Trudy Gold
The Jews of Albania and Saving During the Holocaust

Trudy Gold - The Jews of Albania and Saving During the Holocaust

- All right. Well, good evening, everyone, and welcome to the second session on Albania. And one of the reasons we decided to bring Albania into our Lockdown programme at this stage is that because of the Prime Minister Edi Rama. Those of you who listened to the presentation on IsraAID will know that when Wendy’s foundation rescued people from Afghanistan, she needed a third country to land in. And that was actually Albania because she’d already formed a relationship with the prime minister, because ironically, before he went into politics, he was actually a sculptor. So they had a relationship. She phoned him and he was incredibly accommodating. And when we decided to look at Albania, he agreed to be interviewed by her. And that’s actually going to happen on the 31st of January. I’m giving you a forward announcement. It’s not yet on the schedule and it won’t be at our normal Lockdown time, but you will all be given the information. And I think it’s rather special that the prime minister of Albania has agreed to speak to us all. So that’s one of the reasons we wanted to acquaint you with the extraordinary role of Albania during the Shoah. Because what is special about Albania is that there were more Jews at the end of the war than there were at the beginning, and this was a story that for many years was not told. And I think it’s important to remember before we actually get onto the telling of the story itself, is that communism is going to sweep through the Balkans, it’s going to sweep in through Eastern Europe.

And Stalin and his cohorts, they did not want to single out the Jewish issue. As a result, there was very little knowledge of what had happened in the Holocaust. And as Albania became such a close society under Hoxha, of course nothing was done. And it’s really only after the collapse of communism that you begin to see the beginnings of research, and it still isn’t finished. But now we do know that 75 Albanian families have been honoured by Yad Vashem, but it all came very, very late. But more about that later on. So, to begin the story, I think I’d like to start with a map, if you don’t mind, Judy. Here you are. This is the division of Albania, 1914 to 1916, the creation of a state. Now, the Albanians themselves refer to themselves as the Sons of the Eagles. And as William began to tell you yesterday, it’s had a very chequered history. There were centuries of invasions by the Visigoths, the Huns, the Bulgars, the Slavs, and finally they’re conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. And that cutoff Albania, which is in Europe, from the West. They were declared independent, as William’s already told you, in 1912. The boundaries were actually established by the European powers of the day, the Austro-Hungarians, the French, the Germans, the Italians, and the Russians. So it’s a tiny state. Much of it is mountainous, wild mountainous regions, a very, very beautiful country. Three quarters of its territory actually is mountainous. And the Albanian north, if you look at that, the mountains cover most of the country. It’s the most rugged part. It’s heavily populated, it’s heavily forested, I beg your pardon, and very sparsely populated.

Now, Albania is a pretty homogenous society. The only non-Albanians, about 10% of the population, the largest minority are Greeks and Macedonians on the eastern border and the Vlachs on the northern border. So it’s a pretty homogenous society. Now, to talk about tribes, because in order to understand why so many Jews were saved, it’s important to understand the actual infrastructure of Albania itself. Now, there were two main subgroups, two tribes, the Ghegs in the north and the Tosks in the south. And until the communist takeover, Albanian politics were actually dominated by the Ghegs. Now, what was important to both these tribes, and remember, it’s still a tribal society at this period, independent spirit, very great prowess in fighting. They loathe outside authority, either foreign invaders or of the Albanian central government. So you’re looking at tribespeople who resent authority, who have huge freedom of spirit. And important to remember that these subgroups, particularly the Ghegs, are led on tribal terms. Each tribe has its own chieftain. And the peasantry, which make up most of the population, live at subsistence level. Even today, even though Edi Rama has made incredible inroads, which Wendy will be talking to him about, it’s still a very poor country. But there’s a group of landowners who controlled, in the turn of the century, they controlled something like two thirds of the arable land. So you’ve got that sort of society. Now, William talked a little bit about King Zog. So shall we see King Zog and Queen Geraldine, if you don’t mind?

There’s King Zog of Albania and Queen Geraldine, who of course was half American. Now, I’m going to give you a little bit of background to him, because he was quite important in the saving of Jews. President Zogu, King Zog I, he was born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli. Remember, the majority population of Albania are Muslims, and I’m going to talk about the subdivisions in a minute. And he was born at Castle Burgajet in the north of the Ottoman Empire. He was the son of an Albanian chieftain and landowner from the Mati region and his second wife. So he looks like a European monarch, doesn’t he? He looks like a European gentleman, but in fact he comes from tribal chiefs and wealthy tribal chiefs. And upon his father’s death, he becomes the governor of his father’s region ahead of his older half-brother. He participated in the Albanian revolt against the Turks of 1912. And that, of course, is what led to Albanian independence, which is ratified by the Arabs. By the Allies, beg your pardon. And in 1913, the international community recognised independent Albania. During World War I, he volunteers on the side of Austro-Hungary. He very much fell in love with the Western lifestyle. On his return, he becomes involved in the political life of the new state, became minister of the interior and chief of the Albanian military. There were many attempts on his life. He was shot and wounded in parliament. In 1924, there was a huge crisis over the shooting of a leading industrialist, one of his opponents, and then there was a leftist revolt. Important also to remember that communist ideas are creeping even into Albania, and it forced him with 600 of his followers into exile.

