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The National Liberation Movement (; or ''Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional-Çlirimtare'' (LANÇ)), also translated as National Liberation Front, 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 ...
communist resistance organization that fought in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was created on 16 September 1942, in a conference held in
Pezë Pezë ( sq-definite, Peza) is a former municipality in the Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 6,272.
, a village near
Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...
, and was led by
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
. Apart from the figures which had the majority in the General Council it also included known nationalists like
Myslim Peza Myslym Peza (1 May 1897 – 7 February 1984) was a distinguished Albanian resistance during World War II, World War II veteran who led the anti-fascist movement ''"Çeta e Pezës"'', the members of which founded the Party of Labour of Albania, Co ...
although the Partisans under Yugoslav influence ended up executing numerous Albanian nationalist figures. In May 1944, the Albanian National Liberation Front was transformed into the government of Albania and its leaders became government members, and in August 1945, it was replaced by the
Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Democratic Front (Cyprus) * Dem ...
. The National Liberation Army (''Ushtria Nacional-Çlirimtare'') was the army created by the National Liberation Movement.


Background


Italian invasion

Albania did not put an organized resistance to the Italian invasion (April 7–12, 1939). However different Albanian groups of patriots such as Mujo Ulqinaku and
Abaz Kupi Abaz Kupi (6 August 1892 – 17 January 1976; also rendered Abas Kupi) was an Albanian military officer. Kupi was born in Krujë. He served as commander of the gendarmerie of the town of Kruja, and later of the town of Durrës. As a royalist, ...
made a brief resistance to the invasion force in
Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...
on the day of invasion. Durrës was captured on April 7, Tirana the following day,
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...
and
Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...
on April 9, and almost the entire country by April 10.


Initial resistance groups

At the time of the Italian invasion, the Shkodër communist group included
Qemal Stafa Qemal Stafa (20 March 1920 – 5 May 1942) was an Albanian politician and one of the founding members of the Albanian Communist Party, and the leader of its youth section. Biography Stafa was born in Elbasan in 1920, into a Gheg Albanian fami ...
, a student,
Vasil Shanto Vasil Shanto (17 August 1913 – 1 February 1944), called Vasko, was one of the founders of the Albanian Communist Party. He was the leader, along with Qemal Stafa, of the Shkodër communist group. One of the delegates of the party, he was frequ ...
, an artisan, Liri Gega, an intellectual, Imer Dishnica, a doctor, Zef Mala and others. The leaders were Mala, Shanto, Stafa and Kristo Themelko. The Shkodër group's activities also spanned over Kosovo and western Macedonia, and the organization included several emigrants from
Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...
and other places in
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, who had moved to Albania between 1930 and 1937. In spring 1941, Shanto and Stafa met with fellow Communist Fadil Hoxha due to his earlier contact with Yugoslav communist Miladin Popović.
Miladin Popović Miladin Popović ( sr-cyr, Миладин Поповић; 23 September 1910 – 13 March 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (OK KPJ) of Kosmet (Kosovo). He was one of the ...
and Dušan Mugoša were the Yugoslav delegates that helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941. After the Italian invasion, there was no general resistance to the Italian army, although some local leaders like
Myslim Peza Myslym Peza (1 May 1897 – 7 February 1984) was a distinguished Albanian resistance during World War II, World War II veteran who led the anti-fascist movement ''"Çeta e Pezës"'', the members of which founded the Party of Labour of Albania, Co ...
,
Baba Faja Martaneshi Baba Faja Martaneshi (1910 - 18 March 1947) was an Albanian Bektashi ''baba'' (Sufi) and a resistance leader during the National Liberation War of the Albanian People. Biography Baba Faja was born Mustafa Xhani in Luz i Madh, Kavajë. He pursued ...
, Abaz Kupi etc. created small ''çetas'' (small detachments) which from time to time undertake small attacks on Italian forces. Meanwhile, the communist activity in Albania increased and culminated with the creation on 8 November 1941 of the
Albanian Communist Party The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...
.


