n d ethnic
A l b a n i a b u t t o put the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w i t h its back
to the w a l l a n d present its delegates w i t h these issues:
they must j o i n in the w a r immediately, agree to c o l l a borate w i t h the councils and, after t h e y have fought,
they can j o i n the Staff and take part in a n a t i o n a l
conference to w h i c h patriots f r o m a l l parts of the
country w i l l come.
«These things s h o u l d be the essence of the talks
and such c r a z y things as the proclamation of i n d e p e n dence w i t h o u t d r i v i n g out the occupiers s h o u l d not be
discussed. A n d to cap all,» I pointed out to D i s h n i c a ,
«this was raised by the Ballists w h o have not fought,
and apparently have no i n t e n t i o n of fighting.»
In the letter I suggested to o u r delegates that
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ' s insistence on the «proclamation
of independence» and the «annulment of the decision
of the A s s e m b l y of A p r i l 12» s h o u l d not be treated
s i m p l y as the f o r m a l i s t and scholastic insistence of a
jurist.
«If y o u glance o v e r the list of participants in that
'assembly',» I w r o t e in substance to Y m e r , «you w i l l
f i n d a l l the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r there. W e and the people
have never recognized that decision, therefore, we
have no reason to become partners w i t h the B a l l i ,
w h i c h t h r o u g h an allegedly j u r i d i c a l act wants to
absolve the sins it has committed.»
I w e n t on to instruct h i m that he m u s t not enter
into discussion of the issues w h i c h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
raised, m u s t not become f u r t h e r i n v o l v e d w i t h the
315
j u r i d i c a l sophism of its chiefs, and repeated once again,
indeed in the f o r m of separate points, w h a t the objective of the talks w h i c h were being h e l d s h o u l d consist of.
At the end of the letter I advised Y m e r to r e m a i n
v i g i l a n t and cool-headed in his judgements, to a v o i d
being carried a w a y b y events, but use t h e m i n o u r
favour; I rejected the slogan that M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i
had launched that «fascism is dead» and stressed
that we s t i l l h a d to wage w a r against it. Besides t h i s
I w r o t e about the hostile activities of the B a l l i K o m bëtar gangs against our forces and enclosed in t h e
envelope a n u m b e r of materials w h i c h showed t h a t
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was c o n t i n u i n g the w a r against
us and its collaboration w i t h the enemy. T h e y h a d
m a n y facts about a l l these things but in my letter I
also described episodes w h i c h had occurred in the
zone of K o r ç a w h e r e we w e r e established at the t i m e
that Y m e r and M u s t a f a were f l i r t i n g w i t h the delegates of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r at T a p i z a and M u k j e .
T h e letter w i t h the instructions for Y m e r D i s h nica was dispatched i m m e d i a t e l y and a r r i v e d at t h e
destination in a v e r y short time, considering our c o n ditions of communication, but m e a n w h i l e Y m e r and
M u s t a f a had hastened to complete their accord w i t h
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w i t h o u t w a i t i n g for the opinions
and directives of the leadership of the P a r t y .
Less t h a n two days later we learned that a leaflet
had been published in the name of the « C o m m i t t e e
for the S a l v a t i o n of A l b a n i a » w h i c h spoke about the
u n i t y w h i c h had been achieved between our N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ! T h i s n e w s
316
alarmed us and we judged at once that, regardless of
the content of the leaflet, the announcement of a u n i t y
w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and the f o r m a t i o n of a «committee» at a t i m e w h e n that organization had g i v e n
no proofs, was a v e r y w r o n g and h a r m f u l action and
in complete opposition to our line. We asked the c o m rades in T i r a n a to send us a copy of the leaflet urgently and i m m e d i a t e l y w r o t e a c i r c u l a r addressed to the
organizations of the P a r t y condemning the M u k j e
agreement. (1) In this circular, in the name of the C e n t r a l Committee of the P a r t y I ordered that the agreem e n t m u s t be t o r n up, no m e n t i o n m u s t be made of
it and our propaganda m u s t e x p l a i n our line and the
conditions on the basis of w h i c h it was possible to
achieve a genuine u n i t y .
A f t e r I h a d w r i t t e n the c i r c u l a r I gave it to N a k o
and S e j f u l l a to read.
«Perhaps we s h o u l d w a i t a bit, u n t i l the leaflet
arrives a n d t h e n we s h o u l d judge it,» t h e y said.
«Certainly not!» I said categorically. « E v e n w i t h
the little that we k n o w about it, that agreement m u s t
be condemned immediately, otherwise we w i l l cause
confusion in the P a r t y a n d among the people. Do
y o u agree that o u r delegates have v i o l a t e d the line?»
«It seemes so,» said Nako, w h i l e S e j f u l l a m e r e l y
nodded his head.
«Then, have y o u a n y objection to the content of
the letter?»
«No,» t h e y both replied.
_______________________________
1 E n v e r H o x h a , Works, v o l . 1, pp. 428, 2nd A l b . ed.
317
«Then, we s h o u l d send it and w h e n the l e a f l e t
arrives w e s h a l l see h o w deeply Y m e r and M u s t a f a
nave committed themselves.»
A n d this is w h a t was done.
W h e n a copy of the notorious leaflet approved
under the olive-trees of M u k j e reached us on the
f o l l o w i n g day, we understood even more c l e a r l y w h a t
a mess Y m e r and M u s t a f a had made, w h a t t r e a c h e r y
had been committed and w h a t dangerous traps had
been set for the P a r t y , the people and o u r N a t i o n a l
Liberation War.
In the office of the Staff at V i t h k u q I t h u m p e d
my fist on the table and i m m e d i a t e l y w r o t e Y m e r a
letter (1) w i t h o u t attempting to conceal my anger at this
base b e t r a y a l w h i c h h a d been c o m m i t t e d against o u r
war, the blood we h a d shed, the p r i v a t i o n s we h a d
suffered, the victories achieved and the l o f t y i d e a l
w h i c h we had aroused in the hearts of the people a n d
the partisans. R e a l i z i n g the dangerous consequences
w h i c h the M u k j e agreement m i g h t have, I could not
contain the anger w h i c h was s i m m e r i n g w i t h i n m e .
I k n e w that the mistake of M u k j e w a s not the m i s t a k e
of our P a r t y , but the mistake of one or t w o i n d i v i duals, w h i l e the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w o u l d e x p l o i t this
mistake, just as it was doing, almost before the i n k
w i t h w h i c h Y m e r had signed the d i s g r a c e f u l M u k j e
agreement was dried. If this inexcusable step, this
grave mistake, were not e l i m i n a t e d immediately, it
w o u l d have unimaginable consequences a m o n g t h e
________________________________
1 E n v e r H o x h a , Works, v o l . 1, p. 432, 2nd A l b . ed.
318
masses of the people, for the fate of the w a r and o u r
revolution.
«You have f a l l e n completely into the positions
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w h i c h is t r y i n g to hide its
past,» I w r o t e to Y m e r D i s h n i c a among other things.
«Your leaflet talks about ethnic A l b a n i a and says
nothing at a l l about o u r w a r against fascism, not one
word about the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . Y o u have put the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w h i c h is a basket of crabs, an o r g a nization w i t h a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of individuals, on an
equal footing w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l
Council w h i c h represents the A n t i - f a s c i s t F r o n t of the
people.»
I pointed out to h i m also that t h r o u g h this c o m promising act, w i t h one stroke of the pen, the c o u n cils, the Staff and the army, w h i c h we had b u i l t up
w i t h so m u c h bloodshed and sacrifice, h a d been w i p e d
out and in place of t h e m a «Committee for the S a l vation of A l b a n i a » , w h i c h in fact w o u l d d i g the grave
for A l b a n i a , h a d emerged!
In conclusion, I i n f o r m e d Y m e r D i s h n i c a that the
Central Committee s t e r n l y denounced the o p p o r t u n ist M u k j e agreement as a grave v i o l a t i o n of the political line of the P a r t y . At the end of the letter I
ordered
h i m to break off a n y k i n d of t a l k and to
make no other agreement. I pointed out to Y m e r ,
Mustafa and the others that t h e y w e r e divested of a n y
authority to represent the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t ; if
necessary, the P a r t y w o u l d send another delegate there.
In that situation it was essential to act in such an
urgent w a y because every day that passed after the
announcement of the M u k j e agreement, to w h i c h the
319
B a l l i s t propaganda gave the greatest p u b l i c i t y w i t h o u t
delay, w o u l d cause h a r m to our w o r k and the war,
w o u l d cause confusion among the members of the
P a r t y and other participants i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
M o v e m e n t . Therefore, w i t h o u t w a i t i n g for the meeting of the P l e n u m of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e or of
the P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u , w h i c h i n the w a r t i m e conditions
w o u d have r e q u i r e d t i m e to organize, I discussed
the question w i t h those members of the leadership
o f the P a r t y w h o w e r e a t K u c a k a . A p a r t f r o m N a ko, w h o was a m e m b e r of the P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u , S e j fulla, who had been coopted as a candidate m e m b e r
of the C e n t r a l Committee, and some other comrades of
the leadership of the P a r t y , w h o w e r e in the K o r ç a zone
d u r i n g this period, I also s u m m o n e d K o ç i X o x e , w h o
had returned f r o m accompanying T e m p o to Greece (1)
and was engaged in m i n o r matters in the villages.
I n connection w i t h m y stand towards the w o r k o f Y m e r
D i s h n i c a and M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i there w a s n o opposition.
Indeed, even S e j f u l l a , w h o was a close f r i e n d of Y m e r ' s ,
was unable to come out in his defence and expressed
his s o l i d a r i t y w i t h the c o m m o n v i e w . O n l y K o ç i X o x e ,
as though w i t h o u t a n y u l t e r i o r motive, t h r e w in a
poison p i l l , b y s a y i n g :
«We shouldn't have held these talks at a l l . See
w h a t has come out of them.»
S e j f u l l a p r i c k e d up his ears.
« Y o u r idea is wrong,» I r e p l i e d to K o ç i . «The d e cision w h i c h w e took t o t a l k once again w i t h B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r was correct and on the l i n e of the P a r t y .
__________________________________
1 Enver
Hoxha,
The
Titoites,
«8
House, T i r a n a 1982, pp. 42-74, E n g . ed.
320
Nëntori»
Publishing
The p l a t f o r m of the talks w h i c h we approved was
correct, too, but Y m e r and M u s t a f a completely v i o l a t e d
it.»
«But see they have compromised the line,» said
Koçi Xoxe.
«They compromised the talks, but not the line of
the P a r t y and the Front. We condemn the act of M u k j e
precisely because it violates our political line.»
T i m e c o n f i r m e d h o w correct and salutary was the
clear-cut and intransigent stand w h i c h we decided to
take towards w h a t was hatched up at M u k j e . H a d the
P a r t y accepted the b e t r a y a l of M u k j e its hands w o u l d
have been tied, it w o u l d have been obliged to m a k e
other opportunist concessions, w o u l d have been swept
by confusion and have been split, w o u l d have lost e v e r y thing gained, i n c l u d i n g the trust of the masses. A c c e p tance of that agreement and the so-called C o m m i t t e e
for the S a l v a t i o n of A l b a n i a w o u l d have t h r e a t e n ed and t r a g i c a l l y jeopardized the f u t u r e of the H o m e land. A c c o r d i n g t o the agreement w h i c h Y m e r D i s h n i ca signed, this «committee» w o u l d have e q u a l r e p r e sentation f r o m the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and the N a t i o n a l
Liberation F r o n t and w o u l d a i m to become the supreme
organ of the w a r and the state; the B a l l i s t members
of it w o u l d do their utmost to eliminate the G e n e r a l
Council, the G e n e r a l Staff, and above a l l the leading
role of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . T h e v e r y creation of
this organism w o u l d m e a n sharing p o w e r w i t h the b i g
bourgeoisie and the feudal lords who, t h r o u g h such
representatives a s A l i K ë l c y r a , M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i and
others, w o u l d attempt to realize their o w n interests.
Initially, t h e y w e r e obliged to recognize us as partners
321
and f i g h t to place themselves on an equal footing w i t h
us, but in the f u t u r e they w o u l d attempt to get r i d of
us, to seize the reins of power and to establish a m o d erate feudal bourgeois regime in A l b a n i a w i t h a d e mocratic disguise.
H i s t o r y is not short of instances w h i c h prove h o w
dear is the cost of opportunist mistakes at the k e y
moments of the w a r and the r e v o l u t i o n . T h e c a p i t u l ationist acts of the leaders of the G r e e k C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y w i t h the local reactionary organizations and
groupings, the G r e e k counterparts of the B a l l i K o m b ë tar, cost the G r e e k people and the G r e e k C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y dear. U p t i l l that time the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
was the greatest organizing and leading force in Greece
in the w a r for the l i b e r a t i o n of the c o u n t r y f r o m the
G e r m a n occupiers. T h e communists w e r e the initiators
for the formation of the L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t of Greece,
the E A M , i n September 1941. I n this F r o n t i n w h i c h
the P o p u l a r Democratic P a r t y and other partriots also
took part, the G r e e k C o m m u n i s t P a r t y p l a y e d a leading
role and succeeded in r a i s i n g the people in the w a r f o r
national and social liberation, began and b u i l t up the
armed struggle and created the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
A r m y , the E L A S . Later, however, the leaders of the
Greek CP lost their bearings and s u b m i t t e d to the pressure of reaction and the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n «friends». S i antos, the general secretary of the party, in the absence
of N i k o Zachariades, w h o was in a concentration camp,
acted as a provocateur and agent of the B r i t i s h , but
even the others d i d not react against the agreements
w h i c h were made in Lebanon and Caserta w h e r e peace
was made w i t h reaction and a joint government f o r m e d .
322
The subsequent development of events in Greece is
w e l l - k n o w n a n d it is not d i f f i c u l t to understand the
grave r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the leaders of the G r e e k party.
Here I w a n t to note that, as e a r l y as that time, our
P a r t y expressed its opinions about V a r k i z a a n d t h e i r
other agreements, describing those acts as b e t r a y a l to
the G r e e k C o m m u n i s t P a r t y and the G r e e k people. T h i s
opinion, together w i t h other reservations about the
views and actions of the leaders of that party, I have
expressed to Zachariades and Partsalides w h e n I met
them personally and at the j o i n t m e e t i n g we h a d w i t h
S t a l i n and M o l o t o v i n J a n u a r y 1950. ( 1 )
O u r P a r t y d i d not f a l l into s u c h traps a n d d i d not
permit a n y t r i f l i n g w i t h the interests of the people
and the H o m e l a n d . It acted w i t h courage and m a t u r i t y ,
although it w a s a y o u n g p a r t y and s m a l l in numbers.
It had the great strength of the people w h i c h gave
b i r t h to it, f a i t h in the correctness of the u n e r r i n g
M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t theory, had the courage, w i s d o m a n d
ability to a v o i d a n y m i s t a k e or act of treachery by
i n d i v i d u a l persons at the proper time, as was the case
of the grave b e t r a y a l at M u k j e .
_________________________________________
1
Enver
Hoxha,
With
Stalin
(Memoirs),
«8
Nëntori»
shing House, T i r a n a 1984, pp. 165-200, 2nd E n g . ed.
323
Publi-
III
THE NATIONAL LIBERATION COUNCILS —
T H E ONLY STATE POWER IN ALBANIA
At the end of the s u m m e r of 1943 the Italian
occupiers and their open collaborators w e r e c l e a r l y in
their death agony and this was accompanied not o n l y
w i t h the m a d f u r y of those w h o w e r e d r o w n i n g but
also w i t h the w h e t t i n g of the appetites and stepped up
efforts of the reactionaries «held in reserve» w h o
hoped to exploit the situation to take over the reins
of A l b a n i a w i t h o u t f i r i n g a shot. O u r P a r t y , the o n l y
organized internal political force, w h i c h at the head
of the people had made the m a x i m u m c o n t r i b u t i o n to
d r i v e the occupiers to their death, n o w faced other
grave and decisive tests and tasks.
Those w h o up t i l l then had s i m p l y been seatw a r m e r s must in no w a y be allowed to benefit f r o m
the bloodshed and sacrifices of the people, the c o m munists and a l l genuine patriots. That role and i n d i s p u t a b l e a u t h o r i t y w h i c h the P a r t y , the N a t i o n a l L i 324
beration F r o n t and the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils
had established in the course of the w a r must in no
way be lost and a l l o w e d to f a l l into the hands of
others in those decisive moments. On the contrary,
they h a d to be safeguarded and f u r t h e r consolidated
not o n l y de facto, t h r o u g h the a r m e d struggle, b u t
also de jure, t h r o u g h unshakeable decisions of the
representatives of the people. T h e conditions for an
important and decisive step towards this consolidation h a d m a t u r e d . T h e moments h a d come for the
organization of the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference
of the A l b a n i a n people.
1. A decisive moment towards the seizure of
power
(The Conference of Labinot, 4-9 September 1943)
T h e 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference of the
A l b a n i a n people, or as we call it for short, the 2nd
Conference of Labinot, u n d o u b t e d l y occupies one of
the most p r o m i n e n t places in the c h a i n of historic
events of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r . In the h i s t o r y
of the creation, strengthening and steeling of the people's state p o w e r in A l b a n i a , in particular, the o r ganization of this Conference and its decisions have
had and w i l l continue to have exceptional importance
and value.
325
In stressing the importance of this event, it should
never be thought that the idea about the o r g a n i z a tion of this Conference arose suddenly at the end of
A u g u s t 1943, or that we w e r e i m p e l l e d to h o l d it by
w h a t occurred at M u k j e . No, the situation in A u g u s t
1943 and the events at M u k j e were to serve s i m p l y
as factors to accelerate the h o l d i n g of this Conference
as q u i c k l y as possible, but the idea of and the need
for organizing it had risen and been put f o r w a r d m u c h
earlier.
At the Conference of Peza in September 1942, at
w h i c h we l a i d the foundations of the F r o n t and the
national liberation councils, we pointed out that in the
future, w h e n the councils had been set up and e x t e n ded over most of the t e r r i t o r y of the country, w h e n
their role and a u t h o r i t y among the people h a d been
increased and consolidated, the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion Conference w o u l d have to be organized in. order
to sum up what had been achieved and to define the
tasks for the future. In assessing the great w o r k w h i c h
had been done in this important d i r e c t i o n of the war,
the 1st Conference of the C P A in M a r c h 1943 a r r i v e d
at the conclusion that the conditions for the 2nd N a tional L i b e r a t i o n Conference of the A l b a n i a n people
w e r e maturing, w h i l e a few months later, at the
meeting o f the P r o v i s i o n a l G e n e r a l C o u n c i l i n J u l y
1943 in Labinot, it was f i n a l l y decided to c a l l together
the meeting of representatives of the A l b a n i a n people
in the near future. Indeed, we charged the «Standing
Committee» or «Secretariat» of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l ,
w h i c h w e elected i n J u l y i n Labinot, w i t h the p r e paration of the c o m i n g Conference as its m a i n and
326
urgent task and began the preparatory w o r k i m m e d iately after this.
I have stressed these things in order to u n d e r l i n e
once again a great t r u t h : we never a l l o w e d a n y meeting, especially a m e e t i n g of national proportions, to
be held hastily, because the «opportunity arose» or
because «matters developed in this w a y » . No, just as
the P a r t y took the i n i t i a t i v e about h o l d i n g the C o n ference of P e z a w h e n it j u d g e d that the conditions
were ripe and the possibilities existed for that C o n ference, so it d i d in regard to the 2nd Conference.
We never p e r m i t t e d or agreed to h o l d hasty meetings
or conferences unnecessarily, s i m p l y for the sake of
holding them, or to decide things for w h i c h the time
had not yet a r r i v e d .
The f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b l e m on w h i c h the Conference
w o u l d focus its attention was that of the strengthening and consolidation of the role of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a tion councils, the recognition of these councils by a l l
those w h o expressed themselves and w e r e in f a v o u r
of real a n d concrete w a r against the occupiers and,
in connection w i t h this m a i n problem, the tasks for
the extension and f u r t h e r organization of the great
general struggle against the foreign yoke w e r e to be
discussed and decided.
P r e c i s e l y in the context of these tasks and p r e parations our f i n a l attempt was m a d e to h o l d talks
w i t h the representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r at
Mukje. As I have already related in detail, the demands w h i c h we decided to present to the representatives of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e r e completely in c o n formity w i t h the problems w h i c h were to be discussed
327
at the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference. If the
Ballists were to accept our demands (a thing w h i c h
their traitor chiefs could never do) we w o u l d a l l o w
them time to c o n f i r m and prove in the w a r just h o w
serious they w e r e about these demands and t h e n we
w o u l d i n v i t e t h e m to take part in the Conference. If
they refused our demands we w o u l d report to the
Conference w h a t great efforts we had made and the
w o r k we had done w i t h the chiefs of this organization, w o u l d produce proofs and arguments that the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was a traitor organization and the
Conference of the representatives of the people w o u l d
f i n a l l y decide on the stand to be taken towards it in
the future.
Thus, at the proper moment and on the basis of
a thorough analysis and m a t u r e judgements we d e c i d ed to organize the 2nd regular N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Conference and as early as J u l y , along w i t h other
tasks, we began to w o r k for its preparation.
T h e events w h i c h occurred and the situation
w h i c h was created i m m e d i a t e l y after this p r o v e d h o w
correct and well-considered our decision on the o r g a nization of this Conference h a d been.
T h e outstanding event w i t h the most p r o f o u n d
repercussions on the development and complication of
the situation at these moments was the f a l l f r o m
power of the fascist dictator B e n i t o M u s s o l i n i on J u l y
25, 1943. T h i s news, w h i c h was clear evidence of the
i m m i n e n t capitulation of fascist Italy, gave us an i m mense joy, because our people, along w i t h other peoples, had made a m a j o r contribution to this end of
Italian fascism, and it presented us w i t h n e w tasks. On
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the one hand, we had to mobilize and lead the masses
of the people m o r e v i g o r o u s l y in order to help b r i n g
about the capitulation of fascism as q u i c k l y as possible and, on the other hand, we h a d to d i s p l a y v i g i l ance and d e t e r m i n a t i o n to ensure that the f r u i t s of
the v i c t o r y w e n t o n l y to the f i g h t i n g people to w h o m
they belonged.
In these directions the dangers and d i f f i c u l t i e s
were increasing and becoming more complex. T h e f a l l
of M u s s o l i n i suddenly obliged the marionettes of the
nation to stage a n e w «anti-fascist» farce. Those w h o
up t i l l that t i m e had been fattening themselves at t h e
trough of the impero and p r a y i n g for M u s s o l i n i , took
to the mountains, t r y i n g to t u r n the d e c l i n i n g hour
of fascism into the «7 days of the creation of the
world»; by presenting themselves as «valiant fighters»
they thought that their t u r n h a d come to take over
the p o w e r w h i c h was destined for t h e m alone f o r
eternity! F r o m w h o m w o u l d they take over this
power? These p o l i t i c a l swindlers w e r e u n r i v a l l e d at
m a k i n g deals: if there w e r e no foreign interference
they were sure that the Italian fascists w o u l d toss the
state power to t h e m l i k e a coin in an u p t u r n e d hat; if
the G e r m a n s came in, as the omens w e r e indicating,
they w o u l d present themselves as «internai l i b e r a tors» and, u n d e r the protection of the nazi bayonets,
would do w h a t e v e r the Gestapo demanded of t h e m
until H i t l e r fell, too, and then p o w e r w o u l d r e m a i n in
their hands. H o w e v e r they w o u l d emerge just as
triumphant, indeed, even w i t h greater honour(!), if the
A n g l o - A m e r i c a n allies w e r e to f i l l the v a c u u m created
after the departure of the Italians, as was r u m o u r e d .
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T h e y k n e w v e r y w e l l that C h u r c h i l l was not less
anti-communist t h a n M u s s o l i n i and H i t l e r . True, if the
B r i t i s h and the A m e r i c a n s , as members of the a n t i fascist coalition, w e r e to set foot in A l b a n i a t h e y
w o u l d hold the reins themselves after the war, but
for the heads of national betrayal this m i n o r «evil»
was also a great blessing: under B r i t i s h protection
the old w o r l d w o u l d guarantee and consolidate its
state power; let w h o e v e r w a n t e d to pay the cost.
Thus, h o w e v e r the situation developed, w h i c h e v e r
foreigner came to A l b a n i a , there was no danger for
the «fathers of the nation»: t h e y w o u l d r a l l y to a n y
s h a m e f u l banner. F o r t h e m there r e m a i n e d o n l y one
great, dangerous and m o r t a l e n e m y : the N a t i o n a l L i b eration M o v e m e n t of the A l b a n i a n people led by the
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . Hence, i n the situation w h i c h was
created after the f a l l of M u s s o l i n i the chiefs of the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r saw more c l e a r l y t h a n ever that the
m a i n immediate and f u t u r e enemy to their dreams of
power was the C P A , the F r o n t and the n a t i o n a l l i b eration councils. Therefore, w i t h a thousand and one
tricks and manoeuvres, t h e y m o b i l i z e d a l l their forces
to rob the people of that p o w e r w h i c h the people, led
by the P a r t y , had created and w e r e strengthening at
the cost of sacrifice and bloodshed.
Hence, we had to cope at a l l costs w i t h this great
danger w h i c h had long been i n existence but w h i c h
n o w emerged openly c o n f r o n t i n g us w i t h a l l its savagery and cunning. At a l l costs we h a d to a f f i r m and
centralize that real p o w e r w h i c h we had created and
were strengthening t h r o u g h a bloody w a r in order to
prevent the «liberation» manoeuvre, w h i c h the B a l l i s t
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gangs w e r e staging, f r o m f i n d i n g acceptance in any
way.
A n d precisely w h e n w e sent our representatives
w i t h clear-cut instructions to place the B a l l i w i t h its
back to the w a l l , an action w h i c h w o u l d have greatly
strengthened o u r a u t h o r i t y and assisted us in o u r
subsequent stands, w h a t we k n o w about happened at
M u k j e : Y . D i s h n i c a and M . G j i n i s h i , instead o f placing
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w i t h its back to the w a l l , adopted
the stand of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . T h i s grave and i n e x cusable act of c a p i t u l a t i o n and treachery made the
situation and o u r tasks i m m e n s e l y m o r e complicated,
and for a moment, placed a n e w w e a p o n in the hands
of the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r to c a r r y on their
c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y game to seize power.
A l t h o u g h w e i m m e d i a t e l y denounced and c o n demned the M u k j e agreement, s t i l l this d i d not mean
that i n t e r n a l reaction, especially the traitor chiefs of
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w o u l d give u p their manoeuvres
and f e v e r i s h efforts to rob the people of the f r u i t s of
t h e i r w a r . T h e m a i n a i m of a possible A n g l o - A m e r i c a n
l a n d i n g on our shores, especially at these complex
moments, w o u l d not be to f i g h t against the Italians,
n o w at t h e i r last gasp, but precisely to support and
secure the positions of i n t e r n a l reaction w i t h the objective that, b y this means, i m p e r i a l i s m w o u l d m a i n t a i n
the old w o r l d w i t h its old enslaving connections and
dependence i n A l b a n i a .
Hence, it was more than ever essential to u n m a s k
the «anti-Italian» manoeuvres of i n t e r n a l reaction and
smash to smithereens the efforts and aims of a l l those
331
w h o w a n t e d to seize f r o m the hands of the people
those historic victories for w h i c h t h e y h a d shed a n d
w e r e shedding torrents of blood. It was essential to
f u r t h e r strengthen and extend the u n i t y of the A l b a n i a n people i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and especially to strengthen the state p o w e r of the n a t i o n a l
liberation councils f r o m e v e r y stand-point, as the o n l y
legal political power of the people in A l b a n i a ,
A n d w h o could and must discuss and decide about
these historic needs better t h a n the people themselves
through their l a w f u l representatives? T h e moment f o r
s u m m o n i n g the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference,
for w h i c h we had been p r e p a r i n g for some time, had
now arrived.
As soon as we inaugurated the 1st Shock Brigade,
together w i t h a n u m b e r of other comrades, I set out
i m m e d i a t e l y f r o m V i t h k u q and after a non-stop m a r c h
through G o r a - O p a r and the zones of L i b r a z h d , a r r i v e d
at Labinot, in the last ten days of A u g u s t to f i n d that
Y m e r D i s h n i c a also h a d r e t u r n e d there. There w e
h e l d a meeting of the P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u in w h i c h
those comrades w h o had the possibility to come took
part and we asked Y m e r for a detailed report on the
a c t i v i t y of the delegation at M u k j e . A l t h o u g h Y m e r
D i s h n i c a admitted his guilt, he t r i e d to j u s t i f y himself
w i t h the «unexpected situation» and the alleged lack
of instructions, etc., etc. At this m e e t i n g we proposed
his expulsion f r o m the B u r e a u and left the discussion
and decision of this matter for a regular m e e t i n g of
the C e n t r a l Committee of the P a r t y w h i c h we e n v i s aged to hold in the first months of a u t u m n . ( C i r c u m -
332
stances developed in s u c h a w a y that the p l e n u m was
held in M a y 1944.)
D u r i n g those same days, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l at one of its meetings rejected the
opportunist agreement of M u k j e and decided that the
2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference, for w h i c h the
necessary preparations w e r e almost completed, should
begin its w o r k on September 4. This Conference w o u l d
not be a m e e t i n g of i n d i v i d u a l elements, but a broad
assembly of representatives of the people of different
regions and of their organs of power, the national l i b eration councils. These representatives w o u l d be m a n dated delegates to a m e e t i n g w h i c h w o u l d take d e c i sions i m p o r t a n t to the f u t u r e of the H o m e l a n d .
T i m e l y measures had been taken also to ensure
the best possible organization of the Conference. The
national l i b e r a t i o n councils in the districts and regions
had been i n f o r m e d about this important event, about
the m a i n problems w h i c h w o u l d be presented, and had
been instructed on the procedure to be f o l l o w e d in
the election of the delegates. The organizations of the
P a r t y in the regions also had been instructed by the
C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e to regard this as a serious matter
and to take a l l the necessary measures to ensure that
the election of delegates, their departure and a r r i v a l
at the destination w o u l d be carried out w i t h o u t a n y
incident. T h e n u m b e r of delegates for each region
w o u l d be in proportion to the n u m b e r of councils
e x i s t i n g in that p a r t i c u l a r region. Thus, those regions
and districts w h e r e the w o r k for setting up councils
was not going w e l l had a s m a l l e r representation. A c cording to the instructions, each delegate w o u l d be
333
provided by the national liberation c o u n c i l of his d i s trict or region w i t h a mandate enclosed in a sealed
envelope. T h e mandate had to be c a r e f u l l y safeguarded
because w i t h o u t it no delegate w o u l d be allowed to
take part in the proceedings of the Conference.
Precisely at this period of preparations for t h e
2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference, or a l i t t l e earlier,
through the comrades in T i r a n a we received an i n v i t a tion f r o m A l i K ë l c y r a w h o i n f o r m e d us about a meeting of the «Committee for the S a l v a t i o n of A l b a n i a » .
Before the war, w h e n I was a student in France,
I had once h a d occasion to meet the feudal «democrat». I remember I was on my w a y back f r o m A l b a n i a where I had been on h o l i d a y and in B a r i had met
B a h r i O m a r i , w h o had g i v e n m e a letter for A l i K ë l c y r a w h o l i v e d in Paris. I v i s i t e d the bey in his home
at the address w h i c h B a h r i had g i v e n me. It was a v e r y
fine appartment, a t h i n g w h i c h impressed me as s u r p r i s i n g for a n emigrant. A l i received m e c o l d l y a n d
haughtily, and r e l u c t a n t l y ushered me into the s i t t i n g
room. O n l y w h e n he learned who had sent me d i d he
change his tone, offered me a cigarette and rang the
b e l l for his F r e n c h m a i d w h o m he ordered to m a k e
me a coffee. W h i l e I was d r i n k i n g the coffee he asked
me w h a t I was s t u d y i n g and what news I had f r o m
A l b a n i a . The bey o f K ë l c y r a listened t o m e w i t h
indifference and boredom. So I, too, r e m a i n e d cold,
replied to his questions v e r y b r i e f l y and got up and
left as soon as I had d r u n k the coffee. Since that t i m e
I had never set eyes on h i m , either abroad or in A l bania, w h e n he returned together w i t h the occupiers.
B u t w e had heard w h a t h e had been u p to. A l i K ë l 334
c y r a was one of the «prominent» propagandists of
reaction and the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , one of those w h o
more t h a n a n y other v e n t e d his spleen against the
w a r for liberation, against communists and partisans.
W h a t is more, the traitor A l i K ë l c y r a was not content
m e r e l y w i t h w o r d s ; together w i t h his brigands he took
the side of the Italian troops in the p u n i t i v e operations
in regions w h e r e our çeta and battalions were f i g h t i n g ,
b u r n t homes and k i l l e d people and launched perfidious
attacks. We k n e w about a l l these activities of his a n d
had w a r n e d h i m about t h e m . Once w e arrested h i m ,
but let h i m go t e l l i n g h i m to w a t c h his step because
he w o u l d not get off so l i g h t l y n e x t time. On the eve
of the Conference of Labinot, that is, at the t i m e w h e n
A l i B e y K ë l c y r a i n v i t e d us to the «Committee», we
had captured a n e w document p r o v i n g his treachery
and that of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . T h i s was the s h a m e f u l
«protocol» w h i c h A l i K ë l c y r a had signed i n H o t e l
Dajti w i t h G e n e r a l R e n z o Dalmazzo, in w h i c h he
openly pledged the collaboration of the Ballists w i t h
the fascist troops.
A l t h o u g h it was clear what r e p l y w o u l d be g i v e n
to the i n v i t a t i o n of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , I also i n f o r m ed the other comrades who were in L a b i n o t d u r i n g
those days about it. I d i d not c a l l a n y special meeting
on this question, but seized an o p p o r t u n i t y w h e n
several comrades had gathered in the r o o m w h e r e I
was w o r k i n g . It seems to me they were S p i r o M o i s i u ,
Nako, O m e r N i s h a n i , w h o had come to us d u r i n g those
days, and perhaps some others. I told them about
A l i K ë l c y r a ' s i n v i t a t i o n and s a i d :
335
«As we have decided, I s h a l l w r i t e to H y s e n (1) to
m a k e clear to the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r once again that we
w i l l have nothing to do w i t h M u k j e , let alone p a r t i c i pate in the so-called C o m m i t e e for the S a l v a t i o n of
A l b a n i a , I believe we are a l l of the same mind.»
A l l the comrades agreed. A s w e w e r e t a l k i n g
S e j f u l l a entered the r o o m and we e x p l a i n e d o u r
stand to h i m .
«Is that what is decided?» asked S e j f u l l a M a l ë shova and looked around f i s h i n g for some d i s a p p r o v a l
of w h a t we had decided.
«Why, don't y o u agree?» asked S p i r o M o i s i u .
«I agree in principle,» S e j f u l l a hastened to reply,
«but I am r a c k i n g my b r a i n w h y t h e y have sent us
t h i s invitation.»
«It's not w o r t h w h i l e , » I said to h i m there and
then, g i v i n g h i m no chance to start one of his debates.
«In m y opinion, A l i K ë l c y r a ' s invitation, w h i c h i n
fact is an i n v i t a t i o n f r o m the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , is a
provocation. T h e y k n o w v e r y w e l l that w e have r e jected M u k j e , but by i n v i t i n g us to their famous
'Committee' they intend that we s h o u l d get together
once again, hold a discussion, q u a r r e l w i t h one another and cause a split. T h i s is the one aspect, the
other aspect is that t h e y w a n t to pose as people w h o
stick to agreements and to f i n d an occasion to spread
the w o r d everywhere, 'See we want unity, b u t the
communists break their word'.»
«That is w h a t I am getting at,» said S e j f u l l a .
«We are g i v i n g them such an occasion.»
____________________________________
1 T h e pseudonym of comrade Gogo N u s h i .
336
«Take it easy, Sejfulla,» said N a k o . «The B a l l i
seizes on e v e r y occasion to slander and gossip. Don't
y o u w o r r y about that.»
S e j f u l l a said no more and thus the question of
the «Committee for the S a l v a t i o n of A l b a n i a » was
closed.
M e a n w h i l e we pressed ahead w i t h the w o r k of
receiving the delegates to the Conference and t a k i n g
the f i n a l organizational measures. I n i t i a l l y we thought
we s h o u l d hold the Conference not in L a b i n o t but in
a more remote zone, S h m i l , since L a b i n o t h a d been
exposed once and the danger existed of an attack by
the enemy or reaction. We i n f o r m e d S a m i B a h o l l i of
this opinion and suggested to h i m the school in the
Qafa hamlet of S h m i l , as a suitable place. A f t e r
inspecting it, however, S a m i and another comrade
decided that the school b u i l d i n g was unsuitable for
such a m e e t i n g because it was too s m a l l and in bad
repair, so, in the end, we decided that this Conference,
too, should be h e l d in the B a h o l l i s ' house in Labinot.
T h e comrades in charge of accommodating the
delegates d i d great w o r k . W i t h the help of comrades
f r o m Elbasan and the s u r r o u n d i n g villages t h e y c o l lected food and blankets and even f o u n d a good cook.
S a m i w o r k e d tirelessly, m o v i n g around a l l the nearby
villages. T h e f i n a l touches to these preparations, especially f r o m the aesthetic aspect, w e r e g i v e n by
N e x h m i j e , O l l g a P l u m b i and E l a G j i k o n d i , w h o a r r i v e d
in L a b i n o t t w o or three days before the other delegates.
As at the 1st N a t i o n a l Conference of the C P A , we
adapted a part of the b i g room in the u p p e r storey
337
of the house as the h a l l for the meeting, separating it
f r o m the other part w i t h a red c u r t a i n . B e h i n d the
curtain were the stairs leading to the g r o u n d floor,
w h i l e on both sides of the stairs there were t w o s m a l l
rooms w h i c h w e r e used for w o r k and as sleeping
quarters. On the c u r t a i n we hang the portraits of
Skanderbeg and Ismail Q e m a l i .
The delegates began to arrive on the 2nd of
September and by the next day almost a l l had come.
The f o l l o w i n g day, September 4, 1943, the proceedings of the Conference of L a b i n o t commenced. It was
attended by about 50 delegates, elected by the n a t i o n a l
liberation councils of the whole country, delegates of
anti-fascist organizations w h i c h had adhered to the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, f r o m the G e n e r a l Staff as
w e l l as the members of the P r o v i s i o n a l G e n e r a l C o u n cil. One of those m i s s i n g was A b a z K u p i , to w h o m we
had sent the i n v i t a t i o n and the list of the problems
that w o u l d be discussed in time, but, as he was to
say, «work had prevented h i m f r o m coming». T h u s
began the proceedings of the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Conference at w h i c h , f r o m September 4-9, the delegates f r o m the w h o l e country, w i t h a h e a v i l y loaded
agenda (frequently the proceedings w h i c h began in
the m o r n i n g continued t i l l midnight), discussed and
reached decisions on problems of historic importance.
T h e m a i n problem w h i c h the Conference dealt
w i t h was the question of the political p o w e r in A l b a nia, seeing this closely l i n k e d w i t h the real achievements of the national l i b e r a t i o n councils f r o m the
moment w h e n they were f o r m e d and, undoubtedly, in
close connection w i t h the new situation w h i c h h a d
338
been created in the s u m m e r of 1943 and the tasks
w h i c h emerged f r o m this. A l t h o u g h each of the 6 r e ports delivered at the Conference and the m a n y c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the discussion about t h e m dealt more
extensively w i t h p a r t i c u l a r aspects or problems, a
c o m m o n idea l i n k e d t h e m and pervaded t h e m a l l : the
real p o w e r w h i c h we had managed to create t h r o u g h
a n all-sided struggle w i t h arms, w i t h propaganda, w i t h
concrete w o r k w i t h the masses, etc., etc., n o w had to be
centralized and p r o c l a i m e d the o n l y state p o w e r of
the people in A l b a n i a . E v e r y effort m u s t be made to
ensure that this state power carried out its tasks and
role in the best possible w a y a l l over the c o u n t r y and
was strengthened and protected as the inviolable
power of the insurgent people.
T h e report on the i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l situation,
w i t h w h i c h the proceedings of the first session began,
e x a m i n e d the questions of the development of the
anti-fascist w a r on an i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e v e l in close c o n nection w i t h the developments of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion W a r and especially w i t h the m a j o r results i n
this w a r .
«Our w a r has dealt the fascist enemy and its
collaborators u n i n t e r r u p t e d blows, has made life h e l l
for them, and we are p r o u d that our people have
made and are m a k i n g a m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n to the f i n a l
defeat w h i c h is threatening fascist Italy,» said the
report. «This is precisely w h a t has enhanced the a u t h o r i t y and prestige of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e ment and w o n it recognition in the international
arena.»
One of the delegates in his discussion s a i d : «We
339
have not sought or achieved o u r recognition in the
international arena through ambassadors or d i p l o m a t i c
missions, b u t t h r o u g h the w a r against the occupier.
The l i b e r a t i o n w a r is and w i l l be the f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r
of the A l b a n i a n people.»
In this poetic way, the comrade touched on a
great and incontestable t r u t h : the recognition in the
international arena of our people's a r m e d struggle
constituted, at the same time, an i m p o r t a n t factor and
a guarantee of the recognition and a f f i r m a t i o n of the
other major achievements and results of this struggle;
especially at those moments this aspect of the p r o b l e m
assumed p a r t i c u l a r importance. As I said, there was
talk and the obvious possibility of an A n g l o - A m e r i c a n
l a n d i n g in the Balkans, and w h i l e it was true that we
recognized and spoke about t h e i r role in the a n t i fascist alliance, at the same time, we also k n e w t h e i r
secret and sinister aims and interests in A l b a n i a and
in other countries. Hence, it was i m p o r t a n t that, if
t h e y w e r e to l a n d at those moments, t h e y f o u n d
us not o n l y in c o m m a n d of the w a r against fascism,
but also in c o m m a n d of o u r o w n affairs, masters of
o u r o w n country. T h a t is, t h e y had to see and be
obliged to recognize not o n l y a people m o b i l i z e d in
w a r , but also a people who, as a result of the war,
w e r e n o w effectively exercising t h e i r p o w e r t h r o u g h
the national l i b e r a t i o n councils.
T h i s p r o b l e m was thrashed out even m o r e c l e a r l y
a n d d i r e c t l y in the Conference in the discussions of
t h e report on the situation, a c t i v i t y and present and
f u t u r e tasks of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils. D e l e gates f r o m T i r a n a , S h k o d r a , Durrës, V l o r a , G j i r o k a s 340
tra, E l b a s a n and elsewhere spoke concretely about the
extension and strengthening of the national liberation
councils in the regions, cities and villages, about t h e i r
major role in the m o b i l i z a t i o n of the people in the
war, about their a i d for the detachments of the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n A r m y and the s o l u t i o n o f the v i t a l
problems of the people, especially in the liberated
zones.
«In the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils, the people
are seeing themselves not o n l y at w a r but also in
power,» said M e d a r S h t y l l a amongst other things.
«The more we enhance the role a n d a c t i v i t y of the
councils, the more the m o b i l i z a t i o n of the people in
the w a r w i l l be increased, because the o r d i n a r y f o l k
are convinced that the bloodshed and sacrifices w i l l
not be in vain.»
A m o n g s t others K o ç o Tashko, also, took the floor
and began his c o n t r i b u t i o n w i t h a c r i t i c i s m about the
«remarks» and «dissatisfaction» w h i c h S e j f u l l a M a l ë shova had expressed in the report on the situation and
the a c t i v i t y of the councils in the terrain.
« S e j f u l l a m u s t not forget that R o m e was not b u i l t
in a day!» said K o ç o .
A f t e r e n u n c i a t i n g this adage, however, he c o n sidered it in order to m a k e a «criticism» himself, not
about the councils at the «base», but about their
«higher» organs.
«There is p a r o c h i a l i s m in the G e n e r a l Council,»
he said (he h i m s e l f was not a m e m b e r of the Council).
«Baba F a j a i s interested i n M a r t a n e s h , M y s l i m i n Peza,
H a x h i L l e s h i i n Dibra.»
341
«We w o r k where we are f i g h t i n g and w i l l go
w h e r e v e r we are needed,» H a x h i r e p l i e d to h i m .
C l e a r l y , w h a t K o ç o Tashko was concerned about
was not the «parochialism» of H a x h i , M y s l i m a n d
M u s t a f a X h a n i . H i s a i m was t o denigrate s u c h active
comrades w h o w e r e members of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l ,
of w h i c h K o ç o thought he ought to be a m e m b e r
sine qua non, just as he c l a i m e d that he c e r t a i n l y
ought to be a m e m b e r of the leadership of the P a r t y .
«We have had and have members of the G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l and delegates charged w i t h the qualities a n d
competences of members of the C o u n c i l in a l l zones,»
I said speaking to K o ç o Tashko. «Let each of us do
his best in his o w n zone or sector and there is no
reason for anyone to criticize us for p a r o c h i a l i s m .
True, M y s l i m is more interested in the s i t u a t i o n and
role of the councils in the zone w h e r e he is fighting,»
I continued, «but he is not interested in his o w n p o w e r
there, but in the power of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n
council of his zone. T h e same is true of H a x h i in D i b ra, H a s a n P u l o i n V l o r a , the others i n K o r ç a , G j i r o kastra, and so on. T h e w o r k of a l l of us together, on
the basis of the p l a t f o r m of the Conference of Peza, on
the basis of the collective orientations and directives,
makes u p the whole. A n d i n m y opinion, the whole,
the general, the m a i n thing, has gone and is g o i n g
well.»
In a n y case, neither Sejfulla's excessive «criticisms» and expressions of «discontent» about the a c t i v i t y of the councils in the terrain, nor Koço's « c r i t i c ism» about «parochialism» had a n y influence on the
correct and mature discussion of the problems for
342
w h i c h we had gathered, although they caused a certain amount of argument and h i l a r i t y . We took t h e m
more as lack of k n o w l e d g e of the real state of affairs
on the part of these t w o comrades, as consequences
of personal discontent and their hasty and ill-considered
desire to achieve w i t h i n a f e w months or a year
what in r e a l i t y r e q u i r e d work, t o i l and experience
over whole years and decades.
Of course, I am not s a y i n g that in the a c t i v i t y of
the councils at those moments we d i d not have shortcomings or weaknesses. On the contrary, we recognized
the shortcomings, struggled to i m p r o v e the w o r k as
m u c h as possible, a l w a y s aware that not e v e r y t h i n g
w o u l d be achieved i m m e d i a t e l y and aware, likewise,
that any maniac d e m a n d i n g «absolute perfection»
w o u l d have p l e n t y of things on w h i c h «to seize» even
after this! F o r us the m a i n t h i n g was that the councils
were in existence, that t h e y were c a r r y i n g out their
activity, that they w e r e recognized by the people as
such and p l a y i n g the role of the state power of the
people i n A l b a n i a !
N o w , this result h a d to be p r o c l a i m e d in law, so
that this real power w h i c h the people had created in
the heat of the war, w o u l d not be seized by others.
As I said, the dangers in this f u n d a m e n t a l aspect
were by no means hypothetical. The time had come
to take another stand towards reaction w h i c h was
now posing as «anti-fascist», to t e l l it b l u n t l y and
f i r m l y that the people w o u l d no longer tolerate it to
manoeuvre at their expense.
I had prepared a report «On O u r A t t i t u d e Towards
the D i f f e r e n t Trends Outside the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
343
M o v e m e n t » w h i c h I delivered at the Conference about this p r o b l e m of first-rate importance. I s h a l l
not d w e l l on this report, because its content is k n o w n
and it has been published (1), but I w a n t to re-emphasize
o n l y some f u n d a m e n t a l aspects w h i c h have to do
m o s t l y w i t h the reasons w h i c h i m p e l l e d us to prepare
and present this document to the Conference a n d
w h a t the Conference discussed and decided about the
problems raised in it.
A l t h o u g h the central point of the report was o u r
attitude towards various trends and organizations in
the country, in fact, the whole report was a r e f l e c t i o n
of the line and w o r k of our P a r t y for the f o r m a t i o n
and strengthening of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t
and the national l i b e r a t i o n councils. I o u t l i n e d to the
Conference the history and problems of the w h o l e
process w h i c h had developed, both before a n d after
the Conference of Peza, p o i n t i n g out that w h i l e the
masses of the common people, genuine honest patriots,
had united i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and j o i n e d
in the war, the whole lot of pseudo-patriotic elements
of the most various shades and tendencies w e r e s t a n d ing more and more aloof f r o m and opposing the F r o n t
and the A n t i - f a s c i s t W a r .
In the report I dealt in p a r t i c u l a r w i t h the question of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , the conditions and reasons
for its emergence, the great amount of w o r k we h a d
done and our patient efforts to i n v o l v e it in the w a r ,
and in concluding this question I s a i d :
__________________________________
1 Enver
Hoxha,
Selected
Works,
vol.
1,
«8
P u b l i s h i n g House, T i r a n a 1974, pp. 172-189, E n g . ed.
344
Nëntori»
«The B a l l i K o m b ë t a r has waged an a l l - r o u n d
ideological, p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y struggle against the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t . It has t r i e d to s p l i t it,
to arouse the people against the communists and genuine patriots, moreover, in spirit, its chiefs have been
and s t i l l are w i t h Italy and G e r m a n y and have s u p ported the quislings f r o m M u s t a f a K r u j a t o M a l i q
Bushati, w h o m they themselves recommended to J a c o moni. T h e B a l l i K o m b ë t a r has been a supporter of a l l
the occupiers' p o l i t i c a l manoeuvres f r o m the 'ethnic
A l b a n i a ' t o 'the A l b a n i a n A r m y ' and ' A l b a n i a n G e n darmerie'. T h e chiefs of the B a l l i pose as patriots,
but,» I stressed, «the b u r n t - o u t villages of V l o r a , M a llakastra and other districts w h e r e they guaranteed
peace and quiet for the fascist legions and, indeed,
collaborated w i t h them, are evidence of their p a t r i o t ism. A n d these collaborators w i t h fascism, w h o have
stained their hands w i t h the blood of the finest sons
of the people, are so shameless as to appeal to us to
'return to A l b a n i a n patriotism'!»
In the course of this exposé I dealt in detail in
my report w i t h the question of the M u k j e meeting,
the reasons w h y we decided to go to this f i n a l m e e t i n g
w i t h the chiefs of the B a l l i , w i t h the s h a m e f u l and
impermissible compromise into w h i c h o u r representatives f e l l , and, in particular, I d w e l t on the grave
political consequences w h i c h f l o w e d f r o m i t and clearly e x p l a i n e d the reasons w h y we i m m e d i a t e l y d e n ounced the M u k j e agreement as i n v a l i d and tore it up.
«The comrades entrusted w i t h this task p r o v e d
incapable of defending the line of the G e n e r a l C o u n cil, but, instead, f e l l into the lap of the B a l l i K o m 345
bëtar, accepted its p l a t f o r m , and the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
suddenly emerged as an organized party, as if it h a d
allegedly fought as m u c h as, if not more than, the
National Liberation Front.
« A t the p a r t i c u l a r moments t h r o u g h w h i c h the
c o u n t r y is passing,» I w e n t on, «the chiefs of the
B a l l i , w h o up t i l l n o w have not f i r e d a shot against
the occupier, and w h o are seeing the strength of the
state p o w e r we have created, pretend t h e y accept the
role of a partner in it, but a l w a y s w i t h the intention
of seizing the whole power. It is i m p e r m i s s i b l e for
us to f a l l into this tragic mistake. T h e power of the
national l i b e r a t i o n councils is the p o w e r of the i n s u r gent people and not of gangs of traitors and counterrevolutionaries. N o w that we have rejected the M u k j e
agreement they are t r y i n g to f i n d other w a y s to take
power. We must close off a n y path or possibility for
t h e m to achieve this, and one of the first and m a i n
acts in this d i r e c t i o n is the decision we propose this
Conference should take: we should declare the n a tional liberation councils the sole state power of the
people in A l b a n i a . We must take this decision not o n l y
because it is a step for w h i c h a l l the conditions for it
have f u l l y m a t u r e d but also because there is an i n d i s pensable need to do so. A f t e r all, we are legislating
an accomplished reality, c o n f i r m e d by our w a r and
our work, recognized by the people and f u n c t i o n i n g
effectively in A l b a n i a . W i t h this act we w i l l block the
w a y to both internal and external reaction in their
manoeuvres and aims to seize power.»
The participants in the Conference applauded this
report w h i c h I d e l i v e r e d on behalf of the N a t i o n a l L i b 346
eration G e n e r a l C o u n c i l . T h i s showed that they, l i k e
the entire people w h o m they represented, approved
the correct p o l i t i c a l line of our P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n Front, because this correct and consistent
line was the source of a l l the concrete results we had
achieved. A n d one of the greatest victories was p r e cisely the n e w state p o w e r that was emerging, the
power of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils, the p o w e r
of the people. We w e r e at the d a w n of a n e w epoch
for A l b a n i a .
T h e a p p r o v a l of the stand w h i c h the G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l had adopted towards the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and
other currents, in general, as w e l l as towards M u k j e ,
in particular, was v i r t u a l l y unanimous, f r o m a l l those
who took part in the discussion. M a n y of the representatives of the people at this Conference spoke on this
question. T h e y supported the line pursued by the
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , condemned the o p p o r t u n i s m of Y m e r
D i s h n i c a and M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i and brought up facts
and arguments to prove that the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r had
gone over i r r e v o c a b l y to the positions of betrayal.
One speaker said, «The B a l l i is a w a i t i n g the f a l l
of Italy and l i k e the 'the eldest s o n ' is d e m a n d i n g its
inheritance. Its a i m is to assemble its forces in order
to be strongest in the struggle for power.»