He returns to Albania with the backing of a rather sinister character known as the Black Baron. You know, history is full of these characters. The Black Baron was born Pyotr Wrangel. He was the former commander of the White Armies in the south. And if you remember, the White Armies in the south of Russia were the Tsarist armies. These are the armies that made up of ex-Tsarist officers, aristocrats, a lot of anti-Semites, and they were very much in the fight against Trotsky’s Red Army. And of course, they were defeated. Now the Black Baron had actually been born, he came from the old Baltic nobility. He’d been born in Livland, part of the whole tradition of the German knights. But the Black Baron, who was also working with rightist Yugoslav forces, gave Zog the backing of this. I should mention, when you’re talking about the Balkans, and people asked questions of William in the last session. I don’t know if it’s a true story, but it’s a lovely story. When Prince Albert died, Benjamin Disraeli wrote a beautiful letter of condolence to the Queen. She was so impressed by the letter that he was invited to the palace. And evidently he said to her, “Madam, there were only two people in Europe who really understood the Balkans, and now one of them is dead.” And of course, the other one he was referring to was Benjamin Disraeli, who is actually going to come into the story of the Balkans when we move on to Romania next week. So, he’s back in power, he’s put in power by the Black Baron, and he’s elected as the first president of Albania for a seven-year term. Effectively, he becomes the dictator of Albania and has the right to appoint all government officials.

He very much wanted a European model. He very much wanted to modernise his country. Remember, he’s the only Muslim king in Europe. He wants to be seen as a European. But the point is the large majority of Albania still maintained the Ottoman social structure. At this stage, there were about a million people living in Albania. Today there’s about 3 million. Now, his principal ally was Albania, the principal ally of Albania was Italy. And William I think told you yesterday how the Italian banks basically had to finance Albania as it emerged as a nation. And really, can we see the next slide, please? Zog emerges as a great hero of Albania. The other great hero is a man called Skanderbeg. And I thought I’d show you his picture, Skanderbeg or Iskander, you find his picture on a lot of Albanian states. He was a feudal lord who’d led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, and he always signed himself in Latin, Dominus Albaniae. He’s a huge figure today in Albanian national conscience. And so is Zog, by the way. Now that communism has collapsed, they’re great figures in Albanian independence. Now, in 1844, talking about Albania as a country, a standardised alphabet for Albanian had been written mainly for Albanians living abroad. And it becomes, by 1870s, this is how nationalism begins. Remember, Zog and Albania was very much the product of all the nationalism that was sweeping Europe in the 19th century. And as a response, they succeeded.

They managed to push off the Ottoman Turks, the Turkish Empire was the sick man of Europe, and it’s recognised. Now, Zog did in his lifetime initiate many reforms that did lead to the emergence of a real nation. But it was still a police state, there were very few civil liberties, press were censored, and often his opponents were actually imprisoned or killed. And in 1928, he becomes Zog I. William talked about this yesterday. He was no longer President Zogu. He is now Zog I. And he took that surname because Ahmed might have isolated him from his fellow European monarchs. He wanted to be part of the European stage. He also took the parallel name of Skanderbeg II, claiming descent through Skanderbeg’s sister. So he also ties up with the great hero. He was also the field marshal of the Royal Albanian Army, which had a very strong police force and created his own salute. It’s known as the Zogist salute. He gave his whole family royal status and one of his sisters actually married a son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Now, he abolished Islamic law. He replaced it with a civil code very much based on the Swiss civil code. Ataturk had done exactly the same in Turkey. But in effect, even though he has abolished Albanian Islamic law, you have Swiss law, you do have a parliament, nevertheless, it is a military dictatorship. But what is special about that man, even though he’s not taken too seriously by other European monarchies, he still has strong contacts with the royal families, particularly in the Arab world where the ruling dynasty had Albanian origins. And of course, that would bring his family into contact with the Egyptian royal family, which remained in power until King Farouk was deposed in 1952.

