Ramize Gjebrea (April 20, 1923 – March 6, 1944, nom de guerre ''Ramona'') 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 ...

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 ...

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

, accused of alleged immoral behavior by a martial court, and executed by a firing squad in the village of Ramicë,

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...

Biography

Gjebrea was born on April 20, 1923, in the city of

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea le ...

of a father from the well-known local Gjebrea family, and a mother from

Kaçanik Kaçanik ( sq-definite, Kaçaniku) or Kačanik ( sr-Cyrl, Качаник, ) is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District of southern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Kaçanik has 15,634 inhabitants, while the munici ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. She had gone to the Mother Queen Women's Institute, where she had studied along with

Nexhmije Hoxha Nexhmije Hoxha (; ; 8 February 1921 – 26 February 2020) was an Albanian communist politician. For many years she was the wife of Enver Hoxha, the first leader of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania and the First Secretary of the Party o ...

, and

Liri Belishova Liri Belishova (14 October 1926 – 23 April 2018) was an Albanian politician. She was a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania and an important political figure in Albania between 1944 and 1960. Life Born in the village of ...

. She later was arrested in 1942, but freed for lack of proof, and subsequently joined the National Liberation Movement, first as a youth secretary of Berat, and then as commanding staff of the 5th Attacking Brigade.

Investigation for immoral behavior, trial and death

On February 16, 1944 an investigation for immoral behavior and breach of the partisan morals took place in Ramicë, Vlorë. According to the verbals of the investigation, partisan

Zaho Koka Zahera Darabid ( ar, زهيرة درابيد ; born May 10, 1980), known by her stage name Zaho (), is an Algerian-Canadian R&B singer. Biography Zahera Darabid was born on May 10, 1980, in Bab Ezzouar, a suburb of the Algerian capital Algi ...

, a former shephard, and Gjebrea admitted only to having kissed and fondled one another, whereas Ramadan Xhangolli, envoy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania, accused them of having had intercourse. Zaho Koka claimed that he didn't know that at the time of the facts Gjebrea was the fiancée of

Nako Spiru Athanas Spiru, known as Nako Spiru, (4 January 1918 – 20 November 1947) was an Albanian politician and high-ranking official of the Communist Party of Albania (PKSh). He served as Minister of Economy and Industry from 1946 until his untimely de ...

. On March 4, 1944 the court condemned Gjebrea to death, but pardoned Koka, although it demoted him within the Party. Gjebrea was executed two days later on March 6, 1944, in front of 400 partisans of the 5th Attacking Brigade. Three partisans (two male and one female) shot, all three of them, in the air, their first bullet. At that point Gjebrea yelled at them ''Don't shoot me on the back. I expect your bullets to be different. Shoot at me!'', at which point they shot at her, and Gjebrea fell, dead.

, who later became the wife of Nako Spiru, witnessed in a 2010 interview that the martial court followed the order by

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

to execute Gjebrea. According to Belishova, the order of Hoxha was based on recommendations of Dusan Mugosa, envoy of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

to assist the Albanian National Liberation Movement. She also said that Gjebrea had an intelligence and eloquence that was unmatched by other Albanian women involved in the National Liberation Army, and that before joining the National Liberation Army she had been the only woman to participate in the actions of the city

guerillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

. In December 2013, the "Shqiptarja" magazine published for the first time the personal diary of Gjebrea.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gjebrea, Ramize 1923 births 1944 deaths Albanian communists People from Gjirokastër Executed Albanian people Queen Mother Pedagogical Institute alumni Albanian resistance members 20th-century Albanian women politicians