A n o t h e r said, «The B a l l i K o m b ë t a r has reached
agreement w i t h the Germans, too, considering them
as an e v e n t u a l occupier.»
In his c o n t r i b u t i o n Y m e r D i s h n i c a in general accepted the blame for the great m i s t a k e he had c o m mitted, although he tried to j u s t i f y it w i t h the c i r cumstances.
347
« W h e n we heard of the f a l l of the Duce,» said
Y m e r among other things, «we w e r e taken by s u r prise and d i d not appreciate this m o m e n t p r o p e r l y .
We thought that the fact that the B a l l i o f f i c i a l l y
agreed to reconciliation w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
C o u n c i l was a great success.»
As for M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i , here, too, he again t r i e d
to dodge his responsibility w i t h a l l k i n d s of excuses
such as «we w e r e out of contact», «we d i d not k n o w
a l l the facts», etc., etc. At the Conference G j i n i s h i d i d
not f a i l to attack the stand of the P a r t y and the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t towards the B a l l i K o m b ë tar, w h i c h he even t r i e d to d e f e n d :
« N o w the comrades are s a y i n g w i t h f i r m c o n v i c t i o n that the B a l l i was f o r m e d to f i g h t us. In that
case w h y d i d we go to that meeting? B u t this is not
so, p r e v i o u s l y t h e y d i d not have this a i m . On the
question of the slogan of the B a l l i 'death to the t r a i t ors', also, we should not take it amiss, assuming that
it is a i m e d against us. I t h i n k that it w o u l d have been
better h a d we not h e l d a n y talks at a l l w i t h the B a l l i
Kombëtar,» said G j i n i s h i .
I i n t e r r u p t e d M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i , « Y o u alone, apparently, are the o n l y one w h o has not understood
that the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r is an organization w h i c h was
formed to oppose the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t .
The other comrades and the people have understood
this, but I believe that y o u r purpose is to m a k e the
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l a partner in the mistakes w h i c h y o u
and Y m e r have committed. T h e C o u n c i l has been
clear about w h a t the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w a s and y o u
w e r e present at the meetings w h e n we discussed this
348
problem. We w e r e not w r o n g to send a delegation to
M u k j e . Y o u made the mistake and the C o u n c i l d i s a p proved w h a t y o u did.»
The other comrades w h o discussed this point also
d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y gave this disguised agent of the
B r i t i s h , of A b a z K u p i and of a l l the reactionary forces
the r e p l y he deserved.
In their contributions t h e y said, «The line we
have f o l l o w e d has been correct and its results are apparent i n practice; the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r has been u n masked among the people and m a n y w h o m it had
misled have joined u p w i t h the M o v e m e n t . M u k j e ,
too, w o u l d have assisted the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
had our delegation there t a k e n a f i r m stand.»
A p a r t f r o m those m e n t i o n e d above, N a k o S p i r u ,
S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h b v a , H a x h i L l e s h i (who dealt i n p a r t i cular w i t h the w o r k done w i t h the b a y r a k t a r chiefs of
Dibra), A b d y l A g a l l i u ( a delegate f r o m Vlora), M u s tafa X h a n i , O m e r N i s h a n i and others also spoke about
this point on the agenda. A l l of them, b r i n g i n g the
voice and w i l l of the people of the zones they r e p r e sented, p r o v e d and a f f i r m e d the m a j o r role w h i c h the
national l i b e r a t i o n councils w e r e p l a y i n g and w e r e
u n a n i m o u s l y in f a v o u r of p r o c l a i m i n g these councils
the o n l y p o l i t i c a l p o w e r of the people.
To conclude the discussion, I took the floor again
and, i n u n d e r l i n i n g the m a n y m a j o r tasks w h i c h e m erged for the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils, I pointed
out among other things:
« N o w that the p o w e r of the councils has been
centralized and proclaimed the o n l y p o w e r of the
people, it is essential that the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , w h i c h
349
this Conference w i l l elect, s h o u l d set up a n e t w o r k of
different organs and sections e v e r y w h e r e to organize
the w o r k in every f i e l d , in the economy, education,
propaganda, etc. There must be no f i e l d in w h i c h the
w o r k is lame, the role of the councils m u s t be felt and
asserted everywhere, otherwise the w a r itself w o u l d
be c r i p p l e d and the future of the people jeopardized.»
The Conference e x a m i n e d the problems related
to the strengthening of the state p o w e r in close c o n nection w i t h the strengthening of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the strengthening and
inclusion in the ranks of the F r o n t of a l l the organizations of the masses formed by the P a r t y .
Comrades N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i , O l l g a P l u m b i a n d
E l a G j i k o n d i spoke in detail at the Conference about
the struggle of the w o m e n and stressed the need for
a better organization of the A l b a n i a n anti-fascist
women.
O n this problem, Y m e r D i s h n i c a , w h o spoke o n
every point of the agenda, indeed, t w o or three times,
declared :
«The A l b a n i a n w o m a n does not c a r r y scented
handkerchiefs, but illegal leaflets!»
A f t e r supporting the idea of the f o r m a t i o n of the
organization of the A n t i - f a s c i s t W o m e n , he w e n t on
to express the idea that this organization should take
part in the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l as a separate section. T h i s
idea of Dishnica's was f u n d a m e n t a l l y w r o n g , and I
rose to reject it.
«The N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and the F r o n t
admit to their ranks a n y person w h o fights against
the enemy, i n c l u d i n g the women,» I said. « H o w e v e r ,
350
there is no reason for the w o m e n to come into the
C o u n c i l as a separate section. We cannot create
separate sections in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l
for m e n and for women, for the e l d e r l y and the y o u t h .
If we w e r e to do this, t o m o r r o w we w o u l d have to
create in the C o u n c i l sections for groupings a c c o r d i n g
to political, religious and other tendencies, w h i c h is
contrary to the s p i r i t of the decisions w h i c h this C o n ference is taking.»
R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u supported m y o p i n i o n and e x plained that the C o u n c i l w o u l d have sections f o r
different sectors of the l i f e of the country, for finance,
education, etc., but not for separate organizations.
A r o u n d the report w h i c h N a k o S p i r u delivered o n
the A l b a n i a n A n t i - f a s c i s t Y o u t h there w e r e m a n y
contributions w h i c h had to do w i t h their organization,
m i l i t a n t spirit, enthusiasm and r e v o l u t i o n a r y a s p i r a tions.
«The y o u t h are t a k i n g part in the w a r en masse
and d e m a n d i n g that t h e y should be free to achieve
their o w n desires i n free A l b a n i a . T h e w a r for l i b e r a tion w i l l produce a y o u t h in w h i c h the finest virtues
of our n a t i o n are developed and f u r t h e r enhanced.
The H o m e l a n d itself w i l l benefit f r o m this,» was
stated at the Conference.
In close connection With the central issue and t h e
other matters that w e r e thrashed out there, the C o n ference also analysed the problems w h i c h h a d to do
w i t h the f u r t h e r strengthening of the a r m e d struggle
and, in this context, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y of
the A l b a n i a n people.
The fact is that right f r o m the outset, f r o m t h e
351
time w h e n the first national l i b e r a t i o n councils were
set up, a n a t u r a l and integral connection had existed
and been strengthened between the councils and the
çeta and bigger detachments of our a r m y . T h r o u g h o u t
this whole period, as w e l l as subsequently, w h i l e the
councils devoted a large part of their w o r k and act i v i t y to the m o b i l i z a t i o n and i n v o l v e m e n t of the
masses in the war, the partisan detachments and units,
for their part, d i s p l a y e d special care and attention
w h e r e v e r they fought and operated for the formation,
protection and strengthening of the councils. A n d n o w
that the councils w e r e being proclaimed the o n l y
power of the people in A l b a n i a , o u r N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation A r m y
itself had increased
in numbers
and
strength, comprised tens of çeta and battalions w h i c h
fought a l l over the country, the 1st S h o c k B r i g a d e had
been f o r m e d and had begun its battles. We w e r e in
the process of f o r m i n g the 2nd and 3rd S h o c k B r i g ades, m i l i t a r y operational zones, etc., and f u n c t i o n i n g
at the head of t h e m was the G e n e r a l S t a f f of our
Army.
T h e comrades w h o spoke about this p r o b l e m ,
including H a x h i Lleshi, Spiro Moisiu, Ramadan Ç i t a k u , E t h e m B a r h a n i , H u l u s i S p a h i u and others, stressed the necessity of the extension of the ranks and
numbers of the partisan battalions and brigades and
the better organization and t r a i n i n g of these units
to defeat the n a z i foreign occupier w h i c h was entering A l b a n i a and to defend the victories w h i c h we
were achieving.
One of the contributors to the discussion, I t h i n k it
was E t h e m B a r h a n i , spoke about the f i g h t that had
352
taken place at B u r r e l in the beginning of August. In
this attack the partisans had been joined by volunteers
from M a t and K r u j a and «surprisingly» the çeta of
Abaz K u p i i n w h o m , n o w that fascist Italy was o n
its last legs, an astonishing « w i l l to fight» had been
aroused. P r e c i s e l y because of their participation, h o w ever, it had not been possible to liberate the t o w n .
« Y o u astound me, m y dear fellow,» said K a d r i
H o x h a in a sarcastic tone, «in the region of E l b a s a n
w i t h a l l those çeta, we are unable to d r a w in other
people in large numbers, w h i l e it seems that in M a t
2,500 volunteers have t u r n e d out.»
« Y o u don't get volunteers by h i d i n g yourself in
Orenja or in the house of B e g B a l l a , as y o u do,» I
replied to K a d r i there and then. «Besides, y o u
shouldn't measure the f l o w of volunteers into o u r a r m y
w i t h the one or perhaps f i v e people y o u t r y to m o b i l ize. Most of Elbasan, L i b r a z h d and G r a m s h are bases
for partisans!»
The debates continued in this w a y on this p r o blem, too, and as t h o u g h to cap it a l l , at the end of
the respective session, Y m e r D i s h n i c a got up and said
in a solemn tone:
«I ask our national poet to compose a poem, an
anthem for the a r m y ! » and he f i x e d his eyes on
Sejfulla.
The «national» poet made a show of objecting a
little before f i n a l l y «yielding»:
«I accept!» he said, but I don't k n o w w h a t h a p pened about L a m e K o d r a ' s (1) poem, w h e t h e r or not he
wrote it or s i m p l y neglected it as he u s u a l l y neglect_____________________________________
1 T h e pseudonym of S e j f u l l a Malëshova.
353
ed the jobs w i t h w h i c h he was charged. B u t one
t h i n g I k n o w for certain, that our a r m y continued the
w a r unconcerned about whether or not S e j f u l l a w r o t e
the «anthem».
Of course, in the days a n d nights of the proceedings of the Conference, amongst the m a t u r e c o n tributions f u l l of content and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for w h a t
was said and decided, there was bound to be some
such occurrence or note of h u m o u r . F r o m this aspect,
however, the c u l m i n a t i o n w a s the «original» proposal
of H u l u s i S p a h i u w h o suggested the creation of a
decoration, a proposal w h i c h caused h i l a r i t y in the h a l l .
H u l u s i , w h o s t i l l h a d not begun the f i g h t i n A l b a n i a ,
was t h i n k i n g about medals and decorations.
«What made y o u t h i n k of the decoration?» I
asked h i m d u r i n g a break.
«It is needed,» he said, «to d i s t i n g u i s h those w h o
fight best, who...»
«The time w i l l come w h e n we'll have our decorations,» I replied, «but n o w we have other problems.
However, there is one t h i n g y o u s h o u l d know,» I
added w i t h a laugh, l o o k i n g at the comrades r o u n d
about, «we w o n ' t give y o u e v e n one.»
« W h y ? » he asked me.
«Because y o u w i l l lose it at gambling,» I said,
and told the comrades, as a joke, of course, an old
g a m b l i n g story between H u l u s i and T a h i r K a d a r e ,
about w h i c h I have w r i t t e n elsewhere.
W h e n the discussion of the reports was completed, the Conference elected the C o m m i s s i o n for the
f i n a l d r a f t i n g of the Resolution and the A p p e a l a d dressed to the A l b a n i a n people. We had prepared a
354
draft of the R e s o l u t i o n in advance, b u t n o w it had to
be enriched in the s p i r i t of the discussion and the
decisions of the Conference so that it w o u l d serve in
the best possible w a y to m a k e things clear to the
people, the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils, a n d so on.
Doctor N i s h a n i , Nako, S e j f u l l a , M e d a r and I shut o u r selves up in a r o o m and, t a k i n g into account the
reports and the discussions at the Conference, d r a f t e d
the R e s o l u t i o n w h i c h has been published.
W h i l e the C o m m i s s i o n appointed was w o r k i n g i n
one of the rooms of the second floor, one of the
members of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l read the C o n s t i t u t i o n
and R u l e s of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l s to the
delegates. These were i m p o r t a n t documents, the f i r s t
founding acts, y o u m i g h t say, the first «Constitution»
of the n e w people's state power.
It w a s late after 10 o'clock at n i g h t a n d there w a s
an idea that the Conference s h o u l d conclude its proceedings on the f o l l o w i n g day. B u t since o n l y a little
work r e m a i n e d to be done, we decided to continue.
In this way, the delegates w o u l d be able to leave for
their o w n places the f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g . So, we read
the Resolution and the A p p e a l w h i c h we prepared and
went on to the elections. T h e Conference appointed a
commission to prepare a list of the candidates and,
while the commission began its work, the participants
in the Conference took a break. Thus, the delegates
went downstairs e m p t y i n g the h a l l . O n l y t w o or three
remained behind, i n c l u d i n g S p i r o K o l e k a a n d another
comrade of the secretarial group, D h i m i t ë r E v a n g j e l i ,
who w e r e f i d d l i n g w i t h a « P h i l i p s » radio w h i c h w a s
placed in a corner of the h a l l on a table near the
balcony.
355
We prepared the list w h i c h w o u l d be presented
to the Conference and I said to the comrades:
«Let's go outside to freshen up a bit a n d smoke a
cigarette w i t h the delegates, because the doctor [Omer
Nishani] won't let us smoke as m u c h as we like.»
We went downstairs and were t a l k i n g w i t h the
delegates and partisans, w h e n K o l e k a suddenly came
out on the balcony and called w i t h great excitement:
«Comrade E n v e r ! Comrades! Italy has capitulated!»
W h a t was expected had occurred. Fascist Italy
was finished. The «8 m i l l i o n bayonets» w h i c h w e r e
going to secure the spazio vitale* for Italian i m p e r i a l i s m and r e v i v e the R o m a n E m p i r e , had tossed t h e i r
flags at the feet of the victors. A n d among these v i c tors were we, the A l b a n i a n partisans and fighters, w h o
defeated the legions of M u s s o l i n i w i t h o u r m a k e s h i f t
rifles.
The news was enthusiastically w e l c o m e d by a l l
the comrades. T h e y embraced, t h r e w their caps and
hats on the air and even f i r e d a few shots despite our
intervention. In the group where I was, two or three
comrades began to talk about going d o w n to the cities
to take p o w e r and begin the w o r k for n e w democratic
Albania.
«But w h a t about the Germans?» I asked t h e m .
«The Germans!» they said w i t h some surprise,
but q u i c k l y came to their senses and added, «They,
too, w i l l clear out one day because we are fighting!»
«A11 of us must be clear about this,» I told them.
«The nazis w i l l not leave A l b a n i a unoccupied and,
_______________________________
* L i v i n g space (Italian in the original).
356
moreover, t h e y w i l l occupy the parts of Italy t h e
allies have not entered. T h e l i b e r a t i o n of A l b a n i a
would threaten their positions in Greece and other
countries in the B a l k a n s . Therefore, we m u s t s t r e n g then o u r power, but m u s t not imagine that the w a r
is over, there is a sterner f i g h t ahead of us. We m u s t
have our weapons ready.»
Thus, the c a p i t u l a t i o n of Italy created a n e w s i tuation for w h i c h we h a d to be prepared. Therefore,
we decided to conclude the elections that night a n d
to discuss the measures w h i c h had to be taken in a
new p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y situation the f o l l o w i n g day,
September 9.
T h e Conference elected the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
General C o u n c i l comprised of 62 members. F o r its
part the C o u n c i l elected a S t a n d i n g Committee of 16
members: M u s t a f a X h a n i , M y s l i m Peza, O m e r N i s h a ni, E n v e r H o x h a , K o s t a B o s h n j a k u , Y m e r D i s h n i c a ,
Ollga P l u m b i , L i r i Gega, H a x h i L l e s h i , F e t a h E k m e k çiu, M e d a r S h t y l l a , N a k o S p i r u , S e j f u l l a Malëshova,
Ramadan Ç i t a k u , A b a z K u p i , a n d S p i r o M o i s i u .
I m m e d i a t e l y after the elections the comrades
began to discuss the situation. We were a l l overjoyed
and concerned about the serious tasks ahead of us,
but it was after 4 o'clock in the m o r n i n g . We w e r e in
need of sleep, therefore, after consulting the comrades
of the p r e s i d i u m , I rose and said to the participants
in the Conference:
«The p r e s i d i u m t h i n k s w e s h o u l d i n t e r r u p t the
discussion because it is late and the comrades have to
rest. We w i l l continue tomorrow, or rather today at
10 o'clock.»
357
We broke off and w e n t off to our beds, but I
continued to talk w i t h Omer, M e d a r and others about
this event for a w h i l e . No doubt, the others d i d the
same t h i n g .
T h e n e x t m o r n i n g the f i n a l session of the C o n ference began. O m e r N i s h a n i was the f i r s t to take the
floor:
«It is logical,» said the doctor, «that the enemy
should surrender to o u r a r m e d forces, that is, to the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y w h i c h i s l i n k e d w i t h the
allies. Therefore, I propose that we s h o u l d send a
note to the Italian generals, in w h i c h we d e m a n d the
unconditional surrender of their men, armaments a n d
equipment. A p a r t f r o m this, we s h o u l d p u b l i s h a leaflet or appeal addressed to the Italian soldiers.»
O t h e r comrades discussed the proposal and we
decided that an appeal should be addressed to the
A l b a n i a n people, in w h i c h it s h o u l d be stressed that
n o w the general a r m e d u p r i s i n g against the G e r m a n
occupiers and the traitors and the establishment of
the state power of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils a l l
over the c o u n t r y w a s on the order of the day. L i k e wise, Doctor Nishani's proposal of a leaflet addressed
to the Italian soldiers c a l l i n g on t h e m to f i g h t against
the nazis, was approved, and the G e n e r a l S t a f f was
charged w i t h presenting our demands to the Italian
command i n A l b a n i a .
A f t e r these decisions w e r e taken R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u ,
on behalf of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l , spoke about the organization and the f u n c tions of sections. These sections w o u l d be: the social
section to assist regions, families and i n d i v i d u a l s g r a 358
vely damaged by the w a r and to ensure n o r m a l l i f e
for them, the sections of health, the economy and f i nance, the press and propaganda, a n d the section of
education. We w e r e setting out on the road of the
construction of the n e w democratic state.
So ended the proceedings of the 2nd N a t i o n a l
Liberation Conference w h i c h took decisions of the
greatest importance for the a r m e d struggle of the
A l b a n i a n people and their state power. T h e general
armed u p r i s i n g and the p o w e r of the councils, the
only power of the people in A l b a n i a , w e r e the t w o
main slogans w i t h v i t a l importance f o r our c o u n t r y
and its f u t u r e approved at the Conference, w h i c h the
delegates took w i t h t h e m in order to disseminate and
work to a p p l y t h e m a l l over A l b a n i a .
2. Facing the great test
T h e s i t u a t i o n created after the capitulation of
fascist Italy demanded s w i f t actions and urgent m e a sures. We m u s t not let a n y t h i n g slip, especially n o w
that the i n i t i a t i v e was c o m i n g completely into our
hands. Therefore, we decided and i m m e d i a t e l y issued
orders, that the forces of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y
should occupy a l l the zones and cities w h i c h had been
in the hands of the Italian occupiers and establish the
power of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils there. Besides
this, we decided that, just as at B a r m a s h and else359
where, we should continue the u n i n t e r r u p t e d attacks
on the n a z i detachments w h i c h w e r e s t i l l not f u l l y
deployed in A l b a n i a . It w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t to
liberate those inhabited centres w h i c h o u r forces had
the possibility to take and to establish the p o w e r of
the national l i b e r a t i o n councils there.
Irrespective of h o w events w o u l d develop s u b sequently (this w o u l d depend especially on the l e v e l
of the m i l i t a r y i n t e r v e n t i o n of the nazis or the A n g l o A m e r i c a n allies), the establishment of the p o w e r of the
councils in the cities and other inhabited centres w o u l d
have v e r y great political importance. T h e people w o u l d
see and feel the strength, a u t h o r i t y and a b i l i t y of
their o w n power, w h i l e the pseudo-patriotic reaction
and the
Anglo-American
e x t e r n a l reaction
would
understand better that their p o l i t i c a l manoeuvres had
failed and were no longer of a n y use. Therefore, the
strengthening of the state power, of the councils and
the a r m y everywhere, the m o b i l i z a t i o n of the people
around the national liberation councils a n d in the
ranks of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y a n d the discrediting of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r to d e p r i v e it of any
influence among the people, presented itself as a v i t a l
task. In this w a y we w o u l d have the strength a n d the
right to say to the allies, if t h e y were to m a k e a l a n d ing, « Y o u have come to A l b a n i a o n l y to f i g h t H i t l e r i t e
G e r m a n y , but the government of the c o u n t r y is and
w i l l r e m a i n in the hands of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Movement!»
In the context of a l l these measures and tasks the
G e n e r a l Staff planned, i n c o n f o r m i t y w i t h the s i t u a tion, a possible assault on the capital so that it w o u l d
360
be liberated and our state p o w e r in a l l its l i n k s
established there, too.
To this end, i m m e d i a t e l y after the conclusion of
the 2nd N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Conference, w h i l e the d e l egates set out for the regions and the zones w h i c h t h e y
represented, a part of the G e n e r a l Staff of the N a t i o n a l
Liberation A r m y left L a b i n o t and established itself
near the capital, at A r b a n a , w h e r e the c o m m a n d of
the G r o u p of Peza was also established d u r i n g those
days. H e r e the organization a n d i n a u g u r a t i o n of the
3rd Shock Brigade, a n event i n w h i c h S p i r o M o i s i u
and I and other comrades of the G e n e r a l S t a f f w e r e
to take part, w o u l d be carried out. As I said, however,
our establishment in this zone w a s conditioned especially b y the p o l i t i c a l a n d m i l i t a r y situation w h i c h
could be created in o u r c o u n t r y in the case of some
eventual l a n d i n g of the allies in the B a l k a n s and,
especially, i n A l b a n i a .
A s soon a s w e h a d established ourselves i n A r bana, I s u m m o n e d Comrade Gogo N u s h i to i n f o r m me
about the state of our forces and the enemy forces in
the capital and to discuss w i t h h i m the tasks of the
moment.
«What do y o u t h i n k ? » I asked h i m , « H o w m a n y
armed forces could be raised f r o m T i r a n a to support
a co-ordinated attack of the partisan forces f r o m the
surrounding h i l l s ? »
«Apart f r o m a l l the forces of the g u e r r i l l a units,
which are a r m e d and r e a d y to go on to the attack at
any moment, I am convinced that the y o u t h and the
people w i l l w i l l i n g l y rise in the attack for the l i b e r a tion of the capital,» r e p l i e d Gogo, but w e n t on to
361
say, «The worse of it is we are short of weapons.»
« Y o u k n o w w h a t the w e l l - k n o w n song says, 'If
y o u have no weapons, f i n d them, seize t h e m f r o m the
hands of the enemy', (1)» I replied. «Don't w o r r y about
the weapons,» I w e n t on, «we w i l l help y o u a n d the
people themselves k n o w where to f i n d them.»
« Y o u are right,» said Gogo, «there w i l l be no lack
of boldness and courage. T h e people can h a r d l y w a i t to
see T i r a n a free.»
«Of course,» I continued, «this is a v e r y delicate
and e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t matter w h i c h can be discussed only in the p a r t y regional committee. We s h a l l
l a u n c h the attack on T i r a n a o n l y w h e n we are c o n v i n c e d that it is essential, that we are sure of v i c t o r y
and, most important, for the moment, o n l y if the allies
l a n d in A l b a n i a in order to present themselves as
liberators. We appreciate t h e i r war, but we alone have
been and are the t r u e liberators in A l b a n i a and we
s h a l l have p o w e r in our hands alone.»
A f t e r Gogo and I h a d discussed these problems
in detail he set off i m m e d i a t e l y for T i r a n a to present
e v e r y t h i n g w h i c h we talked about so the p a r t y r e g i o n a l
committee, so that the people and the g u e r r i l l a units
w o u l d be m o b i l i z e d and ready if it was decided to
l a u n c h the attack for the l i b e r a t i o n of the capital.
M e a n w h i l e , a n u m b e r of battalions a n d çeta, apart
f r o m the forces of the G r o u p of P e z a and the 3rd
Shock B r i g a d e w h i c h was in the process of formation,
had been brought into the zone around T i r a n a for this
purpose. L i k e w i s e , we gave the order for the 1st
_________________________________
1 F o l k song of the period of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
of the A l b a n i a n people.
362
Shock B r i g a d e to be deployed in the zone a r o u n d
T i r a n a and Elbasan, c u t t i n g the c o m m u n i c a t i o n routes
between the cities a n d attacking the n a z i convoys.
The partisan forces under the c o m m a n d of H a x h i L l e shi w e r e also to take part in the assault on T i r a n a
after the l i b e r a t i o n of K r u j a . Besides this, we called
on the Italian a r m y to surrender to the partisan c o m mand, to take to the mountains in the w a r against
nazism and to refuse to continue in the service of the
Germans because it w o u l d end up in t h e i r concentration camps. We made this k n o w n to t h e m by means
of appeals and t h r o u g h our comrades w h o m we sent
to t a l k w i t h them, because, of course, at that time,
we d i d not possess radio transmiters. Some of the I t a lians responded to our appeal.
W h i l e we w e r e in A r b a n a , a n u m b e r of senior
Italian officers, i n c l u d i n g the air-force commander in
charge of the aerodrome of Shijak, came to us.
Amongst t h e m was a colonel, the son of G e n e r a l P i r z i o
B i r o l l i , w h o commanded the Italian forces in the o p erations in Montenegro. T h e y came dressed in w h i t e
summer suits and s i l k shirts, presented themselves
to o u r Staff, gave their names and, for our part, I
congratulated t h e m because t h e y had not surrendered
to the G e r m a n s . H o w e v e r , an Italian a r t i l l e r y battery
continued the w a r against us, s h e l l i n g A r b a n a . So, I
told the colonel, the son of P i r z i o B i r o l l i :
«The w h o l e Italian a r m y is surrendering, so, go
w i t h one or two other Italian officers and c a l l on that
battery to cease f i r e and surrender.»
He agreed, took his stand in an open place and
shouted to the b a t t e r y :
363
«Surrender to the A l b a n i a n partisan command,
because Italy has capitulated! See, we have s u r r e n dered.»
Then, this battery instead of f i r i n g on A r b a n a
f i r e d on the son of P i r z i o B i r o l l i and his m e n and
b l e w t h e m to pieces. I don't k n o w w h a t became of
his father, but he, too, m a y have met his death in
Montenegro at the hands of the Y u g o s l a v partisans.
In their barracks and stations, the other Italian
officers, of course, w e r e used to t a k i n g a b a t h each
day. One of them, an air-force colonel, asked one of
our partisans to heat a bath for h i m .
«What do y o u w a n t ? » asked our partisan.
«A bath,» r e p l i e d the Italian c a l m l y .
«So, the gentleman wants a bath, eh!» said the
partisan, s m i l i n g , and added, «There is y o u r bath, in
the E r z e n R i v e r (1). Go and w a s h as m u c h as y o u like,
there is no other bath here. We are at w a r and this
is the countryside. W h e n we liberate A l b a n i a w e ' l l
have baths. Do y o u agree, signor?»
T h e Italian w h o w a n t e d a bath was not a bad
chap. He stayed w i t h our forces to the end. As I have
been told, in Italy after the w a r he was promoted,
and w h e n he was eventually pensioned off v i s i t e d our
embassy f r o m time to time. He had become o u r f r i e n d .
Thus, w i t h the capitulation of Italy a n u m b e r of
Italian units, indeed, even one division, the Firenze
D i v i s i o n , commanded b y G e n e r a l A z z i , s u r r e n d e r e d t o
us. O u r forces disarmed the d i v i s i o n a n d w e r e ordered
to send A z z i and his w h o l e staff to A r b a n a . I received
___________________________________
1 R i v e r in the v i c i n i t y of T i r a n a .
364
them there and after the usual greetings, I spoke about
the changes and the situation in the government of
Mussolini's Italy, w h i c h Badoglio had taken over, as
w e l l as the situation of the Italian a r m y and the
Italian c o m m a n d . I also t o l d G e n e r a l A z z i that, in my
opinion, the Italians w h o surrendered to us should
take the honourable road to atone for their sins and
mistakes by t a k i n g part w i t h us in the w a r against
the Germans.
A m o n g s t other things I said to h i m , «We can sign
a joint declaration c a l l i n g on the other Italian forces
that s t i l l have not s u r r e n d e r e d to unite w i t h us. A f t e r
this we s h o u l d ask t h e m i n d i v i d u a l l y and let those
who w i s h to f i g h t keep t h e i r rifles, w h i l e those w h o
do not w i s h to f i g h t should surrender their weapons
and go to our liberated zones and w o r k there together
w i t h the peasants to produce their o w n food and to
assist the war.»
I reached agreement w i t h A z z i on this.
Some of the s u r r e n d e r e d Italians expressed their
desire to f i g h t a n d d i d so. We incorporated t h e m in
several units of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y ; some
of t h e m we incorporated in the 1st Shock Brigade, in
a battalion w h i c h we gave the name of the founder
of the Italian C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , A n t o n i o G r a m s c i .
W i t h the d i s a r m i n g of the Italian units after the
capitulation of Italy, we took possession of rifles,
machine-guns and bombs. W i t h these weapons we
equipped a n u m b e r of partisan battalions and t e r r i torial battalions w h i c h we organized at that time, a n d
also kept some weapons to strengthen the 3rd Shock
365
Brigade, and especially the 2nd Shock B r i g a d e w h i c h
was w e a k e r f r o m the point of v i e w of equipment.
L i k e w i s e , we emptied the Italian depots of as
m u c h materials, such as food and clothing, as we
could, and transported it deep into our liberated zones.
A good part of these supplies we shared out among
the people of P e z a w h o had fought and been b u r n t
out, w h i l e the r e m a i n d e r we kept for the needs of
the w a r and the partisan forces.
Thus, after a s t e m and bloody w a r w h i c h lasted
for several years our s m a l l but v a l i a n t and i n d o m i t able people, m o b i l i z e d and led by o u r C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y , managed to conquer the hordes of the Italian
E m p i r e and t r i u m p h over them. T r i u m p h a n t as t h e y
were, however, o u r people d i s p l a y e d towards the erstw h i l e k i l l e r s and occupiers the qualities of a great
people: those w h o w a n t e d to m a k e amends for t h e i r
e v i l deeds and contribute to the w a r against n a z i fascism, t h e y accepted as comrades-in-arms, w h i l e to
the others w h o d i d not take this honourable course,
the doors of the houses and cottages in the villages
w e r e opened and the people protected t h e m f r o m the
n a z i f u r y u n t i l the w a r was over.
A f t e r L i b e r a t i o n , i n M a r c h 1945, the Italian u n der-secretary of state for w a r , M a r i o Palermo, came to
w i t h d r a w the Italian troops w h o h a d surrendered to
us. P a l e r m o was a communist; at that t i m e the c o m munists w e r e t a k i n g part in the Italian g o v e r n ment, and T o g l i a t t i himself was m i n i s t e r of Justice.
We welcomed this m a n w a r m l y , not so m u c h as a
government personality but as a communist comrade,
talked w i t h h i m about the stands of our P a r t y , about
366
the stands of our n e w state and about the f u t u r e of
our c o u n t r y and its prospects. We also spoke to h i m
about the fierce w a r w h i c h Italian fascism h a d waged
in our c o u n t r y and the great damage w h i c h it caused
us and also t o l d h i m that we spared n o t h i n g to oppose
Italian fascism and the fascist a r m y . Then, we t o l d
h i m that, despite this, after its capitulation, we acted
in a h u m a n e m a n n e r w i t h the Italian army, called on
the Italian soldiers to take to the mountains, and those
w h o w a n t e d to s h o u l d fight, a n d in fact a f e w of t h e m
d i d fight. We also signed a protocol w i t h P a l e r m o
d e f i n i n g the procedure for the transfer of a l l the I t a l i a n troops i n A l b a n i a t o Italy. A l l those w h o w e r e
u n a r m e d boarded the ships w h i c h came f r o m Italy
w h i l e w e sent the partisans w h o h a d fought i n the
ranks of the Gramsci B a t t a l i o n to Italy w i t h f u l l
honours and a l l of t h e m a r m e d . I do not k n o w
w h e t h e r the f o r m e r Italian under-secretary for w a r is
s t i l l alive, b u t although he was an old m a n and a
m e m b e r of the Italian revisionist party, w h e n e v e r he
met our comrades, he spoke to t h e m w i t h s y m p a t h y
and affection for the P a r t y of L a b o u r of A l b a n i a and
about the meetings and talks w h i c h he had had w i t h us.
Subsequently, he p u b l i s h e d a book about his v i s i t to
A l b a n i a i n w h i c h h e speaks i n f r i e n d l y terms about
the talks w h i c h h e h a d w i t h m e and m y comrades i n
connection w i t h the p r o b l e m of the r e p a t r i a t i o n of
the Italian a r m y . H e r e I am r e f e r r i n g to the r e p a t r i a tion of the l i v i n g , because the repatriation of the dead
a r m y took place m u c h later. W h e n the bones of the
dead a r m y w e r e to be transferred, a general came, but
he was a fascist and took the bones of fascists.
367
B u t let us r e t u r n to the a u t u m n of 1943 w h i c h
began w i t h the capitulation of fascist Italy and w h i c h
became one of the periods of our most intensive p o l itical and m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t y ; the period i n w h i c h w e had
overcome the greatest d i f f i c u l t i e s and dangers and the
most severe tests.
In particular, I w a n t to point out that d u r i n g this
period, a structure of o u r organs of power, f r o m the
suburb, village, c i t y and regional councils to the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and its S t a n d i n g
Committee, was set up o v e r v i r t u a l l y the w h o l e c o u n t r y . In the liberated regions and cities, the national
liberation councils became the sole organs of p o w e r
w h i c h administered and governed on behalf of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the interests of the
people. They brought life back to n o r m a l , r a n the
economy, and education, saw to the p r o v i s i o n of s u p plies for the people, carried out propaganda and o r ganized the collection of aid for the M o v e m e n t and
the sending of volunteers to the detachments of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y w h i c h was dealing ceaseless
blows at the n e w n a z i enemy. This was the general
test of the n e w state w h i c h was emerging in the heat
of the war. G o o d reports reached us f r o m a l l o v e r
the country about the w o r k and struggle of our c o m rades, the enthusiasm of the people and their determ i n a t i o n to proceed on the course that the P a r t y
showed them.
Precisely in this tense but optimistic atmosphere
the reports w h i c h reached us f r o m G j i r o k a s t r a , w h e r e
B e d r i Spahiu, the p o l i t i c a l secretary of the p a r t y
regional committee, had made an impermissible p o l i t 368
ical mess, struck an unpleasant discordant note. C o n t r a r y to the clear instructions of the C e n t r a l Committee
and the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , after the capitulation of Italy,
the comrades of G j i r o k a s t r a had a l l o w e d the B a l l i s t
gangs to enter the c i t y and it was o n l y after them that
our units entered the city. Instead of d r i v i n g out the
brigands of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and establishing the
sole and u n d i v i d e d p o w e r of the national liberation
council in the city, B e d r i S p a h i u a l l o w e d the power
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r to exist alongside it and exercised his oratory in polemics w i t h A l i B e y in the Qajë
e Pazarit, in the centre of the city. Thus, A l i B e y and
the other Ballists strutted l i k e lords in the streets and
cafés of G j i r o k a s t r a , the Ballists committed a l l sorts
of f i l t h y crimes, w h i l e B e d r i S p a h i u «exposed» t h e m
w i t h words. T h i s was a condemnable p o l i t i c a l f l i r t a t i o n
w h i c h gravely v i o l a t e d the line of the P a r t y and the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t . As soon as I received the
report I sat d o w n and wrote a stern letter to the P a r ty R e g i o n a l Committee of G j i r o k a s t r a in w h i c h I condemned their action and e x p l a i n e d to t h e m once again
our current stand towards the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . In essence I pointed out to the comrades in G j i r o k a s t r a :
«No power other t h a n the power of the national
liberation councils m u s t be permitted. Y o u have a l lowed the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r to establish itself and are
content w i t h y o u r alleged exposure of it. Y o u must
understand clearly that n o w there can be no more
talk of u n i t y w i t h the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , but only about
smashing this reactionary traitor organization. We
must act energetically, not o n l y w i t h political work,
369
but also w i t h m i l i t a r y operations. We must use w e a pons to clean up that f i l t h and establish our p o w e r
everywhere.»
In Berat, too, as we were informed, an analogous event had occurred, and for this we criticized
the leading comrades of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e
of Berat. We thought that the situation w o u l d be p u t
right w h e n , to our astonishment, a f e w days later,
we received another report, even more scandalous t h a n
the first, indeed so unbelievable that we u r g e n t l y
sought v e r i f i c a t i o n of it. It t u r n e d out that the c o m m a n d of our troops in the region of B e r a t had entered
into a n u g l y compromise w i t h the G e r m a n occupation
forces. As though it were not enough that the Ballists
made the l a w i n Berat, that the c r i m i n a l A b a z E r m e ni strutted about tearing up our proclamations and
the bulletins of Zëri i popullit, w i t h his o w n bloodstained hands, G j i n M a r k u , w h o w a s the delegate of
the C e n t r a l Committee, and M e s t a n U j a n i k u , the f o r m e r commander of the region e v e n a l l o w e d the G e r m a n soldiers to enter the city after they w e r e «searched» by o u r guards at the entrance to B e r a t ! T h e
nazis entered peacefully, looked around, gathered i n formation, pretended to b u y something in the shops,
w h i l e the partisan c o m m a n d looked on. S i m i l a r things
occurred in L u s h n j a , too.
W e demanded urgent explanations f r o m G j i n
M a r k u who, in his letter of r e p l y sent to the G e n e r a l
Staff, admitted the situation and, indeed, w r o t e that
«Germans had even entered our offices»! S u c h a
stand w i t h o u t precedent in a l l those years of our N a tional L i b e r a t i o n W a r demanded a clear and stern
370
stand. Together w i t h S p i r o M o i s i u we drafted a letter
to the c o m m a n d of the region in w h i c h , after c r i t i c i z ing t h e m for the lack of regular i n f o r m a t i o n about
the situation, we stressed the g r a v i t y of this mistake
f r o m the p o l i t i c a l stand-point. At a t i m e w h e n we
were f i g h t i n g the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and reaction w i t h
arms and propaganda, w h e n we were accusing t h e m
of collaboration w i t h the nazis, a partisan c o m m a n d
had come to terms w i t h the nazis!
« Y o u should never have reached agreement w i t h our
most ferocious enemies,» we wrote, «even if the w h o l e
a r m y had been w i p e d out in the fight against them.»
W e discussed this grave act for w h i c h G j i n M a r k u
was m a i n l y responsible, t h r o u g h p a r t y channels, too,
and decided that at the first m e e t i n g of the P l e n u m
of the C e n t r a l Committee we should discuss both the
capitulation of Y m e r D i s h n i c a at M u k j e and the quest i o n of G j i n M a r k u , and that the latter should be
expelled f r o m the C e n t r a l Committee.
At these moments it was important to attack not
o n l y such opportunist actions w h i c h w e r e i n flagrant
contradiction w i t h the line o f the C P A and the N a tional L i b e r a t i o n Front, but also the manifestations of
euphoria w h i c h w e r e seen in some organization or i n d i v i d u a l comrades. W h i l e instructing that the establishment of the p o w e r of the national l i b e r a t i o n councils should be pressed ahead w i t h a l l over the c o u n try, the C e n t r a l Committee also pointed out that the
security of the cadres of the P a r t y and the M o v e m e n t
should be safeguarded and that o n l y those comrades
for w h o m it was essential to emerge openly as l e a d ers of the state p o w e r should be exposed. In general,
371
this instruction of the C e n t r a l Committee was applied
correctly, but on some occasion we had to criticize
certain comrades for the v i o l a t i o n of security, f o r
the unnecessary movements of i l l e g a l comrades as if
they were legal, by vehicle in the m i d d l e of the day,
and so on.
I n particular, w e strongly criticized the P a r t y R e gional Committee of Elbasan w h i c h completely let go
the reins in this direction. N o t long afterwards the
comrades of this organization received a grievous b l o w
on account of the euphoria they had d i s p l a y e d : a n u m ber of communists and cadres of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion Movement, i n c l u d i n g the p o l i t i c a l secretary of
the region, T o m o r r S i n a n i , were arrested by the G e s t a po assisted by the Ballists.
Thus, t h r o u g h u n i n t e r r u p t e d struggle and activity,
w i t h keen vigilance and a correct and consistent stand
in every step, we were successfully passing one d i f ficult test after another in the situation created after
the 2nd Conference of Labinot. It was becoming clear
to everybody that the a u t h o r i t y of the N a t i o n a l L i b eration M o v e m e n t had greatly increased and, in this
context, the national liberation councils w e r e not o n l y
capable of h o l d i n g the reins of the country, of acting
and dictating in the name of the people, but, more
important, w e r e determined not to a l l o w a n y b o d y to
threaten or damage the victories achieved.
P r e c i s e l y at these moments, in the m i d s t of a l l
this work, we w e r e to be faced w i t h a n e w threat and
a fresh effort of reaction to attack us on a l l fronts, to
d i v i d e the people and to rob t h e m of w h a t h a d been
achieved t h r o u g h struggle.
372
We were in A r b a n a w h e n we received a leaflet issued by a «Zogite N a t i o n a l P a r t y » , unheard of up t i l l
those moments, but signed by such « w e l l - k n o w n » bayraktars a s F i q r i Dine, M u h a r r e m B a j r a k t a r i , M y f t a r
K a l o s h i , A b a z K u p i and others. T h r o u g h this leaflet
the «Zogite N a t i o n a l P a r t y » , freshly cooked up in the
secret kitchens of reaction, proclaimed its existence
and gave «the masses» the sensational n e w s : «the star
of the nation», the despot A h m e t Zog, had not yet set.
H e was alive and l i v i n g w e l l i n E n g l a n d and, m o r e over, he w a s h o l d i n g talks and p r e p a r i n g plans for
«liberation» w i t h M r . C h u r c h i l l himself (!), and the
B r i t i s h Intelligence Service was m o b i l i z e d to f i n d w h e r e
those w r e t c h e d opinga*, w h i c h the sovereign was not
able to put on in A p r i l of 1939 (1), had been lost! Hence,
let the n a t i o n rejoice, shouted the «Zogite N a t i o n a l
Party», because the s a v i o u r w i l l l a n d (from the skies
by B r i t i s h balloons) and u n t i l the opinga are f o u n d a l l
patriots and people m u s t unite around the p a r t y of
the A u g u s t M o n a r c h to fight (of course, against the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and Movement), because
we are sure of the f u t u r e : the m o n a r c h y and the
monarch !
In c o m m e n t i n g b r i e f l y to the comrades who w e r e
in A r b a n a that day on this leaflet and its asinine content, I s a i d :
_____________________________________
* T r a d i t i o n a l A l b a n i a n green-hide shoes.
1 Irony on the statement that «in case of aggression Zog
will
put
Italian
by
on
the
aggressors
Zog's
men
in
opinga
with
the
and
rush
bullets».
first
days
It
of
to
Durrës
was
the
put
to
into
April
meet
1939
fascist
aggression on A l b a n i a in order to deceive i n t e r n a l opinion.
373
the
circulation
«This whole thing is evidence of a manoeuvre
hatched up against us by i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l reaction. C o n v i n c e d that they have achieved nothing w i t h
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , n o w the reactionaries have started
to exhume A h m e t Z o g f r o m the grave, to powder and
perfume his corps in order to create the impression
that the m o n a r c h y and the m o n a r c h w e r e a n d s t i l l
are legitimate and in power in A l b a n i a ! T h e point is
quite p l a i n : there is no reason to create another state
power in A l b a n i a , no reason to recognize the national
liberation councils. H e n c e : struggle against t h e m in
the name of the monarchy, and not struggle against
the occupiers in the name of A l b a n i a ! »
M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i , who spent most of that p e r i o d
in the zone of Peza, said w i t h a v e i l e d gloating in his
eyes, «The rogues have p i c k e d a v e r y suitable moment.
This w i l l cause a l l sorts of problems and a lot of
w o r k for us!»
«Undoubtedly the problems and w o r k w i l l b e i n creased,» I told h i m , «but as for the m o m e n t they have
picked, it is m o s t l y to the disadvantage of reaction i t self. The sudden emergence of Zogites on the scene
w i l l confuse and split the ranks of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
more deeply. L e t us not forget that, regardless of t h e i r
motives, for years on end the chiefs of the B a l l i K o m bëtar have been opposed to Zog, and n o w the p r e sentation of the r e t u r n of Z o g as the s a v i o u r and h e i r
to the state power w i l l t e r r i f y a good n u m b e r of t h e m
and make t h e m abandon the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and come
closer to us. B u t that is another matter,» I continued.
«Time w i l l show w h a t w i l l happen w i t h the various
trends and groupings of reaction. As far as we are
374
concerned, the m o m e n t w h e n the Zogites have emerged on the stage is m o r e in our favour. N o w we have
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, have the councils and
our a r m y a l l over the country, and have an a u t h o r i t y
and p o w e r w h i c h is recognized and functions. T o w a r d s
this reactionary ' p a r t y ' we s h a l l m a i n t a i n that same
clear-cut stand w h i c h we decided towards the reactionary B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ! »
« H e r e i n lies the e v i l and our greatest problem,»
interrupted G j i n i s h i , confident that this time there was
nothing o n w h i c h I c o u l d catch h i m . «The B a l l i K o m bëtar has been discredited, but the Zogite p a r t y has
just emerged. If we attack it i m m e d i a t e l y they w i l l
say : A r e y o u f o r w a r against the occupiers, as y o u declare, or are y o u for w a r between parties? T h i s w i l l
compromise us greatly!...»
«I don't understand f r o m what position y o u are
speaking?!» I said to h i m , h a r d l y able to control my
anger.
He w a s silent f o r a moment, gave me a resentful
look and continued q u i e t l y :
«The comrades a n d I understand y o u correctly,
Comrade Taras, and in essence matters are as y o u
present t h e m . H o w e v e r , w h a t I am concerned about is
the prudent tactics that we must pursue, that is, to
avoid v i o l a t i n g that p l a t f o r m w h i c h we have decided
and proclaimed at P e z a and also at Labinot.»
« W h y ? W h e r e do y o u see any v i o l a t i o n ? » I asked
him.
«If y o u attack the Zogite party immediately, w i t h out g i v i n g it a chance to discredit itself amongst the
people as a collaborator w i t h the occupier, it seems to
375
me that this w i l l be taken as a v i o l a t i o n of the p l a t f o r m of the Conference of Peza. We have declared that
we are not opposed to different nationalist parties and
organizations. Is that not so?!»
«Here there are two things, Mustafa,» I replied,
«either y o u have not understood the p l a t f o r m of P e z a
and Labinot, or f r o m haste y o u are f a l l i n g into m i s takes and interpretations w h i c h are inexcusable even
in a beginner. We have been and are for collaboration
w i t h any progressive, nationalist or other p a r t y w h i c h
accepts the p l a t f o r m of the Conference of Peza, joins
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, recognizes the n a t i o n a l
liberation councils and, w h i l e preserving its i n d e p e n dence as a party, fights w i t h i n the f r a m e w o r k of the
F r o n t against the occupiers and traitors for the l i b e r ation of A l b a n i a . Is that not so?» I asked h i m .
«Yes! T h a t is so!» m u t t e r e d G j i n i s h i .
«Then,» I continued, « w h i c h of these basic c o n ditions does the 'Zogite N a t i o n a l P a r t y ' f u l f i l ? ! Not
one of t h e m ! On the contrary, not o n l y does it not
f u l f i l any of these demands, but it calls on the N a t i o n al L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t to come under its u m b r e l l a , and
even worse, raises the p r o b l e m of the regime at these
moments and, moreover, has decided both the f o r m
of the regime and the persons to head it, the m o n a r c h y
as a regime and A h m e t Z o g as k i n g ! In v i e w of all
this, is there a n y t h i n g about this so-called party, to
w h i c h w e should k o w t o w according t o y o u , M u s t a f a ,
that is less 'discrediting' t h a n there is about the B a l l i
Kombëtar?!»
«That is d e f i n i t e l y so,» intervened S p i r o M o i s i u .
«We must tear the mask f r o m the e v i l face of the
376
'Zogite N a t i o n a l P a r t y ' as we d i d w i t h the B a l l i ! »
« Y o u r logic convinces me, Comrade Taras!» said
Mustafa G j i n i s h i , t r y i n g to cover his tracks. «I took
a superficial v i e w of matters since I had no time to
reflect on t h e m deeply. B u t I was also confused by
that damned signature of B a z i i Canës at the bottom
there and w h a t it says about C h u r c h i l l . I thought to
myself, ' B a z i is a m e m b e r of the S t a n d i n g Committee
of the C o u n c i l , and C h u r c h i l l is the leader of our
great ally, B r i t a i n , therefore,' I considered, 'we couldn't
oppose t h e m o p e n l y as do the A l i K ë l c y r a s and M e h d i
Frashëris.' B u t I see it was a hasty judgement.»
«As for A b a z K u p i , » I told the comrades, «as a
member of the S t a n d i n g Committee of the C o u n c i l and
of the G e n e r a l Staff, he m u s t render account for w h a t
he has done. W i t h this leaflet that he signed he has
openly admitted that he has been in our ranks up t i l l
now w i t h other aims and missions. A s for C h u r c h i l l
and his talks w i t h A h m e t Zog, we have no reason to
worry. The people k n o w the despot A h m e t v e r y w e l l .
We shall tell the people openly that, if it pleases
C h u r c h i l l and he has the time, let h i m talk about our
question w i t h A h m e t Z o g d a y and night, but we and
we alone w i l l decide the f u t u r e of A l b a n i a . »
A f t e r this, h a v i n g discussed the p r o b l e m and
thrashed it out thoroughly, we instructed a l l the o r ganizations of the P a r t y in the regions, and especially
in Tirana, about the clear-cut and consistent stand
which must be m a i n t a i n e d towards the Zogites.
At the same time, we instructed both the o r g a nizations of the P a r t y and the national l i b e r a t i o n c o u n cils that the struggle against the Zogites and the
377
chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r should not in a n y w a y
be taken or treated as a separate struggle or as the
m a i n one for us.
«A n e w enemy, G e r m a n nazism, has occupied o u r
Homeland,» we instructed the comrades, «therefore,
we must concentrate a l l our forces against the occupiers, and, along w i t h the occupiers, also against the
B a l l i s t and Zogite traitors w h o collaborate w i t h t h e m .
We must not forget that the strings w e r e p u l l e d in
L o n d o n to b r i n g the 'Zogites' on the scene, but t h e y
might also have been p u l l e d in the corridors of the
G e r m a n Gestapo. T h e nazis are s t r i v i n g to i m p l a n t
and encourage the split, to deceive us so that we c o n centrate the w a r against the local reactionary groups
and parties that pop up a n d w i t h e r l i k e toadstools.
Therefore, v i g i l a n c e and prudence! If the f i r e on o u r
l a n d burns up the nazis, their tools, the local brigands,
w i l l b e b u r n t u p along w i t h them.»
So, in the a u t u m n of 1943, amongst so m a n y d i f ficulties and tests, we began and consistently and
b r a v e l y carried on the battle w i t h the other tool of
the occupiers and local and foreign reaction, the Z o g ites. A little later, this so-called party, a nest of c r i m inals and h i r e d mercenaries, was to organize a socalled congress in T i r a n a f r o m w h i c h it was to emerge
w i t h a s y m b o l i c name d r a w n f r o m the past, Legaliteti.
In this w a y the scum w h i c h comprised it w a n t e d to
say that they were allegedly the «legal» representatives
of and heirs to a «legal» regime w h i c h existed somew h e r e . . . (in the plans of the B r i t i s h a n d the dreams
of the v e n a l officials of the nation), and w h i c h n o w
378
was emerging on the scene to re-establish the m o n a r chy i n A l b a n i a .
But, as in the case of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w i t h
Legaliteti, too, reaction h a d reckoned w i t h o u t the host.
As I have said r i g h t f r o m the outset we discovered
and correctly d e f i n e d the reactionary character and
aims of this g r o u p i n g and i m m e d i a t e l y opposed it
everywhere w i t h our line of exposure and open attack.
Both f r o m the correct stand w h i c h our P a r t y adopted
immediately a n d because of the u n i v e r s a l hatred w h i c h
the masses of the people had for the t i m e of the Zogite
regime, L e g a l i t e t i never established a n y s o l i d roots.
It remained m o s t l y a g r o u p i n g of chiefs, agents of the
B r i t i s h and the o l d regime, supported by gangs of
brigands, in the forefront of w h i c h w e r e the m e r c e n a r y
forces of A b a z K u p i a n d a f e w other b a y r a k t a r chiefs.
