Opinions differ among scholars, as well as in public discourse, with regard to how to interpret the high survival rate of Jews in Albania, as well as the stark contrast in survival rates in Albania and Kosovo. Some experts have attributed the "exceptional difference" in Albania to the besa, a traditional code of honor that was an important part of the culture of the Albanian highlands. The besa obligated Albanians to provide shelter and safe passage for anyone seeking protection, especially if they had sworn to do so. Failure to provide safe passage would result in the loss of prestige for the man. Testimony from Jewish survivors, as well as from Albanian rescuers, has shown that many individual rescuers explained their own actions by citing the besa.[1] Traditionally, Albanian historiography has also emphasized the role of the besa, as well as other Albanian cultural values present at the turn of the century, to explain the high rate of survival. The besa hypothesis has also espoused been by foreign scholars. It has since come under criticism as an "almost folk explication" that is in fact "thoroughly limited". The historian Monika Stafa argues that "Albanian popular virtues" on their own could not possibly have successfully resisted the power of Nazi Germany's almost mathematical execution of its racial philosophy.[2]
Instead, Stafa argues, the outcome must also be attributed to a more complicated combination of factors including that collaborationist officials obstructed Nazi attempts to gather info about the local Jewish presence, the inaction of Italian occupiers, and the individual actions, especially those in positions of power. Stafa stresses the importance of the repeated refusal of Albanian collaborationist authorities to hand over the list of Jews, noting that across countries, obstruction of attempts by the Germans to obtain comprehensive lists about the local Jewish presence was associated with a 10 percent increase in that country's Jewish survival rate.[3] Kosovo differed from Albania proper in that the Germans did obtain the lists of Jews, despite some effort by officials in Pristina to prevent it from falling into their hands. Fischer notes that the Germans accepted the Albanian collaborationist refusal to hand over the lists and the lack of an organized German effort to hunt down Jews in the area in part because of a policy of maintaining the appearance that Germany was allowing Albania "relative independence".[4] Indeed, when Deva gave his refusal to hand over the list, he denounced the request as "a flagrant violation of their agreement and interference in Albanians' internal affair".[5]
Mojzes argues that Kosovo Albanians, due to their historical experiences with "zero-sum games" with local Serbs and the Ottoman Empire, tended to be more unfriendly towards local non-Albanians. He also writes that Kosovar Albanians welcomed the defeat and partitioning of Yugoslavia, and were particularly grateful to any power that offered them their "dream of Greater Albania" and opportunities to "settle scores" with the local Serbs, no matter who they were. Mojzes disputes the claim that Kosovo Albanians protected Jews following Germany's occupation of Kosovo, arguing that the protection that Jews received in Kosovo in the early years of the war was due more to the Italian authorities than to the local Albanian population. In Albania-proper, Mojzes argues that anti-Semitism was not widespread because there were very few Jews.[6] According to Stafa, anti-Semitic legislation was often not enacted in Albania proper by the Italian authorities.[7] Fischer notes that when anti-Semitic legislation was adopted, as it was in 1940, it was applied in a half-hearted way, with not a single Jew expelled from the country, and Jews sent into the countryside to stay with Albanian families. Fischer also states that Jews felt little need to hide their identities during the Italian period and even celebrated their traditional holidays in public.[8] Fischer instead attributes the Albanians' relative tolerance towards the Jews to "deeper religious tolerance" that was encouraged by Albania's religious diversity. He notes that the pre-war American ambassador to Albania, Herman Bernstein, noted the lack of anti-Semitism in the country.[9]
- ^ Berger 18 November 2013.
- ^ Stafa 2017, p. 38.
- ^ Stafa 2017, pp. 38–40.
- ^ Fischer 2007, p. 99.
- ^ Stafa 2017, p. 40.
- ^ Mojzes 2011, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Stafa 2017, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Fischer 2007, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Fischer 2007, p. 101.