Establishment of the Communist Party and first detachments

Following the German attack on Russia, Yugoslav leader
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
under Comintern directives sent two Yugoslav delegates
Miladin Popović Miladin Popović ( sr-cyr, Миладин Поповић; 23 September 1910 – 13 March 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (OK KPJ) of Kosmet (Kosovo). He was one of the ...
and Dušan Mugoša to Albania. These two helped unite the Albanian communist groups in 1941. In August 1941, the Albanian Communist Party was established through the agreement between the Shkodër (led by Shanto and Stafa), Korçë and Tirana (led by
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
) communist groups. After intensive work, the Albanian Communist Party was officially formed on November 8, 1941, by a unanimous vote of all members and in place of a leadership a Central Committee was elected instead. Members of the Central Committee were Enver Hoxha, Qemal Stafa, Ramadan Çitaku, Koçi Xoxe, Tuk Jakova, Kristo Themelko and Gjin Marku. The creation of the Central Committee was followed by the creation of regional committees, the responsibility of which was to implement the decisions made by the Central Committee. Starting from December 1941 the communist party began to create small groups of resistance made up of 5-10 people called guerilla units. These detachments began to engage in various acts of sabotage against the Italian forces. They also started to disseminate antifascist propaganda in order to gain the attention and the support of the civilians. As of 1942 the local press and the foreign consulates began to report an increasing number of attacks. The most spectacular act of sabotage was the interruption of all telegraphic and telephone communications in Albania in June and July 1942. Although the communist activity was increasing, the main concern for Italians were the northern bands. The Italians had given up on governing Northern Albania. The security posts composed of gendarmes in Southern Albania were mostly concerned for their own security and rarely ventured themselves outside their posts, and convoys along the roads were to be accompanied by strong Italian military detachments.Albania at war, 1939-1945 Bernd Jürgen Fischer Edition illustrated Publisher C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1999 , p. 128-29


Conference of Pezë

It was at this time (September 1942) that the Albanian Communist Party made their bold move of calling up a national conference, the Conference of Peza, which took place on 16 September 1942 in the house of
Myslim Peza Myslym Peza (1 May 1897 – 7 February 1984) was a distinguished Albanian resistance during World War II, World War II veteran who led the anti-fascist movement ''"Çeta e Pezës"'', the members of which founded the Party of Labour of Albania, Co ...
, a known resistance leader, (in
Pezë Pezë ( sq-definite, Peza) is a former municipality in the Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 6,272.
village, near Tirana). In the conference the Communist Party of Albania invited all the Albanian resistance leaders to create a national resistance front. The Communist Party saw the creation of this front as a necessity for Albania. Its intention was to dominate this front, although some figures within the Albanian Communist Party opposed the idea of an organised front with other nationalists, fearing their possible betrayal. The conference decided to create the General Council which was composed of 10 people: seven communists including
Mustafa Gjinishi Mustafa Gjinishi (15 January 1912 – 23 August 1944) was an Albanian communist from Peqin, central Albania. He was known for having opposed Enver Hoxha and the Italian invasion of Albania. Mustafa Gjinishi was a known figure fighting for Albani ...
,
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
, and known nationalists like
Abaz Kupi Abaz Kupi (6 August 1892 – 17 January 1976; also rendered Abas Kupi) was an Albanian military officer. Kupi was born in Krujë. He served as commander of the gendarmerie of the town of Kruja, and later of the town of Durrës. As a royalist, ...
,
Myslim Peza Myslym Peza (1 May 1897 – 7 February 1984) was a distinguished Albanian resistance during World War II, World War II veteran who led the anti-fascist movement ''"Çeta e Pezës"'', the members of which founded the Party of Labour of Albania, Co ...
and
Baba Faja Martaneshi Baba Faja Martaneshi (1910 - 18 March 1947) was an Albanian Bektashi ''baba'' (Sufi) and a resistance leader during the National Liberation War of the Albanian People. Biography Baba Faja was born Mustafa Xhani in Luz i Madh, Kavajë. He pursued ...
.
Mehdi Frashëri Mehdi bey Frashëri (28 February 1872 – 25 May 1963) was an Albanian intellectual and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Albania in the 1930s and as Chairman of the Provisional Administration Committee in the Albanian puppet govern ...
was the honorary president of the conference, a fact suppressed later by the communist history. The General Council would supervise local liberation councils. The councils in areas yet to be liberated would function as propaganda agencies, would collect material necessary for the war, conduct espionage, organize the economic struggle against Italian companies, and sabotage the collection of agricultural products by the fascists. In already liberated areas, they were to function as new state. They were to maintain law and order developing local economy; overseeing food supply, trade, education, culture, and press. They would also settle blood feuds, and maintain readiness for war. The conference managed to set in place a joint National Liberation Movement with a provisional eight-member council, with Enver Hoxha and Abaz Kupi among them, though it was dominated by the communists.