M e a n w h i l e , the emergence of L e g a l i t e t i on the
scene was to q u i c k l y c o n f i r m w h a t we had foreseen:
the upset and d i v i s i o n in the r a n k s of the «heads of
the nation», especially among a n u m b e r of elements
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r . C l e a r that the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
had lost a l l hope of success and now, f r i g h t e n e d by
the possibility of the reappearance of Zog, various
pseudo-nationalist elements w e r e f i n a l l y obliged to
turn their eyes to the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and
were agonizing over the step w h i c h t h e y had to take.
Indeed, t h e y sent w o r d to o u r comrades in T i r a n a
that they had in m i n d to break a w a y f r o m the B a l l i
Kombëtar, to f o r m a «democratic party», to j o i n the
Front as a party, to recognize the councils and take
part in the a r m e d struggle against the occupier!
We sent w o r d to the comrades in T i r a n a to tell
379
them they were welcome, but they m u s t stick to and
carry out what they promised. T h e F r o n t was not and
w o u l d never be a shelter for swindlers. T h e F r o n t was
a f i g h t i n g organization.
We w a i t e d for t h e m to come, n a t u r a l l y w i t h o u t
being greatly concerned whether t h e y d i d or not, because, after all, it was they w h o w e r e seeking assistance and salvation and not us, but we heard no
more of t h e m . T h e y were f i n i s h e d f r o m every s t a n d point. Some of t h e m reconciled themselves to the f o r m e r situation and the n e w occupier, some decided «to
give up politics», w h i l e others decided to sit on the fence.
A l t h o u g h it is not w o r t h w h i l e to d w e l l at greater
length on these gentlemen of the past era, I s h a l l
m e n t i o n just one more t h i n g w h i c h is l i n k e d w i t h
them, but especially w i t h an «idea» or «proposed i n i tiative» of some of our comrades.
W e w e r e s t i l l i n the zones a r o u n d T i r a n a w h e n
S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a came f r o m the c i t y one day and
presented to me a «brilliant» idea to w h i c h he h a d
converted N a k o S p i r u , too.
«The waverers in the r a n k s of reaction are unable
to do a n y t h i n g w i t h their o w n forces. T h e y are not
f o r m i n g the democratic p a r t y w i t h w h i c h t h e y w i l l
j o i n the Front. We have the idea we s h o u l d encourage
and help t h e m to f o r m a party, but not a social-democratic p a r t y ; something more progressive, perhaps a d e mocratic, or even better, a democratic-republican party.»
«Interesting!» I said w i t h gentle i r o n y to avoid
putting h i m off. « B u t w h y is this 'assistance' f r o m us
needed?»
«We should exploit the contradictions in the r a n k s
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"The Party Has Been Founded".
Tableau by Painter Shaban Hysa
Facsimiles of the Resolution of the
Founding Meeting of the CPA and
the Appeal addressed to the Albanian people, November 1941
Monument dedicated to the historic Conference of Peza,
September 16, 1942
The house in which the Conference of Peza was held
Participants in the C o n f e r e n c e of Peza
ENVER HOXHA
MYSLIM PEZA
MUSTAFA XHANI
NEXHMIJE XHUGLINI
HAXHI LLESHI
"The People on Their Feet, the Party at the Head". Monument
dedicated to heroic Peza, work of People's Sculptor,
Muntaz Dhrami
Facsimiles of the Resolution of the Conference of
Peza and other documents
announcing and analysing
the decisions of this historic event
View of the house in
Labinot, where a series
of important meetings
of the CPA and the
Anti-fascist National
Liberation General
Council were held during the year 1943
"Labinot, July 10, 1943". Tableau by People's Painter, Guri Madhi
Comrade Enver Hoxha, founder and organizer
of the Albanian National Liberation Army
Participants in the 2nd Anti-fascist National Liberation
Conference held in Labinot, September 1943
The state power of councils — the only state power in Albania
In the difficult
winter of 1943-1944
"We Break the Encirclements". Tableau by
Merited Painter, Fatmir Haxhiu
Towards the historic Congress
The building in which the Congress of Permet was held
Comrade Enver Hoxha delivering the report
at the Congress of Përmet
Përmet, May 1944. Comrade Enver Hoxha with other members
of the Anti-fascist National Liberation General Council
The hall in which the
Congress of Përmet
was held
Facsimiles of the documents
of the Congress of Përmet
Monument dedicated to the
historic Congress of Permet
which brought the people to
power. Work of People's
Sculptor, Odhise Paskali
Përmet today
View of the village of Odriçan
Detailing the plan of the general offensive
of the ANLA. Summer 1944
The home of Vitori Jorgji (above) and Konstandina
Londari (below) at Odriçan of Përmet, where
Comrade Enver Hoxha has lived and worked in
the summer of 1944
Facsimiles of manuscripts of Comrade Enver Hoxha's memoirs
and historical notes on the work and efforts for the creation of
the Anti-fascist National Liberation Front and the emergence of
the people's state power
of our opponents, deepen the split and extend the differentiation i n their ranks,» S e j f u l l a r e p l i e d proudly.
« A n d for this we, the members and cadres of the
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , ought to teach and encourage t h e m
to f o r m a p a r t y ? »
«We consider this a course w i t h great p o s s i b i l i ties!» continued the «professor». «Imagine w h a t an
effect it w o u l d have if a part of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
broke a w a y to f o r m a separate p a r t y and this p a r t y
p u b l i c l y p r o c l a i m e d its adherence to the F r o n t ! T h e
p l a t f o r m of the Conference of P e z a . . . »
«Excuse me for i n t e r r u p t i n g you, Sejfulla», I said,
«but in this concrete instance y o u have judged matters
precisely l i k e the social-democrats of p a r l i a m e n t a r y
debates. We are members of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
and it is i m p e r m i s s i b l e for us to take the initiative or
to encourage the a r t i f i c i a l creation of other parties,
and we have absolutely no reason to do so. If various
nationalist, democratic and other elements or groups
themselves manage to f o r m a p a r t y w h i c h agrees to
and r e a l l y joins in the w a r against the occupier, adheres to the F r o n t a n d accepts the national l i b e r a t i o n
councils, t h e n we have no objection to recognizing
this party, respecting its independence and, indeed, if
it proves capable and if our brains s h r i v e l and become
mouldy, let i t w i n the leading role i n the F r o n t !
We have made this clear and correct stand k n o w n
to a l l and w i l l consistently adhere to these L e n i n i s t
principles. B u t to i n v o l v e ourselves in deals or efforts in order to urge those w h o are incapable of doing
a n y t h i n g to f o r m a party, this is a n t i - M a r x i s t in p r i n ciple and v e r y h a r m f u l i n practice!
381
«In brief our stand is and remains this: if they
want to and are capable of doing so, let t h e m create
their own party and call it what they like, but we
have told them and tell them a g a i n : if they t r u l y
want to fight there is no reason to waste their time
w i t h talk about parties. Let them j o i n the Front, either
i n d i v i d u a l l y or in groups, begin the fight and we shall
respect them, just as we shall demand that they, either
as i n d i v i d u a l s or as parties, recognize and respect not
only the independence of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y in the
Front, but also the leading role w h i c h our P a r t y has
w o n t h r o u g h colossal struggle and efforts.»
S e j f u l l a appeared to be convinced by my a r g u ments and for a certain time had n o t h i n g more to say
about this «party».
F i v e or s i x months latter, however, w h e n we had
just broken out of the enemy encirclement of the
w i n t e r and were established in Panarit, I received a
letter f r o m N a k o S p i r u i n w h i c h , t o m y astonishment,
he repeated Sejfulla's proposal about encouraging the
formation of a «democratic-republican party» and n o w
w i t h members of the F r o n t (!) in its ranks. I sent a
stern and terse r e p l y to N a k o and, t h r o u g h h i m , to
the m a i n author of the «formation of parties», S e j f u l l a ,
and instructed t h e m to waste no more time on such
matters but to get on w i t h the work.
Subsequently I grasped the true m e a n i n g of S e j f u l l a Malëshova's proposal better in the context of a l l
his right opportunist views. S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a envisaged the future of A l b a n i a in the establishment of a
bourgeois democracy, w i t h a parliament in w h i c h
various parties w o u l d play their cards and bargain
382
for portfolios and reforms and in that game S e j f u l l a
might « v e r y w e l l » become leader of the «democraticrepublican party» or some other p a r t y w h i c h he m i g h t
dream up, if the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y d i d not act according to his l i n e and desires. A f t e r the liberation of the
country he openly expressed these v i e w s u n t i l the P a r ty f i n a l l y attacked h i m as an opportunist and a defender of the interests of the bourgeoisie.
I had h a d an argument w i t h S e j f u l l a p r i o r to this,
a little w h i l e after he r e t u r n e d to A l b a n i a to give the
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation M o v e m e n t his «advice». A t that t i m e S e j f u l l a
thought that w e w o u l d welcome h i m l i k e r a i n i n the
desert and we w o u l d accept every w o r d of his as p u r e
gold. He was unreserved in t e l l i n g us about his «activ i t y » . H e d i d not k n o w the M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t m a t u r i t y
of our P a r t y and thought that he w o u l d r e a d i l y peddle
his opportunist ideas. Thus, in one of our conversations
he boasted to me how, w h e n he was in Paris, on his
o w n initiative, he had t r i e d to meet Zog, to talk w i t h
h i m and concoct a n alliance w i t h that m u r d e r e r . S e j f u l l a t o l d me about this «line» of his quite convinced
that it was a stroke of «political genius» and was v e r y
surprised w h e n I t o l d h i m that he had not done w e l l
in t r y i n g to meet Z o g because we w o u l d not f o r m an
alliance w i t h h i m .
«In regard to Zog,» I t o l d S e j f u l l a , «our o n l y d u t y
is to cut off his head, not once but ten times over.»
S e j f u l l a , w i t h those s m a l l eyes w h i c h he a l w a y s
kept l o w e r e d because he was a f r a i d to look y o u straight
in the eye, and that pose of the «great m a n f r o m M o s 383
cow», w h i c h he adopted to compensate for his s m a l l
stature, said to m e :
« W h y do y o u speak l i k e this, Comrade E n v e r ? I,
too, am opposed to Zog, but this is a p o l i t i c a l tactic
and y o u don't understand this.»
«I understand it,» I replied, «but I don't u n d e r stand the tactic as y o u do, just as y o u don't u n d e r stand it as I do.»
S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a brought out his c o n v i n c i n g
«argument», s a y i n g :
«Moscow recommended this p o l i c y and this tactic
to me, therefore, y o u ought to agree to it.»
« Y o u say that M o s c o w recommended it to you,»
I interrupted S e j f u l l a , «but I am convinced that this
is not so and y o u w o r k e d it out for yourself. The
B o l s h e v i k P a r t y and the C o m i n t e r n could not advise
us to embrace the executioner of our people w h o pers o n a l l y prepared the 7th of A p r i l and brought the
Italian occupiers and who, w h e n the people demanded
weapons to attack the invaders, took to his heels l i k e
a d i r t y thief. Moreover, even after the occupation Z o g
is s t i l l what he was — a m u r d e r e r of the people and
the enemy of their H o m e l a n d , a s w o r n e n e m y of o u r
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r , therefore, it is useless for
y o u to press this matter,» I pointed out to h i m . « A n d
I order y o u not to speak to anyone about it because
we w i l l expose y o u before the P a r t y as a saboteur of
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War.»
F l u s h e d w i t h anger, S e j f u l l a said to m e :
«I shall w r i t e to M o s c o w about y o u r attitude.»
«Write to w h o e v e r y o u like!» I r e p l i e d . « A n d don't
t h i n k y o u can f r i g h t e n m e w i t h w h a t y o u say! Let the
384
P a r t y a n d the people judge me, let even the C o m i n t e r n
judge me if need be.»
B u t let us r e t u r n to the a u t u m n of 1943, packed
w i t h s o m a n y events, d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d dangers w h i c h
we encountered and withstood successfully.
As I said, o u r stand towards a n d struggle against
the B a l l i s t and Zogite reaction w e r e not a «separate
struggle» but constituent parts of the great and stern
w a r w h i c h w e w e r e w a g i n g every h o u r and e v e r y
day against the n a z i foreign invaders w h o immediately,
after the c a p i t u l a t i o n of Italy, poured into A l b a n i a
w i t h a l l their savagery.
As we had expected, the n e w occupiers began to
accompany the m i l i t a r y occupation of the c o u n t r y w i t h
feverish demagogic propaganda. T h e n the quislings
and the B a l l i s t s and t h e i r propaganda began to m a k e
interpretations of the f u n d a m e n t a l «theses» of this
demagogy, t r y i n g in this w a y to d r a w a v e i l over
their s h a m e f u l collaboration w i t h the n e w occupiers.
The plans of «ethnic A l b a n i a » w e r e brought out again
f r o m the drawers and strong-rooms of the Italian occupiers, the a r m y and the gendarmerie of the «sovereign» A l b a n i a n state w e r e concocted, and so on.
T h e n e w occupiers d i d not hasten to set up a gov e r n m e n t immediately, but established a p r o v i s i o n a l
executive committee headed by I b r a h i m B i ç a k u and,
as soon as t h e y gathered some of the «fathers of the
nation» in a so-called assembly, t h e y created the R e gency, w i t h M e h d i F r a s h ë r i , w h o m t h e y brought b y
aircraft f r o m Rome, L e f Nosi, F a t h e r A n t o n H a r a p i and
F u a t D i b r a . W e sent O m e r N i s h a n i t o T i r a n a i n a n
effort t o d r a w M e h d i F r a s h ë r i into the N a t i o n a l L i b 385
eration M o v e m e n t but this traitor had made up his
m i n d to do the d i r t y w o r k for the G e r m a n s in r e t u r n
for the money t h e y p a i d h i m .
T h e B a l l i K o m b ë t a r was integrated openly into
the repressive apparatus w h i c h the occupier set u p ;
the finest b u i l d i n g s in the towns w e r e placed at the
disposal of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ; its regional committees
sent recommendations to the q u i s l i n g organs about the
people w h o should be g i v e n jobs, etc. T h e open G e r m a n - B a l l i s t collaboration w i t h arms w o u l d not be
long delayed, either. At this t i m e the q u i s l i n g - B a l l i s t
propaganda activized a l l its forces.
Of course, under this torrent of propaganda even
among our m e n there w e r e elements w h o w a v e r e d
and broke. It could not have been otherwise. W a r and
the r e v o l u t i o n are d i f f i c u l t , d e m a n d sacrifices and
self-negation: in the course of the struggle, there w i l l
be some w h o have joined it fortuitously, w h o become
weary, frightened and capitulate. These i n d i v i d u a l s
desert and f r o m this the r e v o l u t i o n loses nothing, on
the contrary, becomes stronger.
That i s w h a t occurred w i t h S o t i r K o n d i w h o was
a m e m b e r of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n c o u n c i l of T i r a n a .
W i t h the capitulation of Italy and the c o m i n g of the
G e r m a n s Sotir K o n d i had declared the w a r o v e r ! A c cording to h i m , the departure of the Italians meant
that A l b a n i a h a d n o w regained its f r e e d o m a n d i n dependence w h i l e the G e r m a n s w e r e m e r e l y «in t r a n sit» and not occupiers. Thus, he considered that the
w a r was o v e r !
Of course, such views, w h i c h we had attacked
and w e r e attacking every day, became e x t r e m e l y d a n 386
gerous w h e n t h e y w e r e expressed by a person w h o
adhered to the M o v e m e n t and, moreover, occupied an
important place in it.
I s u m m o n e d M e d a r S h t y l l a , a m e m b e r of the
Standing C o m m i t t e e of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n eral C o u n c i l , and i n f o r m e d h i m about these v i e w s .
« Y o u are to go to Tirana,» I told h i m , «as the delegate of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and to convoke a meeting of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n c o u n c i l of T i r a n a about
this matter.»
« V e r y well,» r e p l i e d M e d a r as ready as ever.
« A t this meeting,» I continued, «you w i l l listen
patiently t o S o t i r K o n d i . T h e n t r y t o convince h i m
that his v i e w s are w r o n g and e x p l a i n the line of the
National L i b e r a t i o n Front, s h o w h i m w i t h arguments
and facts w h a t the G e r m a n s are a n d what o u r d u t y
to the people and the anti-fascist coalition is. B e a r in
m i n d that y o u r arguments m u s t be clear, because
apart f r o m S o t i r K o n d i there m i g h t be some other
element w h o understands these matters w r o n g l y . »
«I s h a l l do as y o u say, Comrade Enver,» replied
Medar.
«Besides this,» I added, «take this o p p o r t u n i t y to
talk w i t h the members of the c o u n c i l of T i r a n a about
the current tasks and e x p l a i n the m e a n i n g of the d e cisions we took in L a b i n o t once again. A f t e r y o u have
listened to the other comrades of the c o u n c i l and S o t i r
himself, if he does not retract his stand, t h e n he m u s t
no longer be a m e m b e r of the council of T i r a n a or
even of the Front.»
A f e w days later M e d a r i n f o r m e d me about
the meeting of the national l i b e r a t i o n c o u n c i l of T i 387
rana w h i c h was held in the home of A l e k s B u d a , one
of the patriotic intellectuals w h o l i n k e d himself w i t h
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and is one of the most
outstanding m e n of science in our c o u n t r y today. T h e
efforts and arguments of M e d a r and the other c o m rades had not convinced S o t i r K o n d i w h o f r o m those
moments was declared a renegade f r o m the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t . As Q i r j a k o H a r i t o , one of the
finest and most active comrades of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r ation c o u n c i l of T i r a n a of w h o m I r e t a i n the finest
memories, t o l d us later, the true reason for the d e sertion of S o t i r K o n d i was the pressure w h i c h h a d
been exerted o n h i m b y the q u i s l i n g M e h d i F r a s h ë r i
w h o had threatened h i m b y t e l l i n g h i m that the G e s tapo had been i n f o r m e d about his a c t i v i t y .
A f t e r o u r i n t e r v e n t i o n and w i t h the intensive
a c t i v i t y and leadership of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l Comittee
of T i r a n a , the national l i b e r a t i o n c o u n c i l in the capital
c o n t i n u e d its w o r k n o r m a l l y and, in the conditions of
savage n a z i terror, a f f i r m e d itself as a representative
a n d resolute defender of the people and the great cause
of our w a r .
Thus, a m o n t h went by w h i l e we, f r o m the zones
close to T i r a n a , f o l l o w e d the development of the s i t u a t i o n step by step, w o r k e d and struggled to keep on
course and not a l l o w anyone for one m o m e n t to d a m age the great w o r k w h i c h we had achieved a n d w e r e
consolidating through the w a r and endless efforts and
sacrifices. M e a n w h i l e , events continued to develop r a pidly.
T h e B r i t i s h allies, for their o w n reasons, postponed
the l a n d i n g i n the B a l k a n s . M e a n w h i l e T i r a n a h a d
388
become the m a i n centre in w h i c h the cream of the
n a z i - B a l l i s t forces had assembled and entrenched t h e m selves. A u t o m a t i c a l l y , the projected p l a n to liberate
the capital was r e m o v e d f r o m the agenda. In the n e w
conditions w h i c h had been created an assault on the
capital w o u l d not o n l y cost us h e a v y losses and b l o o d shed, but more i m p o r t a n t l y , we w e r e convinced that
even if we w e r e to liberate the capital city, it w a s
s t i l l too e a r l y a n d beyond o u r possibilities to h o l d it
for long. To have entered there for a d a y or t w o
and then be obliged to w i t h d r a w w o u l d have been an
adventure and demonstrative gamble w i t h effects m u c h
more negative t h a n positive. W e w o u l d l a u n c h our
offensive on T i r a n a w h e n the time came and we felt
that that day w o u l d not be f a r off.
Hence, we gave up the p l a n of the assault on T i rana and were m a k i n g ready to move deep into the
hinterland, towards Shëngjergj, a n d t h e n towards our
m a i n base, the highlands of Elbasan.
On one of those days, the m o r n i n g of October 9,
as far as I remember, w h e n we w e r e s t i l l in A r b a n a ,
we heard r i f l e and m a c h i n e - g u n fire. We got up, asked
w h e t h e r the comrades w h o w e r e on g u a r d outside
k n e w a n y t h i n g and, w h i l e the f i r i n g continued, w e a l l
got dressed, a r m e d ourselves and made r e a d y for an
attack. T h e r e u p o n we saw a courier sent by M y s l i m
r u n n i n g towards us. He t o l d us that A r b a n a was being
attacked by the G e r m a n s who, it seems, had learned
f r o m t h e i r spies that we w e r e in that village. It m u s t
be said that our forces w e r e taken by surprise at a
time w h e n the enemy h a d operated w i t h great speed
and had prepared both a f r o n t a l attack, f r o m the h i l l s
389
facing A r b a n a , and likewise f r o m the t w o sides of the
E r z e n R i v e r , f r o m the n o r t h and the west, f r o m M u l l e t
and the B e s h i r B r i d g e . F r o m the B e s h i r B r i d g e and
M u l l e t they came t h r o u g h the E r z e n V a l l e y w i t h
tanks, w h i l e the i n f a n t r y came d o w n f r o m the h i l l s
towards the E r z e n R i v e r .
We went d o w n f r o m the village immediately, crossed the road amongst the shrubs and met M y s l i m , w h o
reported to us on the situation, and r a p i d l y r e i n f o r c e d
the position of our troops. We carried out these actions
in the course of the f i g h t i n g . M y s l i m m o v e d to the
left side of the fighting, facing the Germans, and I
together w i t h a f e w partisans to the right, l i k e w i s e
facing the G e r m a n s at the m i l l w h i c h t h e y w e r e t r y ing to take and f r o m w h i c h they could attack A r b a n a
and cross over to this side. T h e f i g h t i n g raged f i e r cely.
In order to liquidate this action of the G e r m a n s
it was necessary not o n l y to hold our positions but also
to counter-attack. We decided to l a u n c h the counterattack f r o m the right, that is, towards the north, outf l a n k i n g the G e r m a n s and t h e n f r o n t a l l y , by crossing
the E r z e n R i v e r and attacking t h e m f i e r c e l y f r o m the
m i l l . T o this end, w e sought and f o u n d K a j o K a r a f i l i
w h o m we ordered to lead a squad a r o u n d the G e r m a n
flank, to cross the E r z e n , to c l i m b a k e y track and
then, w h e n t h e y had a r r i v e d at the positions w h i c h
we decided, we w o u l d l a u n c h the attack f r o m both
flanks. A n d this i s w h a t w e d i d .
As a result of o u r concentrated attack the G e r m a n s
were unable to cross the E r z e n , but t h e y kept up c o n t i n u a l f i r e w i t h mortars w h i c h t h e y had placed o n
390
the left side of the B e s h i r B r i d g e , although the shells
f l e w over our heads and f e l l 100-150 metres a w a y
f r o m us. As a result of the successful realization of
our plan, the G e r m a n s w i t h d r e w and by afternoon the
battle was over. In this battle the peasants of the zone
assisted us arms in h a n d and took part b r a v e l y in
frontline f i g h t i n g .
As soon as the f i g h t i n g was over, together w i t h
several other comrades, I crossed the E r z e n and v i s i t e d
the site of the battle. W i t h my o w n eyes I saw the
bodies of ten dead G e r m a n s and gave orders that t h e y
should be b u r i e d i m m e d i a t e l y and covered w i t h l i m e
because I w a s a f r a i d of the spread of an epidemic.
At this t i m e I saw some partisans b r i n g i n g in a
c i v i l i a n prisoner w h o had come f r o m S h i j a k towards
Arbana through Alltat.
«Who is this?» I asked the comrades.
« A G e r m a n s p y o f Czechoslovak nationality.»
«Interrogate h i m ! » I t o l d them.
O u r m e n (one of w h o m k n e w a little G e r m a n ) i n terrogated the spy and, as soon as they threatened
that t h e y w o u l d shoot h i m , he t o l d t h e m that the
Germans had brought h i m to observe our positions
because t h e y intended to continue the attack on A r bana beyond that village. O u r comrades t r i e d this spy
before the partisan court and shot h i m .
In this battle, the G e r m a n nazis lost about 40 dead,
a n u m b e r of mortars, h e a v y and l i g h t machine-guns,
rifles and automatics. F o u n d amongst the dead nazis
was a p r o m i n e n t person whose i d e n t i t y we learned
later f r o m a r i n g he was w e a r i n g , w h i c h the partisans
handed to M y s l i m . T h e r i n g of this nazi w h o left his
391
bones at A r b a n a p r o v e d that he was the nephew of
H e r m a n n G o r i n g . Doctor N i s h a n i begged M y s l i m t o
give h i m this r i n g for his w i f e w h o was a n A u s t r i a n
and w a n t e d to keep it as a s o u v e n i r of the A l b a n i a n s '
w a r against the G e r m a n nazis. M y s l i m , of course, gave
it to h i m .
So ended the battle of A r b a n a , a fierce fight, but
c r o w n e d w i t h our v i c t o r y .
A f t e r this battle we w e r e i n f o r m e d by the c o m rades of the P a r t y R e g i o n a l C o m m i t t e e of T i r a n a that
a traitor assembly w a s soon to be s u m m o n e d under the
aegis of the occupiers! Comrade Gogo N u s h i , on behalf
of the comrades of T i r a n a , proposed that the assembly
should be attacked w i t h a r t i l l e r y . We i m m e d i a t e l y app r o v e d the proposal and instructed that this action
must be carried out successfully.
On the m o r n i n g of October 18, 1943 the palace in
w h i c h the «fathers of the nation» had gathered was
shelled f r o m the hills of T i r a n a , w h i l e the leaflet
w h i c h the P a r t y issued echoed the enthusiasm of the
people: « H o w do the people r e p l y to the assembly of
the Gestapo? W i t h C A N N O N ! » It took «the fathers of
the nation» two or three days to p u l l themselves t o gether and they were assembled again in a cinema of
T i r a n a under the protection of the G e r m a n bayonets.
There decisions w e r e taken about the «independence»
and a message was drafted to the «national hero»
Abaz K u p i !
Throughout this whole period, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , as the supreme organ of the
n e w state p o w e r w h i c h was being created and c o n solidated by the partisan r i f l e , was engaged, together
392
w i t h a l l the leaders and r a n k - a n d - f i l e of the P a r t y ,
the a r m y and the F r o n t , in c a r r y i n g out the historic
directive of the Conference of L a b i n o t on the establishment of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils a l l over the
country. S u c h indefatigable comrades as M e d a r S h t y 11a, S p i r o M o i s i u , O m e r N i s h a n i , F e t a h E k m e k ç i u and
H a k i S t ë r m i l l i , w h o w e n t f r o m village t o village, f r o m
one partisan detachment to the other, set up and led
the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils at the base and together w i t h a l l the comrades carried the w o r k f o r w a r d , r e m a i n unforgettable i n m y m e m o r y . Faced
w i t h this intense and f r u i t f u l activity, or as y o u m i g h t
say, faced w i t h this offensive of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
M o v e m e n t , the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r f o u n d it preferable to
emerge f r o m «illegality». At first it t r i e d to establish
itself in the cities and t h e n c l i m b e d on to the b a n d wagon of the n a z i a r m y and its leading figures e m e r g ed in a l l their «patriotic»(!) splendour as ministers,
prefects, c r i m i n a l s and executioners! T h e open i n t e g r a tion of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r into the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
and the repressive apparatus, its f i l t h y propaganda
against our P a r t y and the Front, the a r m e d attacks of
the B a l l i s t gangs against the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y
brought us to the conclusion that the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
had completely consummated the crime of treason to
the people and the H o m e l a n d . T h e o n l y language in
w h i c h to talk to it n o w was that of the r i f l e .
W h i l e declaring all-out w a r against the B a l l i K o m bëtar w i t h propaganda and w i t h weapons, the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e instructed the organizations of the
P a r t y i n the t e r r a i n and i n the a r m y that even after
this, they should act w i t h care and prudence t o w a r d s
393
those elements w h o had not stained t h e i r hands w i t h
blood and p r o v e d able to understand the course on
w h i c h they had been m i s l e d t h r o u g h ignorance, the
influences of the past and p o l i t i c a l n a i v i t y . T h e efforts
to p u l l the m i s l e d and the deceived out of the m i r e
of treachery m u s t never cease. In no w a y s h o u l d the
L u m o Skëndos, K o l ë Tromaras, Safet B u t k a s a n d other
c r i m i n a l s of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r be treated on the
same basis as the m i s l e d l o n g - s u f f e r i n g poor peasants
who f o l l o w e d t h e m . I n general, this p o l i c y was f o l l o w e d and gave results; m a n y of these m i s l e d elements realized in t i m e w h e r e the m u l e of the B a l l i
K o m b ë t a r and other traitors was c a r r y i n g them, broke
w i t h t h e m and made amends for their m i s t a k e by
f i g h t i n g alongside the people. As I said, the same stand
as towards the q u i s l i n g B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , w a s adopted
towards its B r i t i s h style q u i s l i n g sister, L e g a l i t e t i . In
the d i r e c t i o n of this «party», however, there w a s s t i l l
something left undone: one of its chiefs, A b a z K u p i ,
had to render account for his b e t r a y a l of the Front,
the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and the G e n e r a l Staff of o u r
army.
Hence, w e demanded that A b a z K u p i s h o u l d come
to render account for his activities, but he dodged
this and f i n a l l y , at the end of October, we received
an «official» letter addressed to the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t tee of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l in
w h i c h K u p i , «the lesser Zog», i n f o r m e d us «seriously»
that «the Zogite party, of w h i c h I am a member, has
been formed w i t h the a i m of f i g h t i n g the occupier,
as we have done up t i l l now»(!). K u p i w e n t on to
express the readiness of his «party» to reach agree394
ment and «collaborate o p e n l y and sincerely» w i t h the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front, and asked us to set the
date and the place for the meeting.
As soon as I received the letter f r o m the b a y r a k tar of K r u j a I t o l d the comrades: «Abaz K u p i wants
to get over the r i v e r w i t h o u t getting wet, a v o i d i n g
being condemned for the b e t r a y a l w h i c h he is c o m mitting, and, moreover, w a n t s us to recognize his
'patriotic m e r i t s ' and talk w i t h h i m as equal parties!»
«Let h i m come to render account to the S t a n d i n g
Committee and the Staff,» said S p i r o M o i s i u . «There
we s h a l l see w h e n A b a z has allegedly fought the occupier.»
We thrashed out this p r o b l e m at l e n g t h and in
the end, s u m m i n g up the j o i n t opinion, I concluded:
«We s h o u l d t e l l A b a z K u p i not to get too b i g
for his boots, and d e m a n d talks w i t h the Front. He
must come to meet the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the
General C o u n c i l a n d to render account for w h a t he
is doing, otherwise we s h o u l d tell h i m w e ' l l attack
h i m w i t h o u t mercy.»
W h i l e w e w e r e w a i t i n g t o meet A b a z K u p i , h e
was receiving assurances f r o m the Gestapo and the
Wehrmacht, f r o m M e h d i F r a s h ë r i , f r o m Davies a n d
M c L e a n (1), strengthening his l i n k s w i t h the chiefs of
_______________________________
1 E d m o n d Davies and B i l l M c L e a n , envoys of the I n t e l l i gence
Service
at
the
head
of
British
military
missions
to
A l b a n i a , w h o carried out a broad hostile activity against the
National
Liberation
Hoxha,
The
War
of
Anglo-American
the
Albanian
Threat
to
people
Albania
(See E n v e r
(Memoirs),
«8 Nëntori» P u b l i s h i n g House, T i r a n a 1982, pp. 29, 80, 225.
Eng. ed.).
395
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and even organizing the « C o n gress of the Zogite P a r t y » w h i c h took «decisions»
about the f u t u r e of A l b a n i a . F o l l o w i n g o u r stern
insistence A b a z K u p i promised to come to O r e n j a
on N o v e m b e r 25. We w a i t e d for h i m on the appointed
date but A b a z K u p i d i d not s h o w up. A f t e r h e f a i l e d
to come on the date we had set, and w h e n we sent
h i m a n u l t i m a t u m i n w h i c h w e w a r n e d h i m that w e
w o u l d attack h i m as an e n e m y a n d a traitor, A b a z
K u p i was frightened and agreed to present h i m s e l f
to the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l at
Shëngjergj on December 7.
W h e n I a r r i v e d in Shëngjergj I f o u n d Y m e r and
S e j f u l l a there. T h e y had a r r i v e d on the evening of
December 6, and as they told me, had contacted A b a z
and reached agreement that the m e e t i n g w o u l d be
h e l d the f o l l o w i n g day.
« V e r y good», I said, «that is w h a t we have come
for. T e l l A b a z that w e are ready and w a i t i n g for h i m
to come and e x p l a i n his actions.»
We sent one of the comrades, w h o accompanied
us, to the house w h e r e A b a z K u p i w a s s t a y i n g and
waited. B e f o r e v e r y long our envoy r e t u r n e d :
«What d i d A b a z say?» I asked h i m . « W h e n is he
going to come?»
«He refuses to come to the meeting of the S t a n d ing Committee,» he r e p l i e d . « A b a z t o l d me, 'I have
resigned f r o m the C o u n c i l , therefore, I agree to talk
w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l as a delegate of
the Zogite party.'»
I realized w h a t the c u n n i n g b a y r a k t a r was up to.
He wanted both to escape his responsibility for v i o l a t 396
ing his pledge and also to secure recognition of his
«party» by the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t .
«Let h i m not come to the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e if
he doesn't w a n t to,» I said to the comrade, «but l i k e
it or not, he is going to render account to us, and we
are going to t e l l h i m our opinion straight to his face.
L i k e w i s e , w e s h a l l w a r n h i m t o w a t c h his steps and
not p l a y the games of the G e r m a n s and M e h d i F r a shëri, and t o give u p his f l i r t a t i o n w i t h the B a l l i K o m bëtar, because otherwise we w i l l l u m p them a l l together. As for his resignation we shall give h i m our
reply b y e x p e l l i n g h i m f r o m the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , and
w i l l m a k e this decision p u b l i c so that the people b r a n d
h i m a traitor. W h i l e as for the recognition of the
L e g a l i t e t i by the F r o n t , we should t e l l h i m that he
w i l l never achieve this and point out to h i m that any
p a r t y outside the F r o n t w i l l be attacked as a traitor
organization and tool of the occupier.»
W e w e r e a l l i n agreement and w e decided that
I, D i s h n i c a and F e t a h E k m e k ç i u should meet A b a z
K u p i . T h i s m e e t i n g was held in a house in Shëngjergj.
It was a t w o - s t o r e y house, as far as I remember, and
w h e n we a r r i v e d there, A b a z had preceded us, w h i l e
his «body-guard» h a d s u r r o u n d e d the house and looked at us threateningly.
« A b a z w a n t s to f r i g h t e n us,» I t o l d the c o m r a des, and we continued on o u r w a y t a k i n g no notice
of the guards. We c l i m b e d the stairs together and
the three of us entered the r o o m w h e r e A b a z was
w a i t i n g , w h i l e our t w o or three partisan escorts r e m ained outside.
I have described h o w the conversation developed
397
in the book, The Anglo-American Threat to Albania (1),
and s h a l l not d w e l l on it. There I have spoken about
Bazi's absurd theses that he was allegedly the first to
begin the war, that he had liberated K r u j a and his
megalomaniacal c l a i m that a l l the parties (read: the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front) s h o u l d amalgamate in «the
p a r t y of H i s Majesty», etc., etc. In the end, after we
w a r n e d h i m that if he d a r e d to act against our forces
he w o u l d be w i p e d out together w i t h his pack of
followers, this «great m a n » was f r i g h t e n e d and left,
saying, «I don't annoy anyone if t h e y don't annoy
me». We r e t u r n e d to the house of A l i S h t ë p a n i where
we had stayed in Shëngjergj and there h e l d the
meeting of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l and expelled A b a z K u p i . Thus, w e f i n a l l y
broke w i t h B a z i i Canës and the fate of h i m and his
associates was that of a l l the traitors: t h e y j o i n e d
up completely w i t h the detachments of the n a z i occupiers in order through t h e m to secure support d u r i n g the w a r and power after the w a r (without f a i l i n g
to m a k e deals w i t h the B r i t i s h , too).
N a t u r a l l y , for the period of the war, this u n i t i n g
under arms of reaction and the foreign occupiers w a s
to increase our difficulties and the blood our c o m rades w o u l d have to shed, but this same act w o u l d
make matters somewhat easier for us in the f u t u r e
w h e n w e liberated A l b a n i a : the d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n betw e e n the people and reaction, between the oppressed
and oppressor classes, had reached its c u l m i n a t i o n . We
w o u l d settle accounts w i t h the exploiters more easily,
____________________________________
1
Enver
Hoxha,
The
Anglo-American
Threat
to
Albania,
(Memoirs) «8 N ë n t o r i » P u b l i s h i n g House, T i r a n a 1982, pp. 249258, E n g . ed.
398
and so it t u r n e d out. Indeed, f r o m those moments we
began to settle accounts r a d i c a l l y : some of the reactionaries were k i l l e d in the battles w i t h our forces,
others took to t h e i r heels on the eve of L i b e r a t i o n
together w i t h the Germans, and others again w e r e
captured by our forces and w e r e condemned by the
people's courts for the crimes t h e y h a d committed.
A b a z K u p i h i m s e l f adhered to the p r i n c i p l e of «taking
to his heels» a n d w i t h the a i d of the B r i t i s h managed
to get a w a y in order to embrace the « b r i l l i a n t star»
of the nation in exile.
A f t e r w e f i n i s h e d our w o r k i n Shëngjergj w e r e turned to Ç e r m e n i k a w h e r e the commencement of the
G e r m a n offensive of the w i n t e r 1943-1944 caught us.
A f t e r s o m a n y d i f f i c u l t i e s and tests w h i c h w e had
successfully overcome, n o w the people, the C o m m u n ist P a r t y , o u r N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , the F r o n t
and the councils w e r e faced w i t h another test, one of
the gravest, most d i f f i c u l t and most dangerous. B u t
through u n r i v a l l e d courage, b r a v e r y and endurance,
we w e r e to pass this great general test, too. As to
h o w w e acted a n d h o w w e emerged f r o m that grave
winter, w h e n the f u r y of the nazis, the B a l l i s t s and
Zogites w a s unleashed against us, together w i t h the
savagery of the weather and the c u n n i n g of the B r i t ish allies, h i s t o r y has had its say a n d I personally
have w r i t t e n on a n u m b e r of occasions about those
unforgettable days and nights (1).
____________________________________
1
Enver
(Memoirs),
142-172,
«8
Eng.
Hoxha,
The
Nëntori»
ed.
Among
Anglo-American
Publishing
Simple
House,
Folk,
«8
House, T i r a n a 1984, pp. 195-313, A l b . ed.
399
Threat
Tirana
Nëntori»
to
Albania,
1982,
pp.
Publishing
H e r e I w a n t o n l y to recall once again the care
w h i c h we took at the b e g i n n i n g of this offensive,
amongst m a n y other things, of the security of the «old
fellows,» as we called Omer, K o s t a B o s h n j a k u and
others, because t h e y w e r e older t h a n the rest of us.
W h e n we saw that it was impossible for t h e m to
keep up w i t h us on the d i f f i c u l t tracks of the e n c i r c l e m e n t in the savage w i n t e r , I sent t w o comrades to
take matresses, blankets a n d a stove to the cave in
t h e G u r i i M u z h a q i t and we decided that Omer, S e j f u l l a and K o s t a B o s h n j a k u s h o u l d stay there u n t i l the
heat of the G e r m a n attack h a d passed. I had been
several times at G u r i i M u z h a q i t , w h e r e the cave was
l i k e a room. In w i n t e r it w a s covered w i t h snow, the
roads to it a l l blocked and no roads w e n t b e y o n d it,
so a l l measures were taken, supplies of food w e r e
left there and t w o partisans appointed to stay w i t h
them. I talked w i t h O m e r N i s h a n i and t o l d h i m of
our opinion that, in the conditions of the w a r and the
w i n t e r , it w o u l d be better f o r t h e m to stay in this
cave.
«Of course, y o u w i l l not be as comfortable as in
the home of our f r i e n d , A l i Shtëpani, in Shëngjergj,
but there y o u ' l l be safe f r o m the e n e m y attacks u n t i l
the heat of t h e i r offensive is over,» I t o l d h i m . «It is
impossible for y o u to keep up w i t h us in this deep
snow through the forests and oak scrub, especially
w i t h the zone f u l l of G e r m a n s and the B a l l i s t s of
A z i s Biçaku.»
« V e r y w e l l , let it be as y o u decide,» said the
Doctor.
I accompanied t h e m a part of the road t h r o u g h
400
snow and t h e n we embraced and parted. T h e y took
the r o a d f o r the G u r i i M u z h a q i t and we of the
General S t a f f began o u r odyssey.
We w e r e to meet again w i t h O m e r N i s h a n i and a
good part of the leadership of the P a r t y , the F r o n t
and the a r m y in the s p r i n g of 1944 w h e n the people
and their army, under the leadership of the P a r t y ,
had completely passed the great and stern test. T h e
difficulties and battles had made us tougher, the
moment h a d come w h e n w e w o u l d f i n a l l y c r u s h the
occupiers a n d the traitors, the moment h a d come w h e n
in the small, heroic and unforgettable t o w n of Përmet,
we were to h o l d the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Congress of the A l b a n i a n people, the decisions of
w h i c h w e r e to open a n e w page, a n e w epoch in the
age-old history of A l b a n i a .
401
IV
THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE NEW STATE
The enemies' hopes of destroying the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t and w i p i n g out its leadership
through the w i n t e r offensive of 1943-1944 «by the
time the n e w leaves burst their buds», (1) were smashed
by the heroic resistance of the people and our A r m y .
F i g h t i n g in d i f f i c u l t conditions, in grave situations, the
Front, the A r m y and the national l i b e r a t i o n councils
had not o n l y safeguarded their existence but had
tempered themselves p o l i t i c a l l y and m i l i t a r i l y , had
increased their ranks and had accumulated v a l u a b l e
experience.
We suffered losses and damage d u r i n g this grave
and d i f f i c u l t test: brave comrades f e l l in bloody battles
against the nazis and the Ballists a n d some died of
hunger and the bitter cold of the w i n t e r , w e l l - k n o w n
councillors and activists of the F r o n t and the national
___________________________________
1 Said i r o n i c a l l y about the hopes of internal reaction.
402
liberation councils w e r e k i l l e d , savage massacres l i k e
that of F e b r u a r y 4, 1944 in T i r a n a (1) w e r e perpetrated
in the cities, but none of these testified to the w e a k e n ing or, even less, to the defeat w h i c h the foreign
occupiers and reaction aimed to i n f l i c t on us. On the
contrary, the people, the communists and the partisan
forces t u r n e d their grief for their fallen comrades
into a source of strength, resistance, and greater m o b ilization and r e p l i e d to the savagery of the enemy by
further extending and t i g h t e n i n g our ranks. O u r N a tional L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , w h i c h n o w comprised a n u m ber of shock brigades, scores of regular partisan battalions and çeta, as w e l l as scores of çeta and u n i t s
w i t h volunteer forces a l l over A l b a n i a , faced up to
the enemy's general offensive of the w i n t e r w i t h u n rivalled heroism.
Indeed, precisely w h e n the enemy's general o f f e n sive had reached its c u l m i n a t i o n , w h e n the nazis and
the reactionaries of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and L e g a l i t e t i
everywhere w e r e t r u m p e t i n g about the e l i m i n a t i o n of
our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , three other big f o r mations, the 5th, 6th and 7th Shock Brigades, f o r m e d
in the first months of 1944, as w e l l as m a n y other
battalions and çeta, were added to the previous f i g h t ing formations of our A r m y . It was conclusively
proved that the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t was
indomitable and i n v i n c i b l e . A b o v e all, d u r i n g this
period our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , the leading staff of the
_________________________________
1 In an attempt at terrorizing the population of the capital,
in the night of F e b r u a r y 4, 1944 the nazis and their A l b a n i a n
tools barbarously massacred 84 men, young men and w o m e n
and tortured hundreds of others.
403
w a r and revolution, had g r o w n a n d been f u r t h e r t e m pered. It had functioned, guided and organized, h a d
fought and led w i t h heroism, m a t u r i t y and valour.
Thus, the last s p r i n g of the w a r f o u n d us stronger.
V e r y soon afterwards, on A p r i l 5, the G e n e r a l Staff
was to issue the order of the day for the partisan
units to go over to the offensive, f o i l i n g the plans of
the G e r m a n s and reaction who had intended to l a u n c h
another offensive d u r i n g A p r i l .
T r u l y , the moment h a d come w h e n we had to go
over to a greater a n d more general «offensive» in a l l
directions and fields.
1. On the eve of historic events
Immediately after we broke out of the w i n t e r e n circlement, the greatest concern of the m o m e n t was
to i n s t a l l ourselves in a secure base, to establish c o m munications w i t h the organizations of the P a r t y , w i t h
the state power at the base and the detachments of
the A r m y , w h e r e v e r t h e y were, and to i n t e n s i f y the
work. I n i t i a l l y we stayed b r i e f l y in P a n a r i t , a b i g
village of the K o r ç a district on the border w i t h S k r a par, l i n k e d w i t h the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r . F u n c t i o n i n g in P a n a r i t at that t i m e w a s the
p a r t y course, o u r first p a r t y school, in w h i c h the
cadres of the P a r t y and of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r w e r e t r a i n e d ideologically and politically, studied
404
M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t literature, and were acquainted w i t h
the p r i n c i p l e s and n o r m s of the construction, organization and f u n c t i o n i n g of the P a r t y of the w o r k i n g class
of the L e n i n i s t type, s u c h as our P a r t y was. We stayed
a f e w days in this village, rested and acquainted o u r selves i n general o u t l i n e w i t h w h a t h a d occurred d u r i n g
our encirclement, w i t h the a c t i v i t y of the comrades,
met and t a l k e d w i t h those t a k i n g part i n a n d the
«teachers» of the p a r t y course, and so on. In P a n a r i t
we had a l l the conditions for our work, and at f i r s t
we thought we w o u l d stay there. B u t , as I said, this
was a b i g v i l l a g e w h i c h both the G e r m a n s and the
«fighters» of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r w e r e v e r y keen to
take. A p a r t f r o m this, its geographical position made
P a n a r i t an objective w h i c h could easily be captured
by the enemy and, indeed, w i t h o u t w a r n i n g . In regard
to this we were concerned not o n l y about the danger
w h i c h w o u l d threaten the comrades of the leadership
of the P a r t y , the F r o n t and the Staff (and this was a
matter of great importance), but also about important
secret documents w h i c h m i g h t f a l l into the hands of
the enemy. Hence, we agreed we should not stay in
P a n a r i t and thought we s h o u l d go to Skrapar, to the
village o f B a c k a , w h i c h w a s separated f r o m P a n a r i t
only b y M a r t a Pass.
B a c k a , too, was a fine big village, l y i n g in the
v a l l e y of a stream, w i t h people r e n o w n e d for their
bravery, h o s p i t a l i t y and pride. D u r i n g the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n War, B a c k a w a s completely w i t h the P a r t y
and I believe I am not m i s t a k e n if I say that the
B a l l i K o m b ë t a r f o u n d n o place i n B a c k a . A p a r t f r o m
other things, the village was the birthplace of R i z a
405
K o d h e l i , our comrade-in-arms, a brave fighter and
l o y a l son of the P a r t y and the people. U n c l e R i z a , as
we called h i m , because he was an e l d e r l y m a n , had
begun to fight foreign intruders at the b e g i n n i n g of
the century and, w h e n the P a r t y raised the people in
the w a r for liberation, he united w i t h the P a r t y and
the people and became one of the v a l i a n t commanders
o f the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y .
A f t e r we reached Backa, however, and w e r e taki n g a s t r o l l there, a little f u r t h e r a w a y I saw a group
of houses standing on a s m a l l flat on the side of a h i l l
opposite us.
«What is that village?» I asked the comrades w h o
w e r e w i t h me.
«It is Helmës,» replied one of the residents of
Backa.
«Is it far f r o m here?» I asked.
«About half an hour's walk,» was the r e p l y .
I l i k e d the position in w h i c h Helmës was placed
a n d I was also attracted by the fact that it was a s m a l l
isolated village, w h e r e our presence w o u l d not be
noticed. I t o l d the others of these ideas and we sent
comrades to look at the concrete situation, the p o s s i b i lities of f i n d i n g housing there, etc. T h e comrades r e t u r n e d satisfied f r o m t h e i r «inspection» and t o l d us
that the inhabitants had expressed their readiness to
keep us and shelter us as long as we l i k e d , « u n t i l the
liberation of the country», as t h e y had put it.
Thus, o n the f o l l o w i n g d a y w e settled i n Helmës,
a s m a l l village w i t h ten to t w e l v e houses and lots of
gardens w i t h apple trees, and here amongst the apple
trees we set up the tents w h e r e some of the comrades,
406
the partisan guards, and so on, were housed, w h i l e we
occupied two two-storey houses, the o n l y ones in this
village. M e a n w h i l e , t h r o u g h couriers and by radio, we
established communications w i t h the t e r r a i n and the
A r m y , and the w o r k began again w i t h intensity, i n
accord w i t h the demands of the situation w h i c h was
developing and changing f r o m day to day.
In the f i r s t place, the comrades g r a d u a l l y acquainted themselves better and more t h o r o u g h l y w i t h
the situation and the w o r k done by the P a r t y and the
organs of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t d u r i n g the
past w i n t e r , w i t h the results of the f i g h t i n g of the
units of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , w i t h the c u r rent state of its forces, armaments, cadres, etc., etc.
L i k e w i s e , the i n f o r m a t i o n and reports w h i c h came to
us f r o m the comrades in the terrain brought us up to
date w i t h the p o l i t i c a l situation w i t h i n the country,
and on the basis of a l l this i n f o r m a t i o n we created a
more or less complete v i s i o n about the s i t u a t i o n of the
national l i b e r a t i o n councils, too.
A l t h o u g h they had stood f i r m and carried o n
intensive activity, s t i l l the wave of reaction w h i c h
struck t h e m had had its consequences: there had been
elements w h o had w a v e r e d and been broken, and
there were e v e n occasions in various villages w h e n they
had not functioned. One of the first measures w h i c h
we took in this direction was the decision of the S t a n d ing C o m m i t t e e of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l about h o l d i n g
n e w elections for the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n councils.
T h i s decision was essential, because a r e l a t i v e l y
long period had passed, a p e r i o d of m a n y events and
d i f f i c u l t situations, in w h i c h a l l those elements who
407
had been elected to the councils had been put to the
test to j u s t i f y the people's trust. T h e n e w elections,
however, w e r e not in a n y w a y to m e a n a complete
change in composition of the f o r m e r national l i b e r a tion councils. The people w o u l d decide w h e t h e r this
or that f o r m e r member of the c o u n c i l h a d j u s t i f i e d
their trust. There w o u l d be no r o o m for traitors,
cowards and opportunists in the organs of the w a r
and the n e w democratic state power.
L i k e w i s e , the national l i b e r a t i o n councils in the
regions w e r e instructed to proceed w i t h the o r g a n i z a tion of the national l i b e r a t i o n conferences in those
regions and cities where these had not been h e l d after
the Conference of Labinot. T h e S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e
of the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l devoted special care to these
conferences w h i c h w e r e to be schools for a l l the delegates f r o m the villages, districts and cities of A l b a n i a .
Hence, throughout this period, the leading organs
of the P a r t y a n d the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t w e r e
m a k i n g a precise e x a m i n a t i o n of the situation and, on
the basis of analyses, w e r e d e f i n i n g the concrete
measures w h i c h had to be taken in the political, o r g a nizational and m i l i t a r y planes.
A b o v e all, it was essential that along w i t h stepp i n g up the attack on the n a z i hordes and their c o l l a borators, we should do e v e r y t h i n g to a r r i v e at the
liberation of the c o u n t r y as w e l l prepared p o l i t i c a l l y
as possible. T h i s meant that we had to concretize the
great victories achieved and sanction t h e m i n l a w s
and forms approved by the people. T h e m o m e n t had
come w h e n the slogan of o u r N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r ,
«For a free, democratic, people's A l b a n i a » , had to be
408
concretized. S u c h decisions w h i c h , of course, the
leadership o f the C P A a n d the A n t i - f a s c i s t G e n e r a l
C o u n c i l w o u l d discuss and define, could be f i n a l l y
taken and sanctioned o n l y by a broad meeting, a great
national assembly of representatives of the A l b a n i a n
people, w h i c h w o u l d express the aspirations a n d desires of the people. Thus, the need arose for the p r e paration of the 1st A n t i - f a s c i s t Congress of P ë r m e t .
T h i s w o u l d be a constitutional congress w h i c h
w o u l d legalize the p o w e r of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n
councils as the o n l y state p o w e r in A l b a n i a , a n d on
this p o l i t i c a l basis the foundations of the n e w d e m o cratic state w o u l d be l a i d a n d the legislative and
executive organs w o u l d be elected on the basis of t h e
w i l l of the people. Thus, the w a y w o u l d be blocked to
the manoeuvres o f reaction, inside a n d outside o f A l bania, as w e l l as to the efforts of the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n
imperialists to impose a regime according to their
desires on the people, and «a government» w h i c h t h e y
might f o r m e v e n t u a l l y inside the c o u n t r y or abroad.
A f t e r t h o r o u g h l y discussing i n the P o l i t i c a l B u reau the idea about h o l d i n g the 1st A n t i - f a s c i s t C o n gress, we decided to present it to the S t a n d i n g C o m mittee of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l at
a meeting organized on A p r i l 15, 1944 at Helmës, in a
room in the home of M e h m e t M y s l y m i , w h i c h served
d u r i n g those months as the premises of the leading
organs o f the P a r t y and the w a r and i n w h i c h Y m e r
Dishnica, Doctor N i s h a n i and others were quartered.
