Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
How Muslims in Albania Saved Jews From the Holocaust
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
January 29, 2019

Share

Most anywhere else in Nazi-occupied Europe, a run-in with authorities by a Jewish family probably would have resulted in severe malnutrition, eventual starvation, or execution. Not so in Albania.
Following the German occupation in 1943, the Albanian population, the majority of whom were Muslims, refused to comply with the occupier’s orders to turn over lists of Jews living there.
In addition, the government gave many Jewish families fake documents so that they could move about freely in the country.

Watch Besa: The Promise


The Albanians not only protected their Jewish citizens, but also provided sanctuary to Jewish refugees who had arrived in Albania, when it was still under Italian rule, and now found themselves faced with the danger of deportation to concentration camps.
In fact, there were more Jews in Albania at the end of the war than beforehand.

Photo of Albanian resistance during World War II
One of the first pictures to reach the outside world from Albania showing how thousands of hardy mountaineers led by Dervish abbots, lawyers, gendarmes, and peasants gave the Nazi invaders no rest. February 1, 1944. (AP Photo)

Additional Reading

To learn more, read “Besa: A Code of Honor” at this link or “What made Muslim Albanians risk their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust?” from The Times of Israel.
 

DON'T MISS

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

DON'T MISS

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

DON'T MISS

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

DON'T MISS

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

UP NEXT

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

UP NEXT

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

UP NEXT

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

UP NEXT

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

UP NEXT

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

UP NEXT

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

UP NEXT

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

UP NEXT

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

UP NEXT

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

2 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

2 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

3 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

3 hours ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

3 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

5 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

5 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

6 hours ago

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

6 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was ...

1 hour ago

Ichiro Suzuki in Yankee Pinstripes
1 hour ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)
2 hours ago

‘Once in a Lifetime’ Snow Hits Parts of the US South

The five turbines of Block Island Wind Farm operate, Dec. 7, 2023, off the coast of Block Island, R.I., during a tour organized by Orsted. (AP File)
2 hours ago

Trump Temporarily Halts Leasing and Permitting for Wind Energy Projects

Photo of Mexican Oxy, fentanyl laced blue pills
2 hours ago

Fresno Man Who Dealt Deadly Fentanyl Pill Gets 80-Month Prison Term

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
2 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
2 hours ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
3 hours ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

3 hours ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend