Edit filter log

'[[Image:Flag of Albania (1939).svg|left|thumb|The [[flag of Albania|flag of Albania as an Italian protectorate]] used by the fascist government]] {{Politics of Albania}} The '''Albanian Fascist Party''' (Albanian ''Partia Fashiste e Shqipërisë'' -- PFSh) was a [[Fascism|fascist]] movement which held nominal power in [[Albania]] from 1939, when the country was conquered by [[Italy]], until 1943, when Italy [[Surrender (military)|capitulated]] to the [[Allies]]. Afterward, Albania fell under [[Nazi Germany|German]] occupation, and the PFSh was replaced by the '''Albanian Nazi Party'''. The PFSh was a branch of the Italian [[National Fascist Party]] (PNF) with [[Benito Mussolini]] at its head and organized along the same lines and principles, and with its own paramilitary [[Black Shirts]]. It was never a mass movement, with membership reported at 13,500 in May 1940; however, during the PFSh's time in power, it did realize the vision of [[Greater Albania]], expanding the borders of Albania into modern-day [[Epirus (periphery)|Epirus]] and [[Kosovo]]. It also engaged in some [[anti-semitism]], with Albanian [[Judaism|Jews]] forbidden from joining the party (though [[Islam|Muslims]] were allowed to join), and therefore excluded from some professions such as [[education]]; future [[communist]] leader [[Enver Hoxha]] also lost his job as a teacher for refusing to join the PFSh. The party was founded by [[Tefik Mborja]], an Albanian [[Collaborationism|collaborator]] and friend to Italy's [[foreign minister]], [[Galeazzo Ciano|Count Ciano]]. In early 1943, [[Maliq Bushati|Maliq Bej Bushati]], an anti-[[monarchist]] nationalist, reorganized the PFSh as the '''Guard of Great Albania''' and worked to distance Albania from Italy, striking fascist symbols from the [[Flag of Albania|flag]] (two [[fasces]], one on each side of the Albanian eagle) and asserting Albanian autonomy in many spheres. However, the Italian surrender led to the country's occupation by Nazi Germany and changed the political situation in the country. Upon the German takeover, [[Sicherheitsdienst|SD]] leader [[Ernst Kaltenbrunner]] reorganized the Guard of Great Albania into the Albanian Nazi Party, which had formal control of Albania. German control over Albania was looser than in other territories; the Albanian Nazi government did not expand systematic persecution of Jews to deportation or killings. Albanian volunteers did, however, form an [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] division, the [[21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)]]. After the fall of the Third Reich, Albania descended into civil war; some members of the Albanian Nazi Party fought against the communists both in Albania and in Kosovo, with the last of these reported to have ceased fighting in 1951. '''Ministers Secretaries of the Albanian Fascist Party''' * 1939-1941 - Tefik Mborja * 1941-1943 - [[Jup Kazazi]] * 1943 - [[Kol Bib Mirakaj]] '''Ministers Secretaries of the Guard of Great Albania''' * 1943 - Maliq Bej Bushati * 1943 - [[Eqrem Bej Libohova]] ==See also== * [[Albania between wars]] * [[Military history of Albania during World War II]] ==External links== * [http://www.heimat.de/home/illyria/i.php3?s=e&p=2004_01_09_fisher_jews_in_albania "The Jews of Albania during the Zogist and Second World War Periods"] by Bernd J. Fisher * [http://www.juedisches-archiv-chfrank.de/kehilot/albania/alban-resc.htm "Rescue in Albania"] by Haroey Samer * [http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Albania.html States and Regents of the World: Albania] {{Fascism movement}} [[Category:Italian fascism]] [[Category:Political parties in Albania]] [[Category:Politics of World War II]] [[da:Partia Fashiste e Shqipërisë]] [[de:Albanische Faschistische Partei]] [[hr:Albanska fašistička stranka]] [[it:Partito Fascista Albanese]] [[nl:Albanese Fascistische Partij]] [[pl:Albańska Partia Faszystowska]]'