And again, another story about Farouk. When Farouk was finally deposed, he said, “You know, by the year 2000, there will only be five kings left in the world. The king of clubs, diamonds, spades, and hearts, and the King of England.” So who knows? But the point is he had close contacts with them. Now, he’d married in August 1938 Countess Geraldine, who was a Catholic aristocrat, half American, half Hungarian, and they had one child, Crown Prince Leka. Now, there were over 600 different blood feuds against Zog. He reportedly survived more than 55 assassination attempts. Now, during the Depression, Albania was more or less totally dependent on Italy, and the Albanian National Bank had its headquarters in Rome. And Italy asserted control, and Mussolini actually called for schools in Albania to compulsorily teach Italian. And because Albania is very much the little boy in this relationship, of course it happens. Now, can we come to the next slide please? Because what is absolutely extraordinary about Albania is that Zog is going to allow any Jew into Albania who asked for a visa. And this is Herbert Bernstein, the American ambassador to Albania in 1934. “There is no trace of any discrimination against Jews in Albania. Albania happens to be one of the rare lands in Europe today where religious prejudice and hate does not exist, even though the Albanians are divided into three faiths.” Can we have a look at the religious divide in Albania, ‘cause it’s very interesting. Thank you. Now, you will see from that the majority are Sunni Muslims.

Then you have, of course, you have the Sunni and you have the majority, you have the Bektashi. There are sects within Sunni and there are sects within Bektashi. Now, who are the Bektashi? They are a sect within Sunni, but what they are are very much influenced by Sufism. They have a very esoteric spiritual side to their religiosity, but the majority are Sunni Muslims. And if you look at the Christian sects, Catholic, Orthodox. So you see other sects, the Uniates, there are Protestants as well as Jews, but they are insignificant. The Muslims make up 80% of the religious divide in, sorry, 60% of the religious divide in Albania. And that of course goes back historically to the time of the Ottoman Turks. Now, anyway, on the 7th of April, 1939, Mussolini decides to invade. Mussolini wants control of Albania. He’s part of the alliance with Hitler. When he insists that Albanian schools all teach Italian, Zog refuses. He begins to find ways of attempting to break away, but he couldn’t find any other sponsor. He went around looking for other sponsors, he couldn’t find one. And then on the 7th of April, can we see the next slide, Judy? This is Albania at the start of World War II. And it’s important to have a look at that map please, because you’re going to see that Albania is actually, because of the Italian invasion, is going to have more land, okay? Have a look also where Albania is situated. Look at Greece, look at Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, which is an Italian protectorate. Have a look at the Independent State of Croatia. Serbia, which is very much under German occupation, but is very much allied to Germany. It’s very important that you see how this is geographically.

Okay. Now, so Mussolini invades and Albanian army is totally taken over by Italian advisors. Can we see the next slide please? Here you see the Italian invasion of Albania. The royal family flee into exile. As William told you yesterday, they took a significant amount of gold from the National Bank of Tirana. Remember, the main bank is in Italy anyway. And evidently Zog said, “Oh God, it was so short, so short.” That was his comment to his wife as they fled. Now Mussolini declares Albania a protectorate under Victor Emmanuel II. The royal family, what happened to them? They finally fled to Greece. Zog called Mussolini and Hitler, now this is interesting, he said “they are madmen facing two fools who sleep.” And who were the madmen, who were the two fools who slept? As far as Zog was concerned, Daladier and Chamberlain. Eventually he finished up in France, then he fled to England after France fell. He set up camp at the Ritz in London in 1941. Those of you who are in England will find this quite interesting. He moved to Buckinghamshire, but for some reason his staff were put up in Land’s End, in locations around Land’s End right to the west of Cornwall. I’ll just finish off with his story before we get to the central theme, the Jews. 1946, at the behest of Farouk, he moves to Egypt. And as I said, after Farouk is overthrown, he goes back to France. He dies in France in 1961. Allegedly, he smoked 200 cigarettes a day. And of course, the communist government abolished the monarchy in 1946. And after communism fell, his remains were reinterred in Tirana for the 100th anniversary of the state in 2012, and it’s now in the Royal Mausoleum.

And when he was interred, the whole of the Albanian government came to prepare, to pay their respects. So, within a month of the Italian occupation, an Albanian Fascist Party was formed. It becomes a branch of the Italian Fascist Party. They took the oath of loyalty to Mussolini. This is a small Muslim fighting force who are going to fight for the fascists. And in fact, they were reviewed by a man who will be known to all of you, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, who of course is the Mufti of Jerusalem. So, the Italians occupy Albania. They also create Greater Albania that included much of Kosova and a portion of Western Macedonia, as you saw on the map. This is very important. This has been detached from Yugoslavia after the Axis powers invaded. So basically, the Balkans is being divided up, and it’s terribly important to try and remember the geographical regions. Now, under Italian rule, Albanians in Kosova were encouraged to open Albanian schools, which had been forbidden under Yugoslav rules. Also given Albanian citizenship in July and also allowed to fly the Albanian flag. So those Albanians resident in Kosova were given rights as Albanians. Now, there were 20,000 Italian troops and 5,000 police in Kosova alone, hundreds of thousands of them in Greater Albania. Now, at the Wannsee conference, Albania’s list of Jews is only 200. But what we know is over 2000 sought refuge in Albania proper and they’re going to be sheltered by the Albanians, and I’m coming onto that soon.

Now there were 500 Jews in Kosova, which is in Greater Albania, but not under Albanian control. Now, tragically, the Waffen Mountain Division of the first Albanian-German mountain infantry, this is the one I’ve just talked to you about, they were later declared at Nuremberg a criminal division, they did hand over 281 Jews from Kosova, who tragically were sent to Bergen-Belsen where 600 of them were actually killed. In Albania, in Albania proper, only five Jews from the same family were murdered by the Nazis. And as I said, Albania is going to emerge with a Jewish population 11 times greater than at the beginning. Why? Now, can we come to the next slide please? Here you see the German invasion of Albania. September 1943, Mussolini falls. One of the problems with Jewish history, one has to slot Jewish history into the outside world so you understand what’s going on. You know, it’s that quote actually of Leon Pinsker. “The world acts, all the Jews can do is react. We are ghosts upon the face of the world.” And I don’t think it’s difficult to understand why Zionism is going to become such an important movement to the Jews, particularly after World War II. So in September '43, after the fall of Mussolini, Albania becomes a German possession, and this is when the Germans demand lists from the government. And, to give you an example, when the Germans tried to arrest the Jews of Vlora, which is in the north, the partisans deterred the operations by demonstrating their control of the surrounding countryside.

They actually came down. Now, the Germans, the government, the Albanian government, which is under Nazi occupation now, had actually refused to hand over the list. The partisans who came down into the town to protect the Jews, they refused to cooperate with the Nazis. Not only that, they began singing and dancing Albanian folk songs as a symbol of their resistance. And the Albanians totally refused to cooperate with the Nazis. This is a quote from a woman called Lime Balla, who was one of the Righteous. “We were poor, we didn’t even have a dining table, but we never allowed them to pay for food and for shelter. I went into the forest to chop wood and haul water. We grew vegetables in our garden, so we all had plenty to eat. The Jews were sheltered in our village for 15 months. We dressed them as farmers like us. Even the local police knew that the villagers were saving Jews.” Now, what is this all about? I’ve already said to you that back in 1938, King Zog allowed visas for Albania to be given to Jews. So in the main, in the beginning, it was mainly German and Austrian Jews that came into Albania. Now, a Canadian-Albanian scholar has now produced a list of Jews saved in Albania. His count is now 3,160. As I said, this is still work in progress. Why? Because under communism nothing came to light and it’s only recently that scholars have had the time to work on all this. And in many cases, the Albanian government was deliberately involved in rescuing Jews, they just refused to give out any lists. Harvey Sarner in his book “Rescue in Albania,” “Government documents show that negotiations took place with German commanders for the release of arrested Jews.” This is something else, the Albanians even managed to have certain Jews released from detention. Now, what was it about Albania?

Because if you think about it, apart from incredibly brave people from country to country, yes, the Jews of Denmark in the main were saved because they were transported by sea to neutral Sweden. Bulgaria has an interesting record. Romania has a very chequered record. But in the main, I think it’s fair to say that the Nazis were the perpetrators, aided and abetted by so many collaborators from so many different countries, that when a country stands out against, particularly a country as poor as Albania, what is it all about? Why wasn’t there anti-Jewish prejudice? Was it because it was a country of mixed religions? Was it because it was a country with a very strong tribal tradition? Even today, it’s still a traditional society. You know, I’ve not visited Albania, but I have visited Transylvania. I’ve travelled a lot in the Balkans and in the East. And I think living in Western Europe, you don’t really get a picture of what Eastern Europe is really like. And certainly, this is a description. “In parts of the country, turkeys run wild in the street, bicycle-led carts,” I’m quoting now, “double as taxis, and blood feuds still occur. Entrenched in Albanian culture is the Kanun. It dates back to the 15th century. It’s passed down orally. It’s not codified until the first half of the 19th century. According to the notion of Kanun, in this tribal society, an Albanian home is first the home of God and then the home of the guest. Fundamental to the code of Besa is a moral pledge to keep one’s word and to uphold one’s honour.” Honour is all-important. You find that in certain branches of Islam, the honour. I had a Muslim friend and I used to argue the Arab-Israeli conflict with him.