A l o n g w i t h other comrades I was quartered in the
home of N o v r u z B i l i m a n i . I r e t a i n fine memories of
the people of those t w o houses w h o were always ready
409
to help us in every way, and especially of the k i n d l y ,
sweet-spoken N u r i h a n w h o looked after us and cooked
for us. A l m o s t a l l the members of the S t a n d i n g C o m mittee had come to this meeting. T h e o n l y ones m i s sing were M y s l i m Peza a n d M u s t a f a X h a n i , w h o
could not leave the f i g h t i n g front, N a k o S p i r u and
O l l g a P l u m b i , who r e m a i n e d i n T i r a n a because i t w a s
d i f f i c u l t to move, and F e t a h E k m e k ç i u , about whose
fate we had no reliable i n f o r m a t i o n . On behalf of the
leadership of the C P A I took the floor to present the
proposal about s u m m o n i n g the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n Congress.
In essence, I said to the comrades: «Today our
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t i s recognized i n A l b a n i a
and throughout the w o r l d as the o n l y p o l i t i c a l a n d
m i l i t a r y power w h i c h represents the supreme interests
of the A l b a n i a n nation. We have w o n this recognition
through our correct policy, through the heroic struggle
of the P a r t y and o u r people. N o w , in the c i r c u m s t a n ces of the new, higher stage w h i c h o u r N a t i o n a l L i b eration W a r has entered, the leadership of the C P A
has a r r i v e d at the conclusion that it is essential to
have higher organizational forms in o u r movement and,
above all, to have a legislative assembly and a p r o v i sional government. In order to secure these it is
necessary to organize a congress of representatives of
the A l b a n i a n people w h o w i l l f r e e l y decide on the
future of the H o m e l a n d , t r a n s m i t t i n g the desire of the
people w h o have elected them. W i t h i n the c o u n t r y the
congress w i l l have a m a j o r political effect and the
people w i l l applaude its decisions, because t h e y have
been f i g h t i n g for these things for f o u r years. L i k e 410
wise,» I stressed, «its echo w i l l be great outside the
country, too, and w i l l have an influence on our r e l a tions w i t h the allies. T h e Congress w i l l p r o v i d e the
country w i t h its l a w f u l government and w i t h this, i t
w i l l p u t an end both to the manoeuvres of i n t e r n a l
reaction and to the u n d e r h a n d w o r k of the allies.»
T h e comrades received m y speech w i t h enthusiasm, and in their contributions to the discussion u n a n i m o u s l y approved the proposal for s u m m o n i n g the
Congress, as w e l l as the procedure for the election
of the delegates.
I m m e d i a t e l y after this we began the concrete
preparations for the Congress, w h i c h , as I s h a l l relate
below, it w a s decided s h o u l d be h e l d in the t o w n of
Përmet. O n the f o l l o w i n g day, together w i t h the R e s olution, the national l i b e r a t i o n councils of every region
were sent a letter of instructions f r o m the S t a n d i n g
Committee of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l
in w h i c h it was pointed out that the delegates should
be selected f r o m the ranks of m i l i t a n t s and fighters,
true representatives of the people, w h i l e not a l l o w i n g
enemies of the people to i n f i l t r a t e it by stealth, etc.
That same d a y we sent a special c i r c u l a r to the
regional committees of the C P A and the p o l i t i c a l sections of the brigades of the A l b a n i a n N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion A r m y i n connection w i t h this m a j o r event, stress i n g the importance of this Congress and its decisions,
w h i c h w o u l d have p r o f o u n d repercussions both inside
and outside of A l b a n i a . Therefore, in the name of the
C e n t r a l Committee, the comrades of the P a r t y were
instructed to exert a l l their strength to ensure the
complete success of the A n t i - f a s c i s t Congress.
411
D u r i n g these days a l l the comrades w e r e w o r k i n g
f r o m m o r n i n g t i l l night. W e h a d t o deal w i t h the c u r rent problems of the P a r t y and the state power, to
f o l l o w the development of the m i l i t a r y situation, to
r e p l y to the letters and reports w h i c h the c o u r i e r s
brought us every day f r o m the regional committees,
the councils, brigades, battalions, a n d so on. Besides
a l l these permanent jobs, we were faced w i t h a w h o l e
series of matters w h i c h h a d to be settled a n d w o r k
w h i c h had to be done for the preparation of the A n t i fascist Congress. A l l this demanded time and m e n t a l
and p h y s i c a l tension, but at that t i m e we were y o u n g
and could sit w o r k i n g for w h o l e days and even forget
to eat. B u t the m a i n t h i n g was that we w e r e w o r k i n g
w i t h a light heart and j o y in our spirits because we saw
that o u r w o r k and struggle had not been in v a i n a n d
w e r e convinced that we were w o r k i n g for a h a p p y
f u t u r e for the H o m e l a n d and the people.
T h e t r u t h is that the other comrades l i k e Omer,
M e d a r and B a c a t r i e d to ease the burden on me a n d
had undertaken to deal w i t h the organizational or
«technical» questions w h i c h w e r e also g i v i n g rise to
plenty of problems.
M e a n w h i l e , w e decided i n p r i n c i p l e w h o m w e
could i n v i t e to the congress as guests a n d p r e p a r e d
the invitations. D r . N i s h a n i , as I said, h a d r o l l e d up
his sleeves and was e x t r e m e l y serious and concerned
about his work. He personally saw to the preparation
of invitations and the «tickets», as we called the d e l egates' mandates at that time, w h i c h he signed in the
name of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the N a t i o n a l L i b 412
e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l , v e r i f i e d the lists, the f u l l
n a m e s a n d a l l other details to w h i c h he devoted the
necessary care. Doctor M e d a r S h t y l l a was e q u a l l y correct and scrupulous. B o t h of t h e m had a m a r v e l l o u s
education i n w o r k : w h a t e v e r they d i d t h e y d i d w e l l .
One of the f i r s t invitations w h i c h we sent out in
t h e n a m e of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l was that w h i c h was sent
to the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l o f K o s o v a and the D u k a g j i n Plateau,
o u r brothers w i t h w h o m w e w e r e l i n k e d not o n l y b y
the c o m m o n ideals of the war, but also by language,
blood and nationality. In the i n v i t a t i o n signed by
O m e r N i s h a n i we w r o t e to our K o s o v a brothers about
the decision of great historic importance w h i c h we
h a d taken for the c a l l i n g of an A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
Congress, w h i c h w o u l d m a r k a n e w stage in our war,
and expressed the desire that a delegation of the
C o u n c i l a n d of the m a i n Staff of K o s o v a and the
D u k a g j i n P l a t e a u s h o u l d come to this congress. «The
c o m i n g of that delegation,» we wrote, « w i l l be the
most v i v i d i n d i c a t i o n to the Congress of h o w our
traditions of the w a r for freedom b r i n g us together
w i t h o u r brothers.» ( 1 )
We waited for the representatives of the
L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t of K o s o v a and the
P l a t e a u u n t i l the d a y the Congress was due
and s t i l l hoped that t h e y m i g h t come d u r i n g
National
Dukagjin
to start,
the days
______________________________________
1 A
copy
of
this
document
Party A r c h i v e s .
413
is
preserved
in
the
Central
w h e n the Congress was in progress, but in v a i n . We
do not k n o w w h a t happened, but no delegation or
reply reached us. In w h a t free time we had, w h e n we
gathered for a f e w moments in the r o o m w h e r e I
stayed, or w h e n we were eating together in a c o m m o n
dinning-room, we talked about m a n y problems, i n c l u d ing the preparations for the Congress, the h o l d i n g of
elections of delegates in the regions and zones, t h e
measures w h i c h had been taken for their coming,
and so on. We instructed the p r i n t e r y we had at
L a v d a r to prepare slogans and flags, to secure p o r t r a i t s
of leaders of our Renaissance, w a r heroes and others,
and besides a l l this, we d i d not overlook to ensure the
presence of a photographer.
In brief, a l l measures were taken to ensure that
e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d go l i k e clock-work. M e a n w h i l e , we
made the necessary preparations and in the m i d d l e of
M a y 1944 summoned the P l e n u m of the C e n t r a l C o m mittee of the C P A , w h i c h , among the m a i n problems,
discussed and decided on the matters w h i c h w o u l d be
raised at the Congress of Përmet, the decisions w h i c h
the P a r t y w o u l d propose should be taken there, and
so on, considering this event a k e y m o m e n t in the
course of our w o r k for the deepening of victories and
the prospect of the development of the r e v o l u t i o n
w h i c h the P a r t y was leading.
Speaking about this f u n d a m e n t a l problem, in the
report (1) w h i c h I presented to the P l e n u m , amongst
other things I stressed:
___________________________________
1
Enver H o x h a , Selected Works, vol.
1, «8 Nëntori» P u b l i -
shing House, T i r a n a 1974, p. 290, E n g . ed.
414
«The development of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
and the proportions w h i c h it has assumed, the p o l i t i c a l
situation abroad and the i n t e r n a l circumstances today
demand that we take important decisions and summon
a congress to elect the Anti-fascist National Liberation
Council which will have the attributes of a legislative
and executive organ, f r o m w h i c h the A n t i - f a s c i s t
C o m m i t t e e w i t h the attributes of a p r o v i s i o n a l government w i l l emerge.»
W h i l e g i v i n g the detailed reasons w h y this c o n gress had to be s u m m o n e d and the importance w h i c h
it w o u l d have, I once again d r e w the attention of the
comrades of the P l e n u m of the C e n t r a l Committee that
we m u s t a l l prepare ourselves to face up to the c o m ing events.
«In the situations w h i c h w i l l develop, we s h a l l
have to take decisive stands,» I pointed out. «Therefore, we m u s t have a strong P a r t y , m u s t have sound
cadres w i t h p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y training, m u s t s t r e n gthen and temper the u n i t y of the w o r k i n g class and
the peasantry a r o u n d the C o m m u n i s t Party.»
In particular, I stressed t w o possible developments for w h i c h we h a d to be p r e p a r e d : an allied
l a n d i n g in the B a l k a n s and a r a p i d w i t h d r a w a l of the
nazi forces f r o m A l b a n i a .
«It is o u r d u t y to take great care and not a l l o w
our allies to meddle in o u r i n t e r n a l affairs in any
way,» I t o l d the comrades. «The decisions of the C o n gress of Përmet, w h i c h w i l l give the people the legislative and executive organs of power, and l a y the
foundations of the n e w democratic people's A l b a n i a n
415
state, w i l l p l a y an i m p o r t a n t role in this direction.
On the other hand,» I continued, «it is necessary to
eliminate the outlook w h i c h is apparent among m a n y
comrades and partisans that, w i t h the e x p u l s i o n of the
Germans, w e have f i n i s h e d a l l o u r w o r k and have o n l y
to l a y d o w n our arms and go home. We m u s t m a k e
clear to a l l the comrades and partisans that we w i l l
never l a y d o w n our arms, not o n l y w h e n there is no
enemy force left i n o u r c o u n t r y and the A l b a n i a n
people have w o n complete freedom, but also after
this. T h e n e w state w h i c h we are creating m u s t be
defended and we w h o are creating it w i l l defend it.
«The greatest guarantee of o u r v i c t o r y is the u n i t y
of the P a r t y . We have duties to the P a r t y , we have
duties to the people, therefore, we m u s t set to w o r k
and accomplish those duties to the letter, w i t h determination, not s p a r i n g even o u r lives.»
A l l the proceedings of the P l e n u m , the report
w h i c h I d e l i v e r e d there on behalf of the B u r e a u of the
Central Committee of the P a r t y , as w e l l as the m a t u r e
and enthusiastic contributions of the comrades, showed
that n o w we had entered the decisive phase of the
war, the period w h e n the P a r t y and the people w e r e
to harvest the fruits of m a n y years of f i g h t i n g . T h e
liberation of the H o m e l a n d was close at hand, new
horizons were being opened to the r e v o l u t i o n .
M e a n w h i l e , not o n l y in Përmet, but a l l over the
country preparations for the Congress w e r e being
made, the elections of delegates being h e l d and m e a sures taken to send t h e m to destination. A c c o r d i n g to
the decision of the S t a n d i n g Committee of the G e n e r a l
416
C o u n c i l the liberated zones and those that were s t i l l
occupied, the battalions and brigades of the army, the
A n t i - f a s c i s t Y o u t h U n i o n and the A n t i - f a s c i s t Women's
U n i o n w o u l d be represented at the Congress. In the
liberated regions the delegates to the Congress w o u l d
be elected democratically by the people by open vote,
w h i l e in the occupied zones the delegates w o u l d be
appointed by the national liberation c o u n c i l of the
respective region. In the partisan battalions and b r i gades, the delegates w o u l d be elected by open vote in
general meetings of the fighters.
In the liberated zones the elections of the delegates to the Congress t u r n e d into real celebrations. M e n ,
w o m e n and y o u n g people who had the right to elect
a set n u m b e r of representatives according to the zones
in w h i c h they resided, took part in them. Thus, the
whole p o p u l a t i o n of the free zones expressed its o p i n ion about its finest sons w h o w o u l d c a r r y its w i l l ,
desires, dreams and belief in a h a p p y f u t u r e to the
great convention. T h e meetings e v e r y w h e r e w e r e l i vely, m a t u r e in judgement and in the end decided
on honest patriotic elements w h o had fought t h r o u g h out their lives for A l b a n i a , and n e w cadres w h o had
m a t u r e d i n t h e i r t h i n k i n g f r o m their experience i n
the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r . B u t above all, a n e w
m a j o r v i c t o r y w a s that among the delegates there
w e r e also w o m e n w h o w o u l d c a r r y t h e i r w o r d and
ardent love for the H o m e l a n d , the people and the
P a r t y to the Congress.
T h e members of the regional anti-fascist councils
in the non-liberated cities and zones met to decide
w h o w o u l d be the delegates to represent them at the
417
Congress in an e n t i r e l y different atmosphere, more
q u i e t l y f r o m external appearances, but w i t h the same
enthusiasm in their hearts. One by one and v i g i l a n t
against observation by the enemies, t h e y w e n t to
the houses w h i c h w e r e bases of the war, and there,
after f i e r y debates, in w h i c h love and respect f o r the
comrades of the w a r predominated over e v e r y t h i n g ,
they appointed the delegates.
Thus, the election of delegates was c a r r i e d out in
time i n accordance w i t h the instructions w h i c h w e
issued. N o w , however, a great d i f f i c u l t y emerged for
the delegates, especially for those of the zones of the
N o r t h , T i r a n a , K o r ç a and elsewhere, w h e r e the enemy,
w h o m a y have learned something about the h o l d i n g
of the great assembly in S o u t h e r n A l b a n i a , had i n creased the n u m b e r of guards and spies at the checkpoints and had banned the m o v e m e n t of people on
the roads by automobile if they w e r e not accompanied
by Germans. B u t no obstacle w a s going to stop the
delegates on the road to the Congress. U n d e r the
noses of the G e r m a n s and t h e i r spies, by crossing the
rivers and t a k i n g n e w tracks, the b u l k of t h e m w e r e
to a r r i v e at the Congress.
Great secrecy was m a i n t a i n e d about the t o w n in
w h i c h the Congress was to be held, so that the enemy
w o u l d not be able to organize a mass attack against
Përmet. O n l y a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of comrades k n e w the
place in w h i c h this historic event was to be held.
F o r the dispatch of delegates to P ë r m e t we had appointed people w h o w o u l d guide and accompany the
delegates through the mountains, f r o m detachment to
detachment. The delegates f r o m the southern districts
418
were to go d i r e c t l y to Përmet, w h i l e for those f r o m
the N o r t h we had charged the comrades in T i r a n a w i t h
the task of assembling t h e m in P e z a and accompanying
them f r o m there to the S o u t h .
We had discussed the question of ensuring peacef u l conditions d u r i n g the proceedings of the Congress
and, in the name of the G e n e r a l Staff, I had ordered
a n u m b e r of brigades and detachments of the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n A r m y to take up strategic positions and
block the roads w h i c h l e d to P ë r m e t w i t h a clear-cut
order: the enemy m u s t not pass in the d i r e c t i o n of
the t o w n . Thus, w h e n the time was approaching for
the proceedings of the Congress to commence, the
partisans of the 5th, 12th, 7th and 8th S h o c k Brigades
occupied their f i r i n g positions w i t h their arms ready
round the clock f r o m T r i U r a t t o Berat, Skrapar, T e pelena, Z a g o r i a and L u n x h ë r i a , K o l o n j a and V i t h k u q .
Besides them, other brigades of o u r army, dispersed
over w i d e r areas, w e r e to operate to protect historic
Përmet. T h e comrades of the G e n e r a l Staff w e r e convinced that o u r heroic partisans w o u l d p e r f o r m the
lofty d u t y w i t h w h i c h they had been charged w i t h
devotion and, in fact, that is w h a t occurred. The historic Congress of P ë r m e t took place in complete c a l m .
W h e n e v e r y t h i n g was ready we set out for P ë r met. T h e weather was fine, the s p r i n g was apparent
everywhere. G o i n g d o w n into the V j o s a V a l l e y o n
the slopes of the mountains and h i l l s y o u c o u l d see
houses and cottages b u i l t on the cliffs. T h e people
struggled even on the rocks to g a i n a bit of l a n d . T h e
land and the climate w e r e suitable for the trees and
419
the crops, but the anti-popular regimes of the past
had done n o t h i n g to benefit this place or this people,
o r those a n y w h e r e else i n A l b a n i a . W e talked w i t h
the comrades about w h a t great w e a l t h our c o u n t r y had
and about our marvellous, generous, industrious and
brave people w h o deserved to be happy.
A f t e r Liberation, the P a r t y rebuilt P ë r m e t f r o m
its foundations and made it one of the most b e a u t i f u l
towns of the H o m e l a n d , but in M a y 1944 we f o u n d it
devastated and burnt. Three times on end the enemy
had reduced this s m a l l t o w n beside the V j o s a R i v e r
to r u b b l e and ashes, but w h e n we entered it we w e r e
deeply m o v e d by the enthusiastic welcome, the shouts
a n d cheers of the people, h a p p y to have their o w n
sons, the fighters, delegates, partisans, y o u n g m e n and
women, amongst them, w h o gave the t o w n a liveliness
w h i c h it had never seen before. T h e great event
w h i c h was t a k i n g place, history itself, made Përmet,
d u r i n g those days, the capital of the new A l b a n i a
w h i c h was being born in the war.
It was not by chance that the 1st A n t i - f a s c i s t
Congress of the A l b a n i a n people was to be h e l d in
P ë r m e t and not in some other place. We h a d decided
this w h e n we were in Helmës. We could have met
in other places, but we chose P ë r m e t for t w o m a i n
reasons: first, in order to show the people that the
P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y w e r e o n the
verge of victory, that our w a r had n o w passed into
t h e phase of the liberation of cities, that v i c t o r y was
i m m i n e n t and we were able to h o l d such a great C o n gress of historic importance not o n l y in the m o u n t a i n s
b u t also in the cities. A p a r t f r o m this, I proposed
420
P ë r m e t because it i n c l u d e d Dangëllia, Frashër, w h e r e
the most outstanding and glorious m e n of our N a t i o n a l
Renaissance w e r e born. T h e P a r t y honoured the great
patriots w h o w e r e b o r n on the s o i l of Përmet, N a i m ,
S a m i and A b d y l , the great poet, the great philosopher
and the great p o l i t i c i a n . We w e r e w e l l acquainted
w i t h N a i m ' s poems, w i t h Sami's book, Albania, What
It Has Been, What It is, and What It Will Become, and
the efforts of A b d y l for the independence and t e r r i torial i n t e g r i t y o f A l b a n i a . B y h o n o u r i n g these outstanding m e n of the Renaissance, fighters w i t h the
pen and the r i f l e , we showed the people once again
that the partisans, the communists, w e r e their w o r t h y
sons, and not the traitors, such as L u m o Skëndo and
M e h d i F r a s h ë r i , e v e n t h o u g h t h e y w e r e f r o m the F r a shëri f a m i l y . We showed the people that the P a r t y
appreciated and honoured the patriotic traditions and
the patriots, and their heirs w e r e the people and the
communists and not the traitors sold out to foreigners.
F r o m the t i m e the P a r t y began the w a r at the
head of the people, it based itself on these outstanding traditions of f i g h t i n g and heroism. F o r us, the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r was not a separate l i n k in
the c h a i n of the battles w h i c h our people h a d waged
to defend the H o m e l a n d , to ensure t h e i r existence as
a nation, w i t h their o w n language, culture and a l l
their n a t i o n a l features. It was a continuation of those
battles, b u t at another t i m e and w i t h a loftier content.
The heroes of o u r f o r m e r wars w e r e heroes w h o m we,
the communists, honoured as d i d the w h o l e people,
and we propagated t h e i r names and deeds. There was
the odd comrade w h o d i d not agree w i t h this correct
421
attitude of the P a r t y , but we attacked these v i e w s as
w r o n g and h a r m f u l .
« W h y do we need Skanderbeg or N a i m F r a s h ë r i !
T h e y w e r e feudal!» said «the proletarian conscience»
of the P a r t y , K o ç i X o x e who, as was to be p r o v e d
later, t h r o u g h his savage, sectarian, T r o t s k y i t e policy,
was for the destruction of the F r o n t .
«They w e r e great fighters for A l b a n i a , » I t o l d
h i m . «Their names and deeds w i l l r e m a i n i n the popular m e m o r y t h r o u g h the centuries. We communists
are the continuers of t h e i r w o r k in n e w times.»
J u s t as o u r N a t i o n a l Renaissance evoked the great
name of G j e r g j K a s t r i o t i — S k a n d e r b e g and made h i m
a s y m b o l of the resistance and the w a r for freedom,
d u r i n g the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r o u r P a r t y evoked
not o n l y o u r N a t i o n a l Hero but also other famous
patriots and m e n such as the F r a s h ë r i brothers, I s m a i l
Qemali, L u i g j G u r a k u q i , B a j r a m C u r r i , A v n i R u s t e m i
and others, and honoured t h e i r heroism and w o r k .
B u t let us r e t u r n to P ë r m e t in those unforgettable
days, let us recall the historic Congress w h i c h opened
a n e w epoch in the history of A l b a n i a , the epoch of
socialism.
2. The historic Congress of Përmet
I always remember w i t h nostalgia the P ë r m e t of
M a y 1944. w i t h its festive appearance, the decorated
Congress hall, the clean d i n i n g - r o o m w i t h long tables,
422
the comrades whose r i f l e barrels c l i c k e d together w h e n
they embraced one another. A l l these things c h a l l e n ged the r u i n s caused by the w a r and f i l l e d our hearts
with great joy. In my m i n d ' s eye I can see the c o m rades, y o u n g as they w e r e at that time, vigorous,
laughing, enthusiastic, r e m e m b e r H y s n i K a p o , a steel
p i l l a r of the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War,
Babë M y s l i m , the wise, l o y a l and v a l i a n t fighter, Gogo
N u s h i , s p a r i n g w i t h his w o r d s but a tireless w o r k e r .
I remember my other cofighters and collaborators of
the w a r t i m e years, S p i r o M o i s i u , M e d a r S h t y l l a , D o c tor N i s h a n i , Esat D i s h n i c a , H a s a n P u l o and many,
m a n y others w h o made their c o n t r i b u t i o n to the b r i l liant course on w h i c h the P a r t y led us.
W h e n I remember P ë r m e t of those heroic days I
seem to become m u c h younger t h a n I am today w h e n
I am w r i t i n g these lines. It is n a t u r a l that one's m e m ory is not so f r e s h as to b r i n g to m i n d e v e r y i n d i v i d u a l detail, but even n o w that m a r v e l l o u s «fluid» of
those heroic but d i f f i c u l t times, that great enthusiasm
of the unforgettable days of the Congress, that ardour
w h i c h seethed in o u r hearts, seethes in and pervades
my w h o l e body w i t h that same force and I feel that I
a m s t i l l young.
We passed the evening a n d n i g h t of M a y 23 in a
j o y f u l atmosphere. T h e r e w e r e the songs and dances,
the ardent talks, the m i l i t a n t sketches w h i c h w e r e to
continue d u r i n g a l l the days of the Congress and w h i c h
the partisans presented on makeshift stages set up on
the r u i n s . Indeed, the w e e k of r e v o l u t i o n a r y art was
held in P ë r m e t d u r i n g those days. H e r e the theatrical
423
group was formed f r o m the best partisan actors, and
the history of our theatre of socialist r e a l i s m began.
D i n n e r for the delegates was p u t on in a f o r m e r
enemy barracks, thoroughly cleaned and t i d i e d up,
w i t h long tables and plates and glasses for everyone.
On the odd occasion there was also a glass of r a k i
and a simple snack. T h e r e were t w o dishes at each
l u n c h and sometimes w e even had h a l v a h !
A n d so, on the f o l l o w i n g day, M a y 24, 1944, a m idst the enthusiasm of the people a n d the partisans,
the delegates and the i n v i t e d guests entered the historic h a l l in w h i c h the proceedings of the Congress
were to be held. We, the comrades of the S t a n d i n g
Committee of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and the G e n e r a l Staff, entered the h a l l
at 10 o'clock. T h e delegates and guests, old people and
youth, partisans and commanders, w o m e n , clergy,
patriots, welcomed us w i t h a long ovation and we a l l
stood and cheered together.
The h a l l had been freshly w h i t e w a s h e d . A b i g A l banian flag covered the w a l l facing us, w h i l e alongside
it the portraits of Skanderbeg and I s m a i l Q e m a l i were
placed. A r o u n d the h a l l one metre f r o m the floor there
was a chain i n t e r r u p t e d by the slogan: D e a t h to
Fascism — F r e e d o m to the People.
The Congress opened w i t h one minute's silence
for those w h o h a d fallen in w a r and after this solemn
commemoration of those w h o had g i v e n t h e i r blood,
their y o u t h and their lives for the freedom of the
H o m e l a n d , O m e r N i s h a n i d e l i v e r e d the i n t r o d u c t o r y
address. M a k i n g a brief s u m m a r y of the efforts of o u r
freedom-loving people, he evoked the movements of
424
the A l b a n i a n people to defend the l a n d of their f o r e fathers, pointed out the injustices w h i c h had been
imposed on our c o u n t r y by the i m p e r i a l i s t treaties,
spoke about the struggle of our people to defend the
A l b a n i a n territories i n the N o r t h and the S o u t h and
m e n t i o n e d the A l b a n i a n League of P r i z r e n . In his
speech Doctor O m e r N i s h a n i stressed the fact that at
the k e y moments of their history, our people had a l w a y s sent their finest sons to national conventions in
order to discuss and decide the fate of the H o m e l a n d .
T h i s is w h a t had occurred at the A l b a n i a n League of
P r i z r e n , and at the Congress of L u s h n j a in 1920, w h i c h
took decisions for the protection and strengthening of
the independence of A l b a n i a .
«This is w h a t has occurred and is occurring in the
recent years, too,» pointed out Doctor N i s h a n i , «when
our H o m e l a n d has been attacked by hordes of enemies
and threatened by the greatest dangers. T h e representatives of the people gathered at P e z a to put the w a r
on sound foundations, gathered later at L a b i n o t in
order to centralize the a u t h o r i t y and power w h i c h
they had w o n t h r o u g h fighting, and today we have
gathered here in P ë r m e t in order to discuss and to
take some of the most important and historic decisions.
To speak about h o w we have a r r i v e d to this great
day, w h a t struggle, problems and d i f f i c u l t i e s have
been overcome and the decisions w h i c h this assembly,
unprecedented in our history, must take,» concluded
Doctor N i s h a n i , «I give the floor to Comrade
E n v e r H o x h a . On behalf of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l he w i l l d e l i v e r the report ' O n the
D e v e l o p m e n t of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r of the
425
A l b a n i a n People i n Connection w i t h International
Events'.»
I had taken part, spoken in and chaired i m p o r t a n t
meetings and conferences of the P a r t y , the F r o n t and
the state p o w e r for f o u r years on e n d ; on a l l these
occasions, together w i t h the confidence and d e t e r m i n a tion w h i c h the strength of the P a r t y and the w a r gave
me, I had also felt p r o f o u n d emotions, but the emotions w h i c h I felt on this occasion, w h i l e I w a s m a k i n g
ready to d e l i v e r the report, w e r e of a special q u a l i t y
and I s h a l l never forget them.
H o w e v e r , the prolonged applause and ovations of
the delegates, their u n i n t e r r u p t e d enthusiastic shouts
gave me time to p u l l m y s e l f together and my voice
resounded w i t h that assurance and strength w h i c h this
great event required.
T h e report w h i c h I delivered at the Congress has
been published, (1) therefore, here I s h a l l m e n t i o n o n l y
some fragment or passage w h i c h had p a r t i c u l a r i m p o r tance because of the moments at w h i c h it was d e l i vered.
Thus, w h i l e speaking in detail about the delevopment of events and o u r w a r since A p r i l 7, 1939, about
the stages t h r o u g h w h i c h this w a r had proceeded,
about the d i f f i c u l t i e s w h i c h had been overcome, etc.,
I devoted special importance to b r i n g i n g out and
stressing the historic role of our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y as
the f u n d a m e n t a l factor for the u n i t y of the people and
the v i c t o r y of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
_______________________________________
1 Enver
Hoxha,
Selected
P u b l i s h i n g House, T i r a n a
Works,
vol.
1,
1974. p. 325, E n g . ed.
426
«8
Nëntori»
«The C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a placed the lives
of its members and e v e r y t h i n g it h a d in the service
of the H o m e l a n d and the people,» I declared at the
Congress. «It became the organizer and true leader in
the a r m e d i n s u r r e c t i o n against the occupier and the
most r a b i d reaction, it has a l w a y s stood in the forefront of the w a r and has s t r i v e n to unite the masses of
the people and a l l honest nationalists and patriots in
a c o m m o n f r o n t against the occupiers.»
T h i s declaration w h i c h was received w i t h e n t h u siastic cheering reflected an indisputable historical
fact. E v e n before this, d u r i n g the war, we had spoken
about the role of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , about its
leadership i n the F r o n t a n d the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
A r m y , and more importantly, applied this i n practice.
N o w , however, it was of great importance to a f f i r m
the P a r t y as the decisive factor of the v i c t o r y at
such a great event as the Congress of Përmet. W i t h
this, in p r i n c i p l e and practice, we r e a f f i r m e d and s a feguarded the leading role of the P a r t y for the future.
In my report I w e n t on to speak about the efforts
of reaction to u n d e r m i n e and sabotage the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n War, to alienate the people f r o m the P a r t y
and the F r o n t . In this part of the report, too, I gave
an historical account of the forms w h i c h this hostile
a c t i v i t y had followed, of the demagogic tactics of
reactionary and collaborationist groupings f r o m the
open quislings l i k e K r u j a , V ë r l a c i , B u s h a t i a n d L i b o hova, t o the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , A b a z K u p i and Legaliteti,
and the n e w quislings l i k e M e h d i F r a s h ë r i , I b r a h i m
B i ç a k u and others. T h e report p r o v e d their treachery
w i t h arguments and facts. As a «fresh» fact I m e n 427
tioned the efforts of reaction to enter into alliance
w i t h B a l k a n reaction, not o n l y to strangle our war,
but also to sell the H o m e l a n d to the chauvinists of
neighbouring countries.
D u r i n g those days we had captured authentic
documents w h i c h p r o v e d such a t h i n g and we displayed these in a corner of the h a l l w h e r e the C o n gress was held. A m o n g s t t h e m was a letter signed by
the «chairman of the B a l l i s t C e n t r a l Committee», M i t hat F r a s h ë r i , sent to the renegade D h i m i t ë r F a l l o in
w h i c h the latter was instructed to reach agreement
w i t h the other members of a «commission» w h i c h was
to hold talks w i t h representatives of G r e e k reaction.
T h i s so-called commission was comprised of F a l l o ,
representing the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , X h a v i t L e s k o v i k u ,
representing the q u i s l i n g government, K o ç o K o t a r e presenting «the Zogite party» and they had even d u g
up «representatives of K o s o v a » ! A m o n g s t the captured documents w e r e passports f r e s h l y issued by the
q u i s l i n g government, a letter of recommandation signed
by the «foreign minister», B a h r i O m a r i , to the
« f r i e n d l y government», as w e l l as a letter setting out
8 or 9 «points» on w h i c h the «agreement» w i t h the
G r e e k reactionaries was to be achieved. A c c o r d i n g to
these «points», the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , amongst other
things, agreed that the A l b a n i a n a r m e d forces should
be amalgamated w i t h the reactionary G r e e k forces in
a joint army, commanded by the Greeks, w h i c h w o u l d
be e m p l o y e d to suppress the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n m o v e ments in A l b a n i a and in Greece. W h a t is more, these
traitors had expressed their readiness to s i g n an accord w i t h the Greek government in C a i r o to give
428
Greece the so-called N o r t h e r n Epirus, to place our
c o u n t r y u n d e r the rule of the G r e e k monarchy, w i t h
«autonomous» rights, that is, to sell the H o m e l a n d to
the G r e e k chauvinists, (1)
L i k e a l l the others, however, this «card», too, was
b u r n t in the hands of reaction. A n d it was b u r n t not
o n l y because we discovered their f i l t h y deal over the
f u t u r e of the H o m e l a n d in time, but because n o w such
games no longer h a d a n y value. T h e y w e r e unable to
t u r n a people w h o had risen to t h e i r feet and had
their o w n C o m m u n i s t P a r t y as their leadership, f r o m
their course. We i m m e d i a t e l y gave D h i m i t ë r F a l l o the
sentence he deserved as a traitor and c r i m i n a l and
executed h i m in the m i d d l e of K o r ç a , to the great
d i s m a y of the quislings and reaction w h o covered the
walls of K o r ç a w i t h posters about his «murder» and
ordered that his f u n e r a l should be conducted w i t h
«majestic s o l e m n i t y » and «at the expense of the m u n i cipal council». Subsequently, after L i b e r a t i o n , X h a v i t
L e s k o v i k u and the f o r m e r Zogite p r i m e minister, K o ç o
K o t a , w h o m our people f o u n d w h e r e he was hiding,
also rendered account and the two of t h e m together,
along w i t h other criminals, w e r e placed in the dock in
the people's court.
A f t e r my exposé of our w a r against the occupiers
and traitors I w e n t on to deal w i t h the question of the
measures and decisions necessary for the liberation
and f u t u r e of the c o u n t r y in the light of international
events.
_______________________________
1 These
documents
are
preserved
Archives.
429
in
the
Central
Party
«The situation today is such that our people, w h o
have suffered, made sacrifices and shed t h e i r blood,
should have a state system w h i c h w i l l ensure t h e m
their freedom and genuine democracy,» I stressed
amongst other things in the report, and in this c o n text, I presented the tasks w h i c h the historic Congress
of P ë r m e t had to accomplish.
«It is the d u t y of the delegates to this Congress,
chosen by the sovereign w i l l of the people and w h o
represent a l l the strata of o u r society,» I said on this
issue, «to take the proper measures for w a g i n g the
w a r t h r o u g h to v i c t o r y and to ensure the f u t u r e of
the H o m e l a n d . It devolves u p o n our Congress to establish political, legislative and executive organs w h i c h
w i l l be able to overcome a n y obstacle w h i c h m a y e m erge for them, w i l l represent the A l b a n i a n people
properly, both inside and outside A l b a n i a , and be able
to prevent any attempt, f r o m w h a t e v e r direction it is
made, intended to hinder the realization of the desires
for w h i c h our people are f i g h t i n g a n d shedding so
m u c h blood in this great liberation war.»
T h e delegates greeted the conclusion of the report
w h i c h I delivered at the Congress of P ë r m e t w i t h
prolonged applause and cheering, thus expressing t h e i r
revolutionary o p t i m i s m , joy, and d e t e r m i n a t i o n to
forge ahead on the road w h i c h the P a r t y showed us.
F o r me, the m o v i n g enthusiasm and the ardour
w i t h w h i c h the delegates spoke i n the discussion w i l l
r e m a i n unforgettable. T h e representatives of the people
spoke about the victories of o u r A r m y , about the people's state p o w e r w h i c h was f u n c t i o n i n g vigorously,
brought out n e w facts about the a c t i v i t y of the reac430
tionaries and approved the decisions w h i c h were p r o posed. To say that the h a l l was electrified is p u t t i n g it
m i l d l y ; the festive atmosphere and the enthusiasm of
those present f o u n d the opportunity to burst out w h e n
Doctor N i s h a n i , at the opening of or d u r i n g sessions, r e ported the most recent news about the successes of the
partisan detachments on the f i g h t i n g front, or read the
letters of greeting w h i c h came to the Congress. A m o n g
t h e m w e r e the greetings of our comrades B a b a F a j a
and H a k i S t ë r m i l l i , w h o w e r e unable t o attend this
historic convention.
T h e discussion of the report continued for n e a r l y
t w o days. H y s n i K a p o , w h o m the P a r t y had charged
w i t h the task of p o l i t i c a l commissar of the 5th S h o c k
Brigade, took the floor and in his c o n t r i b u t i o n spoke
about the b i r t h and extension of the a r m e d struggle of
the A l b a n i a n people, stressing the fact that it was the
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a w h i c h had u n i t e d the
people a n d aroused t h e m to fight.
A m o n g s t other things, H y s n i s a i d : «We started o u r
war, a w a r of a n e w t y p e w h i c h trains the people and
educates t h e m p o l i t i c a l l y , w i t h s m a l l units and w e n t o n
to f o r m çeta, battalions and brigades. T h e f o r m a t i o n
of the G e n e r a l Staff strengthened our organization,
and, f r o m the time it w a s created, it has l e d o u r
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y v e r y well,» h e said. «Today
we have 12 brigades and we are going to have d i v i sions and a r m y corps. The victories we have achieved
have increased the confidence of the people in v i c t o r y
and the f o r m a t i o n of a people's democratic g o v e r n ment.»
In his contribution S p i r o M o i s i u also spoke about
431
the organization of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y ,
stressing that its equipment and armaments w e r e secured solely by capturing t h e m f r o m the enemy, because the «aid» of the allies had amounted to almost
nothing. S p i r o M o i s i u also mentioned to the delegates
a fact w h i c h testified to the g r o w t h of the s t r i k i n g
force of our w a r and also to the resolute, p r i n c i p l e d
stand of the P a r t y against any treacherous c o m promise.
«The G e r m a n command,» he said, «sent an officer
to us and proposed that our G e n e r a l Staff s h o u l d send
representatives to T i r a n a to talk a n d reach agreement
w i t h the Hitlerites. B u t we declared to the G e r m a n s
that we are going to fight u n t i l n a z i s m is w i p e d out.
T h e N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y has come out to f i g h t for
the people and freedom and w i l l continue the w a r
through to victory, w i t h o u t any compromise w i t h the
occupiers or their tools. We began the w a r w i t h the
trust in the people and that is h o w we s h a l l f i n i s h it.»
Doctor M e d a r S h t y l l a also made a f i e r y speech
about the progressive traditions and ceaseless efforts
of our people for freedom and popular justice. He
stressed the right of the people to decide their o w n
fate, a right w h i c h they had w o n t h r o u g h the barrel
of the gun.
In the course of the war, o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
developed these marvellous traditions and gave t h e m
a n e w content. The m i l i t a n t u n i t y of the people, e d u cated and tempered by the P a r t y , t h r o u g h the example
of the communists, guaranteed their freedom. O u r
strength l a y in these m a n y - s i d e d l i n k s of the people
w i t h the P a r t y .
432
M y s l i m Peza rose a n d s a i d : «We fought the occupiers and traitors as h a r d as we could. T h e y have
k i l l e d us and b u r n t our homes, but no one has said,
'the P a r t y is w r o n g , ' because they k n o w that the road
of the w a r is the r i g h t road of the people, the road
of the P a r t y is my road, too. At first we w e r e not
organized. T h e P a r t y u n i t e d and organized us. T h e
people of P e z a have opened their doors n i g h t and d a y
to the y o u n g m e n and girls. T h e y a l l call me 'Babë'.
W h y do t h e y c a l l me this? H a v e I loved the people
or not, this y o u can say.»
T h e r e was a burst of applause:
« Y o u have loved t h e m ! L o n g l i v e Babë!»
It was a source of special j o y a n d pride to see a l l
these men, a f e w gray-headed and others of m i d d l e
age amongst the m a j o r i t y w h o w e r e y o u n g m e n and
women, but w h o u n i t e d as one, h a d a l l risen to fight
for the fate of the H o m e l a n d . The Congress was the
most v i v i d expression o f this p o w e r f u l u n i t y w h i c h
the P a r t y had created.
«This Congress represents the w h o l e A l b a n i a n
people,» said H a x h i L l e s h i i n his contribution, t h e r e fore, a l l w i l l recognize its decisions, w i l l recognize the
n e w government, because it is their government.» He
w e n t on to say, «The B r i t i s h mission has assisted reaction. We are going to describe t h e m as reactionaries,
too, because we are allies w i t h the peoples, but not
w i t h those w h o assist reaction. In D i b r a , M a t and
L u m a there are partisan çeta and battalions that are
f i g h t i n g the occupiers and reactionaries and the people
support these çeta because t h e y k n o w t h e y are f i g h t i n g for their freedom. M e a n w h i l e , R a d i o L o n d o n most433
ly mentions the names of reactionaries as if it is t h e y
w h o are f i g h t i n g . We say to R a d i o L o n d o n , w h i c h has
spoken about the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r as t h o u g h it has
fought, that it should be better i n f o r m e d . L i k e w i s e ,
the B r i t i s h must be w e l l aware that L e g a l i t e t i w h i c h
they support represents nothing. T h e people of the
N o r t h , too, in D i b r a , M a t a n d elsewhere, have the
greatest hatred for L e g a l i t e t i and the regime of Z o g
w h i c h b u i l t o n l y jails, but no schools or hospitals.
The people have seen w i t h t h e i r o w n eyes that those
w h o call themselves Zogites p l u n d e r e d B u r r e l , but as
for fighting, they have n e v e r fought against the occupier.»
T h e most «fiery» c o n t r i b u t i o n against B a z i i Canës
and L e g a l i t e t i was ... that of M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i ! T h i s
d i d not surprise me. We already had proof that he
was an agent of the B r i t i s h ; as I have w r i t t e n in the
book The Anglo-American Threat to Albania, w h e n we
left H e l m ë s for Përmet, M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i was the last
to leave the house of U n c l e M e h m e t , t h i n k i n g that we
were w i t h the caravan w h i c h had gone ahead. W e h a d
just t u r n e d a corner f r o m w h i c h H e l m ë s could no
longer be seen w h e n we saw a B r i t i s h soldier h u r r y i n g
somewhere. T h e unexpected appearance a n d haste
of this B r i t i s h soldier made an impression on us, so we
watched c a r e f u l l y and managed to see the B r i t i s h s o l d i e r q u i c k l y h a n d a letter to M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i . W h e n
we demanded the letter f r o m M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i , he
refused to h a n d it over. We gave h i m a severe dressing
down, threatening h i m w i t h e v e r y t h i n g , but h e s i m p l y
repeated: «Do what y o u like, but I ' l l not give y o u
the letter.»
434
«We s h a l l talk in Përmet,» we t o l d this agent of
the B r i t i s h w h o h a d received orders f r o m his e m p l o y e r
to sabotage the Congress. B u t it was too late. T h e G j i n i s h i card had been b u r n t once and for a l l .
N o w , caught l i k e a rat in a trap and on the verge
of total exposure, he was t r y i n g w i t h his « f i e r y
speech» to camouflage the m i s s i o n w i t h w h i c h he had
been charged by his employers a n d to spare h i m s e l f
for the f u t u r e . H e stood u p and said that B a z i f l e d
to Y u g o s l a v i a w i t h two bags of gold and r e t u r n e d
w i t h t w e l v e (he k n e w these things w e l l because he
w a s up to the same game), that L e g a l i t e t i was the
o f f s p r i n g of M e h d i F r a s h ë r i and the Gestapo, because
t h e y themselves d i d not have the brains to organize,
and, indeed, said that B a z i kept B r i t i s h officers w i t h
h i m i n order t o w e l c o m e the allies w i t h flowers.
In the pathetic tone, the «angry» cries of G j i n i s h i
against B a z i a n d Legaliteti, and his «oaths of l o y a l t y »
to the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y and its great work(!), I c l e a r l y
saw the desperate attempts of the secret agent to
t h r o w dust in our eyes. B u t it was too late, n o w no
tactic was of a n y v a l u e to h i m . B u t as early as those
d i f f i c u l t years we learned a great deal f r o m the w a y
in w h i c h he acted, and a l l this w a s a v a l u a b l e lesson
for the f u t u r e .
T i m e w a s to p r o v e that other G j i n i s h i s , too, w i t h
t h e i r «appeals» and «loyalty» to the «cause», w i t h t h e i r
«dedication» exaggerated to the point of flagrant sectarianism, w e r e s i m p l y t r y i n g t o hide t h e i r claws i n
order to w i n the confidence of the P a r t y a n d the people, to capture k e y positions in the P a r t y a n d the state
and f r o m there, w i t h stealth and cunning, to m o r e
435
easily p l a y the d i r t y game of the foreign masters w h o
had bought them. H o w e v e r , n o t h i n g was to escape the
v i g i l a n t eye of the P a r t y . Sooner or later, t h e y w e r e
to stick their necks out and the P a r t y and the people
w o u l d cut off their heads.
However, these were isolated individuals, w h o m
the situation, the w a r and vigilance of the P a r t y had
brought out or w o u l d b r i n g out in their true colours.
T h r o u g h their sound and l i v e l y contributions, the d e l e gates showed the deplorable position of such elements
as M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i .
Nevertheless, although w e k n e w v e r y w e l l f r o m
w h a t position G j i n i s h i «had made a mistake» at M u k j e
and in whose f a v o u r he w o r k e d and «fought», we a l l o w ed h i m not o n l y to take part and speak in the C o n gress of Përmet, but also to retain the functions w h i c h
he had in the organs of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration F r o n t and the C o u n c i l . We acted in this w a y ,
as y o u m i g h t say, for political advantage, in p a r t i c u l a r
to avoid g i v i n g the B r i t i s h allies cause and o p p o r t u n i t y
to take a more hostile stand towards our N a t i o n a l L i b eration Movement, especially n o w that we w e r e f o r m ing the A n t i - f a s c i s t Committee w i t h the attributes of
a people's democratic government w h i c h , apart f r o m
other things, w o u l d seek the recognition and support
by the allies.
The question of Y m e r D i s h n i c a and the reasons
w h y he, too, took part as a delegate in the Congress
of P ë r m e t and was re-elected to the leading organs of
the F r o n t a n d the state was rather different.
As I pointed out above, we removed h i m f r o m the
leadership of the P a r t y in September 1943 for his
436
grave mistake in the capitulation of M u k j e , w h i l e the
1st P l e n u m of the C e n t r a l Committee of the P a r t y ,
on M a y 15, 1944, o f f i c i a l l y decided to e x p e l h i m f r o m
the top functions he had in the P a r t y . M e a n w h i l e ,
however, he retained the functions he held in the l e a d ing organs of the F r o n t and the state, took part in the
Congress of Përmet, and was e v e n elected to and
w o r k e d for a w h i l e in the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration C o m m i t t e e as director of the department of
health. We acted in this way, proceeding f r o m the
fact that Y m e r D i s h n i c a f e l l into his grave mistake
at M u k j e as a result of his incorrect p o l i t i c a l v i e w s
and ideo-political i m m a t u r i t y and not because he was
i m p e l l e d by secret aims and motives, as was the case
w i t h M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i . Thus, w h i l e his p e t t y - b o u r geois softness and o p p o r t u n i s m led Y m e r D i s h n i c a into
the act of capitulation at M u k j e , it was the role of a
secret agent, w i t h w h i c h he had been charged by the
Intelligence Service, w h i c h led M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i t o
that act.
At one of the sessions of the Congress, that brave
fighter f r o m Skrapar, Z y l y f t a r Veleshnja, spoke. T h e
Congress h a d appointed Z y l y f t a r , w h o had been seriously w o u n d e d in the w a r a short time earlier, to the
presidium, and f r o m there he rose to speak leaning
on a w a l k i n g - s t i c k .
«Comrades,» he said, «I greet y o u w i t h 'Death to
Fascism!' I am a v i l l a g e r f r o m Skrapar, a former
m i l l e r . In my earlier life I toiled to exhaustion, I
fought as best I could, and considered myself a r e v olutionary, but d i d not k n o w w h a t to seize on and
437
w h a t course to take. F o r t u n a t e l y for me and for the
people, the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a emerged and
k n e w h o w to lead us in the w a r against the occupiers
and traitors. N o w I feel that I have been r e b o r n and
have wings.»
I had heard a great deal about Z y l y f t a r V e l e s h n j a ,
about h i s patriotic a c t i v i t y and the struggle w h i c h he
had waged both i n the past a n d n o w i n the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n W a r . A d e t e r m i n e d opponent of Z o g and
his savage o r i e n t a l regime, a comrade-in-arms of R i z a
Cerova, a participant in the F i e r M o v e m e n t , he had
experienced prison a n d the cruelest tortures, a n d later
h a d gone to Greece to escape persecution, but there,
too, had suffered every sort of d i f f i c u l t y , i n c l u d i n g
political persecution, u n e m p l o y m e n t a n d hunger. A f t e r
the fascist occupation of the H o m e l a n d , Z y l y f t a r r e t u r n e d to A l b a n i a and was one of the first to respond
to the call of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y and take up arms.
As soon as I learned that Z y l y f t a r h a d come to
P ë r m e t among the delegates I called h i m to me and
we embraced w a r m l y . I offered h i m a stool and we
sat d o w n because he had a leg in plaster and f o u n d
it d i f f i c u l t to stand.
« I a m v e r y h a p p y about our w a r and o u r C o n gress. L e t us enjoy free A l b a n i a ! » he said, his eyes
shining.
I spoke to h i m about the i n t e r n a l situation, the
victories we had achieved, and the i m m i n e n t l i b e r a t i o n of o u r country, and he was as h a p p y as a c h i l d .
He hold me about the p a t r i o t i s m of the people of
S k r a p a r and about their love for and trust in the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y . I begged h i m to t e l l me about the f i g h t 438
ing i n w h i c h h e had taken part, but Z y l y f t a r was
reluctant to say m u c h about it. I asked about his
wounded leg and a d v i s e d h i m :
« Y o u m u s t look after yourself and get treatment.»
«I'll get over it,» Z y l y f t a r V e l e s h n j a r e p l i e d . «I
am o n l y s o r r y that it has happened at this time. T h e
leg hinders me a bit because I can h a r d l y move. I
went to Çorovoda, w h e r e we held the elections for
the delegates, on f o u r legs, r i d i n g a m u l e . B u t I got
there and it was a great g a t h e r i n g of people f r o m the
villages. T h e y spoke b e a u t i f u l l y and courageously c r i ticized a n d rejected two candidates and t h e y w e r e right
on the mark. I was overjoyed and I never thought
about my leg, it seemed to me I should fly, let alone
w a l k ! A n d that's h o w it seems to me now, too, that's
w h y I'll say I'll get over it.»
A m o n t h or t w o later we w e r e able to send a
group of seriously w o u n d e d partisans to B a r i (1) for
treatment, together w i t h o u r m i l i t a r y mission w h i c h
was t o h o l d talks w i t h the A l l i e d M e d i t e r r a n e a n H e a d quarters. A m o n g s t t h e m was Z y l y f t a r .
A f t e r this f i r s t conversation I met h i m at other
times a n d l i k e d to talk w i t h h i m because he was
________________________________
1 D u r i n g J u l y - A u g u s t 1944 the delegation of the G e n e r a l
Staff o f the A N L A and the representatives o f the A l l i e d M e d i terranean Headquarters held talks there about a i d in m i l i t a r y
material
which
had
Army
and
breaking
mand
and
the
and
after
the
the
National
off
be
given
to
the
National
relations
between
the
reactionary forces
of A b a z
Kupi.
Americans
talks,
to
did
not
continued
Liberation
War
of
fulfil
their
the
439
these
hostile
demands
activity
Albanian
Liberation
British
people.
Com-
The British
and,
against
even
the
pleasant and wise in conversation and a great one for
cracking jokes. One day he t o l d us a story w h i c h m a d e
us laugh t i l l we cried. W h e n he was a patient in the
partisan hospital of Zabërzan, Z y l y f t a r had seen h o w
the B r i t i s h «fulfilled» o u r requests. We needed and
asked t h e m for weapons and a m m u n i t i o n as w e l l as
medicines, bandages a n d plaster, w h i l e the B r i t i s h
dropped us piss-pots! In the partisan hospital, w h e r e
there were a lot of these piss-pots, the w o u n d e d n i c k named t h e m «Churchill.» T h e y used t h e m to collect up
soiled gauze and bandages w h e n their dressings w e r e
changed, bits of food and so on. One d a y a B r i t i s h
doctor had gone to the hospital to see the w o u n d e d .
As he was w a l k i n g among the beds one of the w o u n ded has asked the nurse:
«Please, b r i n g me the ' C h u r c h i l l ' . »
The B r i t i s h doctor had heard this and asked our
doctor w h o was accompanying h i m :
«What is he saying about C h u r c h i l l ? »
«He says that C h u r c h i l l sends t h e m to us.» had
r e p l i e d the doctor.
«A11 right!» the B r i t i s h doctor h a d said.
