History of the Jews in Albania
Encyclopedia
Judaism
in Albania
dates back at least 1,300 years.
Present day Albanian Jews, predominantly Sephardi
, have in modern times only constituted a very small percentage of the population; during World War II
, Albania would be one of the very few countries in Europe to see an increase in its Jewish population. During the Communist
dictatorship
of Enver Hoxha
, the Socialist People's Republic of Albania would ban all religions, including Judaism
, in adherence to the doctrine of state atheism
. In the post-Communist era, these policies have been abandoned and the freedom of religion is permitted, although the number of practicing Jews in Albania is today very small, with many Jews having made aliyah
to Israel
.
In WWII, no Albanian Jews were turned over to the Germans. After Italian and German occupation of Albania, the Jewish population actually increased thanks to assistance by both Muslim
s and Christians.
, Elbasan
, Vlorë
, Durrës
and also they are reported as well in Kosovo region. These Jewish families were mainly of Sephardic origin and descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Iberia in the end of 15th century AD. In 1520 in Vlorë were reported 609 Jewish households and also Vlorë was also the site of Albania's only synagogue which was destroyed in the First World War. In 1673 the charismatic Jewish prophet Sabbatai Zevi
was exiled by the sultan to the Albanian port of Ulqin, now in Montenegro
dying there some years later.
asked for the Albanian citizenship which was granted to him immediately, but this couldn't save him from concentration camps.
in 1942, Adolf Eichmann
, planner of the mass murder of Jews across Europe, estimated the number of Jews in Albania that were to be killed at 200. Nevertheless, Jews in Albania remained at first unmolested both under Italian occupation and in the first months after the Italian collapse of September 1943. However, in April 1944, under German pressure, some 400 German and Austrian Jews who had taken refuge in Tirana and Durrës were first interned in Pristina
(Kosovo) and then deported to Bergen-Belsen
.
Still, at the end of the war, Albania had 2,000 Jews after the end of the WWII. and it was one of the few countries in Europe to do so.
’s communist rule under the dictatorship
of Enver Hoxha
, the Jewish community was isolated from the Jewish world, though this does not reflect anti-Jewish measures. In order to forge sustainable national unity as well as the new socialism, Hoxha banned confessional loyalties across the religious spectrum. In this manner, the fate of the Jewish community was inextricably linked to the fates of the Albanian society as a whole.
All religion was strictly banned from the country. The Jewish population numbered around 200 citizens. After the fall of Communism, in 1991, nearly all the Jews of Albania emigrated to Israel
and settled predominately in Tel Aviv
.
. An old synagogue was discovered in the city of Saranda and a new synagogue
, Hechal Shlomo, just started providing services for the Jewish community in Tirana in December 2010. A synagogue
remains in Vlorë
, but is no longer in use. Also in December 2010, Rabbi Joel Kaplan was inaugurated as the first chief rabbi of Albania by the Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar. A Jewish Community Centre was also inaugurated as Moshe Rabenu in Tirana
.
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
in Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
dates back at least 1,300 years.
Present day Albanian Jews, predominantly Sephardi
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
, have in modern times only constituted a very small percentage of the population; during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Albania would be one of the very few countries in Europe to see an increase in its Jewish population. During the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
of Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
, the Socialist People's Republic of Albania would ban all religions, including Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, in adherence to the doctrine of state atheism
State atheism
State atheism is the official "promotion of atheism" by a government, sometimes combined with active suppression of religious freedom and practice...
. In the post-Communist era, these policies have been abandoned and the freedom of religion is permitted, although the number of practicing Jews in Albania is today very small, with many Jews having made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
In WWII, no Albanian Jews were turned over to the Germans. After Italian and German occupation of Albania, the Jewish population actually increased thanks to assistance by both Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s and Christians.
Early history
First reports of Jews living in Albania date from the 7th century AD. By the early 16th century, there were Jewish settlements in most of major cities of Albania such as BeratBerat
Berat is a town located in south-central Albania. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of around 71,000 people. It is the capital of both the District of Berat and the larger County of Berat...
, Elbasan
Elbasan
Elbasan is a city in central Albania. It is located on the Shkumbin River in the District of Elbasan and the County of Elbasan, at...
, Vlorë
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
, Durrës
Durrës
Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...
and also they are reported as well in Kosovo region. These Jewish families were mainly of Sephardic origin and descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Iberia in the end of 15th century AD. In 1520 in Vlorë were reported 609 Jewish households and also Vlorë was also the site of Albania's only synagogue which was destroyed in the First World War. In 1673 the charismatic Jewish prophet Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi, , was a Sephardic Rabbi and kabbalist who claimed to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. He was the founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement...
was exiled by the sultan to the Albanian port of Ulqin, now in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
dying there some years later.
1900-1939
According to the Albanian census of 1930, there were only 204 Jews registered at that time in Albania. Albert Einstein took refuge in Albania for a few days in 1935 before continuing his journey to America with an Albanian passport. The official recognition of the Jewish community was granted on April 2, 1937, while at that time this community consisted in about 300 members. With the rise of Nazi Germany a number of German and Austrian Jews took refuge in Albania. Still in 1938 the Albanian Embassy in Berlin continued to issue visas to Jews, at a time when no other European country was willing to take them. One of the major Albanologist Norbert JoklNorbert Jokl
Norbert Jokl was an Austrian Albanologist of Jewish descent who has been called the father of Albanology.- Early life :...
asked for the Albanian citizenship which was granted to him immediately, but this couldn't save him from concentration camps.
World War II
Albania had about 200 Jews at the beginning of the war. It subsequently became a safe haven for several hundreds of Jewish refugees from other countries. At the Wannsee ConferenceWannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
in 1942, Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
, planner of the mass murder of Jews across Europe, estimated the number of Jews in Albania that were to be killed at 200. Nevertheless, Jews in Albania remained at first unmolested both under Italian occupation and in the first months after the Italian collapse of September 1943. However, in April 1944, under German pressure, some 400 German and Austrian Jews who had taken refuge in Tirana and Durrës were first interned in Pristina
Pristina
Pristina, also spelled Prishtina and Priština is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district....
(Kosovo) and then deported to Bergen-Belsen
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
.
Still, at the end of the war, Albania had 2,000 Jews after the end of the WWII. and it was one of the few countries in Europe to do so.
Communist era
Throughout AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
’s communist rule under the dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
of Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
, the Jewish community was isolated from the Jewish world, though this does not reflect anti-Jewish measures. In order to forge sustainable national unity as well as the new socialism, Hoxha banned confessional loyalties across the religious spectrum. In this manner, the fate of the Jewish community was inextricably linked to the fates of the Albanian society as a whole.
All religion was strictly banned from the country. The Jewish population numbered around 200 citizens. After the fall of Communism, in 1991, nearly all the Jews of Albania emigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and settled predominately in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
Present Jews in Albania
Today, over 160 Jews live in Albania, most in the capital, TiranaTirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
. An old synagogue was discovered in the city of Saranda and a new synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, Hechal Shlomo, just started providing services for the Jewish community in Tirana in December 2010. A synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
remains in Vlorë
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
, but is no longer in use. Also in December 2010, Rabbi Joel Kaplan was inaugurated as the first chief rabbi of Albania by the Prime Minister Sali Berisha and Chief Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar. A Jewish Community Centre was also inaugurated as Moshe Rabenu in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
.