And he dined in my house, I dined in his, and he said, “We can never feud because there is bread and water between us. We have eaten together, we have shared hospitality.” And this is absolutely important, particularly in a tribal society, particularly in a society that loathes authority and is away from the centre, because it’s really in the mountainous regions that the majority of Jews were saved. Now, this is the sense of honour that also in the First World War impelled impoverished Albanians to take in Austro-Hungarians after they had capitulated. Also, they sheltered some of their former Italian occupiers after they capitulated and they took Jews in in World War II And later on in the 1990s, they took in people from Kosova. Now, can we see the next slide please? Now, this is an incredible man. His name is Norman Gershman. He had a very highly successful career on Wall Street. His passion was portrait photography. He was a global traveller. After the fall of communism, he went to the remote areas of Albania and he took portraits of the rescuers. These portraits are now in the permanent Yad Vashem travelling exhibition, and there’s also the exhibition in New York at, it’s at New York University, is it? I think. It’s one of the centres of New York. He won many awards for his work, including the Albanian highest civilian award. And this is what Madam Jehan Sadat said of him. “Through the eyes of Norman Gershman, we can see that beyond our individual identities and desires, there is a common care for self, an essential humanity whose nature is peace, whose expression is thought, and whose action is unconditional love.” That was the widow of Anwar Sadat. So can we go on please? Because I want you to see, this is a short film that you can get on YouTube. This is the “Besa,” this is “The Promise.” Can we see it please, Judy?

CLIP BEGINS

• [Narrator] How many people would lay down their lives for a stranger?

• Got it, got it.

• [Narrator] Albanians would.

• Hello, I’m Norman Gershman, very pleased to meet you. Your family rescued this Jewish family under the Nazis. You’re Muslims, is that correct?

• [Interviewee] Yeah.

• [Norman] It was this collective agreement amongst the people to save people.

• [Norman] 60 years he’s got these books, but they must be returned.

• [Norman] The journey was almost a year to find this Jewish family.

• [Householder] The door is open.

CLIP ENDS

• I hope you have the opportunity. It’s on YouTube, look it up. It’s really worth looking at that film. And Judy, can we very slowly look at some of the pictures that were taken by Norman Gershman? Which as I said, they’re at the travelling exhibition of Yad Vashem. They’ve also been at the United Nations. And in the end, 75 separate Albanian families have been recognised by Yad Vashem. So these in the main are mountain people who took in Jewish families, and of course, these were children when the Jews were saved. But aren’t the pictures absolutely wonderful? Can we go on with the pictures? If we could just keep on them a little while. These people really do deserve honour. And among the portraits, there’s one of Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi who was head of the Muslim Bektari Order. Now remember I told you the Bektari Order was a very spiritual Sufi kind of order within Sunni Islam. He said that the prime minister of the time, Mehdi Frasheri, who was also Bektashi, told him, quote, “During the Nazi occupation, all Jewish children will sleep with your children. All will eat the same food. All will live as one family.” And that comes from the prime minister, the Albanian prime minister under Nazi occupation. This is from another one of the rescuers. This is Nadire Proseku, very, very old lady when she’s interviewed. She’s sheltered three refugees for a year. And remember, these people are dirt poor. “We saw the Jews as brothers. As religious but liberal Muslims,” this is important, “we were only doing our duty.” Isn’t it fascinating to try and understand what creates this kind of empathy in people? This mountain people, this tribal people have such a strong connection of honour that they see the Jews, who have been, remember, the king has given visas.

They’re first occupied by the Italians, which was far more benign than the Nazi occupation. But even the Nazis didn’t want to go against the mountain people. So as a result, Jewish refugees had made their way into Albania before World War II, refugees given visas. And the those in Albania proper, apart from five from one family, were all sheltered by Albanians and they all survived the war. Now, I can remember, can we go on a little bit, Judy? Thank you. I can remember back in the '90s, there was a fascinating woman called Scarlett Epstein. She was an an Austrian Jew. Her family had had to get out of Vienna. She was a social anthropologist and an economist. And she was so insistent that the story of Albania, remember she’s an anthropologist, be told. And she actually worked with Sir Sigmund Sternberg, another fascinating character. Sir Sigmund Sternberg was a Hungarian Jew. He was chairman of many, many organisations. He was a chairman of the International Council of Christians and Jews. He was responsible for an incredible amount of good works all over the world. When we were teaching in Poland when there was a terrible incident over the crosses at Auschwitz. Some of you may remember that controversy when nuns at Auschwitz planted crosses, seeing Auschwitz as a religious site. And of course, Jewish groups were incredibly upset by this. And at that stage, it was just after communism collapsed, somebody like 50% of the teaching of World War II was by the priests.