Communist control over partisans

Partisan fighters were organized into 20 to 70-men units, equivalent to a platoon, including a communist commissar, who acted as the political officer. The commander, the political commissar and their deputies constituted the unit command, and all military decisions were made and agreed upon by all members of the command. Every partisan unit, no matter how large or small, had a command of four individuals. The role of the commissar was, among others, to guarantee that the activities of the partisan unit would comply with the directives of the Communist Party. Other duties of the commissar included keeping the partisans up to date with the latest political developments, serve as the official representatives of the National Liberation Front in dealings with national liberation councils and civilians, and as leader of the communist members of the partisan unit. The Communist Party oriented the activities of the National Liberation Army through its various organizations inside the army. Each partisan unit had a political organization called the communist cell and both the communist cell and the commissar were responsible to regional committees of the Communist Party.
Miladin Popović Miladin Popović ( sr-cyr, Миладин Поповић; 23 September 1910 – 13 March 1945) was a Yugoslav Partisan and secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (OK KPJ) of Kosmet (Kosovo). He was one of the ...
, a Yugoslav communist, attended the Peza Conference as an adviser and hoped to further strengthen party controls by creating a general staff that would tie the various units together, but his suggestion was not adopted. The partisan units were supplemented by territorial units - irregular self-defense detachments made up of volunteers. They were planned for every larger village or one for two-to-three villages together. Their function was to protect the liberated zones and to serve as a source of replenishment for the regular partisan units. At the end of 1942 there were 2000 partisans plus a larger number of territorial units.
Bernd Jürgen Fischer Bernd Jürgen Fischer (born 27 January 1952) is a historian and professor of history at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He received his Ph.D. in 1982 from the University of California, Santa Barbara The University of Califo ...
, "Albania at war, 1939-1945", p. 133-34


Mukje Agreement

The Mukje Agreement was a treaty signed on August 2, 1943, in the Albanian village of Mukje between the nationalist
Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front'') was an Albanian nationalist, Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra a ...
and the communist National Liberation Movement. The two forces would work together in fighting off Italy's control over Albania. However, a dispute arose concerning the status of Kosovo. For the Communist party, the question should have been resolved after the war, without the presence of foreign powers on the national soil. The Yugoslavian Communist Party would have had to return Kosovo to Albania as established by the Comintern. Whereas the Balli Kombëtar proposed to fight for the integration of
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
into Albania.


1942–1943 activity

The nationalists and communists had formed and ad hoc alliance against the Italian occupation, which had been withering away in Albania due to continued attacks. However the debate on the future of Kosovo became notable as the Balli Kombetar supported an Albanian union with Kosovo while the communists, funded and backed by Tito’s Yugoslav Partisans opposed such an annexation leading to a breakdown of relations.


1943–1944: War Crimes and purges

After the breakdown of the Ballist-LANÇ alliance in 1943 due to the Communist’s opposition of a unified Albania (which included Kosovo and Chameria), the communist began a series of massacres to eliminate their Ballist opponents across various regions in Albania, but with notably clashes across the south during the Albanian Civil War. With the elimination and liquidation of anti-communist forces by late 1943, the communist continued various scorched earth tactics on peasants and villagers in 1944, which included massacres across Myzeqe, Vlorë, and Korçë areas. By the summer of 1944, the communists had subjugated much of central Albania and seized Tirana with British support by November 1944. Following Tirana’s capture, the communists began a bloody reprisal on the last anti communist forces in the Northern highlands, which included a massacre of tribesmen in Kelmend by early 1945.


Albanian government

After the German Winter Offensive the communist partisans regrouped, attacked the Germans and gained control of southern Albania in April 1944. In May a congress of the National Liberation Front was held in
Përmet Përmet () is a List of cities and towns in Albania, town and Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qend� ...
, during which an Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation to act as Albania's provisional government was elected.
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
became the chairman of the council's executive committee and the National Liberation Army's supreme commander. The communist partisans resisted a German Summer Offensive (May–June 1944) and defeated the last Balli Kombëtar forces in southern Albania by mid-summer 1944 encountering only scattered resistance from the Balli Kombëtar and Legality forces when they entered central and northern Albania by the end of July. On 29 November 1944 partisan forces liberated Shkodra and this is the official date of liberation of the country. A provisional government the communists which has been formed at
Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...
in October 1944, administered Albania with Enver Hoxha as prime minister up to the
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
of December 1945, in which the
Democratic Front Democratic Front is a name used by political parties and alliances in several countries, such as: *Democratic Front (Albania) *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola *Democratic Front (Bosnia and Herzegovina) * Democratic Front (Cyprus) * Dem ...
(successor to the National Liberation Front) won 93% of the vote which was widely described as a sham election due to the lack of non-communist candidates.Miranda Vickers. ''The Albanians: A Modern History''. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000. p. 164.


References


Sources

* * * * *


External links

* (Albanian) {{Factions in the Yugoslav Front 1942 establishments in Albania Anti-fascism in Albania Albanian militant groups Albanian Resistance Defunct communist militant groups Military history of Albania during World War II Military organizations established in 1942 National liberation armies National liberation movements Paramilitary organizations based in Albania
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
Popular fronts of communist states