However, let us t u r n f r o m the «generous aid» of
the B r i t i s h p r i m e m i n i s t e r for o u r partisan hospitals
and go back to the sessions of the Congress of P ë r met. As I said, the discussion of the report w h i c h I
delivered continued for t w o days and could have gone
on longer, because a l l the delegates w a n t e d to speak,
to t e l l about the war in t h e i r regions, to express
their j o y and faith in the P a r t y and to approve the
historic decisions. To the representatives of the towns,
villages and partisan detachments, it seemed that t h e y
440
w e r e not f u l l y c a r r y i n g out the instructions w h i c h the
people and the partisans had g i v e n t h e m if they d i d
not stand up in the Congress and express in words
w h a t they had in their hearts.
T h e delegates listened w i t h enthusiasm to the
contribution of the delegate of the G r e e k m i n o r i t y in
A l b a n i a , w h o spoke about the correct leadership of
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y o f A l b a n i a , w h i c h u n i t e d the
people and m a d e t h e m brothers and gave the m e m bers of the G r e e k m i n o r i t y the same rights as t h e
f r a t e r n a l A l b a n i a n people.
«Our arms u n i t e d i n this w a r for freedom i n d i cate o u r c o m m o n purpose, o u r c o m m o n f a i t h : y o u r
freedom is our freedom,» he said.
N e x h m i j e X h u g l i n i , a delegate of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
Y o u t h U n i o n , made a fine contribution at the C o n gress. She spoke about the w a r and the efforts of the
A l b a n i a n youth, w h o under the leadership of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , g r e w up, w e r e educated and became a
great force in the w a r for liberation. She mentioned
the m a n y m a r t y r s w h o m the y o u t h had g i v e n for o u r
sacred aim, expressed the grief of a l l the y o u t h and
the people that Qemal, Misto, M a r g a r i t a , M i h a l and other
beloved comrades of the y o u t h were not amongst us.
In her c o n t r i b u t i o n N e x h m i j e pointed out that it was
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y w h i c h led the y o u t h and gave
them the ideal for w h i c h they w e r e f i g h t i n g .
« A f t e r the appeal of the Party,» she said, «the
y o u t h stepped up the struggle in the countryside, in
the towns and the schools, took to the mountains and,
thus, the flame of the liberation w a r was set ablaze.
The school and student y o u t h left the schools a n d
441
universities, not to become blacksmiths, as L u m o S k ë ndo says, but to fight. Here, in Përmet, the f o u n d a tions of the n e w A l b a n i a are being l a i d on the r u i n s
of b u r n t villages and unploughed fields. T h e y o u t h
k n o w w h a t the people w a n t and what they are in need
of. Therefore, they w i l l w o r k for the b u i l d i n g of people's democratic A l b a n i a w i t h the same e n t h u s i a s m
and love for the people w h i c h they have s h o w n in the
w a r . T h e y o u t h have before t h e m the faces of t h e i r
heroes and are concerned to raise the f l a g for w h i c h
t h e y fell, higher and higher.»
The continuation of the w a r t h r o u g h to v i c t o r y ,
the election of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l and
the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e and other decisions of n a t i o n a l importance w e r e discussed by m a n y delegates,
w h o w i t h their words raised the enthusiasm to an
even higher level. T h e delegate f r o m V l o r a , H a s a n P u l o ,
made such a c o n t r i b u t i o n in concrete and s i m p l e terms.
«The great d a y of M a y 1 was also the d a y of the
election of the delegates to this Congress,» he said.
«In M e s a p l i k more t h a n 500 m e n and 200 w o m e n
voted for their representatives, w i t h tears of j o y in
their eyes, because thanks to the sacrifices made and
the blood shed, these people, for the first time, w e r e
g i v e n the o p p o r t u n i t y to vote not under the bayonets
of Tafë K a z i u and the nooses of A h m e t Zog, b u t
freely, according to t h e i r o w n w i l l . I am not going to
speak at length here,» he said, «but I t e l l y o u that
the people are for the w a r and have charged me
to i n f o r m the Congress and the n e w G o v e r n m e n t
w h i c h we are going to create here that the w h o l e of
V l o r a has confidence in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t
442
and the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y ! T h e y also instructed me to
ask the G o v e r n m e n t to do e v e r y t h i n g possible to seek
the c o m i n g of a Soviet m i l i t a r y m i s s i o n here!»
H i s closing w o r d s w e r e lost in the applause and
shouts of the delegates: «We w a n t the Soviet m i l i t a r y
mission!»
T h i s was a long-standing desire of ours w h i c h h a d
its source in o u r love f o r the H o m e l a n d of the giants
of the revolution, L e n i n and S t a l i n , for the first s o c i a l ist country, and o u r respect for the Soviet A r m y w h i c h
had h e r o i c a l l y withstood the H i t l e r i t e attack and now,
g u i d e d by the S t a l i n i s t m i l i t a r y art, was c r u s h i n g the
n a z i beast and d r i v i n g it back towards its lair, G e r m a n y . T h e c o m i n g of a Soviet m i l i t a r y m i s s i o n w o u l d
be a j o y for the people a n d our a r m y . We had B r i t i s h
missions in A l b a n i a , but these w e r e u n i n v i t e d guests
w h o we w e r e obliged to accept f r o m the respect w h i c h
was due to o u r allies, w h i l e the Soviet officers w o u l d
not be o f f i c i a l guests but friends we c o u l d welcome
wholeheartedly. B e f o r e this we h a d t r i e d to establish
contact w i t h the Soviets, and had asked the Y u g o s l a v
comrades to t r a n s m i t our desire to the Soviet c o m mand. T h e y had t o l d us it was hazardous to drop t h e m
by parachute, that they also had great difficulties in
m a k i n g contact w i t h one another, etc., etc. N e v e r theless, d u r i n g the days w h e n the Congress of P ë r m e t
was being held, by chance a Soviet officer was present
at our G e n e r a l Staff and we had i n v i t e d h i m to take
part in the Congress. He expressed the desire to say
a f e w words of greeting to the Congress and we f u l f i l l e d his desire.
«This Congress shows the w o r l d once again that
443
the peoples oppressed by fascism have risen to fight,»
he said.
He spoke about the Soviet society w h i c h k n e w no
oppression and exploitation, about the heroic w a r
against the nazi hordes, and w e n t on to give a b r i e f
account of the victories of the R e d A r m y w h i c h w a s
at the gates of the B a l k a n s .
« O n l y those peoples w h o fight and raise t h e i r
voices for freedom, o n l y t h e y deserve to live,» he said
i n conclusion. « Y o u r Congress shows that the A l b a n i a n people k n o w that freedom is gained o n l y by
f i g h t i n g for it.»
A f t e r two days of discussion, on M a y 26, we
w e n t on to the n e x t phase of the proceedings of the
Congress — the election of legislative and e x e c u t i v e
organs of our people's state power. T h i s was an historic moment w i t h decisive importance for the fate of
the H o m e l a n d and the people, the c r o w n i n g of the
people's w a r for freedom and people's A l b a n i a . T h e
moment had come w h e n , w i t h the w i l l o f the A l banian people, the foundations had to be l a i d of a n e w
state w h i c h w o u l d fight for the f u n d a m e n t a l interests
of the popular masses, of workers, peasants a n d the
patriotic intelligentsia. The A n t i - f a s c i s t C o u n c i l , w h i c h
w o u l d be our first Constituent A s s e m b l y , and the
Committee, w i t h the competences of a government,
w o u l d not be the outcome of combinations of E u r o pean chancelleries, or ghosts of the past, w h i c h t h e
imperialist powers m a i n t a i n e d and subsidized i n
order to use t h e m against peoples w h o hated them. T h e
new state w h i c h we w e r e b u i l d i n g had the support a n d
trust of the people, had its o w n a r m y w h i c h was f i g h t 444
i n g h e r o i c a l l y and w o u l d soon d r i v e out the enemy, and
h a d a whole system of organs w h i c h e f f e c t i v e l y and
r e a l l y r a n and a d m i n i s t e r e d the country. T h e m a i n
organs of this state w e r e emerging f r o m a great ass e m b l y of representatives of the people w h o came
f r o m the f i g h t i n g fronts.
«I have been charged w i t h the great honour of
opening this session, one of the most historic sessions
of this Congress,» said Doctor N i s h a n i , speaking w i t h
emotion. «The moment has come f o r us to elect the
A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l , that C o u n c i l
w h i c h w i l l be charged w i t h the role and functions of
electing the A n t i - f a s c i s t Committee, the first D e m ocratic G o v e r n m e n t in the history of A l b a n i a . »
Doctor N i s h a n i w e n t on to e x p l a i n to the delegates the procedure for the elections, spoke about the
n u m b e r of the members of the C o u n c i l , and so on.
It was proposed that a commission comprised of c o m rades w i t h a u t h o r i t y and w e l l - k n o w n i n the w a r
s h o u l d be appointed to nominate the candidates w h o
w o u l d be presented to the Congress.
« H o w m a n y members w i l l this commission have?»
somebody asked.
«It w i l l be w e l l to restrict the n u m b e r to 10-15
people,» said Doctor N i s h a n i .
M e h m e t Shehu, the delegate f r o m the 1st Shock
Brigade, too arrogant to stand up, spoke first.
«I am going to m a k e some proposals w h i c h perhaps m a y be accepted. I t h i n k that the members of
the G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and the G e n e r a l Staff should be
elected to the commission and a f e w of us, f r o m the
mob...»
445
T h i s person's dose of concetit was m i x e d w i t h the
sense of discontent w h i c h was s i m m e r i n g w i t h i n h i m .
H i s opinion of himself was so great that he s c o r n e d
and underrated other modest members of the P a r t y
and comrades of the war, w h o m he s c o r n f u l l y d e s cribed as the «mob», that is, an amorphous w o r t h less mass destined to approve the opinions and d e c i sions of others. In his o w n opinion, M e h m e t S h e h u
thought that he had not been g i v e n his due, because
we had left h i m among the «mob», despite the fact
that he h a d been elected as a candidate m e m b e r of
the P l e n u m of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e and h a d been
appointed a brigade commander. B u t M e h m e t S h e h u
w a n t e d more, both to satisfy his o w n a m b i t i o n a n d
to c a r r y out the instructions of his patrons. D u r i n g those
days I was to have a separate talk w i t h h i m about
such expressions of conceit and other mistakes, d u r i n g
w h i c h I criticized h i m s t e r n l y and there and t h e n he
made a «strong self-criticism», as w a s his custom. B u t
let us not «interrupt» the proceedings of the session.
A f t e r the necessary proposals w e r e made, O m e r
N i s h a n i asked:
«Do y o u w a n t to add to the list of the c o m m i s sion? Or are these names sufficient?»
The delegates raised t h e i r clenched fists because
that was the w a y t h e y voted, and the list w a s a p proved. T h e commission left the h a l l to compile t h e
list of candidates for members in the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a tional Liberation Council.
We had just begun c o m p i l i n g the list in the side
room, w h e n a burst of applause was heard f r o m t h e
hall.
446
Doctor N i s h a n i , w h o was bending over his notes,
raised his spectacles w i t h his i n d e x f i n g e r and asked:
« W h a t ' s going on?»
T h e n i m b l e Nako, darted f r o m his chair, entered
the h a l l for a m o m e n t and came back laughing.
«Professor S e j f u l l a is entertaining the delegates
w i t h his poetic muse,» he said l o o k i n g at Doctor N i shani, perhaps because he used a G j i r o k a s t r a e x p r e s sion for «entertaining».
«Tch, tch,» O m e r N i s h a n i made a disapproving,
noise and w e n t on w i t h the w o r k .
F r o m the h a l l came the imposing voice of the
« r e v o l u t i o n a r y poet», as D i s h n i c a described h i m on
this occasion to the listeners, a n d then, in another
tone, the appropriate explanations: «written in the
y e a r s u c h a n d such», « w r i t t e n in the conditions of
protracted p o l i t i c a l exile», etc., etc. F o r some days.
S e j f u l l a , w h o w a s a classical sloth, had been d i s p l a y i n g
tireless a c t i v i t y . He discussed and theorized about issues, met delegates, recited, i n q u i r e d w h e t h e r we had
a n y task w i t h w h i c h to charge h i m , etc., etc. It was
quite obvious that S e j f u l l a w a n t e d to advertise himself
in e v e r y w a y as a theoretician, as a m a n acquainted
w i t h the affairs of the state a n d as a poet to boot.
A f t e r about t w o hours of discussion the c o m m i s sion compiled a list of 115 candidates, we returned to
the hall, and the session recommenced. Doctor N i s h a n i
read t h r o u g h the list twice and gave explanations
about each of the candidates proposed, w h i l e t h e y
stood up in t u r n and «were introduced» to the c o m rades. In general, a l l the candidates proposed were
approved by the delegates, and this was n a t u r a l , be447
cause we had had in m i n d that those to be elected
to the C o u n c i l s h o u l d be honest patriots, w h e t h e r
communists or not, m i l i t a n t s of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, w h o had distinguished themselves i n t h e i r
w o r k and struggle i n the t e r r a i n a n d i n the a r m y .
Understandably, however, there w a s r o o m for a d d i tions to the list. In c o m p i l i n g the list of candidates we
h a d also taken account of a series of other factors
s u c h as the ratio between P a r t y m e m b e r s a n d n o n p a r t y members, their geographical d i s t r i b u t i o n , as
w e l l as their various religious beliefs, w h i c h was a
c r i t e r i o n that had importance at that t i m e . Thus,
there w e r e no essential reservations about the c a n didates proposed except that the names of a n u m b e r
of candidates, w h o should be added to the list, w e r e
proposed. Since the composition of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l could not be enlarged
w i t h o u t limit, however, it w a s decided that the total
n u m b e r should r e m a i n w h a t it was, but there w a s
discussion about w h e t h e r one candidate s h o u l d be
replaced by another comrade. A n d , in fact, after the
c o n v i n c i n g arguments and reasons presented by the
comrades there were some candidatures that w e r e
replaced. F o r example, at one m o m e n t C o m r a d e H y s n i
K a p o rose and s a i d :
«I have no objection to the comrade proposed,
w h o f u l l y deserves to be elected. H o w e v e r , proceeding
f r o m the fact that he is an a r m y m a n and other c a n didates f r o m the a r m y f r o m the zone w h i c h he r e presents have already been approved, I t h i n k that we
s h o u l d replace h i m w i t h another candidate w h o is a
civilian.»
448
A l m o s t everyone expressed agreement, w h e n u p
got M e h m e t S h e h u a n d s a i d :
«There is an i n t r i g u e going on h e r e ! It doesn't
seem to me r i g h t that because someone is a m i l i t a r y
m a n h e s h o u l d not take part i n the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a tional L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l ! »
«Is y o u r c o m p l a i n t about this concrete instance?»
we asked h i m , «or is it related to the general p r i n ciple?»
«Both,» he replied, «but the m a i n t h i n g is the
general principle.»
«Then, y o u are wrong,» I told h i m , «I don't k n o w
w h e t h e r y o u listened c a r e f u l l y t o the list w h i c h D o c tor N i s h a n i read, or to w h a t extent y o u are acquainted
w i t h the candidates proposed, but, as H y s n i said, the
names of m a n y comrades f r o m the a r m y are there on
the list.»
In fact, in the election of delegates we had h a d
in m i n d that as m a n y comrades as possible f r o m the
a r m y s h o u l d come to the Congress. O b v i o u s l y , by t a k ing up arms a n d shedding blood t h e y had g i v e n a
great proof of themselves to the people and the H o m e land. T h e delegates f r o m the a r m y made up m o r e
than 40 per cent of the total. L i k e w i s e , in the list of
candidates for the C o u n c i l there was a good ratio
between comrades f r o m the a r m y and civilians, thus
M e h m e t Shehu's «criticism» «in p r i n c i p l e » was c o m pletely out of place. Hence, his «concrete» concern
was for the concrete candidatures and obviously, above
all, he was t r y i n g to open the w a y for a place f o r
himself in the A n t i - f a s c i s t Committee.
After
discussion
and
explanation
449
the
composi-
tion of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l
was approved. The n e w C o u n c i l received a long burst
of applause.
«Now,» said Doctor N i s h a n i , closing the session,
«we instruct a l l the delegates to the Congress to m a i n tain secrecy about those elected w h o are in i l l e g a l i t y
in the zones s t i l l occupied by the enemy.»
A f t e r lunch, d u r i n g w h i c h I h a d a f r i e n d l y t a l k
w i t h m y old friends M i h a Lako, Babë M y s l i m and
Esat Dishnica, in the afternoon we began the f i r s t
meeting of the n e w A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Council.
A t this meeting the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion C o u n c i l took v e r y i m p o r t a n t decisions: about t h e
functions and tasks of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration C o u n c i l , its S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e and the A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e ; about p r e v e n t i n g the r e t u r n of Z o g to A l b a n i a ; about a w a r d i n g
badges o f r a n k i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y . W i t h
the competences a n d prerogatives w i t h w h i c h it was
charged, the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l ,
or A N L C as it was called for short, w o u l d be t h e
supreme legislative organ of the n e w A l b a n i a n state.
It was the Assembly, o u r People's A s s e m b l y , in t h e
time of the w a r a n d the f i r s t months of L i b e r a t i o n ,
u n t i l general elections w e r e h e l d i n A l b a n i a for t h e
Constituent A s s e m b l y , w h i c h , c a r r y i n g on the w o r k of
the A N L C , w o u l d f i n a l l y settle the question of the
f o r m of the regime, appoint the n e w G o v e r n m e n t and
adopt the Constitution. W i t h the decision w h i c h the r e presentatives of the people at the Congress of P ë r m e t
w o u l d approve, the functions and competences of the
450
S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o f the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration C o u n c i l and Committee, as the supreme e x e cutive organ w i t h a l l the attributes of a P r o v i s i o n a l
People's G o v e r n m e n t , w e r e also defined.
A t this first m e e t i n g o f the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l , after the draft decisions w h i c h I
mentioned w e r e read, discussed and adopted, we w e n t
on to the election of the S t a n d i n g Committee. A f t e r
about an hour's discussion in the commission appointed
for the proposal of the candidates, a list of about 30
persons w a s prepared a n d Doctor O m e r N i s h a n i read
this list to the members of the A N L C .
«This is the list proposed by the commission,» he
said, «is there a n y objection?»
T h e r e w e r e no objections to the comrades p r o posed and a l l the candidates w e r e approved u n a n i m ously.
«Then,» said O m e r N i s h a n i , «please, bear in m i n d
that the election of the last f o u r comrades to t h e
S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e m u s t not be p u b l i c i z e d u n t i l t h e y
are i n f o r m e d , because t h e y are in towns w h i c h have
s t i l l not been liberated. N o w , w i l l a l l the comrades
w h o w e r e elected to the S t a n d i n g Committee r e m a i n
in the hall, w h i l e the others w i t h d r a w ? »
A f e w m i n u t e s later the first m e e t i n g of the
S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o f the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration C o u n c i l commenced.
«Since there are f e w of us, y o u m a y n o w smoke,»
said O m e r N i s h a n i w h o h a d categorically p r o h i b i t e d
s m o k i n g d u r i n g a l l the sessions of the Congress and
the A N L C .
A t this meeting, f r o m w h i c h f i v e members o f the
451
S t a n d i n g Committee, B a b a F a j a , Q i r j a k o H a r i t o , O l l g a
P l u m b i , Gaqo Tashko and G j e r g j K o k o s h i , w e r e
absent, because they had been unable
to come to
Përmet, we elected the c h a i r m a n and three v i c e - c h a i r m e n of the S t a n d i n g Committee. Doctor O m e r N i s h a n i
was elected chairman, w i t h B a b a F a j a M a r t a n e s h i ,
Hasan P u l o and K o ç i X o x e a s v i c e - c h a i r m e n .
It was after 8 o'clock at night.
« W i l l we continue w i t h the election of the C o m mittee tonight or tomorrow?» asked N a k o S p i r u .
«I t h i n k we should elect the C o m m i t t e e t o m o r row,» I proposed, «because it m i g h t take some t i m e
and besides this we also have to examine some other
laws.»
My proposal was adopted. We came out of the
meeting h a l l together and, group by group, passed
t h r o u g h the streets of the t o w n thronged w i t h the
local people, partisans and delegates. A c r o w d had
gathered in the m a i n square w h e r e there w e r e p e r formances of songs, dances and sketches w r i t t e n by
our writers, who, also, w o r k e d a n d fought for the
liberation of A l b a n i a . B u t we could not stay as long
as we w o u l d have l i k e d amongst our friends and c o m rades because, although we w e r e in «our free time»,
there was s t i l l a great deal of w o r k to be done. D u r i n g one of those «free» evenings I s u m m o n e d M e h met S h e h u and talked w i t h h i m about a n u m b e r of
problems w h i c h had emerged in the brigade he c o m manded, especially about his relations w i t h other
comrades of the brigade.
A short time earlier I had received a letter f r o m
one of the leading cadres of the 1st Shock Brigade,
452
who complained about the disparaging, d i s d a i n f u l and
despotic attitude w h i c h M e h m e t S h e h u adopted t o wards h i m and a n u m b e r of other comrades.
Hence, because of these things, as w e l l as the
astonishing interjections, expressions of discontent and
gibes w h i c h he made f r o m t i m e to time, even d u r i n g
the proceedings of the Congress, I s u m m o n e d h i m to
a separate m e e t i n g a n d c r i t i c i z e d h i m for these m a nifestations w h i c h w e r e incompatible w i t h the f i g u r e
of a commander of a partisan unit. A m o n g s t other
things I spoke to h i m about the relations between the
commander and the commissar and t h e i r relations
w i t h other comrades, w h e t h e r functionaries or not,
e x p l a i n i n g the damage w h i c h his v i e w s and activities
caused the P a r t y a n d the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r .
As I have w r i t t e n elsewhere, w h e n he was c o m mander of the 1st Shock Brigade, M e h m e t S h e h u had
been s t e r n l y c r i t i c i z e d for his sectarian activities, c o n t r a r y to the l i n e of the P a r t y , both in M y z e q e and in
Ç e r m e n i k a d u r i n g the enemy's w i n t e r general o f f e n sive. We had c r i t i c i z e d h i m , also, for the distorted and
disparaging v i e w s w h i c h he expressed in a letter in
connection w i t h the a p p o i n t m e n t b y the G e n e r a l Staff
of a f o r m e r officer, l i n k e d w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r ation War, to an i m p o r t a n t m i l i t a r y task. C o n t r a r y to
the correct line w h i c h our P a r t y f o l l o w e d towards officers o f the o l d a r m y w i t h progressive and r e v o l utionary tendencies a n d stands, M e h m e t S h e h u d i s d a i n f u l l y c a l l e d t h e m zabit and expressed opposition to
their p r o m o t i o n to v a r i o u s posts!
M e h m e t S h e h u «admitted» his mistakes, made a
«self-criticism» a n d p r o m i s e d that such things « w o u l d
453
not be repeated». Later, he also sent me a letter in
w h i c h he w r o t e that he a l w a y s bore in m i n d the t a l k
w h i c h we had in Përmet. H o w e v e r , the i n k of this
letter was scarcely d r y before M e h m e t S h e h u , c o n t i n u i n g his activities as a secret agent, was to oppose
the order for the 1st D i v i s i o n to advance to the N o r t h ,
w h i l e somewhat later, in December 1944, in a letter
addressed to the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the P a r t y , or
more precisely to K o ç i X o x e (because it was addressed to h i m by name), M e h m e t S h e h u w a s to v e n t a l l
his spleen against o u r P a r t y , its line and sound leadership, f u l l y i n the s p i r i t o f a n d i n unison w i t h the
accusations w h i c h V e l i m i r Stojnic, K o ç i X o x e , S e j f u l l a
M a l ë s h o v a and others had p o u r e d out at the B e r a t
P l e n u m in N o v e m b e r of that year. I have w r i t t e n in
detail about a l l these things elsewhere (1) and here I
w a n t to point out o n l y that this letter addressed to
K o ç i X o x e t o some extent explains w h y , d u r i n g the
proceedings of the Congress of P ë r m e t a n d after it,
M e h m e t S h e h u was «upset» and «irritable» (in this
letter, in his o w n h a n d w r i t i n g , he c o m p l a i n e d that he
was dissatisfied that he was not g i v e n the r a n k of
general and not appointed to the G e n e r a l Staff of
our Army!).
B u t let us r e t u r n to the f i e r y and unforgettable
days d u r i n g w h i c h the proceedings of the Congress
continued.
On the f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g , after the f i r s t m e e t i n g
of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the A N L C we met to
_____________________________________
1
Enver
Hoxha,
The
Titoites
(Historical
Notes),
P u b l i s h i n g House, T i r a n a , 1982, p. 596, E n g . ed.
454
«8
Nëntori»
continue the w o r k to appoint the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Committee, that is, the first D e m ocratic G o v e r n m e n t of A l b a n i a . The m e e t i n g was
chaired by O m e r N i s h a n i w h o gave the floor to the
members of the S t a n d i n g Committee to make the
respective proposals.
T h e f i r s t t o speak was R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u . H e
proposed that the C o m m i t t e e should have 11 departments: i n t e r n a l affairs, e x t e r n a l affairs, the economy,
reconstruction, justice, finance, the press a n d p r o p a ganda, education, health, the war, and p u b l i c w o r k s .
«I also i n t e n d to propose the names,» he said in
conclusion.
«Wait a m i n u t e u n t i l we agree on the n u m b e r of
departments,» O m e r N i s h a n i i n t e r r u p t e d h i m .
Of course, m a n y times before this we had d i s cussed the questions of the organization of the state
apparatus, the government, etc., h a d exchanged o p i n ions and r a c k e d our brains because for most of the
comrades this w o r k was terra incognita: almost none
of us had a n y previous experience in these matters;
naturally, w e k n e w i n general w h a t the legislative
and executive organs were, h a d some knowledge of
certain aspects of state organization, the structure
of the l o c a l organs of power, a n d so on. We had
read about the various forms of regime in other c o u n tries, about the monarchies and the different forms
of bourgeois republics, and h a d interested ourselves
in f i n d i n g out as m u c h as possible about the organization of the Soviet socialist state in particular. A m o n g s t
us we had O m e r N i s h a n i w h o had a fine j u r i d i c a l
culture and a certain amount of experience in the
455
affairs of state administration, so we t u r n e d to h i m on
m a n y questions and w h e n he k n e w the answers he
showed us the way, and w h e n he d i d not he r a c k e d
his brains together w i t h us. We thought that S e j f u l l a
and K o ç o Tashko w o u l d contribute something f r o m
their experience in the Soviet U n i o n , but t h e y o n l y
theorized, especially S e j f u l l a , w h o h a d the greatest
pretensions in this direction, but in most cases d e m onstrated n o t h i n g but his o p p o r t u n i s m and ignorance.
We based ourselves, also, on w h a t experience we
had accumulated d u r i n g the w o r k of strengthening
and centralizing the national l i b e r a t i o n councils. T h i s
experience was v e r y u s e f u l at basic l e v e l in the t e r rain, but in regard to the supreme organs we had
m u c h less experience. U p t i l l that t i m e w e had o n l y
the experience of a short period since the Conference
of L a b i n o t at w h i c h , as I said, we had taken a step f o r w a r d by allocating to the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the G e neral C o u n c i l certain functions and competences w h i c h
gave it the features of the beginnings of a government.
We had also set up several sections to direct d i f f e r e n t
fields of a c t i v i t y of our state power. H o w e v e r , there
were m a n y things that w e s t i l l d i d not k n o w w e l l .
F o r example, on the basis of our previous talks and
discussions B a c a proposed the n u m b e r of departments
and named them. B u t h a d w e t h o r o u g h l y considered
and achieved complete c l a r i t y on the tasks and f u n c tions of these departments? We thought we had and,
generally speaking, the structure that we decided
upon, w i t h some modifications, j u s t i f i e d itself. H o w ever, w h e n we thought that we had settled this p r o b -
456
lem, one of the comrades of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e
got up a n d a s k e d :
« W h a t is this department of reconstruction?»
«It w i l l be engaged
in the
reconstruction of
objects destroyed by the war, the houses, the bridges,
and so on,» e x p l a i n e d B a c a .
«That's a l l right, but we also have a department
for p u b l i c w o r k s and one for the economy. Don't t h e y
overlap one another?» asked another.
We discussed such problems over again and not
o n l y answered a question or a criticism, but m a d e
things clear to ourselves and defined the tasks of a
department more completely and clearly. Thus, these
discussions and debates became for us l i k e a theoretical course on the organization and structure of the
n e w state.
We spent a long time «arguing» over the n a m i n g
of departments.
« W h y should we c a l l it the ' w a r d e p a r t m e n t ' ? »
asked S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a . «We are not for war, therefore, we should c a l l it 'the department of the people's
defence',» and he took the o p p o r t u n i t y to speak to us
about the character of o u r w a r today a n d in the f u ture, about the foreign p o l i c y of the state, etc., etc.
« V e r y w e l l , then, let us c a l l it the 'department of
w a r and n a t i o n a l defence',» someone proposed and
this was approved.
T h e r e were s i m i l a r debates, also, about w h e t h e r
we s h o u l d speak of the «department of the press and
propaganda» or the «department of people's culture»,
«the department of the economy» or the «department
of the people's economy», etc.
457
A f t e r overcoming this p r o b l e m we w e n t on to the
proposals for the composition of the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m mittee. One of the comrades proposed a list made up
of 12 people, one c h a i r m a n of the Committee, w h o
w o u l d also be in charge of the department of the w a r
and defence, one v i c e - c h a i r m a n and the other m e m bers of the committee each of w h o m w o u l d r u n one
department.
«Is there a n y other proposai?» asked Doctor N i shani.
«I t h i n k we should have two vice-presidents of
the committee,» said M u s t a f a G j i n i s h i . «I propose M a jor S p i r o M o i s i u , the appointment of w h o m sounds
good also because he is an O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n ! »
«Spiro M o i s i u is commander of the G e n e r a l Staff
and cannot take on this function, too,» O m e r N i s h a n i
and I were of the one opinion.
«In our w a r we cannot take into account w h e t h e r
someone proposed is O r t h o d o x or M o s l e m . H e r e we
should proceed f r o m the c r i t e r i a of the candidate's
w o r k , ability, determination, etc.,» put in S e j f u l l a and
looked at all around h i m .
O m e r N i s h a n i c h u c k l e d to himself because he u n derstood that S e j f u l l a was interested in his o w n c a n didature.
«I t h i n k that for the time being there is no need
for more t h a n one v i c e - c h a i r m a n of the Committee,
and so we are left w i t h B a b ë M y s l i m as the o n l y
candidate,» he said.
«I w i t h d r a w my proposai,» said G j i n i s h i .
O t h e r proposals w e r e discussed a n d it was reasonable and necessary to discuss them, because that was
458
the job for w h i c h we had met, so that we w o u l d elect the
best comrades to the Committee, those w h o h a d the
a b i l i t y a n d s k i l l and w o u l d be in a position to lead
the w o r k . H e r e a n d there, however, in the comments
a n d contributions of some members of the S t a n d i n g
C o m m i t t e e there w e r e signs of w r o n g trends and p e r s o n a l inclinations to occupy positions.
«Let us have a look at w h e t h e r Doctor N i s h a n i
ought to be c h a i r m a n of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e and
also i n charge o f foreign affairs,» put i n L i r i Gega,
and i m m e d i a t e l y K o ç o Tashko took u p the r e f r a i n :
« W o n ' t the task of 'foreign affairs' m e a n neglecti n g the task of c h a i r m a n of the C o u n c i l ? »
O m e r N i s h a n i , w h o w a s modest but also s c r u p u lous on j u r i d i c a l matters, shrugged his shoulders and
s a i d : «It seems to me that the t w o don't go together.»
I n u n i s o n w i t h L i r i and K o ç o , S e j f u l l a , too,
thought that e v e r y t h i n g was i n his f a v o u r a n d w e n t
on the attack to capture the «portfolio» of foreign
m i n i s t e r . Thus, there w e r e three candidates for this
p o r t f o l i o and each thought he was the most suitable.
I n order t o e x p l a i n w h y w e proposed the c a n d i d a t u r e of O m e r N i s h a n i , I intervened, s a y i n g :
«I t h i n k that the candidature of Doctor N i s h a n i
f o r the department of foreign affairs is appropriate,
especially at present. In the present situation of our
c o u n t r y there is n o t h i n g w r o n g w i t h h a v i n g s u c h a
w e l l - k n o w n f i g u r e as C o m r a d e O m e r N i s h a n i , c h a i r m a n of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the A N L C , a m e m ber of the government, too. On the contrary, this fact
w i l l have a good influence among the people.»
L i k e w i s e , we h a d judged that Doctor N i s h a n i , as
459
a democratic personality, k n o w n at home and a b r o a d ,
through his reputation and his w o r k w o u l d g r e a t l y
assist the
strengthening of our
links w i t h foreign
countries. Some years later, in 1947, w h e n I w e n t to
B u l g a r i a at the head of a government delegation to
sign the T r e a t y o f F r i e n d s h i p , Co-operation and M u t u a l A i d between the P R o f A l b a n i a and the P R o f B u l garia, d u r i n g my talks and meetings in S o f i a and
elsewhere w i t h D i m i t r o v , I learned that he, too, k n e w
and respected O m e r N i s h a n i . D i m i t r o v had been w e l l acquainted also w i t h H a l i m X h e l o and, likewise, w i t h
A l i K e l m e n d i and his a c t i v i t y as a communist a n d
member of the C o m i n t e r n , and expressed his regret
that A l i had died. I talked to h i m at length about the
former «anti-Zogite» emigrants and the efforts of o u r
P a r t y to persuade t h e m to j o i n in the w a r a c c o r d i n g
to the historic directives w h i c h D i m i t r o v himself h a d
issued as G e n e r a l Secretary of the E x e c u t i v e C o m m i t tee of the C o m m u n i s t International, and w e n t on to
tell h i m h o w some of t h e m f e l l into the m i r e of f a s cism. The unforgettable D i m i t r o v said to m e : «The
line of y o u r P a r t y has been correct,» and the old m a n
was pleased w h e n I t o l d h i m about N o l i and D o c t o r
N i s h a n i , w h o had taken a good stand; it was a special
j o y for me that such a personality as D i m i t r o v k n e w
and was interested in the Doctor w h o m we h a d as
C h a i r m a n of the P r e s i d i u m of the People's A s s e m b l y
at that time.
So we persisted and, in the end, it was decided
that the name of O m e r N i s h a n i s h o u l d r e m a i n on the
list as the candidate to r u n the department of f o r e i g n
affairs.
460
«Then, let us put the list to the vote one by one
and as a group,» said O m e r N i s h a n i .
«Just a minute,» i n t e r r u p t e d one of those present.
«What are we going to c a l l the members of the C o m mittee w h o are to r u n the departments?»
T h a t was another «problem», another o p p o r t u n i t y
for the reasoning of our «theoreticians». «If we get
i n v o l v e d in this question it w i l l take us another hour,»
I thought to myself, so I proposed:
« T h e y should be c a l l e d : members of the C o m mittee in charge of the w o r k of the economy, education, and so on.»
«In charge of the w o r k does not sound right to
me,» said S e j f u l l a , p u r s i n g his lips.
«Then, w h a t do y o u propose?» I asked h i m .
«I w o u l d have proposed
'commissar',
but this
w o u l d be considered leftist, therefore I say t h e y should
be c a l l e d 'members of the C o m m i t t e e for such and
such affairs'. It's a bit long but simple.»
«I don't see a n y difference f r o m w h a t Comrade
E n v e r proposed,» said R a m a d a n Ç i t a k u .
«I have a proposal that I k n o w w i l l not be accepted,» put in N a k o S p i r u , «let us c a l l the members
of the C o m m i t t e e 'secretaries'.»
«That's w h a t they are called in A m e r i c a , » S e j f u l l a
snapped a t h i m , w h i l e K o ç i X o x e , the f u t u r e m i n i s t e r
of i n t e r n a l affairs, put the «seal» on it.
«I say, better c a l l t h e m 'entrusted'!»
In the e n d we got over this problem, too, and it
was decided that the members of the Committee w o u l d
be called «in charge of the w o r k » .
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Then, we w e n t on to vote for the candidates, one
by one, and the list as a whole. T h e A n t i - f a s c i s t N a tional L i b e r a t i o n Committee was approved u n a n i m ously w i t h the f o l l o w i n g composition: c h a i r m a n a n d
in charge
of the
w a r a n d n a t i o n a l defence —
E n v e r H o x h a , v i c e - c h a i r m a n — M y s l i m Peza, m e m b e r
in charge of i n t e r n a l affairs — H a x h i L l e s h i , in c h a r g e
of foreign affairs — D r . O m e r N i s h a n i , in charge of
the economy — D r . M e d a r S h t y l l a , in charge of t h e
reconstruction — B e d r i S p a h i u , in charge of j u s t i c e
— M a n o l K o n o m i , in charge of finance — R a m a d a n
Ç i t a k u , in charge of the press and propaganda —
S e j f u l l a Malëshova, in charge of education — G j e r g j
K o k o s h i , in charge of p u b l i c w o r k s — E n g . S p i r o
K o l e k a , in charge of health — D r . Y m e r D i s h n i c a .
T h e n e x t day, M a y 28, was the d a y of the closing of the A n t i - f a s c i s t Congress of P ë r m e t . T h e f i n a l
session at w h i c h the historic decisions of the A l b a n i a n
people w o u l d be approved was left for the afternoon;
in the evening the delegates w o u l d celebrate together
w i t h the patriotic and hospitable people of Përmet,
w o u l d say their farewells a n d on the m o r n i n g of the
f o l l o w i n g d a y each of t h e m w o u l d set out for the
place to w h i c h his d u t y to the H o m e l a n d called h i m .
A n atmosphere o f o p t i m i s m and j o y p r e v a i l e d that
day. It could be felt in the P ë r m e t homes, in the
streets, it could be read in the h a p p y faces and s m i l i n g eyes of the comrade delegates, commanders and
commissars, w h o came to meet us over matters of
work, brought reports and information, received o r d ers and instructions and set out r e a d i l y on t h e i r d u ties. M e a n w h i l e , others, friends and comrades, c a m e
462
just to meet us and talk, to express their good w i l l
and say good-bye because «who knows, perhaps w e ' l l
never meet again». L i k e the other comrades, I was
v e r y b u s y and d i d not l i k e t o i n t e r r u p t m y work, but
w h e n the door opened and in came, say, H a s a n Pulo,
to i n v i t e me to d r i n k a coffee a n d smoke a cigarette,
I was not annoyed because these meetings w i t h dear
comrades a n d f i n e people freshened my m i n d , rejoiced
m y heart and increased m y w i l l t o work.
I n the afternoon, w h e n w e entered the h a l l the
delegates w h o h a d t a k e n their seats and w e r e singing
in d i f f e r e n t groups, w e l c o m e d us w i t h applause a n d
ovations f o r the P a r t y , the F r o n t and the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n A r m y . T h e y d i d not stop for minutes o n
end, h o w e v e r m u c h O m e r N i s h a n i , w h o himself w a s
v e r y m o v e d , called on the delegates for «order». In
the end, w h e n some «order» was established, the D o c tor declared the session opened and gave the floor to
the secretary of the S t a n d i n g Committee of the A N L C
to read the draft decisions to w h i c h the Congress was
to g i v e the f i n a l approval. T h e r e a d i n g of the draft,
w h i c h n o r m a l l y s h o u l d have r e q u i r e d an hour, took
m u c h longer because applause burst out after every
decision, and even over separate clauses of the d e c i sions. H o w c o u l d the delegates of this nation, w h o had
fought for freedom a n d justice for centuries, not
cheer w h o l e h e a r t e d l y w h e n they h e a r d : «The n e w
democratic people's A l b a n i a w i l l be b u i l t according to
the w i l l of the people»! In these decisions t h e y saw
the c r o w n i n g of the long d i f f i c u l t war, the a i m for
w h i c h thousands and thousands of their comrades had
shed their blood, had sacrificed their y o u t h and t h e i r
463
lives. T h e y u n a n i m o u s l y approved the decision that
A h m e t Zog, the despot a n d traitor to the A l b a n i a n
people, and his f a m i l y w o u l d be p r o h i b i t t e d f r o m
r e t u r n i n g to A l b a n i a . W h e n this decision was read,
O m e r N i s h a n i w h o chaired the session, a s k e d :
«Does the Congress approve?»
This time there was no clapping. T h e delegates
expressed their o p i n i o n w i t h shouts, « D o w n w i t h
Zog!» and stamping their feet. T h e Congress also
u n a n i m o u s l y approved the other decisions about the
refusal to recognize
a n y other
government w h i c h
might be f o r m e d inside or outside the country, about
the continuation more f i e r c e l y of the w a r against the
occupiers, the quislings, the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , L e g a l i t e t i
and any other reactionary group. T h e Congress also
endorsed the p o l i t i c a l line of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
G e n e r a l C o u n c i l and the a c t i v i t y of the G e n e r a l Staff
of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , and expressed the
desire that m i l i t a r y missions of the Soviet U n i o n and
the U n i t e d States of A m e r i c a should be attached to it.
T h e n , the other decisions of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l and its S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e w e r e
read to the Congress, i n c l u d i n g those about the r e e x a m i n a t i o n and cancellation of a l l the enslaving p o l i t i c a l and economic agreements w h i c h Z o g had made w i t h
other countries, about the functions and competences of
the A N L C and its S t a n d i n g Committee, etc., etc.
T h e decision of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the
A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l about the a p pointment and composition of the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m mittee w i t h the functions of a p r o v i s i o n a l government
was received by the delegates w i t h applause a n d o v a tions.
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Thus, w i t h these decisions of historic importance,
w h i c h opened a n e w b r i l l i a n t epoch in the ancient
h i s t o r y of the A l b a n i a n people, the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o n gress of P ë r m e t accomplished its historic mission. W i t h
t h e i r clenched fists raised high, just as they saluted
one another in the w a r for freedom, the delegates
sealed a f u n d a m e n t a l act w h i c h m a r k e d the b i r t h of
the n e w A l b a n i a n state and sketched the contours of
the course o n w h i c h A l b a n i a w o u l d proceed i n the
future. T h e w h o l e r e v o l u t i o n a r y s p i r i t of the Congress
of Përmet, the experience of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
W a r , together w i t h the historic decisions w h i c h were
taken, w e r e reflected in the D e c l a r a t i o n of the C o n gress, w h i c h S a m i B a h o l l i read, a n d was applauded
and approved unanimously.
T h i s Declaration, w h i c h was soon to be made
k n o w n to the w h o l e nation, s u m m e d up the w a r of
the A l b a n i a n people since A p r i l 7, 1939 w i t h its f u n d a m e n t a l stages and moments, noted the anti-national
and anti-popular role of the regime of Zog, the q u i s l i n g government and the Ballist, Zogite and other t r a i t ors a n d collaborationists, and strongly emphasized the
role of the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y as the leader a n d inspirer
of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r . In its analysis of the
e x t e r n a l factors, the D e c l a r a t i o n stressed the w a r of
the Soviet peoples and the R e d A r m y , under the l e a d ership of S t a l i n , as the m a i n factor in the v i c t o r y of
t h e peoples' anti-fascist coalition, a n d made a correct
assessment of the w a r of the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s a n d
that of the peoples of the B a l k a n s .
F o l l o w i n g the reading of the D e c l a r a t i o n a n d a
n u m b e r of messages, I, as c h a i r m a n of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
465
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Committee, d e l i v e r e d the closing
address.
A m o n g s t other things, in my short speech I s a i d :
«This Congress is one of the greatest successes of o u r
Movement, is the t r i b u n e at w h i c h the opinions and
desires of the people have been f r e e l y expressed f o r
the first time in A l b a n i a , at w h i c h decisions i m p o r t a n t
to the fate of o u r H o m e l a n d , to the development of
the w a r and the creation of a h a p p y future, have been
taken.
«Conscious of the grave responsibility w i t h w h i c h
the A l b a n i a n people have entrusted us,» I w e n t on, «we
s h a l l place a l l o u r strength and our lives in the service
of the people and the H o m e l a n d and w i l l r e m a i n l o y a l
to the death to the w i l l of o u r people for the a c h i e v e ment of an independent and democratic A l b a n i a .
«We s h a l l take the decisions of this Congress i m mediately to the people and, together w i t h the people,
w i l l fight to a p p l y them, not s p a r i n g even our lives,
w i l l mobilize a l l the active forces of the people and,
u n i t e d around the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
C o u n c i l and Committee, h u r l ourselves more vigorously
into the fight to hasten the l i b e r a t i o n of o u r people!»
A f t e r my speech, a l l the delegates, one after t h e
other, placed their signatures b e l o w the decisions
w h i c h had been collected in the Book of the Congress,
in that book in w h i c h in a s y m b o l i c w a y we put o u r
signatures w h e n e v e r we go to P ë r m e t on the a n n i v e r sary of that glorious event.
Thus, the Congress of Përmet, one of the most
important events of our epic N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r ,
466
a m o n u m e n t b u i l t by the w a r a n d the w i s d o m of t h e
P a r t y and the people, a great deed w i t h colossal i m portance for the f u t u r e of A l b a n i a , came to a close.
A t Përmet, A l b a n i a , led b y its heroic C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y , demonstrated to friends a n d enemies that it
was u n w a v e r i n g on its correct course. A c c o u n t s could
no longer be made as in the past. Those times had
gone n e v e r to r e t u r n . H i s t o r y w o u l d n e v e r again be
repeated as the enemies w i s h e d : the people had
become masters of t h e i r o w n fate.
3. Towards the final victory
I m m e d i a t e l y after the Congress of P ë r m e t we
established ourselves in O d r i ç a n , a v i l l a g e b u i l t on a
ridge, about an h o u r or t w o by foot f r o m P ë r m e t .
O d r i ç a n w a s a s m a l l but pleasant village, w i t h fresh
w a t e r and f r u i t trees. T h e enemy h a d not b u r n t it,
therefore we had somewhere to stay. T h e residents
w e l c o m e d us w i t h open arms and we w e r e a l l billeted
in their homes. T h e y allocated me to a house at the
top of the village, the master and mistress of w h i c h
were patriots and, l i k e the w h o l e village, l i n k e d w i t h
the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and hated
the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , A l i B e y and the reactionary D e r v i s h of the tekke of S u k a w h i c h was nearby. My hosts,
especially M o t h e r V i t o r i J o r g j i , d i d e v e r y t h i n g they
could to please me and provide me w i t h conditions f o r
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w o r k and rest. Since L i b e r a t i o n I have met the o l d
m a n several times in P ë r m e t w h e n I have gone there
for anniversaries of the Congress. I do not k n o w
w h e t h e r those fine people are s t i l l alive, but I have
been told that their son, w h o was y o u n g at that time,
is a good cadre and today w o r k s in the organs of the
state in Përmet.
Beside the home of M o t h e r V i t o r i was that of
M o t h e r Koce, as K o s t a n d i n a L o n d a r i was called in the
village and as we called her, too. M a n y a time I
w e n t to w o r k or to sit in the home of M o t h e r K o c e ,
w h o as soon as she set eyes on me, w o u l d ask w i t h
m o t h e r l y love and concern if there w a s a n y t h i n g I
needed. She had no c h i l d r e n , but d u r i n g the t i m e we
w o r k e d in O d r i ç a n she made a l l of us her c h i l d r e n and,
indeed, w h e n e v e r our w o r k r e q u i r e d it, she made her
w h o l e house available w h i l e she m o v e d into the s m a l l
detached k i t c h e n in the y a r d . I have the greatest l o v e
in my heart a n d the fondest memories about this
kindly woman.
D u r i n g the days of the Congress, but especially
after we established ourselves in O d r i ç a n , we discussed the political and m i l i t a r y situation of the c o u n t r y
in detail and took fresh measures a n d decisions f o r the
f u r t h e r strengthening
of the
National
Liberation
A r m y , formation of n e w brigades, divisions and a r m y
corps, and so on.
One of the most important decisions of the days
w h e n we w e r e in P ë r m e t was that on the f o r m a t i o n
of the 1st D i v i s i o n of the A l b a n i a n N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , w h i c h was evidence of the h i g h l e v e l of
m a t u r i t y and organization w h i c h o u r a r m y had achieved.
468
N o w t h e P a r t y and the people saw w i t h j u s t i f i e d
pride h o w our heroic a r m y had g r o w n and been
strengthened in the f i r e of the w a r for freedom and
had become dear to the people and a terror to the
enemy. At this p e r i o d there w e r e shock brigades, most
of w h i c h had been f o r m e d after the enemy's general
w i n t e r offensive, as w e l l as scores of regular or t e r r i torial battalions, çeta and units, at the head of w h i c h
w e r e tested commanders, commissars and other p o l i t ical and m i l i t a r y cadres such as H y s n i K a p o , Shefqet
Peçi, A d i l Ç a r ç a n i , H a k i Toska, M a n u s h M y f t i u , R a m i z
A l i a , R i t a M a r k o , T e k i K o l a n e c i , J a h o G j o l i k u and
tens of others, f u n c t i o n i n g and c a r r y i n g out p o w e r f u l
m i l i t a r y operations i n o u r country.
T h e ranks of o u r f i g h t i n g formations w e r e ceaselessly f i l l e d w i t h sons and daughters of the people,
and even w i t h the more elderly, a t h i n g w h i c h spoke
clearly of the strength and indisputable a u t h o r i t y
w h i c h our l i b e r a t i o n a r m y enjoyed among the people.
Not o n l y was it smashing the n a z i and B a l l i s t forces
e v e r y w h e r e and l i b e r a t i n g cities and w h o l e districts
and zones one after the other, but also, w i t h even
greater force t h a n before, it was p l a y i n g a v e r y great
role in strengthening the national l i b e r a t i o n councils,
ensuring that t h e y functioned in the best possible
way, in defending and a f f i r m i n g the n e w state p o w e r
w h i c h h a d n o w taken the reins o f A l b a n i a f i r m l y i n
hand.
B e f o r e long, in the ceaseless upsurge of the general a r m e d u p r i s i n g , we w e r e to f o r m other divisions
as w e l l as the 1st A r m y Corps of the A l b a n i a n N a 469
t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , t o w h i c h H y s n i K a p o , the
brave son of L a b ë r i a and l o y a l fighter of the P a r t y ,
was appointed as commissar.
Thus, our people, the P a r t y and the G o v e r n m e n t
n e w l y formed a t P ë r m e t had i n t h e i r hands t h e i r
p o w e r f u l weapon and defender, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y , w h i c h had n o w been t r a n s f o r m e d into a
regular a r m y and was ceaselessly perfecting its m e thods and forms of f i g h t i n g .
A l l these things enabled us to p l a n and c a r r y out
large-scale co-ordinated operations a n d to go over
f r o m the tactic of partisan w a r f a r e to the tactic of
frontal warfare.
Included in this context is the order w h i c h we
issued i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e historic Congress of P ë r met for the 1st D i v i s i o n of the A l b a n i a n N a t i o n a l L i b eration A r m y to go on the offensive in the N o r t h in
order to attack a n d rout the forces of the occupier and
a l l the Ballist, Zogite a n d b a y r a k t a r reactionary forces
i n Mat, D i b r a and elsewhere.
This order had special importance because it e n a bled the government f o r m e d at P ë r m e t to e x e r t its
power in the N o r t h , too, where, especially in certain
zones, i n t e r n a l reaction, supported and i n s p i r e d by the
B r i t i s h , was t r y i n g to r e t a i n d o m i n a n t positions and
hold on to the old state power. As I have w r i t t e n
elsewhere, the aims of reaction w e n t so far that t h e y
intended and planned for a «division of A l b a n i a into
t w o parts» and i n this «division» N o r t h e r n A l b a n i a
was to r e m a i n under the p o w e r of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r ,
L e g a l i t e t i and B r i t i s h i n f l u e n c e !
B u t in p u r s u i n g this aim, too, reaction was w r o n g
470
in its calculations. Irrespective of the p o w e r of the
bayraktars and the clergy, the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
M o v e m e n t h a d p o w e r f u l support i n the N o r t h , f r o m
T r o p o j a t o S h k o d r a , f r o m D i b r a t o M a t and M i r d i t a .
The people of those parts, w h o suffered under the
oppression of bayraktars, reactionary clergy, especially
of the C a t h o l i c C h u r c h , w e r e seething w i t h the desire
to t r a n s f o r m t h e i r lives and to be free. T h i s desire w a s
i n complete accord w i t h the w a r w h i c h the P a r t y was
waging, therefore the resistance towards the f o r e i g n ers and t h e i r tools was increasing day by d a y a n d the
people w e r e more and more c o m i n g to understand
that the basis of t h e i r f u t u r e and the course w h i c h
they had to pursue, w a s the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration W a r . T h e development of events was to prove
the correctness of the line of the P a r t y and resulted
in the v a l o u r and courage of the sons of the remote
regions of the N o r t h being d i s p l a y e d as b r i l l i a n t l y as
e v e r y w h e r e else.
P a r t i s a n units a n d çeta, l i k e those of D i b r a , S h k o dra, M a t , Has, Ç e r m e n i k a and M a r t a n e s h , operated in
the zones of the N o r t h right f r o m the start and steadily
increased t h e i r activity, e x t e n d i n g it over the whole
region.
T h e partisan çeta, w h i c h later grew into battalions
such as the battalion of D i b r a , the «Perlat R e x h e p i »
Battalion, the « B a j r a m C u r r i » B a t t a l i o n , the battalion
of M a t and others, had scored a n u m b e r of victories in
D i b r a , Tropoja, the H i g h l a n d s of G j a k o v a , in M a l ë s i
e Madhe, in M a t and M a r t a n e s h . W i t h such patriotic
and v a l i a n t commanders and fighters, as Ismail Poga,
D i n B a j r a k t a r i , D u l e j m a n Çela, Idriz M u l o s m a n i and
471
others, these units had not o n l y made l i f e intolerable
for the Italian and G e r m a n occupiers and the l o c a l
reactionaries l i n k e d w i t h the foreigners, but t i m e after
time, at the request of their brothers of K o s o v a and
on our orders, had advanced into the depths of K o s o v a
and Montenegro in a i d of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
M o v e m e n t of the A l b a n i a n p o p u l a t i o n of those parts
and the Y u g o s l a v peoples.
L i k e w i s e , the finest sons of the N o r t h operated
and m i l i t a t e d a l l over A l b a n i a , w h e r e v e r the P a r t y
had sent them, d i s p l a y i n g great bravery, w i s d o m a n d
devotion. Y o u could f i n d t h e m i n the partisan brigades,
at the head of regional committees, f i e r y agitators f o r
the line of the P a r t y , feareless u n d e r g r o u n d fighters,
bold g u e r r i l l a fighters and ardent communists.
B e a r i n g i n m i n d a l l the f i g h t w h i c h the people o f
the N o r t h w e r e w a g i n g , as w e l l as the p r o f o u n d patr i o t i s m of the people, we w e r e c o n v i n c e d that, h o w ever m u c h reaction and the foreigners t r i e d to separate
the N o r t h f r o m the rest of the H o m e l a n d , t h e y w o u l d
never achieve this purpose.
Nevertheless, although such «ideas» a n d «plans»
were evidence of the deplorable situation a n d d i s a r r a y
of reaction, it was impermissible for us to u n d e r e s t i mate a n y t h i n g and we m u s t not lose a single m i n u t e .
Therefore, together w i t h the order for the offensive in
the N o r t h , we recommended to the comrades of the
P a r t y that t h e y should be merciless w i t h the heads of
reaction and v e r y open-hearted and k i n d l y w i t h the
people of the N o r t h , m u s t take care n e v e r to lose
their patience, because t h e y m u s t a l w a y s take into
account the v i l e propaganda w h i c h the occupiers a n d
472
reaction h a d c a r r i e d out among the people. We h a d to
show the people of the N o r t h t h r o u g h our fight,
through o u r stands and w i t h o u r w o r d s that we w e r e
not w h a t the traitors and b a y r a k t a r s o r A b a z K u p i
and c o m p a n y said we w e r e in t h e i r slanders of us,
but, on the contrary, w e r e the true liberators a n d
those w h o h a d brought the people to power.
P r e c i s e l y d u r i n g those days the enemy began its
second m a j o r operation, the J u n e Operation, w h i c h
for a w h i l e , prevented the c a r r y i n g out of the order
w h i c h I h a d signed in P ë r m e t for the N a t i o n a l L i b eration A r m y to go over to the offensive. The J u n e
Operation was another stern test of the strength,
courage and w i s d o m of our partisans, commissars and
commanders, as w e l l as of the a b i l i t y of the P a r t y
and the G e n e r a l C o m m a n d t o lead the N a t i o n a l L i b eration A r m y .
Established at O d r i ç a n , we w e r e w i t h i n the zone
of the enemy offensive a n d at a n y m o m e n t could
come under attack, especially if the G e r m a n s and B a l l ists learned that the leadership of the P a r t y and the
G e n e r a l C o m m a n d w e r e established there. Therefore,
we had instructed the comrades and the residents of
the v i l l a g e to m a i n t a i n the strictest secrecy and, at
the same time, had t a k e n measures so that we could
shift r a p i d l y in case of danger.
One n i g h t B e h a r S h t y l l a and Stefo G r a b o c k a came
u r g e n t l y a n d i n f o r m e d me that a G e r m a n force was
heading for Përmet, a d v a n c i n g t h r o u g h the highlands
of K o r ç a . I took the map, we m a r k e d the place f r o m
w h i c h the G e r m a n s had set out, noted the t i m e at
w h i c h t h e y h a d started and calculated w h e n t h e y
473
m i g h t pass through or close to O d r i ç a n . We had o n l y
a f e w hours left. We n o t i f i e d the battalion of R i z a
K o d h e l i , w i t h M i s t o T r e s k a as commissar, to move up
q u i c k l y and occupy
positions in the
forest f a c i n g
O d r i ç a n , above the road w h i c h l e d to A l i p o s t i v a n a n d
opposite the road w h i c h came out of the v i l l a g e of
P a g r i a . We took measures to ensure that the w o m e n ,
c h i l d r e n and o l d f o l k w e r e established in a safe place
a n d f i n a l l y , we of the G e n e r a l C o m m a n d m o v e d across
from Odriçan. I summoned Riza Kodheli and Misto
T r e s k a w h o reported to me on the positions of t h e i r
forces a n d I gave the order to a l l that no-one s h o u l d
open f i r e w i t h o u t h e a r i n g three shots f r o m my Maiiser.
W e stood ready, w a i t i n g i n silence. I f the G e r mans w e r e to b u r n the village, t h e n it w a s certain
they had received i n f o r m a t i o n that we w e r e there and
that we m u s t be in the forests round-about and, thus,
they w o u l d take the road of A l i p o s t i v a n . T h e G e r m a n s
came, the c o l u m n passed through O d r i ç a n and P a g r i a
w i t h mules laden w i t h l i g h t arms and mortars, c o n t i n u e d o n t h e i r w a y and emerged o n the r o a d b e l o w
the forest. F o r two w h o l e hours we w a t c h e d t h e m as
t h e y passed before us as on parade. T h e y d i d not b u r n
either O d r i ç a n o r P a g r i a , but headed for P ë r m e t w h i c h
t h e y p u t to the torch for the last t i m e ; a l l t h e y d i d
was r e - b u r n the ruins. Hence, the G e r m a n s h a d not
received i n f o r m a t i o n that we w e r e in the zone of
the operation. We r e t u r n e d to O d r i ç a n and continued
o u r work.
E v e r y evening, either in the house or in the porch
of the s m a l l c h u r c h at the e n d of the village, I gathered the comrades together a n d i n f o r m e d t h e m about
474
t h e situation and the n e w events and consulted t h e m .
F r o m O d r i ç a n , we f o l l o w e d the development of the
G e r m a n offensive.
B y c a r e f u l l y f o l l o w i n g the development o f the
f i g h t i n g on the eastern front, we judged that the end
h a d come for n a z i G e r m a n y . It w a s being smashed
u n d e r the t e r r i b l e l e t h a l blows o f Stalin's R e d A r m y ,
under the blows of a l l the peoples w h o w e r e f i g h t i n g
h e r o i c a l l y for freedom. N o w the G e n e r a l C o m m a n d
understood c l e a r l y that the G e r m a n offensive of J u n e
1944 in A l b a n i a was the m o m e n t of the last desperate
w r i t h i n g of the d y i n g beast.
In order to respond to this offensive in c o n f o r m i t y
w i t h o u r strategy and the task of the r a p i d l i b e r a t i o n of the w h o l e c o u n t r y we continued to instruct
the detachments of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y to
resist the e n e m y operation w i t h f l e x i b l e a n d active
defence, w h i l e a v o i d i n g the attacks of large f o r m a tions of the e n e m y forces, w i t h c o n t i n u a l offensive
actions against G e r m a n a n d reactionary forces in order
to tire them, break t h e m up, demoralize t h e m and
wipe t h e m out in the f i r e of the people's w a r . In
this context the order for the 1st D i v i s i o n to move to
the N o r t h , also, was a serious p o l i t i c a l a n d m i l i t a r y
blow to the G e r m a n s and the traitors, and to the aims
and plans of the «allies». T h e c a r r y i n g out of this
order, despite the opposition of the B r i t i s h and the
sabotage on the part of M e h m e t Shehu, D a l i N d r e u
and T u k J a k o v a , in fact, m a r k e d the end of the enemy
offensive a n d the b e g i n n i n g of o u r general offensive
for the l i b e r a t i o n of the w h o l e country.
As a result of a l l these successes on the front
475
of the war, the w o r k for the organization and f u n c t i o n i n g of the n e w state w h i c h we h a d just created
emerged more and more in the forefront. T h e a c t i v i t y
of the state organs elected at the Congress of Përmet,
w h i c h h a d been h i n d e r e d for a m o m e n t d u r i n g J u n e
on account of the m i l i t a r y situation, w a s extended
more w i d e l y a n d f u r t h e r i m p r o v e d i m m e d i a t e l y afterwards. F r o m J u l y t o October the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e
and the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e and its departments
brought out a series of laws, decisions and instructions
for the organization and r e v i v a l of the economy, e d u cation, the h e a l t h service, and so on. In the liberated
zones w o r k began to register and administer the
national assets, to b r i n g into production those f e w
i n d u s t r i a l objects w h i c h h a d remained f r o m the past,
to open schools, to ensure cadres for d i f f e r e n t fields,
such as doctors, teachers, engineers, technicians, a n d
so on. T h r o u g h its activity, the n e w people's state
showed that it existed not just on paper, but w a s
r e a l l y r u n n i n g and g o v e r n i n g the c o u n t r y i n the n a m e
of the people and w i t h t h e i r f u l l support and assistance.
P r e c i s e l y in the upsurge of a l l this w o r k t h e
P a r t y decided that the 1st Congress of the o r g a n i z a tion o f the A l b a n i a n A n t i - f a s c i s t Y o u t h U n i o n s h o u l d
be held. T h i s was a m a j o r event, not o n l y for t h e
youth, but also for the P a r t y and o u r w h o l e people,
because the y o u t h w e r e the most vigorous and active
force i n the w a r a n d tomorrow, after L i b e r a t i o n , t h i s
indomitable and organized a r m y w o u l d p l a y a n i r r e placeable role in the w h o l e life of the country, in t h e
reconstruction, i n the p o l i t i c a l f i e l d and i n the g o v e r n 476
ment. E d u c a t e d in the s p i r i t of l o f t y patriotism, always
the m i l i t a n t reserve of the P a r t y , the y o u t h w o u l d
take over a n d c a r r y f o r w a r d the banner o f o u r r e v o l u t i o n unprecedented in the h i s t o r y of o u r people.
P r e c i s e l y because we considered this event so
important, we, the l e a d i n g comrades of the P a r t y , the
A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e a n d the S t a n d i n g Committee,
w h o h a d re-established ourselves i n Helmës, despite
the great amount of w o r k we had to do, spent those
days w i t h our r e v o l u t i o n a r y y o u n g m e n and w o m e n .
T h e Congress was to be h e l d at Helmës, in a
b e a u t i f u l meadow above the village. These w e r e
h a p p y days f u l l o f w o r k . N a k o and N e x h m i j e p r e pared the report w h i c h afterwards w e looked over
together. T h e o t h e r comrades of the Y o u t h O r g a n i z a t i o n w e r e p r e p a r i n g to welcome the delegates and a l l ,
i n c l u d i n g us «older» ones, w e r e eagerly a w a i t i n g the
day w h e n the Congress was to open. T h e y o u t h delegates a r r i v e d f r o m a l l parts of the country. T h e y
came f r o m the m i l i t a r y detachments, f r o m the çeta,
f r o m amongst the c i v i l i a n population, legal and illegal
workers, a l l y o u t h f u l ardour and vigour, w i t h great
love for a n d l o y a l t o the P a r t y and the N a t i o n a l L i b eration W a r .
On A u g u s t 8, the d a y w h e n the Congress began,
I left H e l m ë s in the m o r n i n g together w i t h Doctor
N i s h a n i and other comrades and we c l i m b e d up to
the b e a u t i f u l m e a d o w o f L i r ë z w h i c h resounded w i t h
songs and cheers for the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y of A l b a n i a .
A l l the delegates, happy, s m i l i n g and f u l l of joy,
opened the w a y for us, l i n i n g up on both sides of the
road, and we passed between t h e m as t h o u g h we were
477
r e v i e w i n g a guard of honour comprised of y o u n g m e n
and w o m e n partisans standing facing one another, s a l u t i n g arms. We took our places on the r o s t r u m of
the Congress along w i t h comrades of the leadership
of the Y o u t h Organization such as N a k o S p i r u , R a m i z
Alia, Nexhmije X h u g l i n i , A l q i Kondi, Tasi M i t r u s h i ,
and others.
There was a moment of expectant silence w h i c h
was broken w h e n the voice of a y o u n g m a n r a n g
out, f u l l of emotion, w h i c h affected a l l of us.
«Comrades,» he said, «in the name of a l l the d e legates, w h o represent the y o u t h of the liberated a n d
unliberated zones, and a l l the detachments of o u r
army, I welcome to the Congress of the y o u t h the m a i n
leaders o f the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , the A r m y and o u r
n e w State. In expressing our heartfelt thanks to t h e m ,
let me say that we consider t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e
Congress a great honour, encouragement and assistance
for the younger generation of A l b a n i a ! »
This y o u n g man, s t i l l s l i m i n b u i l d , but w i t h k e e n
eyes and f i e r y words, was C o m r a d e R a m i z A l i a . I m e t
h i m personally for the first t i m e at Helmës, a l t h o u g h ,
y o u m i g h t say, we had long been acquainted at a d i s t ance. The comrades, especially N a k o and N e x h m i j e ,
had spoken t o m e about R a m i z w i t h respect and s y m pathy, as a s k i l f u l and m i l i t a n t y o u n g comrade w h o
had distinguished himself, i n i t i a l l y in T i r a n a , and especially in the organization and leadership of the
Committee and O r g a n i z a t i o n of the Y o u t h of the r e gion of Berat. T w o months earlier I h a d received a
letter f r o m h i m , w h i c h struck m e i m m e d i a t e l y for the
competence w i t h w h i c h he raised problems of the p o l 478
itical w o r k and w o r k w i t h the y o u t h i n the 7th S h o c k
Brigade, in w h i c h right f r o m the outset, he had been
charged w i t h the duties of comrade responsible for
the y o u t h organization and w o r k in the p o l i t i c a l section
of the brigade. In my r e p l y I congratulated h i m and
transmitted the advice and instructions of the leadership of the P a r t y to c a r r y f o r w a r d the w o r k for the
education of the y o u t h . At that time R a m i z was quite
young but w i t h clear and mature opinions, a m i l i t a n t
type and w i t h initiative, qualities w h i c h he d i s p l a y e d
again in the days w h e n the proceedings of the C o n gress took place. At H e l m ë s the delegates elected h i m
a m e m b e r of the leadership of the A l b a n i a n A n t i - f a s cist Y o u t h U n i o n and f r o m then on, through ceaseless
w o r k and f r u i t f u l activity, he was to advance f u r t h e r
on the road he h a d taken as one of the m a i n leaders
of the Y o u t h , and subsequently of the P a r t y , and we
were to be l i n k e d together in a close collaboration
and f r i e n d s h i p w h i c h is based on o u r w o r k for the
t r i u m p h of the ideal of the P a r t y .
T h e h a l l for the 1st Congress of the Y o u t h was the
meadow, the sessions w e r e held outside in the fresh
air of M a r t a Pass.
D e l i v e r i n g a message of greetings to the Congress
on behalf of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the P a r t y , I
spoke to the representatives of the Y o u t h about the
great trust w h i c h the P a r t y h a d always placed i n the
heroic younger generation of A l b a n i a and made a h i g h
assessment of the great c o n t r i b u t i o n of the y o u t h in
the w a r for freedom, and w e n t on to point o u t :
« N e w battles a w a i t us to construct the H o m e l a n d ,
to strengthen the democratic state power, to set o u r
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A l b a n i a on the road to happiness! Therefore, y o u
y o u n g m e n and w o m e n o f A l b a n i a w h o t o d a y are i n
the forefront of the gigantic struggle for the f r e e d o m
of the H o m e l a n d , f r o m these moments on m u s t a l w a y s
be in the forefront of the w o r k for the reconstruction
of the country, for the e l i m i n a t i o n of its backwardness,
f o r the defence and f l o w e r i n g of this s o i l w h i c h we
are w a t e r i n g w i t h o u r blood.»
The delegates w e l c o m e d my greeting on behalf of
the C e n t r a l Committee w i t h ovations. W i t h their e n thusiastic cheers and shouts as w e l l as in t h e i r c o n tributions to the discussion, t h e y expressed t h e i r love
for and unshakeable confidence in the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y and their determination to forge ahead u n w a v e r i n g l y on its course.
We, too, had great desire to stay there in the
meadow of Lirëz, w h e r e the freshness, v i g o u r and
strength of the y o u t h was predominant. H o w e v e r , we
left the y o u t h t o c a r r y o n w i t h t h e i r w o r k because
n e w w o r k and tasks w e r e a w a i t i n g us. A s w e w e r e
w a l k i n g h a p p i l y d o w n the slope, amidst continuous
cheers, we ceaselessly repeated the l e i t m o t i v of o u r talks :
«We w i l l c e r t a i n l y t r i u m p h over a n y enemy w h o
emerges before us!»
Doctor N i s h a n i , deeply moved, w i p e d a w a y his
tears w i t h his handkerchief and s a i d :
«Look w h a t this P a r t y has done! L o o k w h a t p a t r i o t i s m it has aroused in the hearts of the youth!»
L e a v i n g the y o u t h above t o c a r r y o n w i t h t h e i r
Congress, we members of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of
the Party, the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e and the S t a n d i n g
Committee of the C o u n c i l continued o u r w o r k f r o m
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m o r n i n g t i l l late at night, d e f i n i n g the measures to
bring the d a y of l i b e r a t i o n as close as possible, to heal
the wounds of the war, to r e b u i l d the homes, schools
and bridges, to ensure the people's food, to r e v i v e that
little i n d u s t r y we had, etc.
T h e r e was so m u c h w o r k that, as t h e y say, there
was scarcely time to d r a w a breath. B u t we w e r e a l l
confidence and o p t i m i s m : after so m a n y years of s t r u g gle and efforts we saw that freedom w a s close at hand,
the people w o u l d enjoy it completely, as never before,
in a n e w A l b a n i a w i t h o u t oppressors or exploiters.
It was quite obvious that the a u t u m n of 1944
w o u l d be the last season of the occupation in A l b a n i a .
T h e w h o l e S o u t h had been liberated, together w i t h
the b i g m a i n towns l i k e V l o r a , G j i r o k a s t r a , Saranda,
Përmet, etc. L i k e w i s e , t h r o u g h bloody f i g h t i n g the
greater part of C e n t r a l A l b a n i a had been liberated,
w h i l e in the N o r t h the enemy s t i l l h e l d control of
some towns a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n lines as routes for
their w i t h d r a w a l b e y o n d o u r state borders.
In fact, the occupation authorities, the q u i s l i n g
government and its a d m i n i s t r a t i o n had no real p o w e r :
in a l l the liberated zones w h i c h in October of that year
comprised about 3/4 of the t e r r i t o r y of A l b a n i a , the
new people's state p o w e r had been established and
was f u n c t i o n i n g w i t h its organs f r o m the base to the
centre. E v e r y t h i n g indicated that the e n e m y w a s no
longer capable of m a k i n g serious attempts to re-establish the f o r m e r situation; the complete l i b e r a t i o n of
A l b a n i a w a s a matter of weeks.
In these circumstances the leadership of the P a r ty discussed the measures w h i c h had to be taken, es481
pecially in the p o l i t i c a l plane, in the face of these
pending events, and t a k i n g into account the e x i s t i n g
i n t e r n a l situation and the i n t e r n a t i o n a l relations of o u r
n e w state, the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e of the P a r t y c o n sidered it u r g e n t l y necessary to t r a n s f o r m the A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e into the P r o v isional Democratic G o v e r n m e n t of A l b a n i a .
As I have said above, a n d as is k n o w n f r o m h i s tory, although the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e w h i c h w a s
elected in P ë r m e t had a l l the attributes of a g o v e r n ment (amongst ourselves this is w h a t we called it), p u b l i c l y we d i d not c a l l it a government, and this was for
several reasons.
True, the Congress of P ë r m e t f o u n d e d the A l b a n i a n state, n e w i n f o r m a n d d i f f e r e n t i n content f r o m
the feudal-bourgeois state of the Z o g regime; true, the
supreme state organs w h i c h w e r e elected at P ë r m e t
had the w i d e support of the popular masses, and e x pressed and w i e l d e d state sovereignty, but it m u s t not
be forgotten that in M a y 1944 a good part of A l b a n i a
was s t i l l under the occupation and control of n a z i
troops and q u i s l i n g administrations. At the same time,
in M a y 1944, we h a d not yet created a complete n e t w o r k of administrative organs t h r o u g h w h i c h the g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d r u n and c o n t r o l the w h o l e l i f e of the
country. A p a r t f r o m this, h a d w e p r o c l a i m e d the f o r m a t i o n of a n o m i n a l government in M a y 1944, this
w o u l d have raised the question that this government
should be recognized by our allies, w h i c h w o u l d not
have been tactically opportune at those moments. T h i s
because the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n allies, especially, of the
extent of whose «sympathy» f o r us we w e r e w e l l
482
aware, w o u l d have refused us recognition, using as a
pretext the circumstances w h i c h I mentioned above.
Therefore, it was decided that the C o m m i t t e e should
be t u r n e d into a government at a second step, w h e n
the general offensive of our a r m y had almost totally
destroyed the G e r m a n occupier, i n t e r n a l reaction, and
together w i t h them, the hopes of «allies» to oppose
another p o l i t i c a l force to the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e ment, as a counter-weight in the struggle for power.
In September 1944, the leadership of the P a r t y
considered that the conditions for this n e w step h a d
m a t u r e d and raised the p r o b l e m for discussion in the
meeting of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the A n t i - f a s c i s t
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l . A f t e r p o i n t i n g out t o
the comrades the reasons w h y at P ë r m e t we emerged
w i t h the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e and w h y n o w i t h a d
to be t u r n e d into and p r o c l a i m e d the Democratic G o v ernment of the n e w A l b a n i a n state, I concluded:
«The proposal that the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration C o m m i t t e e elected at P ë r m e t s h o u l d be t u r n e d
into the P r o v i s i o n a l Democratic G o v e r n m e n t of the n e w
A l b a n i a n state is the logical continuation of the course
on w h i c h the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y has l e d the p o p u l a r
masses for the l i b e r a t i o n of the c o u n t r y and the seizure of p o l i t i c a l state power. In this sense, the meeting
w h i c h w i l l approve this proposal o f the P a r t y w i l l b e
a continuation of the Congress of Përmet, a 'session'
of it w h i c h is h e l d a f e w months later.»
A l l the comrades of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of
the C o u n c i l w e l c o m e d the proposal of the C e n t r a l C o m mittee o f the C P A w i t h enthusiasm and agreed that
the 2nd M e e t i n g of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
483
C o u n c i l should be called in the first days of October.
T h e precise date w o u l d be communicated to members
of the A N L C later, together w i t h the name of the city
in w h i c h the meeting w o u l d be held, w h i c h was left
to the G e n e r a l Staff to decide depending on the m i l i t a r y situation. O n l y a f e w days after this m e e t i n g we
learned that the city of B e r a t had been liberated. We
decided i m m e d i a t e l y that the 2nd M e e t i n g of the
A N L C s h o u l d be h e l d there, t a k i n g into account that
it was one of the m a i n cities of A l b a n i a , in the centre
of the c o u n t r y and w i t h ancient historical traditions.
However, the date for the commencement of the meeting was put back a little because the G e r m a n troops
s t i l l held their positions in K u ç o v a and a certain t i m e
w o u l d be needed to assemble a l l the members of the
A n t i - f a s c i s t C o u n c i l . M e a n w h i l e , we ordered our u n i t s
w h i c h w e r e operating in that zone to put an e n d to
the resistance of the nazis as q u i c k l y as possible, and
it seems to me t w o to three days before the c o m m e n cement of the meeting of Berat, K u ç o v a , too, was l i b erated.
Thus, at the proper time we set out f r o m O d r i ç a n ,
travelled across S k r a p a r and, after a j o u r n e y of t w o
days, a r r i v e d at B e r a t late at night.
On the f o l l o w i n g day, w h e n the people l e a r n e d
that the comrades of the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e and
the G e n e r a l Staff had come to their city, they f l o c k e d
into the streets. M e n and w o m e n , o l d folk, mothers
w i t h children in their arms, boys and girls, pioneers
welcomed us w i t h songs and protracted cheers. F o r
hours on end, the singing a n d cheering continued in
t h e streets as w e l l as in front of the b u i l d i n g w h e r e
484
we had established ourselves on the edge of M a n g a lem
precinct i n w h i c h the district m u s e u m o f t h e
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r is established today, and
w h i c h p r e v i o u s l y had been the house of the V r i o n i s .
T h e c i t y w a s b u z z i n g w i t h n o r m a l h a p p y l i f e : the
partisans and volunteers had established l a w and order.
B e r a t had not suffered m a j o r damage f r o m the war,
although there w a s some destruction and b u r n t b u i l d ings, but i n comparison w i t h P ë r m e t w h e r e w e had
met a f e w m o n t h s earlier, B e r a t w a s in a m u c h better
state. D u r i n g those days a l l of us, partisans a n d l e a d ers, l i v e d i n a n atmosphere w h i c h w e had not e x p e r i enced for a long time. T h e streets were f u l l of life,
the shops open a n d f u l l of goods (of course, those
goods w h i c h could be f o u n d at that time), and the
cafés and restaurants stayed open late. Nevertheless,
we d i d not «justify» the hopes of the merchants and
owners of those businesses because, w h i l e we w o u l d
have l i k e d to b u y something, we w e r e short of money,
and w h e n the comrades managed to scrape up the o d d
lek f r o m t h e i r pockets, t h e y spent it on tobacco, a
razor blade or to d r i n k a coffee l i k e «lords» in the
Colombo
Hotel!
D u r i n g those days, the allied m i l i t a r y missions of
the Soviet U n i o n , G r e a t B r i t a i n and the U n i t e d States
o f A m e r i c a , headed respectively b y Ivanov, S m i t h a n d
Thomas Stevens, alias T h o m a Stefani, also established
themselves i n B e r a t . O f course, C o l o n e l V e l i m i r S t o j n i c
and the other Y u g o s l a v «friends» w e r e there, too. We
i n v i t e d a l l of t h e m to take part in t h e m e e t i n g of the
A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l as r e p r e s e n tatives of f r i e n d l y countries a n d allies in the c o m m o n
485
w a r against n a z i fascism. Of course, I v a n o v a n d S t o j n i ć accepted the i n v i t a t i o n « w i t h pleasure» a n d l i k e w i s e
the A m e r i c a n f r o m K o r ç a , Stevens, w h o h a d also t a k e n
part in the Congress of P ë r m e t as «an observer». S u r ­
prisingly, the B r i t i s h , too, u n l i k e w h a t t h e y h a d done
at Përmet, agreed to attend the m e e t i n g to w h i c h t h e y
sent M a j o r S m i t h w h o had replaced P a l m e r w h o had
left in the first days of October. A f t e r the setback t h e y
had suffered in their attempts to speak to us t h r o u g h
the language of force, the members of the B r i t i s h
M i s s i o n were n o w c a r e f u l to m i x a measure of «kind­
ness» and «good behaviour» w i t h intrigues and threats
i n t h e i r stands. A p p a r e n t l y they had f i n a l l y realized
that their p l a n w i t h A b a z K u p i and others l i k e h i m
had no chance of success and n o w they w e r e to t r y to
w o r k w i t h i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , w i t h i n
the Front, t h r o u g h other T r o j a n horses, in order to
sabotage the v i c t o r y of the people's r e v o l u t i o n .
T h e historic m e e t i n g of B e r a t began on October
20. A b o u t 10 o'clock in the m o r n i n g we m e m b e r s of
the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e and the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n Committee set off on foot for the h a l l in
w h i c h the meeting w a s to be held a n d w h i c h is p r e ­
served to this d a y as a m o n u m e n t of history. B o t h
sides of the street w e r e crowded w i t h people w h o
shouted greetings and t h r e w flowers to us. In f r o n t
of the cinema, partisans of a c o m p a n y of the 7th
Shock B r i g a d e w h i c h had fought for the l i b e r a t i o n
of the city w e r e l i n e d up s a l u t i n g arms.
W h e n we entered the h a l l , the members of the
C o u n c i l and the guests rose to their feet in applause.
N e a r l y half the hall, the boxes and the g a l l e r y w e r e
486
f i l l e d w i t h people. W e had fought together, e v e r y t h i n g
was done in the name of the people, therefore, as they
say, we l a i d o u r cards on the table: the people t h e m selves w o u l d see h o w a m e e t i n g of their representatives elected d e m o c r a t i c a l l y at P ë r m e t w a s conducted.
There was n o t h i n g w r o n g w i t h this except that D o c tor N i s h a n i , w h o chaired the proceedings, had to w o r k
harder, being obliged to intervene on a n u m b e r of occasions to persuade the enthusiastic people to cease
their continuous cheering.
«Quiet, please,» said O m e r N i s h a n i «sternly», «we
are at a w o r k i n g m e e t i n g and not a r a l l y ! »
E v e r y t h i n g w a s simple, n a t u r a l and m o v i n g . H e r e
there w e r e n o «deputies» w i t h gold watch-chains, t a i l coats and tasselled epaulettes, no beribboned guards,
no «protocol secretary» w i t h the pile of dossiers, papers
and ink-pots as in the p a r l i a m e n t of the Zogite «fathers of the nation». T h e deputies to this «parliament»
w e r e s i m p l e folk, sons of the people w h o came f r o m
the fronts of the w a r . T h e y h a d neither i n h e r i t e d titles
nor estates but had love for the people w h i c h t h e y
had p r o v e n i n battles a n d w e r e determined t o w o r k
for the h a p p y f u t u r e of the H o m e l a n d . T h i s fact, alone,
together w i t h m a n y others, showed that w h a t was occ u r r i n g in A l b a n i a was a r a d i c a l change, the d a w n of
a n e w w o r l d , in w h i c h the scorned and oppressed of
the past, t h r o u g h f i g h t i n g , bloodshed and r e v o l u t i o n ,
had w o n the right to decide the fate of the nation.
T h e h a l l had been decorated w i t h flags, flowers
and l a u r e l wreaths. On the c u r t a i n at the back of the
stage there was a v e r y b i g flag of A l b a n i a , l o v i n g l y
487
embroidered, and on both sides of it the slogan «Death
to Fascism — F r e e d o m to the People». On the side
w a l l s there were portraits of patriots of the R e n a i s sance and m a r t y r s of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r as
w e l l as banners w i t h « L o n g l i v e the people's state
power!» and «Long l i v e the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r my!», w r i t t e n in b i g letters.
T h e c h a i r m a n of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of the
A N L C , D r . O m e r N i s h a n i , opened the m e e t i n g w i t h a
short speech i n w h i c h h e b r i e f l y s u m m e d u p the i n ternal and e x t e r n a l s i t u a t i o n and presented to the
members of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l the purpose of the meeting.
«In this situation,» he said, «when three quarters
of A l b a n i a are under our jurisdiction, the S t a n d i n g
Committee of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
C o u n c i l considered it necessary to s u m m o n this m e e t i n g
of the C o u n c i l to approve the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of
the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e into
the Democratic G o v e r n m e n t of A l b a n i a . T h e S t a n d i n g
Committee considered it reasonable that this decision
should b e taken solemnly b y the w h o l e C o u n c i l , a l though on the basis of the competences w i t h w h i c h it
was charged at Përmet, it could have c a r r i e d out such
an act itself.»
The immediate applause of the members of the
A N L C and the people present i n the h a l l demonstrated
in advance their a p p r o v a l of the proposal for this h i s toric act w h i c h w o u l d be voted on at the e n d of the
meeting. A f t e r D r . N i s h a n i ' s opening address I was
g i v e n the floor as c h a i r m a n of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a 488
t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e t o d e l i v e r the report i n
the name of this Committee.
A f t e r a brief exposé of the international situation,
in w h i c h I stressed the m a j o r f r e s h victories of the
R e d A r m y , w h i c h was n o w f i g h t i n g i n P o l a n d and
Czechoslovakia a n d in East Prussia, as w e l l as the fact
that at last the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s had opened the second front in France, I presented a tableau of the
successes w h i c h o u r people a n d o u r a r m y l e d b y the
P a r t y h a d achieved i n the decisive offensive t o d r i v e
the n a z i beast f r o m the sacred s o i l of the H o m e l a n d .
«The decisions of the Congress of P ë r m e t are being
successfully accomplished,» I reported to the C o u n c i l ,
«Our divisions and brigades smashed the second G e r m a n offensive and m a r c h e d t r i u m p h a n t l y towards
N o r t h e r n A l b a n i a and together w i t h the defeats w h i c h
they i n f l i c t e d on the divisions of the W e h r m a c h t ,
they made the çeta of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r and the
bands o f Shefqet V ë r l a c i a n d A b a z K u p i , F i q r i D i n e
and H a l i l A l i a , o f M a r k a g j o n i and M u h a r r e m B a j r a k tari, m e l t a w a y l i k e s n o w i n the rain.»
In my speech I spoke w i t h passion and i n s p i r a t i o n
about the epic h e r o i s m of o u r N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
A r m y , about o u r brave partisans, commanders and
commissars, w h o u n i f o r m e d or in rags, fed or h u n g r y ,
in the s u m m e r heat or f r e e z i n g cold, on the plains, in
the cities a n d on the m o u n t a i n peaks, fought w i t h selfsacrifice, defended the H o m e l a n d , soaked every i n c h
o f this l a n d i n blood a n d f e l l w i t h songs o n their l i p s
and made death «like birth». W h e r e d i d this a r m y f i n d
its strength a n d support, w h e r e was it armed, fed a n d
sheltered? A m o n g the people!
489
«Our army,» I pointed out in this part of the
report, «has been a r m e d in the w a r w i t h the weapons
it seized f r o m the enemy in battle, has been fed w i t h
the bread of the people w h o shared t h e i r children's
crust w i t h the partisans. T h e homes of the people, the
mountains and forests of the H o m e l a n d have been a n d
are the barracks of o u r army. But,» I said, t u r n i n g
to the allied m i l i t a r y representatives, «for the c o m m o n interests of this sacred war, in order to a r m the
thousands of volunteers w h o are increasing the ranks
of our a r m y e v e r y d a y and in order to block the roads
for the w i t h d r a w a l of the G e r m a n forces and to w i p e
t h e m out, we ask our allies for weapons, weapons,
weapons! No one can refuse us the r i g h t to fight; no
one can break our w i l l to fight and to w i n ; but, we
repeat, we demand weapons and a m m u n i t i o n ! »
W h o k n o w s h o w m a n y times I h a d addressed this
request to our «friends», w h o can r e m e m b e r in h o w
m a n y meetings, talks, o f f i c i a l letters and radiograms
we had told t h e m we w e r e not asking for sweets a n d
chocolates or a n y t h i n g else apart f r o m weapons, cartridges and shells! We repeated these demands a n d r e ceived promises, h y p o c r i t i c a l d i p l o m a t i c smiles, excuses
and offers to sell out the H o m e l a n d . We appealed to
t h e m for the sincere aid of the allies, but our appeals
w e r e l i k e a vox in deserto*. There was n o t h i n g we
c o u l d do about it; this has been the fate of our people;
r a r e l y have we h a d l o y a l friends and sincere allies.
B u t w h a t of it, perhaps precisely this has made the
people more v i t a l , more indomitable and has convinced
__________________________________
* A voice in the wilderness.
490
them that t h e y can expect f r e e d o m a n d happiness o n l y
b y r e l y i n g o n t h e i r o w n forces.
In the report I d w e l t p a r t i c u l a r l y on the p o l i t i c a l
effects w h i c h the f o r m a t i o n o f the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e at the Congress of P ë r met h a d had. H e r e I stressed the enthusiasm w i t h
w h i c h this event had been greeted b y the A l b a n i a n
people who, in thousands of letters, had expressed
t h e i r j o y o v e r the f o r m a t i o n of the f i r s t people's gove r n m e n t a n d also expressed t h e i r w i l l to support and
assist it in its a c t i v i t y for the good of A l b a n i a .
Q u i t e the opposite was the response of the r e a c tionary circles and forces, for w h o m the f o r m a t i o n of
the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e was a bombshell w h i c h
completely destroyed their fantastic dreams. «The
f o r m a t i o n of the C o m m i t t e e w i t h the attributes of a r e v o l u t i o n a r y government,» I stressed p a r t i c u l a r l y a n d not
w i t h o u t purpose, «made ridiculous the attempts of reaction inside a n d outside A l b a n i a to create puppet g o v e r n ments w i t h o u t a n y s y m p a t h y or support among the
people. W h o e v e r engages in the p r o d u c t i o n of s u c h
creations d o o m e d to f a i l u r e is p l a y i n g the game of the
enemies of the A l b a n i a n people!»
I w e n t on to report about the w o r k a n d a c t i v i t y
w h i c h the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e
had carried out d u r i n g this f o u r - m o n t h period. In this
part of my speech I presented to the C o u n c i l a s u m m a r y of the efforts of the C o m m i t t e e for the r e o r ganization of the life in the liberated districts, in the
cities and villages, about the measures w h i c h had been
taken to get the economy functioning, to ensure food
491
and shelter for the population, to ensure the h e a l t h
service, the opening of schools, the development of
culture and propaganda.
B o t h w i t h their prolonged bursts of applause
w h i l e I was reading the report and in their discussion
of it later, the members of the C o u n c i l made a positive
assessment and approved the a c t i v i t y of the A n t i - f a s cist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Committee.
U p t i l l that time the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion Committee had based its w o r k on a s t i l l embryonic,
incomplete administrative system. O n l y the C o m m i t t e e
had established a d i v i s i o n of work, h a d the d e p a r t ments w h i c h covered the d i f f e r e n t sectors of the l i f e
of the country, w h i l e at the base, in the n a t i o n a l l i b eration councils in the regions and cities, the o r g a n i z ation had o n l y just b e g u n ; they had just begun to set
up separate sections, to create the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e apparatus, etc. Of course, we w e r e s t i l l at war, the state
had just been born, and the cadres and experience
w e r e lacking. E v e r y t h i n g w o u l d advance step by step,
practice itself w o u l d suggest to us the appropriate forms
and w o u l d teach us h o w to r u n affairs and govern.
A f t e r e x p l a i n i n g to the comrades the m a n n e r of
the organization and f u n c t i o n i n g of our n e w state, I
w e n t on to the m a i n object of the 2nd M e e t i n g of the
A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l , the proposal
that the A n t i - f a s c i s t C o m m i t t e e should be t u r n e d into
the P r o v i s i o n a l People's Democratic G o v e r n m e n t .
«The Democratic G o v e r n m e n t w h i c h w i l l emerge
f r o m this meeting,» I said, « w i l l r e m a i n f a i t h f u l to the
political and m i l i t a r y p l a t f o r m o f the N a t i o n a l L i b e r 492
ation M o v e m e n t and the decisions of the Congress of
P ë r m e t . In the f i r s t place, it w i l l continue the task
for the complete l i b e r a t i o n of the H o m e l a n d and c a r r y
it through to the end. A f t e r the complete liberation
of Albania,» I continued, «and after the situation has
been stabilized, the Democratic G o v e r n m e n t w i l l e n sure and organize free democratic elections for the Constituent A s s e m b l y , w h i c h w i l l decide the f o r m of the
state a n d approve the C o n s t i t u t i o n of the A l b a n i a n state.
«The government w i l l seek recognition f r o m the
allies of the great anti-fascist bloc as the only g o v e r n m e n t of the A l b a n i a n people, emerged f r o m the w a r
and f r o m the ranks of the people, w h i c h represents
and expresses the w i l l of the whole A l b a n i a n people.
T h e allies w i l l recognize our government,» I pointed
out, «because w i t h t h e i r o w n eyes t h e y have seen the
sacrifices we have made in this t e r r i b l e and unequal
war, have seen the d a i l y heroism of our small but indomitable people, w h o i n v e r y d i f f i c u l t conditions, h u r l e d
themselves u p o n the enemy w i t h u n t o l d self-sacrifice.»
A f t e r the report w h i c h I d e l i v e r e d on behalf of
the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Committee, w h i c h
took about an hour, we took a break d u r i n g w h i c h a
concert w i t h patriotic partisan songs was g i v e n by the
artistic groups of the m i l i t a r y detachments and the
y o u t h of the city of Berat. The people in the h a l l and
the participants in the meeting sang together w i t h
the «artists» on the stage. Perhaps this joint concert,
outside the bounds of the stage, was a bit rough and
d i d not satisfy the artistic demands of the conductor;
there w e r e some w h o sang flat, some w h o d i d not
k n o w the w o r d s of the songs properly, w h i l e some
493
forgot that the concert had a set p r o g r a m , and after
one song was over, w a n t e d to go on w i t h another that
they l i k e d better; nevertheless, everyone was satisfied,
happy and j o y f u l ; the comrades w e r e r e j o i c i n g i n t h e i r
hearts and they showed this in their eyes!
A f t e r this break, the session recommenced w i t h
the greetings of representatives of a l l i e d countries,
Who, speaking in general terms, praised our successes
i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r and expressed s y m ­
pathy and support for our people. Of course, the
greetings of each of t h e m had their o w n nuances,
depending on their aims and the stands w h i c h t h e y
m a i n t a i n e d towards us, even if o n l y in appearance.
F o r example, S m i t h , despite the c r i t i c i s m a i m e d
at h i m for the insufficient, not to say, non-existent
aid, d i d not m e n t i o n that matter at a l l , but s i m p l y
promised that «the allies w i l l not forget their w a r t i m e
friends in times of peace», as if to w a r n us that after
the war, too, we w o u l d have p l e n t y of problems w i t h
t h e m ; the A m e r i c a n of A l b a n i a n origin, but t o t a l l y
degenerated, in b r o k e n A l b a n i a n , expressed his pleas­
ure, «as an A m e r i c a n soldier and an A l b a n i a n f r o m
his f a m i l y origin».
T h e haughty V e l i m i r Stojnić spoke longer than
the others, and in his speech in the S e r b i a n language
the frequent r e p e t i t i o n of the w o r d s Tito, Y u g o s l a v i a ,
the Balkans, etc. w a s v e r y noticeable. W h e n his speech
was translated, it w a s realized that the Y u g o s l a v c o l ­
onel had spoken m o s t l y about the w a r of Y u g o s l a v i a
and T i t o rather than w e l c o m e this historic event to
w h i c h we had i n v i t e d h i m ; Stojnić spoke about «the
u n i t y of the B a l k a n peoples» and also mentioned the
494
famous «federation», p r o m i s e d «the aid and support of
sister Yugoslavia», but d i d not say one w o r d about the
fight of our forces in a i d of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
M o v e m e n t in K o s o v a and D i b r a as a concrete expression of the m i l i t a n t f r a t e r n i z a t i o n of o u r peoples and
countries in the battles against the c o m m o n enemy.
T h e greeting o f M a j o r Ivanov w a s w e l c o m e d w i t h
enthusiasm by the delegates. W h e n he took the floor as
w e l l as at the e n d of his speech, the h a l l echoed w i t h
cheers f o r great S t a l i n and the R e d A r m y , and in the
midst of Ivanov's short address, one of the comrades
in the h a l l shouted in the R u s s i a n language, «Da
Zdrastvuyet Sovyetskiy Soyuz!»* Of course, this was an
expression of the great love w h i c h we A l b a n i a n communists had f o r the B o l s h e v i k P a r t y , for L e n i n and
Stalin, for the f i r s t socialist c o u n t r y in the w o r l d , and
w i t h this love o u r P a r t y had educated the w h o l e peopie, w h o saw in the Soviet U n i o n not o n l y the colossal
force w h i c h c r u s h e d the fascist beast, but also the
great supporter of the peoples of the w o r l d in the w a r
for f r e e d o m a n d social justice.
C o m p a r e d w i t h the sincere and enthusiastic w e l come it received f r o m those present, Ivanov's speech
was e x t r e m e l y d r y . Indeed, i n the assessment w h i c h
he made of the w a r of our people, w h o by «fighting
b e h i n d the enemy's lines, had g i v e n t h e m great assistance», there w e r e some signs of megalomania. I have
w r i t t e n about my impression of this envoy of the
Soviet C o m m a n d . W e h a d w e l c o m e d his c o m i n g w i t h
joy and considered it a great aid. H o w e v e r , we had
____________________________________
* L o n g l i v e the Soviet U n i o n !
495
no benefit f r o m Ivanov, he gave us no precise i n f o r m a tion and w h e n we asked h i m about something or sought
his opinion, his o n l y r e p l y w a s : «I s h a l l i n f o r m M o s c o w
by radio», because he had a radio transmitter w i t h h i m .
Ivanov k n e w we needed weapons and m i l i t a r y supplies,
but his radio never w o r k e d to transmit o u r needs to
the Soviet command and n o t h i n g came to us f r o m there.
The tone of the contributions of o u r comrades
p a r t i c i p a t i n g in the meeting, who, in their f i e r y speeches,
rejoiced at o u r freedom, expressed the w i l l and aspirations of the people and their confidence in and o p t i m i s m about the b r i l l i a n t future, was e n t i r e l y different.
I n his contribution, the w r i t e r and fighter H a k i
S t ë r m i l l i spoke about the w a r of the people of D i b r a
who had r e v i v e d and f u r t h e r developed their patriotic
traditions i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n War, m e n t i o n e d
the names of sons of D i b r a l i k e N a z m i R u s h i t i and
others, w h o had g i v e n t h e i r lives for a free and d e m ocratic A l b a n i a . In the name of the people of that
district, H a k i S t ë r m i l l i expressed his a p p r o v a l t h a t
the meeting should decide on the f o r m a t i o n of the
Democratic G o v e r n m e n t .
T h e patriot H y s e n Z a l o s h n j a brought the voice
and w i l l of the people of B e r a t a n d S k r a p a r . P e r h a p s
his speech was not so w e l l p u t together as that of
the author of the book If I Were a Boy. Indeed. U n c l e
H y s e n read the speech w h i c h he had w r i t t e n out
rather hesitantly and, in the end, put aside the sheet
o f paper i n f r o n t o f h i m and spoke c l e a r l y i n t h a t
p o p u l a r i d i o m of his about the free l i f e w h i c h the
people of S k r a p a r and B e r a t had been e n j o y i n g for
some little t i m e ; he also touched on problems w h i c h
496
were n o w emerging for the people's state power, d w e l ling especially on s u c h «problems» as the h e a l t h service, the schools, etc.
T h e n e x t to speak was M e t Seseri f r o m K r u j a ,
who pointed out that, despite the efforts of M u s t a f a
K r u j a and A b a z K u p i , the people o f K r u j a w e r e never
weaned a w a y f r o m the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e ment. A b e d i n Ç i ç i , H a x h i Lleshi, E t h e m B a r h a n i , K a d r i Baboçi, M a n o l K o n o m i , Y m e r D i s h n i c a , N a k o S p i ru, Shefqet B e j a and m a n y others, I can't remember
them a l l , a l l spoke in t u r n . T h e comrades w h o spoke
u n a n i m o u s l y approved the proposal for the t r a n s f o r m a tion of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e
into a P r o v i s i o n a l G o v e r n m e n t .
In this session a f i n e and w e l l - p r e p a r e d c o n t r i b u tion was made by Comrade S p i r o K o l e k a , w h o at P ë r met had been put in charge of the department of
public w o r k s and was one of the most active comrades
of the Committee. A f t e r stressing the importance of
the meeting and expressing his a p p r o v a l of the d e c i sion w h i c h was to be taken, K o l e k a d w e l t on the m a j o r
economic problems w h i c h we faced.
«Besides the w a r w i t h arms for the l i b e r a t i o n of
the country,» he said, «now we face another struggle
in the front of w o r k . We have m a n y m a n y problems
w h i c h await s o l u t i o n in regard to industry, a g r i c u l ture, the roads and bridges, houses, schools, hospitals,
etc. To accomplish a l l these things requires ceaseless
and tireless work, the collective w o r k of a l l . We s h a l l
do a l l these things ourselves,» stressed S p i r o K o l e k a ,
among other things, «because economic freedom, too,
is not donated, but is gained through w o r k and s w e a t »
497
T h e discussion continued on the f o l l o w i n g day,
October 22. It was a S u n d a y a n d such b e a u t i f u l f i n e
weather that it was h a r d to believe it w a s the end of
October. W h e n we w e r e going to the cinema w h e r e
the meeting was held we were constantly s u r r o u n d e d by
the people w h o w e r e in especially large n u m b e r s at the
entrance of the b u i l d i n g . That day the vote w a s to be
taken on the question of t r a n s f o r m i n g the A n t i - f a s c i s t
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e into the P r o v i s i o n a l
Democratic G o v e r n m e n t . As I said, however, the v o t i n g
w o u l d be o n l y a f o r m a l j u r i d i c a l act; not o n l y those w h o
took part in the discussion, but also the others in the
hall, t h r o u g h t h e i r enthusiasm w h i c h n o w g r e w i n crescendo, h a d already expressed t h e i r a p p r o v a l . T h a t d a y
the atmosphere in the h a l l seemed to have reached its
c l i m a x . T h e cheers and ovations w h i c h accompanied
the words of the comrades w h o m o u n t e d the p o d i u m
w e r e s u c h that the comrade w h o was keeping the
minutes o f the m e e t i n g had t h r o w n u p his arms i n
despair, powerless to catch the w o r d s w h i c h were said
t o record t h e m i n the minutes. Later, w h e n the other
comrades and I checked over the documents of the
meeting, w e laughed l o u d l y w h e n i n the part o f the
minutes there w e r e o n l y the names of the speakers
and the note, «Because of the great enthusiasm in the
h a l l it is impossible to keep notes».
I n this situation, after f i v e o r s i x comrades h a d
spoken, a n d after the ceaseless shouts of the m e m b e r s
of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l and the
people, «Democratic G o v e r n m e n t ! » a n d « P u t it to the
vote!», D r . O m e r N i s h a n i declared the discussion closed
and, after establishing a moment's silence, s a i d :
498
«Let us vote on the proposal that the A n t i - f a s c i s t
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e s h o u l d be t u r n e d into
the P r o v i s i o n a l Democratic G o v e r n m e n t o f A l b a n i a ,
A l l i n f a v o u r raise t h e i r fists.»
E v e r y o n e stood up w i t h t h e i r clenched fists raised
h i g h . Together w i t h the members of the C o u n c i l , the
guests, too, the people, rose to their feet and voted.
T h i s time, however, the scrupulous O m e r N i s h a n i d i d
not notice «the v i o l a t i o n of the rules of procedure».
A f t e r this historic decision, D r . O m e r N i s h a n i
announced that the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o f the A N L C
had charged me w i t h the task of head of the D e m o cratic G o v e r n m e n t . In the afternoon session I was to
present to the C o u n c i l the p r o g r a m and composition of
the G o v e r n m e n t .
In the afternoon session, on behalf of the G o v ernment, I made a p r o g r a m m a t i c declaration w h i c h
expressed the c o m m i t m e n t of the n e w G o v e r n m e n t to
c a r r y the w a r for the l i b e r a t i o n of the c o u n t r y through
to the end, to r e m a i n l o y a l to the historic decisions
of Përmet, to strengthen the people's state power, to
defend and guarantee the democratic rights for the
popular masses, etc. At the same time, in the declarat i o n I also announced the request to the allies for
recognition of the P r o v i s i o n a l Democratic G o v e r n m e n t as the o n l y l a w f u l government of the A l b a n i a n
people. T h e composition of the G o v e r n m e n t was i d e n tical w i t h that of the Anti-fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Committee.
Thus, on October 23, the 2nd M e e t i n g of the
A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l came to an
end. T h e historic decision w h i c h it took for the trans499
formation of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o m mittee into a Democratic G o v e r n m e n t was an i n d i s p e n sable historic step, a logical consequence of the w a r
and the popular r e v o l u t i o n under the leadership of
the P a r t y . W i t h this decision, the t a k i n g of p o l i t i c a l
p o w e r by the w o r k i n g masses w h o had o v e r t h r o w n
the o l d state p o w e r through w a r became a r e a l i t y de
facto and de jure. The importance of this historic d e cision w a s to be reflected later, too, in the deepening
of the revolution, in the f u r t h e r steps w h i c h the P a r ty took at different stages and at the proper time.
A f t e r the closing of the meeting, we w a l k e d f r o m
the h a l l to the premises w h e r e the G o v e r n m e n t had
been established amongst the cheering people. A large
c r o w d had gathered in front of the b u i l d i n g w h e r e
we had established ourselves. T h e chiefs of the a l l i e d
missions, w h o had come for «a courtesy visit» to c o n gratulate us, w e r e astonished at w h a t they saw and,
of course, this d i d not please some of them. We parted
f r o m the masses of people w h o had s u r r o u n d e d us,
but even w h e n we w e n t inside there was no end to
the p o w e r f u l cheering:
L o n g live free A l b a n i a ! L o n g l i v e the Democratic
G o v e r n m e n t ! L o n g l i v e the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y ! L o n g
l i v e the heroic N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y !
O m e r N i s h a n i was deeply m o v e d a n d p u t his
h a n d o n m y shoulder:
«Enver, y o u must appear before them, don't y o u
hear them?» he said and he took out his handkerchief
a n d w i p e d his tears of emotion f r o m his spectacles.
I w e n t to the w i n d o w and t h a n k e d t h e m w i t h
w o r d s w h i c h came f r o m my heart. I don't remember
500
precisely w h a t I said, we had no microphones or l o u d speakers, but the people understood w h a t I was saying,
passed it on f r o m one to the other a n d cheered. They
had confidence in their o w n sons, tested in the c o m m o n w a r . On the insistence of the people, after me
the other comrades also appeared at the w i n d o w .
A n d n o w w o r k ! W o r k and struggle a t the head
of the P a r t y and the people, leading the great battles
w h i c h a w a i t e d us!
S e v e r a l times a day I talked w i t h Medar, Baca,
K o l e k a , G j e r g j K o k o s h i , B e d r i S p a h i u and others about
the problems of the departments of w h i c h they w e r e
in charge. W i l l , courage and a great deal of w o r k w e r e
needed to cope w i t h s u c h urgent questions as the
procurement of grain, the r e p a i r of roads and bridges,
the opening of schools and courses against illiteracy.
A n d a l l this at a t i m e w h e n the c o u n t r y was s t i l l at
war, w h e n in the liberated districts and cities the
ashes left b e h i n d by the enemy's b a r b a r i t y were s t i l l
hot.
« W i n t e r is approaching and a good part of the
people are w i t h o u t food or shelter,» I told the c o m rades in these talks. «The w o r k must be intensified in
the villages a n d precincts to ensure that, by helping
one another, each f a m i l y has at least a room. T h e difficulties are great, but let us continue w i t h that e n thusiasm, confidence and determination w i t h w h i c h w e
began the w a r . T h i s i s the o n l y w a y i n w h i c h t o
achieve o u r aim!»
M e d a r S h t y l l a raised another p r o b l e m : «We m u s t
take measures for the protection of the livestock,
especially the w o r k i n g oxen,» he said. «The a u t u m n
501
s o w i n g is not yet completed and we m u s t give serious
consideration to h o w this w o r k can be done. We m u s t
have bread. We must persuade the peasants to use
horses and mules, too, for the s o w i n g ; we have sent
out a c i r c u l a r for this purpose and w i l l see h o w things
go...»
Thus, one after the other, we discussed a n d took
decisions on various problems of the economy, culture,
the health service, etc. F o r the things that we d i d not
know, we asked comrades w h o w e r e specialists, d i s cussed w i t h one another, and in the suggestions and
opinions of the comrades f o u n d the most r a t i o n a l w a y .
T h e most important t h i n g w a s to respond to the e n thusiasm and trust of the people w i t h tireless w o r k ,
day and night, to h o n o u r a b l y u p h o l d the r e s p o n s i b i l i ties w i t h w h i c h w e had been charged a n d the p r o m ises we had made.
«This is no time for parades!» I t o l d some c o m rades w h o insisted «we s h o u l d go here, we s h o u l d go
there,» for visits a n d meetings. «We must get d o w n to
work, sleep little and don't forget we are not a l l o w e d
to get t i r e d ! We w i l l go to rallies and we w i l l meet
the people, but in the first place we m u s t do our
duty!»
We stayed in B e r a t about a m o n t h a n d the lights
i n the b u i l d i n g w h i c h the G o v e r n m e n t h a d occupied,
could be seen b u r n i n g late and, not rarely, r i g h t
through t i l l m o r n i n g . T h e comrades w h o w e r e m i n i s ters w e r e obliged to i n v o l v e themselves not o n l y in
the m a i n questions, but also in m i n o r matters, d o w n to
technical details, because our «apparatus» was a b s o l u t e l y m i n i m a l and a whole m i n i s t r y occupied o n l y one
502
or two rooms in the government b u i l d i n g . Somebody
came to me a n d raised the p r o b l e m of cadres, of
deputy-ministers, but I cut h i m short s a y i n g :
«Later we s h a l l have e v e r y t h i n g just as it should
be. N o w we ourselves are ministers, directors, and
clerks, a l l in one.»
A n o t h e r comrade came and complained that in
his department there was
nothing, neither
means,
funds, specialists n o r m a t e r i a l base. I understood h i m ,
the situation w h i c h he reported to me was real, but
n o t h i n g could be achieved w i t h «demands» and «complaints» to the G o v e r n m e n t .
«We waged the w a r w i t h the people,» I told h i m .
«The people w h o have n o t h i n g to eat themselves are
k e e p i n g us, too, and w e ' l l do these jobs together w i t h
the people. W h e r e is the G o v e r n m e n t going to f i n d w h a t
y o u w a n t ? We are s t r i v i n g for one cause, therefore
we cannot separate the problems of our G o v e r n m e n t
f r o m those of the people; both today and in the future
we s h a l l t u r n to the people and no one else for e v e r y t h i n g . No m a n n a is going to f a l l to us f r o m Heaven.»
We had such talks, meetings and w o r k i n g contacts
everyday, indeed, several times a day, but these neither
w e a r i e d n o r bored us. T h e w o r k of the P a r t y and the
state, the leadership of our N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y
in the f i n a l battles, w e r e a b u r d e n w h i c h the P a r t y
and the people had charged us to c a r r y and we w o u l d
c a r r y t h e m on our backs indefatigably, especially n o w
that we w e r e on the eve of the great v i c t o r y .
D u r i n g those days in Berat, however, the grave
situation w h i c h was created by the a n t i - M a r x i s t and
a n t i - A l b a n i a n interference of Tito's envoy, V e l i m i r
503
Stojnić, and especially by the trap and plot w h i c h
h e was preparing, together w i t h K o ç i X o x e , S e j f u l l a ,
P a n d i K r i s t o and others against the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y
of A l b a n i a and the future of our H o m e l a n d , w e r e caus­
ing us deep distress. As to w h a t w e r e the aims of
this hostile plot, this we were to realize later, but as
I have w r i t t e n in detail in the book The Titoites, as
early as those days I was convinced that the l i n e of
our P a r t y was being u n j u s t l y attacked by Tito's envoy.
In recalling those moments, I remember quite w e l l
what great efforts I imposed on m y s e l f to a v o i d c o m ­
municating my concern and w o r r y to other comrades.
On the one hand, I had to f i g h t to defend the p u r i t y of
the line of the P a r t y against the hostile w o r k of the
Y u g o s l a v representative and the c l i q u e w h i c h he w a s
forming, and on the other h a n d I had to overcome a l l
my worries and welcome the comrades of the C o u n c i l
and the G o v e r n m e n t w i t h a smile w h e n t h e y came to
talk over various problems and to discuss the measures
and decisions we w o u l d take i m m e d i a t e l y after we
entered T i r a n a .
W i t h sadness i n m y heart, but a s m i l e o n m y
face, I also welcomed the delegates of the city of B e r a t
who came to me to convey their congratulations to the
valiant P a r t y w h i c h liberated the people. T h e y w e r e
not aware of my desperation, d i d not k n o w that a
group of Trotskyites was t h r o w i n g m u d at this P a r t y
w h i c h the people loved so m u c h .
A f t e r we had talked a little, one of the old m e n
of the delegation f r o m the city, said to m e :
«Comrade Commander, we have a request f r o m
the people of Berat.»
504
« T e l l me w h a t it is,» I said w i t h ' a smile.
«The people of B e r a t w a n t our city, Berat, to
become the capital of the n e w A l b a n i a . »
T h i s request was something quite unexpected, and
l a u g h i n g I told h i m :
« W h e n the h i s t o r y of the t i m e of the P a r t y is
w r i t t e n , it w i l l be said that for a time Berat was the
capital of the n e w A l b a n i a , because both the A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l a n d the first D e m ocratic G o v e r n m e n t of o u r c o u n t r y are centred here
now. Later, the Constituent A s s e m b l y w i l l have its
say and decide both the f o r m of the regime that the
new A l b a n i a is to have and its capital. I am unable
to satisfy y o u r request, but I can t e l l y o u that the
opinion of the P a r t y and the people is that the capital
should be T i r a n a , w h i c h w i l l soon be liberated once
and for all.»
«Let it be as the P a r t y sees best!» said the w i s e
and patriotic old m e n of Berat. We parted w a r m l y
and I accompanied t h e m downstairs. T h e i r visit, t h e i r
w a r m w o r d s addressed to the P a r t y a n d the G o v e r n ment, eased my distress and increased my strength,
but m e a n w h i l e I k n e w that up there in the offices
where we w o r k e d and l i v e d , there w e r e other comings
and goings, slanders, accusations a n d ceaseless pressures a w a i t i n g us.
D u r i n g those days in B e r a t we w e r e also p r e p a r ing for two other important events, the Conference
of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t and the Congress of
Anti-fascist W o m e n . T h e Conference of the F r o n t
w h i c h was held, if I am not mistaken, 3 or 4 days
after the 2nd M e e t i n g of the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l
505
L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l , was to discuss and approve the
decision that f r o m n o w on the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
F r o n t should be a great p o l i t i c a l organization of a l l
the honest people w h o fought for a free, democratic
people's A l b a n i a , l e a v i n g the functions of state power
to the national l i b e r a t i o n councils. As we h a d agreed
in the leadership of the P a r t y , the organization of
the F r o n t w o u l d create its o w n cells e v e r y w h e r e , the
councils of the Front, w h i c h w o u l d p l a y a colossal
role for the u n i f i c a t i o n of the people, for the m o b i l i z a ­
t i o n of a l l their creative energies and abilities in the
service of the cause of the construction of the n e w
Albania.
Precisely w h e n w e were p r e p a r i n g for this C o n ­
ference as w e l l as d u r i n g its proceedings, V e l i m i r
S t o j n i ć and N i j a z Dizdarević, i n u n i t y and c o l l a b o r a ­
t i o n w i t h K o ç i X o x e , S e j f u l l a Malëshova, N a k o S p i r u
and others, tried to attack and distort the line of the
P a r t y i n connection w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Front. T h e accusations about «sectarianism» w h i c h
they had put on the agenda, were reflected in t h e i r
«suggestions» and «recommendations» to extend the
«bounds of the Front». P u t t i n g it b l u n t l y , this w o u l d
have meant that elements who, d u r i n g the years of
the war, had not fought or had e v e n attacked us w i t h
arms, should be admitted in the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Front. N e i t h e r Tito's delegates n o r their A l b a n i a n
acolytes w e r e short of «arguments» in f a v o u r of this.
T h i s was a stage on the w a y to r e a l i z i n g the p l a n
w o r k e d out in Belgrade to attack the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y of A l b a n i a , to show that d u r i n g the years of its
existence it had allegedly p r o v e d incapable of w o r k i n g
506
out and f o l l o w i n g a correct p o l i t i c a l line and thus,
the t e r r a i n w o u l d be prepared for T i t o and his m e n
to take over the reins of A l b a n i a .
K o ç i , S e j f u l l a and the others came to me one
after the other as though by chance, and repeated the
tale w h i c h I had first heard f r o m Stojnić.
«The Front, as a broad organization of the m a s ­
ses, s h o u l d not have, and there is no reason for it to
have, s t r i c t l y d e f i n e d limits,» S e j f u l l a said to me on
one occasion. « A f t e r L i b e r a t i o n , we, w h o have o u r state
power, ought to have a l l the forces w i t h us in the
F r o n t and not against us, otherwise there w i l l be
the r i s k of c i v i l w a r ! »
«I don't understand, w h a t are y o u r e f e r r i n g to
concretely?» I asked h i m .
«The mistakes w h i c h have been made previously,
w h i c h w e r e j u s t i f i e d for the circumstances of that
time, we have the o p p o r t u n i t y to repair today,» he
said. «Thus, w i s e l y and gently, we shall prevent pos­
sible opponents f r o m t a k i n g the initiative. A n d w h a t
can t h e y do to us w i t h i n the F r o n t ? P r a c t i c a l l y n o t h ­
i n g ! T h e y have no strength, have no base, and w e ' l l
tie t h e i r hands politically.»
«This w o u l d be the greatest f a v o u r w h i c h we
could do them.» I interrupted. «Let us not forget that
the F r o n t is the p o l i t i c a l organization of the people,
of patriots w h o have fought for liberation and the
people's state power. W h i l e y o u propose we should
a l l o w into it traitors and c r i m i n a l s w h o w i l l fight us
f r o m w i t h i n tomorrow, and even provide the c o n d i ­
tions for t h e m to penetrate into our organs of power
right up to the G o v e r n m e n t . T h i s we must never
507
a l l o w ! T h i s we d i d not do even in the most d i f f i c u l t
times and we acted correctly and not w r o n g l y , let
alone n o w w h e n the w a r itself has defined w h o r e mained to the e n d in the ranks of the enemy.»
«I don't say that we should allow t h e m into the
Party,» persisted the «professor». «The F r o n t is not
l i k e the P a r t y — let us not confuse the t w o notions,
because we shall make p o l i t i c a l mistakes. N e i t h e r do
I say that we should a l l o w M i t h a t F r a s h ë r i into the
F r o n t or open its doors to A b a z K u p i ! No, those
w o u l d be grave blunders (!). B u t w h a t w o u l d be
wrong, for example, w i t h C e n E l e z i ? H e has stood
aloof, is it in o u r interest to have h i m against us?
Does he not have some people w i t h h i m ? L e t us not
forget the psychology of our highlanders, t h e y f o l l o w
the chiefs, trust them... L e t us e x p l o i t this o p p o r t u n i t y .
The Y u g o s l a v comrades also have a s i m i l a r idea a n d
we ought to value t h e i r practice, too; then historical
experience teaches us that in the Soviet U n i o n , too...»
«Listen, Sejfulla,» I broke into the lecture i n t o
w h i c h he was l a u n c h i n g . «I am opposed in p r i n c i p l e to
opening the doors of the F r o n t ' w i t h o u t l i m i t s ' as y o u
say. I do not r u l e out the possibility that we s h o u l d
discuss some concrete element, examine his past, t h e
effectiveness of his stand and take a decision.»
T h i s was the beginning of that campaign w h i c h
was to reach its c u l m i n a t i o n at the 2nd P l e n u m of the
C e n t r a l Committee of the P a r t y in Berat, w i t h the accusations o f K o ç i , S e j f u l l a , N a k o S p i r u , N a x h i j e D u m e
and others, orchestrated by the Titoites, that allegedly
«we had not kept close to the people», «the doors h a d
been closed and the F r o n t had become narrow», etc.
508
The homes of Mehmet Myslimi (above) and Nevruz
Bilimani (below) at Helmës of Skrapar where
Comrade Enver Hoxha has lived and worked in
the spring and summer of 1944
"All the delegates, happy, smiling and full of joy,
opened the way for us by lining up on the two sides
of the road, and we passed between them as though
we were reviewing the guard of honour comprised
of young men and women partisans facing one
another, saluting arms." (Helmës, August 1944)
Comrade Enver Hoxha
greeting the participants
in the 1st Congress of
the Albanian Anti-fascist
Youth Union, August
1944
During the unforgettable days of the Congress
Helmës,
August 1984
Comrade Enver Hoxha's message of greeting on
the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the
Congress of the AAYU
October 1944. In free Berat
October 23, 1944: "The Democratic Government,
which will emerge from this meeting, will remain
faithful to the political and military platform of
the National Liberation Movement and the Decisions of the Congress of Përmet."
The building in which the 2nd Meeting of the ANLC was held
Members of the First Provisional Democratic Government
(from left to right: M. Peza, E. Hoxha, S. Koleka, M. Shtylla, H. Lleshi)
The first premises
of the Democratic Government
Comrade Enver Hoxha, Prime Minister of the First
Democratic Government in Albania
In free Tirana. November 28, 1944
The victors' parade
At the 1st Congress
of the Democratic
Front of Albania. August 5, 1945
Myzeqe 1945: "May
you enjoy your own
land!"
January 11, 1946: Albania — a People's Republic
A f t e r s u c h pressures w h i c h w e r e exerted day and
night, in the office a n d at meetings, in fact t h e y d i d
not manage to open the doors as t h e y w a n t e d to, but
t h e y managed to b r i n g such elements as C e n E l e z i ,
D a n K a l o s h i and some others into the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a tion F r o n t t h r o u g h the w i n d o w .
T h e subsequent hostile a c t i v i t y of the «patriots»
of this i l k once again clearly demonstrated the correctness of our v i e w and the aims of those w h o m a n aged to impose themselves on us t e m p o r a r i l y . It is
interesting that the pressures of the Y u g o s l a v envoys
for «the extension of the F r o n t » were in complete
conformity, both as a general idea and d o w n to the
specific individuals, w i t h those of the B r i t i s h , w h o
demanded o u r «reconciliation» w i t h A b a z K u p i and
other chiefs of reaction.
M e a n w h i l e , the e n e m y had not been f i n a l l y d r i v e n
out. F r o m B e r a t I signed the order to the 1st A r m y
Corps, divisions and brigades to attack a n d liberate
T i r a n a . T h e operational p l a n for the l i b e r a t i o n of the
capital, w h i c h had been w o r k e d out, was a component
part of the strategic p l a n w h i c h was to m a k e possible
that by the end of N o v e m b e r no foreign e n e m y w o u l d
be left in the w h o l e of A l b a n i a . We h a d a l l the possibilities to achieve this objective. N o w the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n A r m y was comprised of over 70,000 f i g h t ers organized in brigades, divisions and a r m y corps.
I discussed the f i n a l details for the l i b e r a t i o n of
T i r a n a w i t h H y s n i K a p o , w h o was the delegate o f the
C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e and commissar of the 1st A r m y
Corps and was the cadre w i t h the m a i n responsibility
for c a r r y i n g out this p l a n .
509
A n d so, on the evening of N o v e m b e r 16, the n e w s
reached us in B e r a t that T i r a n a , the capital of our
H o m e l a n d , was v i r t u a l l y liberated. O n l y a f e w hours
of l i f e w e r e left to the occupiers and traitors. W i t h
incontainable j o y and special emotions I sat d o w n that
v e r y evening and w r o t e the message addressed to the
A l b a n i a n people about this great good news, (1) w h i l e
on the f o l l o w i n g day, the m o r n i n g of N o v e m b e r 17, t h e
f i n a l r i f l e shots w e r e heard and the capital of o u r
H o m e l a n d w a s liberated once and for a l l .
N o w the r o a d f o r T i r a n a was opened. A f t e r s o
m a n y years of battles and skirmishes, t o i l a n d s a c r i fices at the head of the P a r t y and the w a r f o r freedom,
the m o m e n t had come for us, the sons a n d daughters
of the people, to enter the capital in triumph.
I proposed that the G o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d enter T i r a n a on N o v e m b e r 28, the outstanding d a y of the p r o clamation of independence. T h e v e r y choice of this
d a y for the establishment of the D e m o c r a t i c G o v e r n ment i n the capital liberated b y the partisan rifles,
w o u l d be significant.
A l t h o u g h i n n o r m a l conditions the distance f r o m
B e r a t to T i r a n a can be t r a v e l l e d by car in not more
than three hours, we set out f r o m B e r a t a d a y earlier,
because the roads w e r e damaged and some unforseen
delay m i g h t occur. A n d i n fact, o u r f i r s t j o u r n e y
through the n e w l y liberated H o m e l a n d w a s unable to
avoid a certain odyssey. As far as the B r i d g e of Hasan
Bey, as the V a j g u r o r e B r i d g e
was called in those
times, we travelled by some cars and motorcycles w i t h
side-cars w h i c h we had captured f r o m the e n e m y or
_______________________________
1 Enver H o x h a , Works, v o l . 2, p. 586. 2nd A l b . ed.
510
had requisitioned. There we left the vehicles because,
in t h e i r w i t h d r a w a l , the G e r m a n s had b l o w n up the
bridge and the vehicles could go no f u r t h e r .
So we crossed the O s u m R i v e r by w h a t means we
could f i n d , and c l i m b e d into a bus w h i c h was w a i t i n g
for us. W h e n w e reached the K u ç i B r i d g e w e left the
bus, crossed the r i v e r w i t h d i f f i c u l t y on an i m p r o v i s e d
ferry, and continued o n our w a y . A t R r o g o z h i n a w e
faced another obstacle, the S h k u m b i n R i v e r . We left
the bus, crossed the r i v e r group by group in a s m a l l
p u n t and w i t h a f e w cars specially sent f r o m T i r a n a ,
we t u r n e d to the r i g h t in the d i r e c t i o n of Elbasan,
because the road t h r o u g h R r o g o z h i n a , K a v a j a t o T i rana was m i n e d a n d the bridges b l o w n up.
Since we had gone t h r o u g h countless difficulties
d u r i n g the war, the vicissitudes of this j o u r n e y d i d not
make a n y exceptional impression o n us. O n the c o n trary, it gave us the o p p o r t u n i t y for jokes a n d h u m our. Nevertheless, d u r i n g the w h o l e time that we w e r e
t r a v e l l i n g , l o o k i n g left and right I thought of w h a t
enormous w o r k a w a i t e d us, because the reconstruction
of e v e r y t h i n g , f r o m the b u r n t - o u t houses to these
bridges w i t h o u t w h i c h we couldn't take a single step,
had to be begun.
T h e c i t y of E l b a s a n had been liberated for t w o
weeks. F r o m the balcony of the hotel w h i c h s t i l l bore
the o l d name Moderno, w h e r e we decided to spend the
night, I greeted the people w h o had f i l l e d the square
and the streets. On the m o r n i n g of the f o l l o w i n g day,
N o v e m b e r 28, our convoy set off for T i r a n a , affectionately f a r e w e l l e d by people c r o w d i n g both sides of
the road r i g h t to the outskirts of Elbasan.
511
F r o m here on, too, the road was damaged, the
fresh scars of the w a r w e r e obvious e v e r y w h e r e . T h e
G e r m a n columns w i t h d r a w i n g f r o m Greece were
unable to pass the K ë r r a b a Pass to go to the a i d of
their forces encircled by o u r forces in T i r a n a . O u r
p o w e r f u l blows completely smashed them. A l o n g the
r o a d we saw overturned tanks and a r m o u r e d cars,
burnt-out trucks shifted a l i t t l e in order to open the
road, piles of spent m a c h i n e - g u n cartriges, e n e m y s o l diers' helmets, and so on. T h e closer we approached
T i r a n a , the more destroyed e n e m y weapons w e r e to
be seen on both sides of the road. There was somet h i n g beautiful and s y m b o l i c in this scene. The victors
passed p r o u d l y among the smashed weapons and r e m nants of the defeated invaders.
We w e r e r e t u r n i n g to o u r beloved T i r a n a and for
the first t i m e after so m a n y years, we entered there
not illegally, w i t h false names a n d documents, but
f r e e l y and, moreover, t r i u m p h a n t ! A f t e r a glorious and
heroic war, T i r a n a , w h i c h f o r years on end had gone
to bed and awakened amongst w h i s t l e blasts a n d a l a r m
sirens and the curfew, w a s n o w liberated. O u r eagleeyed M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t P a r t y w h i c h w a s n e v e r w r o n g
in its line, because it h a d the desires a n d aspirations
of the people in its heart, l e d this w a r . It undertook
the heaviest, but sacred b u r d e n a n d bore it w i t h
honour, this time leading our people to complete v i c tory, because along w i t h freedom, it brought the people to power.
As we approached the capital, I felt e x c i t e d and
I remembered the days w h i c h I h a d passed there
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when, together w i t h beloved and close comrades, w i t h
Qemal, V a s i l and others, w e w o r k e d t o f o r m our C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , the steel v a n g u a r d of the people, f r o m
the separate groups that w e r e q u a r r e l l i n g w i t h one
another. I r e m e m b e r e d o u r first demonstrations and
actions, the days a n d nights w h e n we passed i l l e g a l l y
f r o m one base to another, protected by the love of
the s i m p l e people. H e r e i n T i r a n a w e had g r o w n up,
had been tempered, h a d gained experience to organize
and lead a n d to c a r r y out the tasks w h i c h our beloved
P a r t y had entrusted to us.
F r o m the Palace of Brigades along the Elbasan
Street to the centre, the a f t e r m a t h of the heroic w a r
was v e r y obvious. T h e shells a n d bullets h a d left
holes in the streets and on the w a l l s of r u i n e d houses
and other buildings, w h i l e the m i n a r e t n e x t to the
clock t o w e r in the centre h a d been cut in half by
a r t i l l e r y fire.
Nevertheless we f o u n d the people of T i r a n a e n thusiastic a n d optimistic, w e l c o m i n g t h e i r g o v e r n ment w i t h songs. A great c r o w d h a d f i l l e d the streets
and the b i g b o u l e v a r d in f r o n t of Hotel Dajti.
F r o m a simple t r i b u n e I greeted the people on
the occasion of Independence D a y w h i c h , for the first
time after so m a n y years of war, we were celebrating
i n freedom.
S p e a k i n g w i t h great emotion, I s a i d : «Today our
glorious flag, r e d w i t h the blood of heroes of the people w h o h a v e f a l l e n in this anti-fascist war, is w a v i n g
p r o u d l y in the s k y of free A l b a n i a . F i v e years have
gone by u n d e r the h e a v y b u r d e n of fascist slavery,
five times on each N o v e m b e r 28 the blood of the heroic
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sons of the people w h o clashed w i t h the armed forces
of the occupiers a n d traitors, has f l o w e d in the streets
of the cities of A l b a n i a . Thus, the N a t i o n a l D a y has
become doubly sacred, as the d a y of independence and
the d a y of the u n i t y of the A l b a n i a n people.»
F r e q u e n t l y i n t e r r u p t e d by bursts of cheering and
applause, I spoke about the heroic f i g h t of our people,
w h o responded i m m e d i a t e l y to the c a l l of their finest
sons and, under the leadership of the P a r t y , succeeded
i n liberating the H o m e l a n d once and for a l l and t a k i n g
the reins of the f u t u r e into t h e i r o w n hands.
«The construction of A l b a n i a , the development of
the people's economy, culture and schooling, the r a i s ing of their standard of l i v i n g , open a n e w page in
our history, a h i s t o r y w h i c h it is in our hands to m a k e
and we s h a l l m a k e it just as glorious as the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n War,» I said. «We shall emerge t r i u m p h a n t
f r o m this struggle, too, because n o w we have o u r o w n
state p o w e r w h i c h belongs to the people a n d w o r k s
for the people. Therefore, let us give our a l l for this
state power, let us m a k e it strong, because in this w a y
w e s h a l l r e b u i l d o u r devastated country, r e v i v e our
agriculture and economy, r e b u i l d the r u i n e d houses,
open schools and b u i l d hospitals. A l b a n i a w i l l become
a great w o r k site. In the w a r for l i b e r a t i o n we d i d
not spare our lives and today we must not spare our
t o i l and sweat. Y o u n g and old understand that t h e y
are no longer t o i l i n g for foreigners but w o r k i n g and
b u i l d i n g o u r o w n country, our o w n lives.»
T h e y w e r e historic moments, m o v i n g and u n f o r gettable for the P a r t y and our people! T h e y w e r e the
moments of rejoicing at the great v i c t o r y . W i t h blood
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and sweat, w i t h t o i l and sacrifice, we had accomplished a gigantic and majestic w o r k .
On the m o r r o w of that unforgettable d a y we r e ceived the news of the l i b e r a t i o n of S h k o d r a , w h i c h
m a r k e d the l i b e r a t i o n of the whole of A l b a n i a ,
P r e c i s e l y o n that day, t w o divisions o f the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n P a r t i s a n A r m y , o f that heroic a r m y
of the A l b a n i a n people w h i c h , w i t h its blood, heroism
a n d self-sacrifice, had scored v i c t o r y after v i c t o r y over
the f o r e i g n occupiers and t h e i r collaborators, on the
orders of the G e n e r a l C o m m a n d crossed the border
to assist in the l i b e r a t i o n of the peoples of Y u g o s l a v i a . N e w victories w e r e to be recorded in the glorious
h i s t o r y of o u r People's A r m y . W h i l e the finest sons
of our c o u n t r y w e r e to shed their blood for the l i b e r a tion of our brothers in K o s o v a , Montenegro a n d M a c e donia and the peoples o f Y u g o s l a v i a , i n A l b a n i a N o v e m b e r 29 m a r k e d the b e g i n n i n g of a n e w epoch, the
epoch of socialism.
Thus, alongside the historic day of N o v e m b e r 28,
the great D a y of the F l a g , another great day, N o v e m ber 29, was m a r k e d , the day of the l i b e r a t i o n of the
H o m e l a n d and the t r i u m p h of the people's r e v o l u t i o n .
These two dates represent two different, but glorious
periods of the A l b a n i a n people, two periods w h i c h
w i l l continue to shine in a l l their majesty as the
years and centuries go by.
A n d n o w a n e w period was beginning. A l l of us
w e r e confident: just as we had accomplished a m a g n i ficent deed d u r i n g the war, we w o u l d go on to b u i l d
and defend the other deed we had before us, socialist
A l b a n i a , even m o r e majestically and m a r v e l l o u s l y !
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V
THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE:
ALBANIA — A PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC!
T h e n e w epoch commenced. N o w our P a r t y , the
n e w A l b a n i a n state, w i t h its organs b o r n in the heat
of the war, together w i t h the people and at the head
of the people, w i t h m u l t i p l i e d forces, had to b u i l d the
n e w A l b a n i a f r o m its foundations. We had to prove
a n d c o n f i r m to our people, to friends a n d enemies,
to everybody, that we w e r e capable, not o n l y of t a k ing power, but also of safeguarding a n d strengthening
the new people's state power and m a k i n g it effective
and v i t a l . We h a d to m a k e A l b a n i a a c o u n t r y of free
and h a p p y people, an impregnable fortress against
any enemy. A n d for this, mere good wishes, appeals
or declarations were insufficient. These l o f t y aims
w o u l d be achieved a n d confirmed, above all, t h r o u g h
our work, through concrete deeds in a l l fields and in
a l l directions. There was no time to lose, we had to
s a v o u r the great joy of the historic v i c t o r y of l i b e r 516
ation o n l y in w o r k , in the many, great, heavy tasks
w h i c h it w a s essential to c a r r y out.
1. The people's state power in action
T h e first days, months and years w h e n we l a i d
the foundations of the n e w life w i l l never be forgotten. We had p o l i t i c a l p o w e r in our hands, had the
lofty ideals of the P a r t y in our m i n d s and hearts, had
the great enthusiasm and confidence of the v i c t o r y
achieved and had the d e t e r m i n a t i o n and readiness to
do e v e r y t h i n g necessary for the benefit of this c o u n t r y
and this people. U n d o u b t e d l y , a l l these things w e r e a
p o w e r f u l base, a great source of energy a n d i n s p i r a tion w h i c h i m p e l l e d us and made us confident that,
w i t h w o r k and a l l - r o u n d efforts, w e w o u l d achieve
e v e r y t h i n g that w e lacked.
T h e fact is, however, that we lacked m a n y things,
m u c h more t h a n anyone w h o has not k n o w n A l b a n i a
i m m e d i a t e l y after the e n d of the war, c o u l d imagine
today.
A d d e d to the p o v e r t y and backwardness of the
past, the t r u l y miserable state in w h i c h the regimes
of the past had left the economy, culture, education
and the people, w e r e the colossal destructions of the
past f i v e years of w a r . We had to t h i n k about and
secure as q u i c k l y as possible shelter for tens of
thousands of inhabitants of devastated towns a n d v i l lages, food for the people w h o w e r e s u f f e r i n g hunger,
as w e l l as c l o t h i n g a n d footwear, schools, workshops,
and so on. We l a c k e d the funds, we lacked the means,
517
we lacked the specialists, even w i t h a m i n i m a l l e v e l
of qualification. There could be no m o v e m e n t f r o m
one district to the other because e v e n that feeble
communications n e t w o r k w h i c h had been b u i l t p r e v i ously had been b l o w n up and completely paralysed by
the war. W i n t e r had begun and it w o u l d m a k e the
situation even more d i f f i c u l t . M e a n w h i l e , although the
whole country had been liberated, the last remnants
of the o l d w o r l d , the c r i m i n a l s and m e r c e n a r y bandits
w h o had not managed to leave w i t h the o c c u p y i n g
forces, were l u r k i n g in the gorges, the forests a n d
caves, and now, w i t h the f u r y of w o u n d e d beasts,
were seeking salvation in acts of terror a n d violence
against the people, communists and councillors. S u p porting t h e m t h r o u g h visible and i n v i s i b l e l i n k s w e r e
the classes o v e r t h r o w n by the state power, and, of
course, the foreign imperialist and c h a u v i n i s t powers
w h i c h could never accept the radical change w h i c h
had occurred and was being made m o r e complete in
Albania.
A l l these (and I have m e n t i o n e d v e r y little of the
shortages, the a l l - r o u n d difficulties and our enemies
of those moments) confronted us and h a d to be o v e r come at a l l costs. Since we had t r i u m p h e d over the
occupiers and traitors and seized power t h r o u g h so
m u c h bloodshed and sacrifice, w i t h o u t f a i l we had to
lead A l b a n i a f o r w a r d for the benefit and happiness of
the people, despite the anger and f u r y of enemies.
I remember a «story» w h i c h my father t o l d me
those days w h e n we r e t u r n e d in t r i u m p h to liberated
T i r a n a . A f e w days after the f o r m a t i o n of o u r D e m o cratic G o v e r n m e n t in Berat was announced, an o l d
518
acquaintance, a Ballist, had stopped my father in the
street and h a d said to h i m s n e e r i n g l y :
« W e l l , H a l i l , h o w d o y o u feel n o w that you've
become the father of the p r i m e m i n i s t e r ? » « L i k e a l l
the c o m m o n people,» my father h a d r e p l i e d quietly,
and t r i e d to continue on his w a y , but the B a l l i s t had
caught h i m by the a r m . « Y o u ' r e a c u n n i n g d e v i l ,
H a l i l . It's just as w e l l y o u are not r i d i n g the h i g h
horse, because y o u k n o w v e r y w e l l that y o u r son's
government w o n ' t last long.» «What do y o u mean, y o u
scoundrel!» m y father h a d replied, but the B a l l i s t h a d
c o n t i n u e d : «Do y o u r e a l l y t h i n k that this government
of r a g a m u f f i n s f r o m mountains, this worthless g o v e r n ment, w i l l b r i n g A l b a n i a into the light!» «Shame on
you!» had r e p l i e d my father. «The government is not
m y son's but the people's, y o u v i l l a i n , and w i l l l i v e
as long as the people!...»
At other times, too, f r o m various sources we
heard h o w the o v e r t h r o w n hostile o l d w o r l d poured
out poison and hatred against us, against the n e w
people's state power. T h e y e v e n calculated w h e n we
w o u l d «capitulate» and be «overthrown» and took
measures to b r i n g about the capitulation w h i c h t h e y
desired a n d d r e a m e d of as q u i c k l y as possible.
H o w e v e r , w e w e r e neither offended, n o r d u m b struck by the gibes, curses, screams and prophecies
of that w o r l d w h i c h we had k i c k e d out. We continued
our w o r k w i t h persistence a n d heroism, convinced that
through t o i l and sacrifice w e w o u l d achieve a l l the
things w h i c h , to others, seemed impossible.
F o r the future, as hitherto, we had the P a r t y as
our guarantee a n d beacon-light w h i c h w o u l d deter519
m i n e and guide us on the r i g h t road, and n o w it was
a p a r t y in power, y o u n g in age, it is true, but w i t h
great f i g h t i n g experience, w i t h a m i l i t a n t s p i r i t and
unshakeable d e t e r m i n a t i o n to c a r r y the w o r k begun
t h r o u g h to the end.
M a n y had t r i e d and w o u l d continue t o t r y i n a l l
k i n d s of ways, w i t h various disguises, pretensions a n d
theories, to replace o u r P a r t y at the h e l m , but the
fact is that we d i d not a l l o w t h e m to do so and d i d
not f a l l into this tragic error. E s p e c i a l l y in the first
moments after L i b e r a t i o n , both the camouflaged c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y elements w i t h i n the c o u n t r y and the
external forces, i n c l u d i n g the Y u g o s l a v «friends», in
particular, exerted great pressure on us to persuade
us that n o w that we had t r i u m p h e d we s h o u l d not
«proclaim» the P a r t y openly, s h o u l d neglect the P a r t y
and operate « w i t h i n the Front», h i d d e n in the Front,
according to «the p l a t f o r m of the F r o n t » . W h y ? B e cause, t h e y told us, if the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y is p r o c l a i m ed as a p a r t y in power, the «democratic facade» of
the F r o n t and the order w i l l be damaged, the great
democratic allies, B r i t a i n and A m e r i c a , w i l l be angered, and w i l l not recognize the government(!), those
w h o are «unclear» w i l l be frightened off, etc., etc.!
A l t h o u g h there w e r e some w h o f e l l into these
waters w i t h o u t e v i l intent, because that was h o w it
seemed to t h e m and w h a t t h e y had been accustomed
to in the past, in general the bearers and inciters of
such opportunist and capitulationist r u m o u r s and «advice» proceeded f r o m deliberate aims of p o l i t i c a l d i v e r sion. T h e y w e r e not in the least concerned either
about «democracy» or about «recognition of the g o v 520
e r n m e n t » : their r e a l concern was to displace t h e
P a r t y f r o m the leading role in the l i f e of the country,
to t u r n it into an appendage of the F r o n t and g r a d u a l ly d i v e r t the w h o l e course of the revolution, so that
e v e r y t h i n g w e h a d gained w o u l d s l i p f r o m o u r hands
and the people w o u l d again be placed in the shackles
of the o l d s l a v e r y and old treaties.
T h i s was precisely the a i m , not o n l y of s u c h
self-proclaimed bourgeois-democratic elements, as the
Shefqet Bejas, R i z a D a n i s and G j e r g j K o k o s h i s , but
also of S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a a n d company.
I can never forget that m o m e n t w h e n one of
them, G j e r g j K o k o s h i , w i t h the «sincerity» o f a n i n nocent, c o m m i t t e d one of the vilest and most i r r i t a t i n g
provocations against me.
N e x h a t Peshkëpia, w h o was a close f r i e n d of his,
had introduced me to G j e r g j K o k o s h i before the I t a l i a n occupation, w h e n I was a teacher in the secondary
school of T i r a n a . N e x h a t and he spoke against Z o g
and against the Italian influence in o u r c o u n t r y and,
indeed, at the first meeting at w h i c h he introduced
me to G j e r g j , N e x h a t began to speak openly against
Z o g . G j e r g j l o o k e d at Nexhat, no doubt q u e r y i n g
w h e t h e r it w e r e safe to do so in f r o n t of me.
«Don't be afraid,» N e x h a t told h i m , « E n v e r is
ours, indeed, he is a communist.»
«This c o m m u n i s m is interesting,» said K o k o s h i and
we began to exchange opinions, but f r o m our first
conversation it was obvious that on this matter he
was not at one w i t h me, w h i l e N e x h a t was neither
w i t h me, n o r w i t h G j e r g j , but was a n anarchist. O n l y
one t h i n g u n i t e d us: opposition to Z o g and fascism.
521
At that time G j e r g j K o k o s h i was a professor w i t h
authority. In his p o l i t i c a l ideas, however, he w a s a
l i b e r a l democrat, a supporter of p a r l i a m e n t a r i a n i s m ,
especially B r i t i s h p a r l i a m e n t a r i a n i s m . I continued my
contacts w i t h G j e r g j K o k o s h i later, too, especially
after A p r i l 1939, u n t i l we brought h i m close to the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t , and we considered this a
positive t h i n g for the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t .
As I have said, K o k o s h i d i d not display open v a c i l l a tions d u r i n g the War, was elected to the highest i n stances o f the Front, and w h e n w e f o r m e d the A n t i fascist Committee and later the P r o v i s i o n a l G o v e r n ment, we appointed h i m m i n i s t e r of education, w h i c h
was a suitable post for h i m , because he was a m a n
w i t h knowledge of education a n d some culture. We
had respect for h i m and, in appearance at least, he
d i d not show any h o s t i l i t y towards o u r P a r t y . A n d
now, in the name of the «Front» and «our recognition
in the world», as a « f r i e n d outside the P a r t y » , he,
too, joined in the enemy plans to get r i d of the C o m munist Party of A l b a n i a !
He based his «argument» on the c l a i m that the
governments o f the U S A and B r i t a i n w o u l d recognize
our government if we « w i t h d r e w » the P a r t y f r o m the
limelight, if «even just as a tactic» we h i d its name
and role.
«We w i l l never do this,» I cut short G j e r g j K o koshi's «refrain», «because such an act w o u l d m e a n
abandoning a l l w e have w o n o f our o w n free w i l l i n
order to please the B r i t i s h . T h i s w o u l d be b e t r a y a l
not o n l y of the people but also of ourselves.»
«But w e are r e a l l y i n power!» G j e r g j K o k o s h i
522
said. «See, I am not a c o m m u n i s t but I am a minister.
M r . O m e r is not a communist, but he is president!
True, y o u ' r e a c o m m u n i s t and general secretary of
the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y , but above a l l , the c o u n t r y a n d
the w o r l d is recognizing y o u and ought to recognize
y o u as p r i m e m i n i s t e r ! It is the state f u n c t i o n that is
p r i z e d and honoured in the i n t e r n a t i o n a l arena!...»
« A n d so, w h a t ? » I asked h i m w i t h an anger I
c o u l d h a r d l y contain.
«I am c o m i n g to the point f r o m w h i c h I started,
or rather w h i c h you, too, are w o r r i e d about,» c o n t i n u e d
the other f i x i n g his eyes on me. «What w o u l d y o u
lose f r o m y o u r p o w e r and authority, f r o m y o u r p o w e r
as head of government, if y o u w e r e not secretary of
the P a r t y , too?! N o t h i n g , I t h i n k ! A n d the same t h i n g
is true of the fate of the country. Since we have a
Democratic G o v e r n m e n t i n power, since the F r o n t
exists as a broad p o l i t i c a l organization, w h a t h a r m
w o u l d be done if y o u r C o m m u n i s t P a r t y w e r e not
proclaimed? N o n e a t a l l ! W e h o l d p o w e r a n d w i l l
y i e l d it to no one. With...»
I j u m p e d to my feet, c u t t i n g short his w o r d s :
«I thought better of you, G j e r g j K o k o s h i ! » I said.
« F r o m the craziness of y o u r bourgeois intellectualism,
or I don't k n o w f r o m w h a t other position, y o u are not
o n l y t h r o w i n g m u d at our beloved P a r t y , but also
c o m m i t t i n g a grave provocation against me personally.
Do y o u t h i n k that I a n d my comrades became c o m munists and l e d the people in the w a r just to become
p r i m e ministers, or ministers and, n o w that we have
taken 'power', we should abandon the P a r t y , its cause
and its v i c t o r i e s ? ! T h i s w i l l never, never occur! We
523
d i d not fight to become lords over the people, we d i d
not fight for a change of cabinets and soft seats, but
we fought and w i l l fight to the end to completely
o v e r t h r o w the o l d era. It is not y o u or I in power,
but the people. T h e state we set up is not m i n e or
yours, but the people's. The people achieved these
victories through their struggle on the course our
C o m m u n i s t P a r t y showed them. A n d don't forget that
y o u yourself became a minister, irrespective that y o u
are not a communist, because d u r i n g the w a r y o u
agreed w i t h , supported and applied that line and f o l l o w e d that course w h i c h the C o m m u n i s t P a r t y showed
us and on w h i c h it l e d us. H o w e v e r , the difference
and the gap between us is apparently m u c h greater
and deeper t h a n w h a t we had thought or envisaged.
Y o u have fought for a soft seat, w h i l e we have fought
and are f i g h t i n g for A l b a n i a . T h i s is the mildest r e p l y
that I could give y o u at these moments. As for y o u r
'concern' about the role of o u r P a r t y , let me declare
t o y o u clearly and u n e q u i v o c a l l y : w e s h a l l n e v e r
a l l o w ourselves to w e a k e n its role, nor a l l o w anyone,
whoever he m a y be, to damage or i n f r i n g e it!»
G j e r g j K o k o s h i * went a w a y l i k e a w e t h e n and
w h e n he subsequently went even f u r t h e r on his course,
w h i c h was the opposite of that on w h i c h the P a r t y
l e d the people, he lost both his soft seat a n d the
remainder of his feathers. B e l o w I s h a l l speak about
h i m a n d other «democrats» l i k e h i m who, b y chance
or for subversive aims, h a d u n i t e d w i t h us d u r i n g
those years, but here I w a n t to u n d e r l i n e that n e v e r
____________________________________
* In A l b a n i a n means rooster.
524
at a n y time w e r e we held up or confused by their
efforts and insinuations.
It was a d i f f e r e n t matter, however, especially for
a time, w i t h the Y u g o s l a v «friends» and the agents
w h o m they had managed to recruit w i t h i n o u r ranks,
who, regrettably, included some of the m a i n cadres
of the P a r t y .
A l w a y s v o i c i n g the same «worries», using the
same «arguments» and «advice» as the bourgeois d e m ocrats, Tito's m e n , too, d i d e v e r y t h i n g possible to
make us keep the P a r t y in a state of i l l e g a l i t y or, at
the most, s e m i - i l l e g a l i t y , to hide it in the Front, and
merge it w i t h the F r o n t .
T h e i r ceaseless efforts a n d pressures, especially
their attempts to isolate me f r o m the P a r t y , achieved
a certain degree of success. F o r a time an unacceptable
situation v e r g i n g on a b s u r d i t y was created amongst us:
although our P a r t y was e f f e c t i v e l y the leading and
g u i d i n g force, for «the sake of opinion» and e x t e r n a l
appearances, efforts were m a d e to hide its name and
to cover up its t r u e role.
W h i l e there is no need to go into those details
w h i c h are n o w w e l l - k n o w n , I w a n t to say o n l y that,
although the pressures of the Titoites t r u l y h a d a
certain effect, i n r e a l i t y o u r P a r t y never w a v e r e d f r o m
the role w h i c h it had w o n t h r o u g h the strength of
its ideas and the blood and w o r k of its members.
W h e t h e r o r not w e a l w a y s advertised the w o r d a n d
the role of the P a r t y everywhere, a n d here there was
some concession w h i c h we ourselves considered absurd,
nevertheless, in reality, it w a s the P a r t y , f r o m the
base to the centre, w h i c h led and acted in the w h o l e
525
life of the country, in the state, in the F r o n t , in defence, in the economy and e v e r y w h e r e .
Precisely because we k e p t the P a r t y in c o m m a n d
and d i d not a l l o w ourselves to w e a k e n or to d i v i d e
its role w i t h anyone else in that grave and d i f f i c u l t
period w h e n m a n y capitulated and degenerated, we,
the «least experienced», «the youngest», we of the
«worthless government», were able to overcome the
mountains of d i f f i c u l t i e s and not o n l y to safeguard,
but also to assert, to strengthen a n d ceaselessly t e m per the state of the people in power.
B o t h d u r i n g the w a r a n d i n the n e w p e r i o d o f
the w o r k o f construction, the P a r t y a n d the n e w D e m ocratic G o v e r n m e n t t u r n e d to the people, r e l i e d on the
people, w h i l e w i n n i n g over a n d m o b i l i z i n g the people.
We can never forget the unprecedented m o b i l i z ation, the indescribable enthusiasm of o u r m a r v e l l o u s
people in the battles to heal the w o u n d s of the w a r .
H u n g r y and ill-clad, aware that in their homes or in
the temporary shelter that h a d been p r o v i d e d for
t h e m they even l a c k e d bread and beans for their c h i l dren, nevertheless m e n and w o m e n , c h i l d r e n and old
folk, and especially o u r heroic youth, w o r k e d v o l u n tarily, day and night, to b u i l d the n e w l i f e f r o m the
ruins. A l b a n i a was t u r n e d into a k i n d of b u i l d i n g site
where, true, m a n u a l labour alone prevailed, but people w o r k e d w i t h a w i l l a n d desire because they saw
they w e r e w o r k i n g for themselves. This, of course,
had a great effect to strengthen their u n i t y and to
enhance the love of the people for the P a r t y a n d o u r
l a w f u l government.
The n e w state was establishing its a u t h o r i t y first
526
of a l l in the economic field, by e x e r c i s i n g control over
a l l the enterprises and companies of A l b a n i a n m e r chants and industrialists, by r e q u i s i t i o n i n g food and
p h a r m a c e u t i c a l p r o d u c t s , means of transport, the b u i l d ings necessary for the state a d m i n i s t r a t i o n or for housing, etc., in some cases w i t h compensation, in other
cases w i t h o u t compensation. L i k e w i s e , a l l the assets
of w a r c r i m i n a l s and p o l i t i c a l fugitives and the assets
of G e r m a n y a n d Italy and of their citizens w e r e c o n fiscated. G r a d u a l l y the nationalization of all the existi n g i n d u s t r y i n our c o u n t r y began: the mines, the
factories and the shops were n a t i o n a l i z e d or confiscated, became state p r o p e r t y and w e r e the f i r s t basis
of the socialist c o m m o n property.
Thus, by m a k i n g wise and consistent use of the
p o l i t i c a l p o w e r w h i c h w e h a d created a n d w o n t h r o u g h
the war, the P a r t y orientated and l e d us on the right
course to w i n economic power, to place the economy
in the service of the people and in the hands of the
people. Thus, automatically, the p o l i t i c a l p o w e r was
strengthened, the confidence of the masses in its l e a d ing organs was strengthened a n d steeled, and the people felt a n d saw that e v e r y t h i n g was being done in
their f a v o u r a n d in the name of t h e i r state power.
T h e sharp s w o r d of the dictatorship of the proletariat w a s c u t t i n g deep into the bourgeoisie. T h e first
measures and reforms w e r e not o n l y of an economic
character, it was their p o l i t i c a l class essence w h i c h
was their sharpest edge. T h i s was the case w i t h the
imposition of special taxes on w a r profits. T h a t was
a measure w i t h pronounced class tendentiousness, because it w a s a m o r t a l b l o w to the mercantile b o u r 527
geoisie who, d u r i n g the war, as always, h a d fattened
themselves on the blood and the s u f f e r i n g of the people.
The P a r t y and the F r o n t h a d g i v e n t h e m t h e i r
chance by m a k i n g c o n t i n u a l appeals to t h e m to unite
w i t h , take part in or assist the w a r of the people, but
the merchants, the bourgeois a n d the f e u d a l lords not
o n l y d i d not listen to these appeals, but disdained
t h e m and opposed the people's w a r w i t h the most u n scrupulous w a y s and means. N o w t h a t the people w e r e
in power and e x e r c i s i n g their o w n dictatorship, these
measures d i d not express the injustice of a state (at
no moment of the development of society can the
people be unjust), but t h e most s u b l i m e justice to
w h i c h society could aspire. T h r o u g h these measures,
any chance of r e t u r n i n g to the past w a s destroyed
once and for a l l and the foundations w e r e l a i d for a
new society, the socialist society.
In order to impose the people's justice a n d r e t r i b u t i o n u p o n those w h o h a d stained t h e i r hands
w i t h the blood of the finest sons of the c o u n t r y , those
w h o had p u t villages to the t o r c h a n d h a d s e r v e d as
collaborators w i t h the occupiers, s e l l i n g out e v e r y t h i n g and, above all, the H o m e l a n d , in M a r c h 1945 a
special court was opened. A large n u m b e r of c r i m i n a l s
and traitors appeared before it, i n c l u d i n g members of
the q u i s l i n g governments, chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
and agents of fascism, s u c h as F e j z i A l i z o t i , T e f i k
Mborja, Shuk Gurakuqi, B a h r i Omari, K o l ë Tromara,
H i l m i L e k a , I b r a h i m B i ç a k u a n d others.
M e a n w h i l e , i n the name o f the D e m o c r a t i c G o v e r n m e n t of A l b a n i a , I sent a letter to P r e s i d e n t T r u 528
m a n in w h i c h I expressed the i n d i g n a t i o n of our people over the gentle treatment w h i c h the A l b a n i a n c r i m i n a l s , w h o had f l e d at the e n d of the war, w e r e
r e c e i v i n g f r o m the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n authorities i n
Italy. T h i s was a l a w f u l d e m a n d and the f a i l u r e to
respond to it w a s another injustice c o m m i t t e d against
the A l b a n i a n people w h o insisted that instead of being
treated g e n t l y a n d left at large to c a r r y out t h e i r fascist intrigues against o u r people, A l i K ë l c y r a , M i t hat F r a s h ë r i , A b a z K u p i , K a d r i C a k r a n i , K o ç o M u k a
a n d V e h i p R u n a s h o u l d b e i n the dock along w i t h
the other traitors and c r i m i n a l s , and there receive
the sentences t h e y deserved. It was not d i f f i c u l t to
understand w h a t the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s w e r e a i m i n g at
in their p r e f e r e n t i a l treatment of c r i m i n a l s and traitors
to the A l b a n i a n people. It w o u l d not be long before
they w o u l d be used as cannon fodder or else they
w o u l d be t r y i n g to eat one another l i k e a basket of
crabs.
T h e court sentenced some of the traitors to capital
punishment. T h i s was a sentence t h e y deserved, w h i c h
expressed the w i l l of the people w h o f o l l o w e d the d e v elopment of this t r i a l w i t h great interest. D u r i n g the
days When the court was in session the people w h o
f o l l o w e d the proceedings, both inside a n d outside
the cinema b u i l d i n g i n w h i c h the t r i a l was held, p r o nounced sentence in no u n c e r t a i n terms, by s h o u t i n g :
« L o n g l i v e the people's justice! D e a t h to the w a r
criminals
P r e c i s e l y at the t i m e w h e n the people's courts
were c o n d e m n i n g the w a r criminals, the traitors, the
saboteurs and conspirators against the people's state
529
power, K o ç i X o x e , as m i n i s t e r of Internal A f f a i r s ,
i n f o r m e d me about the a c t i v i t y of an e n e m y group
w h i c h was being investigated and the m a i n persons
involved. In due course, he t o l d me one day that S y r j a
Selfo had implicated himself in this group «for the
o v e r t h r o w of the state». I opened my eyes in surprise
and said to K o ç i :
«Syrja y o u say? It's impossible, y o u must be
w r o n g ! S y r j a could not rise against the people's state
power.»
S y r j a was one of the Selfo f a m i l y , w h o w e r e b i g
merchants. W i t h the exception of S y r j a and H a l i t ,
w h o joined the partisans, a l l of t h e m were bad. T h e
first amongst them was R e i z Selfo w h o was considered
the head of the Selfo f a m i l y . He was one of the most
reactionary and expert s w i n d l e r s in the circle of b i g
merchants. H e was o n good terms w i t h e v e r y regime,
w i t h Z o g and the Italians. W i t h us alone he d i d not
get along, because for the crimes he had c o m m i t t e d
against the people and the H o m e l a n d we put h i m in
his place and the court sentenced h i m to be shot. I was
w e l l acquainted w i t h Reiz, w i t h w h o m I h a d had occasion to meet, but r a r e l y to talk. He w a s too i m p o r tant and «had no time to waste w i t h people l i k e us».