And we had a conference and all the priests had pulled out. And I happened to see Sir Sigmund, who was the vice chairman of the London Jewish Cultural Centre at the time, and I said, “help!” And then he said, “all right.” And the next day I had a letter from Cardinal Glemp saying that the seminar should go ahead. He was an incredible fixer. And we had a ceremony where he gave the Albanian ambassador of the time the Sternberg Medal. So this work has been going on. And can we have a look at the last slide, if you don’t mind, Judy? Now, this is, ironically, back in 2012, the Albanian Minister of Agriculture was the son of one of the Righteous. And here you see him visiting Yad Vashem. But as I said to you, the story has not yet been told. Now, just going back a little bit into history, because there is ironically, 'cause I need you to take this picture on that the first mention of Jews in Albania goes right back to the 12th century. Benjamin of Tudela. Remember that incredible Jewish traveller who visited 300 separate cities? And he said, “They are not strong in the faith, but they call each other by Jewish names and some say that they are Jews.” And we know that there were Jewish settlements in the land in the 16th century. They were founded first by refugees from the Iberian Peninsula. These are the Spanish and later Portuguese Jews who are escaping. Remember, 1492, the expulsion from Spain, 1497, the expulsion from Portugal, written into a marriage contract. If you want to understand anti-Semitism, you need to understand Jewish history. That is so bizarre. When the daughter of the king and queen of Spain married the king of Portugal, written into the marriage contract is the expulsion of the Jews, the fanaticism of Catholicism. And some of them stayed behind as conversos, but then the Inquisition.

So they made, they fled. And at at one time they made up a third of the population of Vlore, which is a seaport. You see, they were traders, and the sizable trading community, and we know that in that particular town there was a synagogue that was built by Castilian Jews, another synagogue by Sicilian Jews, and another synagogue by Portuguese Jews. Can you imagine what we could achieve if only we could unite? And another bit of history for you. In 1673, Sabbatai Zevi, who was of course the failed Messiah or false Messiah, he was exiled by the Turkish Sultan. The story of Sabbatai Zevi, in fact, I’ve invited a very good scholar, Mark Levine, he’s going to talk about the Jews of Salonica and the followers of Sabbatai Zevi who lived there for many, many centuries. And in fact, Sabbatai Zevi, he came out of the Turkish Empire at a terrible time in Jewish history. In 1648, the Cossacks of Ukraine, the terrible massacres, the end of days. So what did Jews do? They looked for a Messiah. And along comes this man who pronounces the name of God. He claims himself to be Messiah. He is betrayed by the rabbis of Vilnius or the Sultan. The Sultan of Turkey says, “This man claims to be the king of the Jews.” He offers him exile or death, and he actually is exiled to where? To Albania, where he dies, according to the story, on Kol Nidre. We also know that in Berat, there was a large community of Sabbatians, and we also know that during the Turkish-Venetian wars, Jews fled to Berat. And that was very much a time of kabbalistic thought in the area.

We know that in the 18th and 19th century, Jews immigrated to Albania. And up until World War II, the Jews living in Albania, and there are only about 200 of them, they kept in contact with the Greek Jews and the Corfu Jews and they actually relied on the more established communities to provide them with rabbis, with cantors, and with mohels. So, it was really the rise of Hitler, of course, that led to an upswing. Today there is still not a large Jewish population in Albania. Many of the refugees finished up, most of them finished up either in America or in Israel. After the war, they made it to America or to Israel. So if you think about it, in the 20th century, not only did the Jews experience the most appalling tragedy in their history, also out of the ashes came the establishment of the Jewish state. And it didn’t just change the whole culture of the Jewish world, it changed the whole demography of the Jewish world. And it is interesting to see how the Jewish world today is adapting to it all, and also I would hazard a guess to say how the world is actually adapting to the new breed of Jew. Anyway, I’m going to stop there. We will next week be turning to Romania. And as I said, on the 31st of January, at a time yet to be determined, it won’t be the normal schedule, we’re absolutely privileged that Wendy will be interviewing Edi Rama, and I think that would be a very special occasion. And of course, he is very, very pro-Jewish. So shall we have a look at the questions, please, Judy?

Q&A and Comments:

Yes, Jacqueline, Albania was the only country in Europe there more Jews at the end of the war than the beginning.

Q: “Who was trying to assassinate Zog?”

A: Shelly, many people. Remember, he was a tribal chieftain.

Yona, RE Skanderbeg. “Skander is a Mediterranean Alexander. Beg is the equivalent of Turkish bey. The choice of the name was an intentional invocation of leadership and power.” Thank you for that, Alfred.

