Anton Harapi (5 January 1888 – 20 February 1946) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friar, educator, lecturer, publicist, and political figure during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In the first years of the communist regime in Albania, he was executed due to

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

with the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

Biography

Early life

Anton Harapi was born on January 5, 1888, in Shiroka and educated in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

. He had gone to secondary school at monastic schools in

Meran Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

and

Hall in Tirol Hall in Tyrol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 13,000 (Jan 2013). History ...

by the Franciscans. He had also studied theology in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Harapi supported and respected the diverse religious differences of Albanians, in that religion had never divided them, they saw themselves as a single ''blood brotherhood''. From 1923 to 1931, he taught at the Franciscan college in Shkodër and was its director. Harapi wrote the book titled “Andrra e pretashit” translated to Pretash’s dream. It is based on a dream by Pretash Cuka Berishaj a highlander from then village of Priften inside the mountain of Gruda, (Harapi worked in the nearby Church Kisha Grudes, one of the oldest Catholic Churches in all of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

). Harapi was highly esteemed for his patriotism and persuasiveness. He was highly regarded throughout Albania for the depth and eloquence of his talks and for his erudition on religious topics.

World war II

After the Union with Italy was officially dissolved, many of the laws passed after Italian invasion were revoked, and Albania was declared an

independent state Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

. The assembly announced that Albania would be governed by a regency of four- one representative from each of Albania's four major religious communities. Albanian Catholics were represented by the prior of the Franciscans in Shkodër, Father Harapi, who maintained connections with both the Kosovars and the Albanian partisans. Learning of his appointment, partisan emissaries unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade him from accepting. Hermann Neubacher seemed to have developed a warm personal relationship with Harapi, in part because Harapi had received some of his education at the monastery school of

and

. The leadership of the council was originally designed to rotate, but Harapi argued that as a Catholic monk he could accept no position in which he would be forced to sanction the death penalty.

Death

After the partisans declared victory in Tirana and the Germans began their withdrawal, Hermann Neubacher earnestly besought Harapi to leave the country and offered him his aircraft. However, Harapi thanked him, but informed him that God had called him to be where he was and, if it were God’s will, he would die where his duties were as a priest. The communists, who were looking everywhere for him, broke into the house where he was staying, but could not find him. On departing, they noticed some dentures in a glass of water and went back to talk to the owner of the house. When they began to mistreat the fleeing owners, Harapi crawled out his hiding place and surrendered. On February 14, 1946, Father Harapi, along with fellow Regency Council member

Lef Nosi Lef Nosi (born Elefter Nosi; 9 April 187720 February 1946) was an Albanian publisher, archivist, philologist, folklorist, ethnographer, numismatist, archaeologist and politician. On 28 November 1912, he was as one of the signatories of the Decla ...

and former Prime Minister Maliq Bey Bushati were sentenced to death by the Military Tribunal in Tirana, accused of being

quisling ''Quisling'' (, ) is a term used in Scandinavian languages and in English meaning a citizen or politician of an occupied country who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for ''traitor''. The word ori ...

s in the services of Italy and Germany. The court was led by General Judge

Irakli Bozo Irakli, Irakly ( ka, ირაკლი), or Erekle ( ka, ერეკლე) is a Georgian version of the Greek name Heracles, and is a popular masculine name in Georgia. Notable people with these names include: Erekle *Erekle I, Prince of Mukhra ...

and the prosecution was led by

Misto Treska Misto Treska (19 April 1914 – 23 June 1993) was an Albanian translator, diplomat (Ambassador), writer and politician of Albania during communist regime. He has translated French authors such as Hugo, Maupassant, Stendhal and Diderot into Alb ...

. The Military Court sought their execution and confiscation of their property as Axis Collaborators. During the night they were taken from their prison cell to the firing squad and shot. They were buried in an unmarked grave at an unknown location on the outskirts of Tirana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harapi, Anton 20th-century Albanian politicians Albanian Franciscans 1888 births 1946 deaths People from Shkodër Albanian anti-communists Executed Albanian people 20th-century Albanian poets 19th-century Albanian people People from Scutari vilayet People executed by Albania by firing squad Albanian collaborators with Fascist Italy Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany Albanian people of World War II Albanian people executed by the communist regime