S y r j a , however, was a good f r i e n d w i t h w h o m I often
talked and he understood me; he was not a communist,
but he was a patriot, a n t i - I t a l i a n and anti-fascist. He
sincerely l i k e d me, in particular, a n d I l i k e d h i m . He
was not on good terms w i t h Reiz, but R e i z c o u l d do
h i m no harm, because S y r j a was more capable at his
job and not e v i l l i k e Reiz. S y r j a assisted the w a r as
m u c h as he could a n d rented two houses w h i c h he
530
placed at the disposal of our illegal w o r k . He c o n t r i buted m o n e y to help our w a r and d u r i n g the w a r he
gave great help to me personally and, l i k e w i s e to my
f a m i l y , w h e n I w e n t into illegality.
W h e n w e liberated A l b a n i a , S y r j a rejoiced. W e
met one d a y a n d I said to h i m :
«The day for w h i c h we fought has come, but the
struggle continues. N o w we are going to impose w a r
taxes on a l l merchants a n d they w i l l be heavy. The
Selfos w i l l be included.»
Syrja replied:
«Do w h a t e v e r y o u l i k e . T a k e the lot and I s h a l l
help y o u . I just w a n t to work, so go ahead and c o n fiscate the lot.»
A n d that i s w h a t w e d i d . S y r j a was w i t h us. H e
c o u l d never be separated f r o m us.
A n d now, quite unexpectedly, K o ç i X o x e came t o
t e l l me that S y r j a was allegedly implicated in a plot
«to o v e r t h r o w the people's state p o w e r » ! K o ç i X o x e
r e p l i e d «calmly» there and then to my shock and open
opposition :
« H e has testified himself. He has admitted e v e r y t h i n g and signed his confession!»
« B r i n g me his testimony, because I k n o w his
signature.»
He brought it to me. I read it and saw that it was
S y r i a ' s signature. I thought for a m o m e n t and asked
Koçi:
« D i d they torture h i m ? »
K o ç i swore black and b l u e :
« C e r t a i n l y not. We have p r o h i b i t e d torture by
decision of the Bureau.»
531
« V e r y well,» I said. «He m u s t be p u t on t r i a l , let
the court judge h i m and the decision of the court be
carried out.»
Later, w h e n the treachery of K o ç i X o x e and the
Y u g o s l a v s was uncovered, w h e n a l l t h e i r v i l l a i n y
came to light, the dossiers w h i c h they p r e p a r e d in the
M i n i s t r y o f Internal A f f a i r s for m e a n d the others
were discovered, too. T h e question of S y r j a Selfo a n d
some others was n o t h i n g but a trap to compromise
me, b y arresting m y friends and t o r t u r i n g t h e m t o
death to m a k e t h e m a d m i t a n d sign w h a t the group
o f K o ç i X o x e and the Yugoslavs dictated.
D u r i n g this period this same K o ç i X o x e , t o w h o m
it meant n o t h i n g to put innocent people on t r i a l , e x e r ted a l l sorts of pressures and made e v e r y effort to
lighten the sentences on real enemies w h o w e r e placed
i n the dock. A f t e r reaching agreement w i t h S e j f u l l a
M a l ë s h o v a and N a k o S p i r u , the three of t h e m proposed
in the P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u that the lives of the c r i m i n a l s
we had p u t on t r i a l s h o u l d be spared. In fact, K o ç i ' s
a i m , both in his condemnation of innocent people and
in his softness towards criminals, w a s to compromise
me. T h i s was the time w h e n K o ç i , i n collaboration w i t h
the Yugoslavs, after the P l e n u m of Berat, had b e g u n
to prepare «materials» w i t h c o m p r o m i s i n g accusations
and slanders against me. I rejected t h e i r proposals and
t o l d t h e m that a l l the traitors and quislings, not e x c l u d i n g B a h r i O m a r i , m u s t be punished according to
the sentences of the people's courts.
L i k e w i s e , S h e h K a r b u n a r a , too, was to receive
the punishment h e deserved later. T h i s v e r y w i l y i n d i v i d u a l , this B a l l i s t and collaborator w i t h the chiefs
532
of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r , who t h r e w the stone and h i d
his hand, had not p u b l i c l y proclaimed himself w i t h
either the Italians or the Germans. He had saved his
s k i n , indeed at the moment w h e n the J u g g e r n a u t of
n a z i s m was w e l l on the w a y to disaster, he even posed
as a s y m p a t h i z e r of the F r o n t and the P a r t y , although
I h a d never had a n y f a i t h in this «change» in the
S h e h and was convinced that he was a m a n of reaction
w h o hated o u r P a r t y . H e had fought, although i n
stealthy ways, against the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t
but, as I said, K a r b u n a r a had proved to be wiser than
his friends l i k e K o l ë T r o m a r a and A l i K ë l c y r a who, e v e n
w h e n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n G e n e r a l C o u n c i l called
on t h e m to unite w i t h the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r
against the Germans, not o n l y d i d not accept their call,
but on the contrary, as chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r
and together w i t h it, they o p e n l y entered the service
of the occupiers. F r o m that time on, we no longer
addressed appeals to them, but aimed the r i f l e at t h e m .
A f t e r the l i b e r a t i o n o f A l b a n i a , since S h e h K a r b u nara, S e j f i V l l a m a s i and one or two others w e r e not
declared enemies l i k e their friends, we left t h e m at
l i b e r t y a n d d i d not arrest them, because we had no
f l a g r a n t l y c o m p r o m i s i n g facts against them. N e v e r theless, we gave t h e m a serious w a r n i n g that, if there
was the slightest evidence that they w e r e acting against
the people's state power, they w o u l d be arrested and
handed over to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y court. T h e y agreed
to this in words but not in deeds, especially S h e h
Karbunara.
I r e m e m b e r that d u r i n g the period w h e n the t r i a l
of q u i s l i n g traitors and w a r c r i m i n a l s was going on,
533
I was r e t u r n i n g to T i r a n a one day f r o m B e r a t w h e r e
I had been on business. At that time I wore a g e n eral's blue u n i f o r m w i t h r e d stripes and top boots.
W h e n we w e r e approaching the v i l l a g e of K a r b u n a r a
I saw the S h e h w i t h his priest's hat and robe, w h o
was standing in the m i d d l e of the road w i t h his h a n d
raised s i g n a l l i n g to the car to stop. I told my d r i v e r
to stop the car and allowed the S h e h to approach. I
d i d not get out of the car because I deliberately w a n t e d
to h u m i l i a t e h i m and to m a k e this enemy u n d e r stand that we, the P a r t y a n d the people w h o h a d
fought and t r i u m p h e d , w e r e i n power. T h e Sheh, d r a g ging his feet, opened the door of the car, bowed, w i s h e d
me good day and held out his h a n d . I shook hands
with him without moving.
«What do y o u w a n t ? W h y d i d y o u stop m e ? » I
asked h i m .
«First of all, to congratulate you,» he said.
«I have no need for y o u r congratulations,» I t o l d
h i m . «Have y o u a n y t h i n g else?»
«I stopped y o u to beg y o u to p a r d o n some of those
w h o are on trial,» he said.
«I'll see to it myself,» I told h i m shortly. «The
lives of traitors and q u i s l i n g ministers in the service
of the Germans, of chiefs of the B a l l i K o m b ë t a r a n d
anyone else w h o t u r n e d the r i f l e against us, have been
placed in the hands of the people's justice. Y o u r
friends and associates, S h e h K a r b u n a r a , have stained
their hands w i t h the blood of the people a n d o u r c o m rades, therefore don't w o r r y at a l l because I am certain that the people's justice w i l l give t h e m w h a t t h e y
deserve.»
534
«It's v e r y bad, E n v e r . . . »
«Listen, S h e h K a r b u n a r a , » I told h i m , «when I
told you, indeed begged y o u , to abandon the road,
of betrayal, y o u thought that the Italians and G e r m a n s
were stronger t h a n our people a n d o u r P a r t y w h i c h y o u
derided and fought. H o w e v e r , things t u r n e d out quite
d i f f e r e n t l y f r o m w h a t y o u thought a n d this was not
a m i r a c l e of the fate a n d god in w h i c h y o u believe,
but was a result of the m i n d , a b i l i t y and b r a v e r y of
the P a r t y , the communists and o u r people.
«I k n o w v e r y w e l l , that you, Sheh, w e r e together
w i t h K o l ë T r o m a r a and company, but y o u t r i c k e d
t h e m cleverly, y o u t h r e w the stone and h i d y o u r hand.
We d i d not arrest you. not for the sake of y o u r b e a u t i f u l eyes, but because we d i d not have so m a n y c o n crete facts about you, because otherwise y o u w o u l d
be together w i t h the traitors in the dock today. T h e
communists, w h o m y o u abused, are the w o r l d ' s most
just men, the kindest w i t h the people and ready to
sacrifice themselves for the people's greatest causes.
Hence, y o u escaped once, but y o u w i l l not escape a
second time, therefore I advise y o u to keep y o u r
m o u t h shut and not conspire against the people, because, if y o u do, we s h a l l put y o u in y o u r place. That
is a l l I have to say to you.»
T h e officer shut the door of the car, I left S h e h
K a r b u n a r a in the dust of the road a n d never again
set eyes on h i m . That enemy d i d not give up his act i v i t y against the people's state power. He became
a participant in the plot hatched up by the A n g l o A m e r i c a n agency o f Shefqet Beja, G j e r g j K o k o s h i , R i 535
za D a n i a n d others. So, S h e h K a r b u n a r a , too, was
condemned by the people's court.
T h e i r other associate, S e j f i V l l a m a s i , p u l l e d in his
horns, l i v e d on what m o n e y he had accumulated u n t i l
he was reduced to rags and, in the end, w h e n he was
h a r d pressed for food, was obliged to seek a n y sort of
job. He had g r o w n old. I h a d never asked about h i m .
One day, w h e n I was going to V l o r a , I stopped at the
f a r m at Gosa, met the director and asked h i m h o w
things were going. He e x p l a i n e d things to me. Close to
the road there were some w h i t e w a s h e d sheds. I asked
him:
«What are these sheds?»
«They are the pigs' stalls,» he told me.
«Let's go in and see,» I said.
I w e n t inside and met an o l d K a v a j a peasant. I
k n e w that the old people of K a v a j a w e r e fanatical, especially in the e a r l y years after L i b e r a t i o n . N o t o n l y
w o u l d they not eat pork, but they could not bear pigs
at all, because this was «prohibited by the K o r a n » .
«I'm pleased to see that y o u are k e e p i n g pigs,»
I said to the o l d m a n .
«What else can I do?» he said. «I have to live.»
Then, after he recognized me, he said in a l o w
voice:
«I'll t e l l y o u on the quiet, because y o u k n o w o u r
w o r r i e s : I can't bear the sight of these pigs, but I love
the P a r t y and do w h a t it tells me. Y o u see this long
stick? I use this to p r o d the pigs, because, by G o d ,
I can't b r i n g myself to l a y a h a n d on them.»
The three of us burst out l a u g h i n g . O u r l a u g h t e r
brought another w r i n k l e d and ragged, e l d e r l y s w i n e 536
herd over to us. He h e l d out his h a n d to me and g r e e ted m e s a y i n g :
« H o w are you, M r . E n v e r ? »
I raised my head to look at h i m , because the w o r d
«Mr.» in the m o u t h of a peasant, w h e n t h e y a l w a y s
called one another «comrade», attracted my attention.
A n d w h o d i d I see? S e j f i V l l a m a s i ! He had become a
swineherd.
«Despite a l l y o u have done,» I said to h i m , «the
P a r t y of communists d i d not leave y o u w i t h o u t a job
and y o u are e a r n i n g y o u r bread w i t h the sweat of
y o u r b r o w for the first time in y o u r life.»
« A s y o u say, M r . Enver, but n o w I'm an o l d
man.»
« Y o u have got older, that's the l a w of nature, b u t
w h a t can y o u do, y o u have to eat and in order to eat
y o u m u s t work.»
«That is so, M r . Enver,» said S e j f i , «but could
the government possibly give me a pension?»
«Pension, w h y ? Because y o u have never worked,
or because y o u have been in the fascist ' C o u n c i l of
state', or because y o u have never done a patriotic
deed? In the t i m e of N o l i ' s G o v e r n m e n t y o u voted
for the reactionaries, in e x i l e y o u gambled w h i l e the
people suffered, and then y o u came back w i t h I t a l y
and served it and the G e r m a n s . A r e these the ' m e r i t s '
for w h i c h y o u are seeking a pension?»
«Is this w h a t this f e l l o w has been?» intervened
the peasant f r o m K a v a j a . «So, he's worse than these
pigs. On my w o r d , C o m r a d e E n v e r , I d i d not k n o w
him.»
I saw V l l a m a s i once again a f e w years later on a
537
footpath in F i e r . T h e «diplomat of the B a l l i » was bent
almost double. I asked w h a t he was doing. T h e y told
me that he had a s m a l l pension, because he h a d been
a swineherd. T h e comrade w h o t o l d me this was y o u n g
and had never e v e n heard the name of this Ballist,
f r o m w h o m and f r o m whose associates w e h a d suffered
so m a n y bad things.
A n d so, one after the other, the brambles and
thorns of the past, the leeches w h o h a d sucked the
blood of the people, the snakes w h o had v e n o m on the
tip of their tongues, began to be cleared away.
A l l these things strengthened the position and
enhanced the a u t h o r i t y of the P a r t y and the n e w
state; the masses of the people w e r e becoming more
and more convinced that the r o a d on w h i c h the P a r t y
led t h e m was their most secure future.
The w a r m welcome w h i c h the people gave the
first laws and measures of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e
of the A n t i f a s c i s t C o u n c i l (from the l i b e r a t i o n of the
country u n t i l J a n u a r y 11, 1946, w h e n the Constituent
A s s e m b l y met, this S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e was the s u p reme legislative organ), was the greatest endorsement
w h i c h could have been given to the correctness of the
line w h i c h the P a r t y and the peoples' state p o w e r
were pursuing. T h e reforms of a democratic character
w h i c h were u n d e r t a k e n at this period strengthened
the economic basis of the state, strengthened the trust
of the masses of the people in it, because n o w a l l w e r e
seeing that the n e w state was the irreconcilable e n e m y
of the bourgeoisie, feudal lords and speculators, and
that the democratic government was capable of r u n n i n g and organizing the life of the country. L i f e was
538
d i f f i c u l t for the people, but they were seeing w i t h
their o w n eyes that the P a r t y and the organs of the
state w e r e doing the impossible to create conditions so
that l i f e could proceed n o r m a l l y and the wounds of the
w a r and the past w o u l d be healed as q u i c k l y as possible.
One of the great and p r o f o u n d revolutions w h i c h
we set about f r o m the outset and carried t h r o u g h to
the end t h r o u g h consistent efforts was the c a r r y i n g
out of the L a n d R e f o r m . W i t h this r e v o l u t i o n in the
life of the A l b a n i a n countryside we not o n l y f u l f i l l e d
one of the age-old aspirations of and the first promises
w h i c h we h a d made d u r i n g the w a r to the l o y a l a l l y
of the w o r k i n g class, the brave and patriotic A l b a n i a n
peasantry, but we also brought about a colossal transformation in the relations of p r o d u c t i o n and opened the
w a y to the b i r t h of socialist relations in the countryside,
w h i c h the P a r t y had envisaged i n its long-term plan.
W o r k for the d r a f t i n g of this law, w h i c h , as is
k n o w n , was adopted in the s u m m e r of 1945, had been
going on for a long time. A n d both in the d r a f t i n g
and in the discussion of it, in the P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u of
the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e and i n the A N L C , f i e r y debates
took place. T h e orientations of the C e n t r a l C o m m i t t e e
that the L a n d R e f o r m s h o u l d not o n l y give l a n d to
peasants w i t h no or little land, but should also e l i m i n ate the possibility of the b i r t h of the k u l a k economy
w h i c h exploited the w o r k of others, were opposed w i t h
all sorts of manoeuvres, «criticisms» and «suggestions»
b y R i z a D a n i and Shefqet B e j a d o w n t o S e j f u l l a
Malëshova.
«True the t o i l i n g peasant must be g i v e n a bit of
539
land,» said R i z a D a n i , «but we must not go to extremes
and k i n d l e c i v i l war, hatred and blood feuds in the
countryside. We must not satisfy some and m a k e e n e mies of the others!»
«Those 'some' w h o m y o u mentioned,» I r e p l i e d to
h i m , «are thousands and tens of thousands of peasants
w h o have dreamed of the l a n d a l l their lives, w h i l e
p o u r i n g out torrents of sweat in f a v o u r of a h a n d f u l
of b i g landowners. It was not these b i g landowners
w h o waged the war, but those w h o had nothing, the
thousands. Therefore, we s h a l l give the l a n d to t h e m
w i t h o u t w o r r y i n g m u c h w h e t h e r o r not the w e a l t h y
peasants l i k e it. As for c i v i l war, it is s i l l y to t a l k
about it. L e t those w h o are going to be e x p r o p r i a t e d
t r y to raise their hand. T h e people w i l l cut it off, because this is the time of the people a n d not of f e u d a l
lords and capitalists.»
S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a combated the R e f o r m f r o m a
more «moderate» p o s i t i o n :
«We should d i v i d e the l a n d among the poor,» he
said, «but must not forget the m e n t a l i t y of our p e a sants. T h e y have had n o t h i n g at a l l and w i l l be s a tisfied w i t h little and w i l l not b e interested i n l a r g e scale a g r i c u l t u r a l production. F a m i n e w i l l threaten us.»
«Then, w h a t do y o u t h i n k should be done?» I
asked h i m .
«We should give the e x t r e m e l y poor masses a m i n i m u m area, just enough to f u l f i l t h e i r needs, w h i l e
we should reduce the l a n d of the present owners, b u t
leave t h e m at least 40 hectares. T h e y k n o w the v a l u e
of large-scale production and w i l l m a k e their economies
model ones and produce for the city, too.»
540
«That w o u l d b e t r i f l i n g w i t h the L a n d R e f o r m a n d
w i t h the peasantry,» I opposed h i m f i r m l y . « A n d worse
s t i l l , it w o u l d be f a v o u r i n g the kulaks.»
«Since my f i r s t w o r k s of the 30's I have always
been heart and soul a declared e n e m y of kulaks,» S e j f u l l a M a l ë s h o v a defended himself at once. « B u t n o w
we have to t h i n k not o n l y about the bread of the
peasants, but also about the bread of the w h o l e people. F o r the sake of the bread of the people we have
to m a k e some distinction and some concession towards
the w e a l t h y . L e t us not forget, comrades, that these
are p r o f o u n d problems. L e t us not forget that to expect
s a l v a t i o n f r o m f r a g m e n t a t i o n into small-scale p r o p e r t y
means to decree general m e d i o c r i t y ! »
«I have r e a d this in L e n i n ! » someone, N a k o S p i r u
I think, i n t e r v e n e d there and then.
«Exactly!» replied Sejfulla proudly.
«Yes!» I i n t e r v e n e d to put an end to t h e i r «theorizing». «We a l l read L e n i n and struggle to put his
teachings and those of our great teachers into practice.
B u t b y confusing o u r aims, S e j f u l l a , y o u confuse and
distort L e n i n , too. He n e v e r was a n d expressed himself
against the L a n d R e f o r m . W e d o not t h i n k that w e
w i l l f i n d complete and f i n a l salvation i n small-scale
p r o p e r t y t h r o u g h the L a n d R e f o r m w h i c h w e m u s t
c a r r y out. No, w e w i l l f i n d s a l v a t i o n i n large-scale
property, although neither capitalist n o r feudal, but
state and cooperativist socialist property. L e t the f a r m e r get the l a n d w h i c h is due to h i m and, gradually,
he h i m s e l f w i l l be convinced, and we s h a l l struggle to
convince h i m , that his s a l v a t i o n and the s a l v a t i o n of
the state, that is the future, belongs to large-scale a g r i 541
culture, collectivization. B u t , I stress: We s h a l l go
over to large-scale socialist ownership t h r o u g h the
L a n d R e f o r m , through g i v i n g o w n e r s h i p to the poor
peasants w h o o w n nothing!»
Nevertheless, t h r o u g h the insistence of S e j f u l l a
and w i t h the open or silent a p p r o v a l of K o ç i X o x e ,
P a n d i K r i s t o and others i n the P o l i t i c a l B u r e a u and
the C e n t r a l Committee of the P a r t y , and subsequently
w i t h the support of the R i z a D a n i s and K o k o s h i s in
the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l , the L a w
on the L a n d R e f o r m i n i t i a l l y had a series of shortcomings, although it was an i m p o r t a n t event in the
transformation of relations in the countryside. T h e
l a w left large areas of l a n d in f a m i l y o w n e r s h i p for
the so-called «model economies», up to a m a x i m u m of
40 hectares, w h i c h in the conditions of A l b a n i a was a
v e r y large area, and safeguarded the positions of the
estate owners a n d w e a l t h y peasants. A l t h o u g h this was
the l a w w h i c h began to be applied at first, we felt
that it had shortcomings and w o u l d not lead to the
complete application of the principle, «the l a n d belongs
to the tiller». Therefore, in a series of meetings in the
leadership of the P a r t y and the state, in contacts w i t h
cadres, communists and r a n k - a n d - f i l e people, we a l w a y s discussed this p r o b l e m and I insisted that the
former l a w m u s t be changed at a l l costs in f a v o u r of
the poor peasantry, in particular, and in f a v o u r of
deepening the socialist revolution, as a whole.
Especially after the 5th P l e n u m of the CC of the
P a r t y in F e b r u a r y 1946, w h e n we sternly attacked the
opportunist v i e w s and stands of S e j f u l l a Malëshova,
almost a l l had become aware of the necessity of c h a n g 542
ing the L a w o n the L a n d R e f o r m , and i n M a y the n e w
l a w w i t h a p r o f o u n d r e v o l u t i o n a r y content was p r o mulgated. A c c o r d i n g to this law, a l l the lands, vineyards,
olive groves, etc., of those w h o d i d not w o r k t h e m
themselves w e r e expropriated, w h i l e the peasants and
owners w h o w o r k e d the l a n d were a l l o w e d up to 5
hectares w h i c h could not be sold, bought or mortgaged.
O n l y those w h o w o r k e d the l a n d could hold and enjoy
it! T h i s had great importance, because it blocked the
w a y to l a n d speculation, eliminated any possibility of
w e a l t h y elements b u y i n g the l a n d o r e n r i c h i n g t h e m selves by e x p l o i t i n g the t o i l of others. T h i s was a great
v i c t o r y for our patriotic peasantry w h i c h had borne
the b r u n t of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n W a r . The peasa n t r y e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y welcomed the proclamation of
the R e f o r m w h i c h l i n k e d i t even more closely w i t h
the P a r t y a n d the people's state power.
We decided that the application of the R e f o r m
should start w i t h a s y m b o l i c act, therefore, together
w i t h m y comrades, D r . N i s h a n i , M y s l i m Peza, S p i r o
M o i s i u , Shefqet P e ç i , G a q o Tashko, w h o had become
m i n i s t e r of agriculture, and other comrades, we went
to L u s h n j a w h e r e we witnessed the indescribable j o y
of the peasant of M y z e q e w h o wept w h i l e he h e l d the
land deed tight in his t r e m b l i n g hands. One could not
but be m o v e d by the most unexpected scenes of the
expression of j o y and love for the P a r t y , the F r o n t
and the n e w state. I r e m e m b e r that amongst this t r u l y
popular e n t h u s i a s m and rejoicing I spoke w i t h a voice
that was t r e m b l i n g w i t h e m o t i o n :
«Comrade peasants, y o u must a l w a y s keep y o u r
eyes open and have y o u r fists ready to strike h a r d at
543
t h e enemies of the people. T h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of the l a n d
has begun, the deeds are being handed out, more a n d
more each day y o u w i l l have the assistance of y o u r g o v ernment. W e w i l l put a l l o u r possibilities i n the service of the people. We do not promise y o u the heavens,
but y o u can be sure that w h a t we say we do. I offer
y o u m y heart-felt congratulations o n the l a n d w h i c h
y o u have received. I w i s h y o u a l o n g life to m a k e our
fields f l o u r i s h generation after generation!»
T h e economic effects of this R e f o r m , and especially its p o l i t i c a l effects on the outlook of the people,
w e r e t r u l y among the greatest. The people swore «by
the P a r t y and the state», w h i c h gave t h e m the land,
w h i c h was equal t o s w e a r i n g «by m y head!» B y g i v ing the peasantry the l a n d w h i c h belonged to it in
perpetuity, the P a r t y and the state l i n k e d themselves
even more closely w i t h the peasantry.
Consistently, step after step, b a t t l i n g w i t h d i f ficulties and a l l k i n d s of enemies, the people, led by
the P a r t y , w e r e t a k i n g economic p o w e r into their o w n
hands and, in this way, becoming masters of their
o w n fate in the broadest sense of the t e r m .
B u t w h i l e the people felt great j o y over the n e w
situation w h i c h was being created, the bourgeoisie felt
that the h o u r had come w h e n a n x i e t y a n d pessimism
were covering its last days. These measures and reforms
were m o r t a l blows to this class w h i c h , faced w i t h these
attacks, t r i e d to react, to organize, to f i n d allies, r o a m ing around in despair, ready to c o m m i t even
the
most hideous crimes. A l t h o u g h the situation, the sett i n g and the atmosphere had changed radically, they
d i d not want to believe their o w n tragedy. T h e y w a n t e d
544
to r e m a i n p e r p e t u a l directors on the stage of the life
of the people, therefore they began to draft a n d send
petitions to the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n missions, asking t h e m
to intervene on their behalf w i t h our G o v e r n m e n t ,
began to e x e r t b l a c k m a i l and to activize their m e n
w h o h a d penetrated into the G o v e r n m e n t , the F r o n t
and e v e n into the P a r t y . A m o n g t h e m w e r e Shefqet
Beja, G j e r g j K o k o s h i , R i z a D a n i and others, who, as
I have m e n t i o n e d earlier, h a d u n i t e d w i t h the N a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n M o v e m e n t , had r e m a i n e d generally i n f a v o u r of it, a n d h a d e v e n been elected to leading forums.
M y personal acquaintance w i t h R i z a D a n i h a d
b e g u n late, e i t h e r at P ë r m e t or Berat, but the c o m rades of S h k o d r a h a d spoken to me about h i m long
before. L i k e G j e r g j K o k o s h i , h e w a s f r o m S h k o d r a ,
an e l d e r l y m a n w i t h influence in that city. A brother
of his, H a s a n D a n i , was a b i g merchant who, after
d i p p i n g his h a n d in Zog's «honey-pot», also enjoyed
the honey-pot of fascism, as d i d m a n y others, l i k e the
«democrat» F a z l l i F r a s h ë r i and his brother Qazka,
w h o m I have m e n t i o n e d earlier. R i z a himself, h o w ever, was a « l i b e r a l democrat», anti-Zogite, a n t i - c l e r i cal, and anti-fascist. In the context of our w o r k w i t h
the nationalists, the comrades of S h k o d r a had l i n k e d
up w i t h R i z a and he had agreed to fight and take part
i n the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t . W e w e r e pleased
about this and considered it a success.
I was better acquainted w i t h Shefqet Beja, because I had t a l k e d w i t h h i m more f r e q u e n t l y . He had
been a f r i e n d of B a h r i ' s a n d of M u h a r r e m V l l a m a s i ,
a n a n t i - Z o g i t e element w h o h a d been i n exile i n B a r i .
Shefqet and M u h a r r e m w e r e of the same age and both
545
had graduated f r o m a n Italian c o m m e r c i a l school, b u t
w h i l e Shefqet B e j a p u r s u e d his occupation and b e came a b i g merchant, M u h a r r e m V l l a m a s i became a
«politician». In the time of the occupation by Italy,
the «democrat and anti-Zogite» M u h a r r e m became a
federal, w h i l e w i t h the f o r m a t i o n o f the N a t i o n a l L i b eration Front, Shefqet B e j a u n i t e d w i t h us. He w a s a
v e r y clever t y p e and, i n the talks w h i c h w e held, posed
as a democrat, attacked a n d d e r i d e d the Duce, T e f i k
M b o r j a a n d the c o m p a n y of fascist hierarchs. Shefqet's
j o i n i n g the F r o n t , too, we considered a success. D u r i n g
the w a r I h a d long a n d open talks, especially w i t h
G j e r g j K o k o s h i and Shefqet B e j a , w h o m I m e t m o r e
frequently, a n d k e p t t h e m i n f o r m e d about the s i t u a t i o n
of the w a r and the f o r m s of democratic organization
of the state after l i b e r a t i o n . T h e y c o u l d not have a n y
reservations towards the P a r t y on the grounds that it
d i d not keep t h e m i n f o r m e d o r consult them. T h e y
seemed to be f r a n k in e v e r y t h i n g , in appearance had
no complaints, and, despite the odd «doubt» or « m i s understanding», in general, t h e y approved the p r o g r a m
of the P a r t y . T h e y w e r e somewhat dogmatic and outdated in t h e i r ideas, grave, and «democrats» of the old
style, but seemed to be m a t u r e m e n . I t r i e d to a v o i d
intensive polemics w i t h t h e m , since t h e y w e r e i n
agreement on the m a i n issues.
A n d now, w h e n the P a r t y a t the head o f the people began the w o r k f o r the reconstruction of the b u r n t out and devastated c o u n t r y a n d started to p u t the
m a j o r reforms into practice, these elements, although
they d i d not come out o p e n l y against this consistent
line of the P a r t y , in r e a l i t y began to move. T h e y
546
f r e q u e n t l y came to talk w i t h me, sometimes together
sometimes i n d i v i d u a l l y . R i z a D a n i and Shefqet B e j a ,
i n particular, w e r e w o r r i e d about the L a n d R e f o r m ,
the w a r taxes on the merchants a n d the people's
courts. I w a s not surprised at their attempts at i n t e r vention, indeed, I was sure that t h e y w o u l d g r a d u a l l y
increase. Therefore, I kept my temper w i t h t h e m and
gave t h e m the proper answers:
« T h e y have e n r i c h e d themselves at the expense of
the people a n d t h e y m u s t disgorge w h a t they have
plundered.»
«The peasants shed their blood, their homes w e r e
burnt, t h e y liberated the c o u n t r y a n d w o n their l a n d
in the country, therefore a genuine L a n d R e f o r m w i l l
be c a r r i e d out.»
«The w a r c r i m i n a l s m u s t render account. T h e y
k i l l e d a n d b u r n t together w i t h the occupiers, therefore
t h e y w i l l p a y for their crimes.»
«The c o u n t r y w i l l be r e b u i l t f r o m the start, t h e r e fore the banks, foreign trade, transport and i n t e r n a l
trade, in general, w i l l be in the hands of the people's
state power.»
Of course, t h e y raised their «democratic» reasons
on a l l these issues, but I gave t h e m the genuine d e m o cratic reasons. I felt t h e y left my office unsatisfied,
but w e r e obliged to accept their defeat w i t h a smile.
A f t e r all, it was no f a u l t of ours that t h e y w e r e
s l i d i n g towards disaster. S i n c e we had dedicated e v e r y t h i n g to the cause of the people, it was impermissible
for us to satisfy the desires and ambitions of w o r s h i p pers of the o l d for the sake of a f e w «democratic»
poses and manoeuvres. If t h e y w a n t e d to l i v e and serve
547
l i k e r e a l men, let t h e m unite w i t h a n d continue on the
road of the people, otherwise goodbye to t h e m !
The m a i n t h i n g that rejoiced us and f i l l e d us w i t h
strength was the fact that the people approved, s u p ported and enthusiastically applied the p o l i c y a n d l i n e
w h i c h our P a r t y and the n e w state w e r e f o l l o w i n g .
In the course of the application of this line we saw
and were convinced that the u n i t y of the P a r t y w i t h
the people, w h i c h we had created in the f i r e of the
war, was becoming ever stronger. A n d now, after so
m a n y victories and achievements, the m o m e n t had
come and the conditions had been created to c a r r y
out one of the f u n d a m e n t a l c o m m i t m e n t s and tasks
w h i c h we had set ourselves at the outset: the m o m e n t
had come for the people to solemnly and f r e e l y express
t h e i r w i l l on the f o r m of the regime w h i c h they w i s h e d
to establish in A l b a n i a .
2. The proclamation of the People's Republic
The people f i r s t raised the d e m a n d to express
themselves on the f o r m of the regime in A u g u s t 1945,
at the 1st Congress of the N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n Front,
w h i c h , f r o m that t i m e onwards, took the name the
Democratic F r o n t o f A l b a n i a .
T h i s Congress, w h i c h took place in the atmosphere
of enthusiastic a p p r o v a l of the p o l i c y of the C o m m u n i s t
P a r t y and its future program, amongst other things,
548
s o l e m n l y demanded that the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b eration C o u n c i l and the P r o v i s i o n a l Democratic G o v e r n m e n t h o l d elections i n free A l b a n i a for the C o n stituent A s s e m b l y , w h i c h w o u l d p r o c l a i m the w i l l o f
the people on the f o r m of the regime a n d approve the
C o n s t i t u t i o n of the country.
O n the proposal o f the G o v e r n m e n t , the A n t i fascist N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l approved this dem a n d of the people, expressed t h r o u g h their organization, and charged a special commission w i t h the task
of d r a f t i n g the laws on the elections to the Constituent
A s s e m b l y . At the end of September the draft of these
laws w a s presented t o the m e e t i n g o f the A N L C for
approval. T h e C o u n c i l declared its a p p r o v a l i n p r i n ciple of the elections and also discussed and approved
the L a w o n the Elections and the L a w o n the E l e c t o r a l
Lists. T h e latter p r o c l a i m e d that a l l A l b a n i a n s u b jects, m e n and w o m e n , over 18 years of age, had the
right to elect and be elected. T h e f o r m e r q u i s l i n g
ministers, w a r c r i m i n a l s and, of course, those w h o
t h r o u g h t h e i r o w n f a u l t h a d t e m p o r a r i l y lost their
p o l i t i c a l rights, w e r e e x c l u d e d f r o m this right. Thus,
for the first t i m e in the h i s t o r y of A l b a n i a , real possibilities w e r e created for the p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f a l l c i t i zens in the elections.
I r e m e m b e r that this l a w w a s approved w i t h o u t
debate or opposition, even f r o m those l i b e r a l bourgeois-democratic elements w h o had managed to penetrate into the C o u n c i l a n d the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e of
the A n t i - f a s c i s t N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n C o u n c i l . I m e n t i o n
this because, f r o m the i n f o r m a t i o n we had, as w e l l as
f r o m the great pressure w h i c h the B r i t i s h and A m e r i 549
can representatives w e r e e x e r t i n g on us, we expected
a great struggle w i t h those elements w h o w e r e n o w
charged w i t h the mission of going on the attack to
sabotage the line of o u r P a r t y on the elections, of
creating an «opposition» w i t h i n or outside the F r o n t
a n d m a n o e u v e r i n g by means of it to seize p o w e r in the
future. A p p a r e n t l y , however, t h e y h a d saved t h e i r
v e n o m for the L a w on the Elections. Therefore, t h e y
received the L a w o n E l e c t o r a l L i s t s w i t h smiles and
even applause. T h e i r faces looked sour o n l y w h e n I
rose and sought an exception to the L a w .
«I propose,» I said, «that an exception s h o u l d be
made for those w h o have s t i l l not reached the r e q u i r e d
age, but w h o have t a k e n part in the r a n k s of the
N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n A r m y . I t h i n k that it is f a i r to
m a k e this exception. Those boys and girls w h o have
fought for freedom arms i n hand, who, w i t h f u l l c o n sciousness, have dedicated t h e i r y o u n g lives to the
H o m e l a n d , have the r i g h t to say w i t h t h e i r vote
what t h e y have said w i t h the r i f l e . T h e y have a l l the
m a t u r i t y necessary to m a k e their judgement on the
fate of the people.»
«I support E n v e r ' s proposal w i t h both hands. We
should include i t i n the L a w w i t h o u t hesitation,» said
O m e r N i s h a n i , w h o was among the first to speak.
«The y o u n g people of all ages bore the b u r d e n of
the war,» said N a k o S p i r u , «therefore, it is t h e i r r i g h t
to u p h o l d the state power...»
A l l present approved m y proposal a n d after this
we went on to the discussion of the proposed L a w on
the Elections. B o t h for the p r e p a r a t i o n of this draft
l a w and for the w h o l e organization and c r o w n i n g w i t h
550
success of the election c a m p a i g n we h a d to do a great
deal of w o r k and preparation, not o n l y because we
w e r e short of competent a n d experienced jurists, and
none of us h a d a n y sort of experience on these matters
in the past, b u t also because, in general, no t r a d i t i o n
about elections h a d been created in our c o u n t r y in the
past, especially for supreme organs s u c h as the C o n stituent A s s e m b l y . T h a t slight experience on p a r l i a m e n t a r y elections i n A l b a n i a w h i c h w a s created i n
the years 1920-1924 w a s not o n l y the first a n d c o n tained m a j o r mistakes, restrictions and distortions, but,
more importantly, it w a s m o s t l y a k i n d of «contest»,
a « p a r l i a m e n t a r y race», w h i c h took place between
representatives of the w e a l t h y classes, feudal lords
and reactionary bourgeois, on the one hand, and the
progressive and democratic elements w h o w e r e or
posed as representatives of Opinga, on the other hand.
In general, the people themselves stayed or w e r e kept
a w a y f r o m these elections. A f t e r the advent of Z o g
to p o w e r and, especially, after he was proclaimed k i n g
in 1928, e v e n that slight democratic element w h i c h
appeared in the elections of an earlier p e r i o d came to
a n end. F r o m that t i m e on, the vote i n the farcical
Zogite elections w a s decided by the w h i p , the bribe
and the r i f l e butt, associated both w i t h the general
ignorance and backwardness of the masses and w i t h
their understandable lack of interest in the so-called
elections.
Hence, we had to create e v e r y t h i n g f r o m scratch,
u s u a l l y basing ourselves on w h a t we read f r o m the
classics of M a r x i s m - L e n i n i s m , w h a t we had been able
to l e a r n f r o m the experience of the Soviet U n i o n ,
551
and so on. A b o v e all, we proceeded f r o m the p r i n c i p l e
that we m u s t f o r m u l a t e a draft l a w in w h i c h the people w o u l d be g i v e n the possibility and r i g h t to express
their o p i n i o n and w i l l as clearly, f r e e l y a n d d i r e c t l y
as possible, that is, a l a w w h i c h w o u l d ensure a l l the
guarantees for the n o r m a l a n d democratic development of this p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y of historic importance.
The elections for the Constituent A s s e m b l y w o u l d be
held on the basis of u n i v e r s a l e q u a l sufferage w i t h
direct secret ballot, a n d the l a w p r o h i b i t e d a n d c o n demned a n y k i n d of a c t i v i t y by anyone at a l l to v i o l ate these principles.
A l t h o u g h the draft l a w on the elections, w h i c h we
had prepared w i t h the greatest t o i l a n d care, g u a r a n teed one of the most democratic and complete w a y s
for the people to express their w i l l , d u r i n g the discussions for its a p p r o v a l a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of «democratic
and liberal» elements rose in strong opposition to it.
G j e r g j K o k o s h i , in particular, l a u n c h e d a fierce
attack on the l a w w h i c h w a s being discussed, and, in
fact, that was an attack against the D e m o c r a t i c Front,
the P a r t y and the people's state power.
As soon as the draft l a w was presented, G j e r g j
K o k o s h i demanded the floor and, after some h y p o c r i t i c a l eulogizing of the F r o n t and the people's state
power, began to pour out his c r i t i c i s m s w h i c h , in fact,
amounted to rejection of the draft l a w w h i c h w a s to
be approved. K o k o s h i ' s criticisms w e r e a reflection of
the p r o f o u n d concern of the o v e r t h r o w n classes, reaction a n d the imperialists w h o understood that in the
coming elections they w o u l d have no chance of w i n 552
n i n g a complete v i c t o r y or e v e n of securing an adequate n u m b e r of deputies to create an opposition.
«Besides people of the war, there should also be
people of the peace in the Assembly,» advocated
G j e r g j K o k o s h i , «and there are such people even o u t side the Front.»
Of course, s u c h an a b s u r d d i v i s i o n into people
«of the w a r » and people «of the peace» on his l i p s
had the m e a n i n g that even those w h o , w h e n the
A l b a n i a n people w e r e f i g h t i n g f o r the freedom of t h e
country, sat l o o k i n g on, d r e w profits and e v e n secretly
or openly collaborated w i t h the occupier or the q u i s l i n g government, should be elected to the Constituent
A s s e m b l y . G j e r g j K o k o s h i w a n t e d the merchants a n d
property-owners, the beys a n d k u l a k s to be represented in the supreme state organ so that t h e y c o u l d
dictate t h e i r w i l l there. T h i s spokesman o f theirs u n derstood c l e a r l y w h a t the o p i n i o n of the people w a s
about their oppressors, therefore he demanded that
the l a w should guarantee t h e m u n f a i r possibilities to
be elected to the A s s e m b l y .
«The people organized in the Democratic F r o n t ,
present their o w n candidates to the A s s e m b l y in the
lists of the Front,» we told h i m quietly. «If those w h o
are outside the F r o n t desire to be elected, let t h e m
present t h e i r candidatures i n d i v i d u a l l y . T h e draft l a w
recognizes t h e m this right and, indeed, w i l l defend it.»
«In comparison w i t h the lists of the F r o n t w h i c h
has a b r i l l i a n t organization,» K o k o s h i a d m i t t e d w i t h
regret, «the i n d i v i d u a l candidatures are doomed to f a i l ure, because these elements are not organized in
p o l i t i c a l parties and do not have t h e i r o w n press or
553
propaganda. On the other hand, the m e n of the state
power are a l l in the Front, thus no guarantees are
g i v e n that other candidates w i l l be elected.»
T h i s was a v i l e i n s i n u a t i o n against o u r people's
state p o w e r and one of the comrades, w h o was a m e m ber of the S t a n d i n g Committee, got up and quite
r i g h t l y asked:
«Does M r . G j e r g j K o k o s h i w a n t the r e t u r n o f
f o r m e r regimes w h i c h w i l l give guarantees o f free
elections?!»
M a n o l K o n o m i , the m i n i s t e r of justice, on behalf
of the Government, e x p l a i n e d to G j e r g j K o k o s h i the
application of the p r i n c i p l e of p r o p o r t i o n a l i t y for d i f ferent organizations and not for i n d i v i d u a l s on the lists.
Q i r j a k o H a r i t o , S i r i S h a p l l o and others also spoke
i n opposition t o K o k o s h i ' s «criticisms». T h e y pointed
out that through the w a r and its work, the Democratic
F r o n t h a d gained great a u t h o r i t y and trust a m o n g the
people and, if other p o l i t i c a l parties and groups d i d
not exist, that was not its fault.
«The fact that no other group has been able to
organize itself after ten m o n t h s of liberation,» said
S i r i , «means that the creation of such groups has not
been in the interests of the people. T h e people are
w i t h the F r o n t . If there are some w h o w a n t to o r g a n ize themselves outside the F r o n t , let t h e m try, but
t h e y w i l l r u n u p against the strength o f the F r o n t and
w i l l lose. There is n o t h i n g we can do about this.»
Thus, this attempt of reaction to use the elections
for its o w n aims failed. Its advocate, K o k o s h i , w a s left
in a m i n o r i t y of one. A f t e r this, l i k e a d r o w n i n g m a n
c l u t c h i n g at a straw, he decided to p l a y the last card
554
w i t h w h i c h his patrons, the B r i t i s h , had p r o v i d e d h i m :
he d e m o n s t r a t i v e l y resigned f r o m the Democratic
F r o n t , i n this w a y g i v i n g the signal for the creation
of an «opposition», w h i c h , according to the B r i t i s h and
A m e r i c a n plans, w a s to take part in the elections as
a c o u n t e r - w e i g h t to the Democratic F r o n t .
H o w e v e r , K o k o s h i ' s gesture at those moments of
general e n t h u s i a s m s i m p l y became a n e w theme for
jokes: faced w i t h o u r strength, the other Kokoshis*
became w e t hens a n d d i d not dare f o l l o w K o k o s h i into
«opposition». He r e m a i n e d alone, in appearances of
course, because in reality, w h i l e the other elements
like h i m d r e w in their horns a little, b e h i n d the scenes
t h e y w e r e to increase t h e i r savage a c t i v i t y to o v e r t h r o w the people's state power. T h i s was to be p r o v e d
and documented a l i t t l e later, w h e n o u r organs of the
dictatorship of the proletariat w e r e to uncover a l l the
threads of t h e i r plot and t h e y appeared before the
people's courts.
A f t e r his abortive attempt and, especially, after
he left the Front, G j e r g j K o k o s h i surrendered his place
on the stage to his friends, R i z a D a n i , Shefqet B e j a
and others. These two had been i n c l u d e d in the lists
of the F r o n t and succeeded in being elected to the
Constituent A s s e m b l y , because up t i l l that t i m e t h e y
posed as supporters of the p r o g r a m of the Democratic
F r o n t a n d h a d guarded against d i s p l a y i n g o p e n l y hostile stands. Nevertheless, we had been v i g i l a n t l y w a t c h ing t h e i r a c t i v i t y and had seen that the dose of
resistance in t h e m was increasing f r o m d a y to day.
____________________________________
* Kokoshi
in
Albanian
means
555
rooster.
F o r some t i m e w e had had reports that R i z a D a n i ,
G j e r g j K o k o s h i , Shefqet B e j a and some others, w h o
w e r e convinced that o u r P a r t y w o u l d go bankrupt,
were l i n k e d w i t h the B r i t i s h and A m e r i c a n m i l i t a r y
missions. As was discovered later, it was these m i s sions w h i c h organized and directed these elements to
create the resistance and opposition, legal a n d illegal,
against the people's state power, against the P a r t y and
the m a j o r reforms w e w e r e c a r r y i n g out. W e k n e w
that these i n d i v i d u a l s w e n t in and out of the B r i t i s h
mission and w e r e f r i e n d l y w i t h its functionaries. W e
considered this n o r m a l a n d realized that, if we w e r e
to m a k e a n y comradely c r i t i c i s m about this, t h e y w o u l d
say to us: «There is n o t h i n g w r o n g w i t h it because
they are o u r allies.» We w e r e soon convinced, h o w ever, that t h e y d i d not go to v i s i t the B r i t i s h or the
A m e r i c a n missions to t a l k about the w e a t h e r or to d r i n k
a coffee or a w h i s k e y , but to «complain about their
problems» and co-ordinate their a c t i v i t y against us.
M y suspicions w e r e q u i c k l y c o n f i r m e d after a meeting w h i c h I h a d w i t h the B r i t i s h general, Hodgson.
Some days after his a r r i v a l in o u r country, about
the b e g i n n i n g of 1945, Hodgson, w h o was head of the
B r i t i s h mission, sought an audience a n d I r e c e i v e d
h i m at the p r i m e m i n i s t e r ' s office. He greeted me
w i t h his r u d d y face and his cane u n d e r his a r m , took
off his cap and I i n v i t e d h i m to sit d o w n in an a r m chair. As soon as he was seated, he began p o m p o u s l y :
«I b r i n g good news for the F r o n t and y o u r a d ministration,» he said and handed me an o f f i c i a l letter f r o m U N R R A . « U N R R A , » continued Hodgson, «has
556
decided to assist y o u as the allies we are, w i t h food,
materials, etc.,» a n d he continued to list the aid. I
h a n d e d the letter to the interpreter w h o translated it
for me.
«I cannot read the signature,» he said at the end.
« A s k the general,» I t o l d h i m .
«The note has been signed b y M a j o r O a k l e y H i l l
w h o has been appointed representative of U N R R A in
A l b a n i a , » r e p l i e d Hodgson.
«Is this f e l l o w w h o was Zog's adviser on the gend a r m e r i e s t i l l alive?» I asked h i m .
«Yes,» r e p l i e d the general, «he is alive a n d n o w
he has the o p p o r t u n i t y to assist A l b a n i a again.»
«Except that, this is no longer the A l b a n i a of
Zog, but A l b a n i a of the partisans and the people,
therefore I am astonished at this coincidence that
U N R R A has appointed M a j o r O a k l e y H i l l , w h o signed
this letter, to o u r c o u n t r y w h e n it is k n o w n that
there is no longer a gendarmerie to t r a i n in A l b a n i a , »
I told h i m .
W i t h o u t doubt b o t h the G e n e r a l and H i l l w e r e
agents of the B r i t i s h Intelligence Service.
«Nevertheless,» I said, «we t h a n k U N R R A for
the s y m p a t h y w h i c h it has demonstrated, but,» I c o n tinued, g l a n c i n g d o w n the list of materials w h i c h
U N R R A had decided to send, «we t h i n k that the
q u a n t i t y allocated does not respond either to o u r needs
or to the losses w h i c h the A l b a n i a n people have suffered d u r i n g the war.»
«I don't k n o w w h a t to say to y o u about that,»
replied Hodgson. «In any case I have been i n f o r m e d
that the representatives o f U N R R A w i l l come t o T i 557
rana in a few days time, and so y o u can discuss these
things w i t h them.»
«Of course,» I r e p l i e d .
(In fact the representatives of U N R R A came, together w i t h the instructor of Zog's gendarmerie, but
the discussions w i t h t h e m were i n v a i n . T h e y w e r e
engaged more w i t h plots than w i t h s t u d y i n g our r e quirements and the organization of the aid.)
«These goods,» continued the G e n e r a l , « w i l l be
landed at D u r r ë s or V l o r a or w h e r e v e r y o u like, and a
group o f B r i t i s h officers and soldiers w i l l l a n d w i t h
them.»
« W h y are these soldiers and officers coming?»
«To distribute the goods, n a t u r a l l y , w h e r e v e r y o u
allocate them.»
«Why, can't w e distribute t h e m ourselves? W e
are a state, we are a government.»
«It must be done in this way,» r e p l i e d the G e neral, «otherwise, the goods w i l l not be supplied.»
«We do not refuse supplies f r o m the allies,» I told
Hogdson, «but we do not accept c h a r i t y and y o u cannot
impose conditions on us. We do not agree that any
B r i t i s h soldier or officer should set foot on o u r land,
or even in o u r ports. E v e r y t h i n g w i l l be h a n d e d to c u r
port authorities in the presence of people f r o m y o u r
mission in T i r a n a and we w i l l give y o u a receipt to
show that we received this or that commodity. T h i s is
the o n l y procedure acceptable to us. A c c e p t it if y o u
w i s h , otherwise w e refuse the U N R R A goods.»
The General, of course, was displeased, and w e n t
away saying w i t h British phlegm: «I shall inform my
government.»
558
S o m e t i m e later K o k o s h i and B e j a came to me,
allegedly for something else, and brought the conversat i o n r o u n d to the U N R R A aid. I e x p l a i n e d to t h e m
w h a t had happened. Shefqet B e j a began to say to m e :
«That's a l l v e r y w e l l , E n v e r , but it's to o u r benefit, w e ' r e in need and we s h o u l d m a k e some concession, because it's a b i g government a n d is offended,»
and a l l sorts of other such r u b b i s h .
«Listen, Shefqet,» I said, «we are not o f f e n d i n g
anyone, but it is the B r i t i s h government that is off e n d i n g us. W h a t does it take us f o r ? Y o u w h o have
been a merchant, aren't y o u able to distribute a f e w
rags instead of the B r i t i s h c o m i n g here to do this for
us? No, we w i l l m a k e no concession. If t h e y w a n t to,
let t h e m b r i n g the goods on the conditions w h i c h we
present to them.»
W h a t i n t r i g u e d me, however, was f r o m w h o m had
Shefqet B e j a learned this and w h o urged h i m t o i n t e r vene? U n d o u b t e d l y , the B r i t i s h G e n e r a l .
O n l y a little later, these t w o made another attempt
in f a v o u r of the arrogant p o l i c y of the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n
imperialists. T h i s occurred on the eve of the elections
to the Constituent A s s e m b l y , in N o v e m b e r of that year,
w h e n the recognition of our G o v e r n m e n t by the Soviet
U n i o n w a s announced and the U S A and G r e a t B r i t a i n
seemed to be going to recognize us, too. As is k n o w n ,
w h i l e the recognition on the part of the Soviet G o v e r n m e n t w a s open and sincere, B r i t a i n and the U n i t e d
States of A m e r i c a set conditions for this. We rejected
t h e i r conditions, especially that of the A m e r i c a n government that we should recognize the agreements
w h i c h Z o g had made w i t h it. G j e r g j K o k o s h i , Shef559
qet B e j a and R i z a D a n i came to me again to persuade
me that we should not be so e x a c t i n g towards these
t w o great powers, because, as the s m a l l c o u n t r y we
were, we needed their a i d and support and, therefore,
had to m a k e t h e m some concession. I rejected the «arguments» of these individuals, about w h o m the idea
w a s c r y s t a l l i z i n g i n m y m i n d that t h e y w e r e agents
of the B r i t i s h and the A m e r i c a n s .
Of course, seeing that n e i t h e r their attempts, n o r
the pressures of the A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s w e r e y i e l d i n g
a n y results, these elements, w h o w e r e g r a d u a l l y g o i n g
over to the positions of reaction, w o u l d counteract w i t h
other means and i n other forms. A n d , i n fact, our i n formation service had reported that these elements had
been set in movement a n d w e r e organizing. T h i s o r ganization was done, y o u m i g h t say, w i t h the o l d m a terial, because they had no basis among the people.
T h e y w e r e establishing the old l i n k s w i t h o u r w a r t i m e
enemies, w i t h the b a n k r u p t intellectuals, w i t h the aghas
w h o had lost their