So that is Alexander the great conqueror. Wasn’t he 32 when he conquered the ecumene, the known world?

Ah, yes. This is from Jacqueline. “We saw the remains of a lovely synagogue built at the end of the fifth century in Sarande in Albania when we were there in 2015.” That’s fabulous. I wonder what your trip was like, Jacqueline.

“If I understand correctly, the Albanian view is that different people can safely worship as they see fit, but we are all people. So Judaism, the religion, not a race. How refreshing.” You see, this is the real model of it all, isn’t it? No, Albania was not affected by race theory. There was a small fascist party, don’t forget that. There was a group of Albanians who did join the Waffen SS, but it was a small group. In the main, the Albanians were incredibly tolerant, but they were a warlike tribal people. Let’s be careful about that as well.

This is from Sally. “In Churchill’s memoirs, he writes extensively about the Balkans. He was afraid they would fall into Russian hands, as they did. FDR did not appreciate the danger and disregarded it.” Yes. It’s a fascinating tale, isn’t it? Look, don’t forget that at the end of the war, Second World War, good old blood and guts General Patton, he wanted immediately to go against the Russians. It was only in 1941, Operation Barbarossa, when the Nazis broke the pact and invaded Russia that Russia was on the same side as the British. And then America comes into the war, after what? After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour. You know, it took Pearl Harbour to bring America into the war. And America didn’t declare war. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour, and five days later, Germany declared war on Japan. Bad move.

Donny’s telling us a Jewish museum will be built in Albania.

Yes. Shelly Shapiro. “There were 55 assassination attempts against Zog. You can check the live transcript.” Thank you, Rita.

Q: “Why would Austrian and Germans have moved to Albania?”

A: adeline, because of the fascists. Look, Hitler comes to power wanting a Judenrein Reich. Up until 1941, he wanted Jews out of Germany, and after the Anschluss, out of Austria, Eichmann establishes a bureau, an immigration bureau in Vienna in '38, the end of '38, to facilitate Jewish immigration, and at the beginning of 1939 in Berlin. The problem, that’s why, but what you needed was a visa into another country. The Germans would let you out. They’d rob you blind, they’d humiliate you, they’d torture you. Jews were getting out of concentration camps, many of them, as long as they had that exit visa. Even the Kindertransport, you know, the great effort of the British government, they had to have 50 pound sponsorship, those children. The parents didn’t come. I’m going to go far on this. I’m speaking obviously for myself alone. I think there was a conspiracy of silence about the Jews. And I personally put it down to the, in the main, look, there was economic, social, and political unrest, but there was a 2000-year-old tradition of Jew hatred. And that, to me, is unforgivable. So, the Nazis did it, so they’re allowing them out. Austrians and Germans would’ve moved anywhere to survive. There was a huge community in Shanghai. You needed to get out, that’s the point, to get out for your life. And of course, after the invasion of Russia, when Hitler realised there would never be a Judenrein Reich, he’s going for global war, that’s when he begins to murder the Jews.

Q: “How many Albanians have been recognised?”

A: To date, Nicholas, 75.

Now, this is from Susan Soyinka. Hello, Susan. “San Marino, the tiny landlocked country within Italy, also sheltered many Jews during World War II. Once the fascist government fell in 1943, I understand that almost every San Marino family sheltered Jews. My grandfather was the Austrian consul general for San Marino.” Oh, don’t you just love Lockdown? That’s an incredible story, Susan. I’ll talk to you about it. Maybe you should give a lecture on it.

“Doesn’t it seem that those who have little help more than those with much?” That’s a very, very interesting comment. I wish I knew what created rescuers and Righteous. We play around with these ideas so much. There are a certain kind of indicators, but there’s no real formula. Some of them just got angry, some of them hated authority, some of them did it because they were good people. What makes a good person? What is a moral conscience? Don’t forget that many of the perpetrators had PhDs from top German universities, including degrees in theology. This is the real area that we need to study.

Now, this is from Veronica. “At least 10 years ago, my synagogue in Pinner has shown "Besa” on Yom HaShoah in the presence of the Albanian ambassador, a very moving, unforgettable story. The story deserves a wide recognition.“ Well, hopefully we can do a bit through Lockdown, particularly when Edi Rama comes on.

Yes, Michelle. Yes. Yes, I thought I’d mentioned that. Yes, they think that some of them did come around 70 with the Romans. Yes, Sabbatai Zevi was exiled. Yes, yes. No, he was actually exiled to Albania. And they are called the Donmeh. The followers of Sabbatai Zevi are called the Donmeh. And as I said, Mark Levine will be lecturing on that next month.

