Albania in World War 2: Occupation, Resistance, Liberation

The story of Albania in the Second World War begins earlier than in most of Europe. On 7 April 1939, Fascist Italy seized the country. After Italy capitulated in September 1943, Nazi Germany took its place. The resistance split into communists and nationalists. By the end of November 1944 the country had been liberated, and power had passed to the communists.

This is the sixth chapter of our guide to the history of Albania. It covers the years from the Italian invasion to the liberation of 1944.

The Italian invasion of 1939

On 7 April 1939, Italian troops under General Alfredo Guzzoni landed simultaneously at Durrës, Vlorë, Shëngjin and Sarandë. A day later they entered Tirana. King Zog fled to Greece, and Albania lost its independence for years to come.

In Durrës, the naval petty officer Mujo Ulqinaku held out against the landing until he was killed by a shell from an Italian ship. Zog left with Queen Geraldine and their son Leka, taking part of the national bank's gold with him. On 12 April an assembly in Tirana voted for a personal union with Italy and offered the crown to King Victor Emmanuel III. Shefqet Vërlaci, the largest landowner in the country, became head of the collaborationist government.

In practice, Albania became an Italian province. Italian officials controlled every lever of power, and the occupiers set out to bring every part of national life under fascism, schools included. In October 1940, when Italy attacked Greece, Albania also "declared" war on Greece. Albanians conscripted into the Italian army deserted in large numbers.

Resistance in Albania in World War 2: communists and nationalists

Resistance began almost at once, with demonstrations, leaflets, sabotage and small armed groups known as çeta ("bands"). By 1942 two main movements had emerged: the National Liberation Movement, increasingly led by the communists, and the nationalist Balli Kombëtar.

The groups did not start on an equal footing. Zog's supporters were weakened because the king was not leading the resistance. The nationalists were poorly organised, while the communists rallied quickly after Germany attacked the USSR in 1941. That same year, the young anti-fascist Vasil Laçi tried to assassinate Victor Emmanuel III during his visit to Tirana.

The Communist Party and Peza

In November 1941 the Communist Party of Albania was founded in Tirana. It had about 130 members and was led by Enver Hoxha. Its stated aims were to liberate the country and restore its independence and a democratic system. The means to that end would be an anti-fascist front and an armed uprising.

On 16 September 1942 the Peza Conference met in the house of Myslym Peza. It created the National Liberation Movement, with a network of national liberation councils that served as the organs of power in liberated areas. The communists were not alone at Peza: nationalists such as Abaz Kupi, Myslym Peza and Baba Faja Martaneshi took part too. From 17 to 22 March 1943 the Communist Party held its First National Conference in Labinot. In July the General Staff of the National Liberation Army was set up, with Spiro Moisiu as commander and Enver Hoxha as political commissar.

Balli Kombëtar. Balli Kombëtar ("National Front") was founded in the autumn of 1942 by Midhat Frashëri and Ali Këlcyra. Its programme, the "Decalogue", called for an ethnic, democratic Albania. The movement brought together nationalists who were mostly republican and anti-communist, and at first it opposed the Italian occupation. It had two wings. One wanted to fight the occupiers actively. The other preferred to wait for the "right moment", when the Allies would land in the Balkans.

Mukje: an alliance that failed. In August 1943, at Mukje, representatives of the National Liberation Movement and Balli Kombëtar agreed to form a Committee for the Salvation of Albania. The question of Kosovo was to be settled by a popular vote. The Central Committee of the Communist Party rejected the agreement, partly under the influence of the Yugoslav communists, and the rift deepened. Zog's supporters left the National Liberation Front and formed the Legaliteti movement, led by Abaz Kupi. Albanian forces were soon fighting one another in a civil war.

The German occupation, 1943–1944

On 8 September 1943 Italy capitulated, and Nazi Germany occupied Albania. Some German troops had already crossed into the country in July, but the main force arrived in September. Germany wanted to fill the vacuum left by the Italians, control the roads and guard the coast against a possible Allied landing.

The Germans promised not to interfere in internal affairs and relied on an Albanian administration. A High Council of Regency, chaired by Mehdi Frashëri, became head of state. Rexhep Mitrovica was among the leading figures. The occupiers played on the idea of a "Greater Albania", insisting that their presence was "temporary" and pointing to the "independence" proclaimed under their protection. In reality, the country's sovereignty was limited.

The regime was brutal. On 4 February 1944 in Tirana, police units under Interior Minister Xhafer Deva killed several dozen residents suspected of anti-fascist activity. In the winter of 1943–1944, German troops launched the Winter Operation to wipe out the partisans, accompanied by mass terror against civilians. The partisans survived and went on the counter-offensive. In May and June 1944 came the June Operation, in which German troops fought the partisans alongside the gendarmerie and Balli units. Throughout this period, British military missions worked with the resistance.

The rescue of the Jews

Albania is one of the few countries in Europe that had more Jews at the end of the war than at the start. Before the war there were about 200; by the end there were about 1,800, because Albanians also sheltered refugees from other countries.

During the German occupation, Albanians refused to hand over lists of Jews to the Germans. They hid Jewish families and provided them with false papers. This is linked to besa ("word of honour"), the Albanian code of honour. It obliges a person to keep their word and to protect anyone who has asked for help.

The liberation of 1944

By the autumn of 1944 the National Liberation Army had the upper hand. In May, the Congress of Përmet set up the organs of a new government. In October, a Provisional Government was formed in Berat. Tirana was liberated on 17 November, and the official date of the liberation of all Albania is 29 November 1944.

The Congress of Përmet met on 24 May 1944. It created the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council as the supreme legislative and executive body. It also set up the Anti-Fascist Committee, which acted as a provisional government. The committee was led by Enver Hoxha, who was also elected commander-in-chief of the army. The Congress barred King Zog from returning and decided that the form of government would be settled by a popular vote after the war. It also resolved not to recognise any other government and to review earlier treaties with foreign states.

After the June Operation, the 1st Assault Division moved north to fight the Balli, the Zogists and other nationalist forces. The final phase, the liberation of the towns, began in September 1944. In October, in Berat, the Anti-Fascist Committee became the Provisional Democratic Government, led by Enver Hoxha. The assembly adopted a "Declaration of the Rights of Citizens" that guaranteed freedom of speech, of the press and of elections, as well as equality between men and women.

Tirana was liberated on 17 November 1944 after almost three weeks of fighting, with help from the city's residents. On 29 November, with the liberation of Shkodër, the war in Albania was over. The day is marked as Liberation Day. According to the history textbook, Albanians faced 15 enemy divisions. The country's human and material losses were very heavy for a population of its size.

Kosovo and Chameria during the war

On the eve of the war, the Albanians of Kosovo and Chameria lived under pressure from the Yugoslav and Greek monarchies. The war redrew the borders for a while. In 1941 most of Kosovo was joined to Albania under Italian control, and hundreds of Albanian schools opened there.

In September 1943, by then under German occupation, the Second League of Prizren was founded to keep the Albanian lands united, with Bedri Pejani as its chairman. The anti-fascist movement in Kosovo grew under the influence of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, while Serbian Chetniks were also active against the Albanians. The Bujan Conference (31 December 1943 – 2 January 1944) invoked the right to self-determination and declared that Kosovo's Albanians wished to unite with Albania after the war. This did not happen. Kosovo remained part of Yugoslavia as a province of Serbia, and Albanian resistance was crushed under martial law.

In the south, between June 1944 and March 1945, the Greek EDES forces of General Napoleon Zervas drove the Chams out of Greece. On 27 June 1944 came the massacre of Paramythia.

Next: Communist Albania. Previous: Albania in 1912–1939.