Yes, Marcia. There will definitely be a recording of the Edi Rama event. ”

You’ve not really pinpointed why the Albanians sheltered the Jews.“ They did it because they believed it was the right thing to do. They had this contract, Theta, a contract of Besa. It’s honour. They believed it was their honour. These people became guests in their homes, and they had a greater duty to protect them than even their children. They did it because also they hated authority. They hated the Germans. Can you imagine a mountainous people with their own tradition of honour? Look, the partisan came down to stop the lists. They sung, they danced, they menaced, and the Germans ran away. You know, it’s a story.

Q: Why are so many Albanians fleeing Albania today?

A: I think a lot of it’s got to do with poverty, frankly. And I also think, and I’m going to say this, I think that we are in, without getting into the refugee problem any more than William was prepared to talk about it, I do think we do demonise people. We demonise the other. Look, all the ingredients are there. Social, political, and economic unrest, so we look for scapegoats. Yes, there is a criminal element, no doubt about it. But on the other hand, there are a lot of people escaping economic misery.

Q: Are they refugees? I wonder if my ancestors were economic migrants or fleeing the pogroms.

A: I don’t know. I know one branch of the family left Krakow in 1849. There was a revolution in 1848. I dunno why he fled, but what I do know is that when people really need to move, a decent society is enriched.

Holocaust Memorial Day this year, we’re going to be commemorating it in two events. On Sunday the 22nd, we’re going to show Rex Bloomstein’s brilliant film "The Gathering,” and he’s going to be talking about it. It’s about a reunion of Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem in 1981. But on this Thursday night, the 26th, I’m going to be interviewing Anita Lasker-Wallfisch about this. Think about the German-Austrian immigration to this country that the British government really didn’t want, just as the Americans didn’t want the German and Austrian Jews in. They put a light under British culture. They put a light under American culture. Most immigrations actually, in the end, enrich a society. Why are we so scared? That’s my view.

Q: “Is there currently a Jewish population?”

A: Yes, there is a small Jewish population in Albania.

This is from Stuart. “On a walking tour of Tirana, our guides told us that the Albanian Muslims of an independent mindset had to invent something they were not allowed to eat, so they chose rabbit, so I love that.”

And Jacqueline is telling us, “The trip was lovely. Albania is a fascinating and beautiful country, well worth a visit.” Look, I haven’t travelled there, but I’ve travelled in Romania, I’ve travelled in Transylvania. Those areas are incredibly beautiful. But outside the cities, you’re back 100 years. Conspiracy of silence.

Yes, this is from Michelle. “Three-part series on PBS on the US and the Holocaust.” Yes. Now, that is by the brilliant Ken Burns. It’s on BBC Four, for those of you who haven’t seen it yet. Ken Burns is one of, I think, one of the greatest filmmakers around.

Sally. “My grandfather never forgave FDR for not assisting Jews to get out of Europe. He lost his family from Poland.” Yeah. You see, this is the tragedy. Hitler wanted a Judenrein Reich. I can’t say anymore.

And Marcia is talking about the German doctors who murdered people. Look, the mentally and physically incapacitated Germans were murdered by German doctors. It was all part of creating the master race, an insane theory of race. Look, the message is quite simple, isn’t it? We’ve got to see the other as human. Look, Besa saw us as human and saved us. And it’s quite interesting. If you think of those sophisticated German and Austrian Jews living with the mountain people, I think it’s rather wonderful. They saved them. Xenophobia, the fear of foreigners. Yes. You know, but when does xenophobia become important? You can pull it all together. Look as a historian. Economic, social, political unrest, xenophobia. We need a scapegoat. And we find scapegoats, don’t we? One of the things that I find most troubling about the society in which we live in is that we have the most incredible tools. I know I’m no good at technology. I think part of it is because I’m a Luddite. I actually find that technology, it’s like giving very sophisticated tools to five-year-olds. Because I don’t know that we are emotionally mature enough to cope with the kind of world we live in. We have created the most incredible, incredible world in terms of medical science.

My grandson informed me that in his class, provided there’s no war, plague, or famine, their life expectancy will be 120. So you’ve got incredible, incredible advances in medical science, incredible advances in technology. But as people, we still seem to suffer from the same kind of emotions that those in the cave suffered from. And I really, I think the study of Jewish history, in a way, I think it’s a fascinating, look, I think it’s a fascinating study. It gets a bit complicated because it so often touches other people’s history because we are the itinerant Jews, we are the wandering Jews. I mean, even today, even with Israel, there’s a huge Israeli diaspora. We are the wandering Jews. So as a result of that, we touch so many different societies and civilizations. And just to really obfuscate the matter even further, we still can’t make up our mind what it means to be a Jew, if you think about that word.

Anyway, lots of love, everybody, and toodle-oo.