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April 7, 1939/ The Italian invasion and how Fascist Italy governed Albania, the agreements of Ahmet Zogut....
2024-04-07 14:06:30 / JETË
Today 85 years ago, on April 7, 1939, the invasion of Albania by Italy began.
6 days later, on April 12, 1939, the country was under the Italian occupation of Benito Mussolini.
The conflict came as a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
Albania was quickly conquered. Its ruler, King Zog was forced into exile and the country became part of the Italian Empire as a protectorate in personal union with the Italian Crown.
This invasion did not come like a bolt from the open sky, since before the military invasion, Italy had already occupied Albania economically and politically, plunging it into financial and political debts, considering that Italy since the Conference of Ambassadors of 1921 was almost became the "godmother" of Albania.
Albania had long been of considerable strategic importance to the Kingdom of Italy.
Italian naval strategists coveted the port of Vlora and the island of Sazan at the entrance to the bay of Vlora, as it would give Italy control of the entrance to the Adriatic Sea. Furthermore, Albania provided Italy with a landing point from which they could further enter the Balkans.
In the late Ottoman period, with a waning of the importance of Islam, the Albanian nationalist movement received strong support from the two Adriatic powers, Italy and Austria-Hungary, which were concerned about Pan-Slavism in the Balkans and the Anglo-French hegemony represented through Greece in the region.
Before the First World War, Italy and Austria-Hungary had been supportive of the creation of an independent Albanian state. At the beginning of the war, Italy had used the opportunity to occupy the southern half of Albania, to prevent the invasion by the Austro-Hungarians. This success did not last long, as Albanian resistance through the War of Vlora and local post-war problems forced Italy to withdraw in 1920. The desire to compensate for this failure would be one of Mussolini's main motives for invading Albania.
Albania was important culturally and historically for the nationalist aims of the Italian fascists as the Albanian territory had been part of the Roman Empire for a long time, even before the annexation of northern Italy by the Romans. Later, during the Middle Ages, some coastal areas (such as Durrës) were influenced and owned by Italian powers, mainly the Kingdom of Naples and the Republic of Venice for many years. The Italian Fascist regime legitimized the claim on Albania through studies declaring the racial connection between Italians and Albanians, especially in comparison to the Slavic Yugoslavians. The Italian Fascists claimed that Albanians were related through ethnic heritage to Italians due to connections between the prehistoric peoples of Italiots, Romans and the Illyrians, and that the great influence shown by the Roman and Venetian empires over Albania justified Italy's right to possess it.
When Mussolini took power in Italy, he turned with new interest to Albania. Italy began to enter the Albanian economy in 1925, when Albania agreed to allow Italy to exploit its mineral resources.
This was followed by the First Pact of Tirana in 1926 and the Second Pact of Tirana in 1927, by which Albania and Italy entered into a defensive alliance. Among other things the Albanian government and economy were subsidized by Italian loans and the Royal Albanian Army was not only trained by Italian military instructors, but most of the officers in the army were Italian; other Italians were placed in high positions in the Albanian government. One third of Albanian imports came from Italy.
Despite strong Italian influence, King Zog refused to give in completely to Italian pressure.
In 1931 he openly turned against the Italians, refusing to renew the 1926 Pact of Tirana. After Albania signed trade agreements with Yugoslavia and Greece in 1934, Mussolini made a failed attempt to intimidate the Albanians by sending a fleet of warships to Albania.
The imminent birth of an Albanian royal child threatened to give Zog a dynasty that would last. After Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia (March 15, 1939) without notifying Mussolini beforehand, the Italian dictator decided to proceed with his annexation of Albania. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy criticized the plan to take Albania as an unnecessary risk. Rome, however, sent Tirana an ultimatum on March 25, 1939, demanding agreement with the invasion. King Zog refused to accept money in exchange for accepting an Italian invasion and colonization of Albania.
The Albanian government tried to keep the news of the Italian ultimatum a secret. While Radio Tirana constantly broadcast that nothing was happening, people became suspicious and the news of the Italian ultimatum was spread by unofficial sources. On April 5, the king's son was born and the news was announced from the cannons.
People poured into the streets in alarm but the news of the newborn prince calmed them down. People were suspicious that something else was going on, which led to an anti-Italian demonstration in Tirana on the same day. On April 6, there were several demonstrations in the main cities of the country. That same afternoon, 100 Italian planes flew over Tirana, Durres and Vlora dropping leaflets instructing people to surrender to Italian occupation. The people were quite angry with this show of force and demanded that the government resist and release the Albanians arrested as "communists".
As a reservist mobilization was called, many senior officers fled the country. Also, the government was fading. The Minister of the Interior, Musa Juka, left for Yugoslavia on the same day. While King Zog broadcast that he would resist the Italian invasion, the people felt as if they were being abandoned by their government.
Resistance
On April 7, 1939 Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy began the military occupation of Albania. On the morning of April 7, 1939, the Italian fascist army, consisting of 35-40 thousand ground forces and 150 airplanes, attacked Albania by landing in Durres, Vlora, Shengjin and Saranda. On the same day, he fell fighting against the fascist occupation of Albania. Mujo Ulqinaku was one of the first most prominent fighters, who on April 7 organized armed resistance against the Italian fascist occupation.
Hero of the People, Mujo Ulqinaku was born in Ulqin in the family of a poor sailor, in 1896. From a young age he was a sailor's assistant and later worked as a sailor in Shkodra and Durrës. With the rank of non-commissioned officer in a sub-department of the navy in Durres, on the day of the Italian fascist aggression against Albania, he was immediately put in charge of the sailors abandoned by the traitorous officers and organized with them and other volunteers the armed resistance in the port of Durres. Mujo Ulqinaku fought with rare bravery and courage, killing and wounding dozens of fascists. He fell in an unequal fight in defense of the homeland, on April 7, 1939, becoming a high example of patriotism and patriotism. On the morning of April 7, 1939, the Italian fascist army of 35-40 thousand forces attacked Albania by landing in Durres, Vlora, Shengjin and Saranda. In Durrës, the small Albanian army led by navy captain Mujo Ulqinaku resisted the invaders. That day, 12 Albanian patriots fell heroically, led by Mujo Ulqinak.
They were martyred on April 7, 1939
Mujo Ulqinaku (Hero of the People)
Hamit Dollani
Haxhi Tabaku
Isak Metalla (Metaliaj)
Ismail Reçi
Hysen Kalçi
Ramazan Lezha
Ibrahim Osmani
Hamit Veshko
Mitro Dhimërtika
Tonç Toma
Zenel Blana
Historical and political contexts
In the Treaty of London during World War I, the Triple Entente had promised central and southern Albania to Italy, as a reward for fighting alongside the Entente.[2] In June 1917, after Italian soldiers took control of large areas of Albania, Italy officially declared a protectorate over central and southern Albania; however this was reversed in September 1920 when Italy was pressured to withdraw its army from Albania.
Italy was outraged at the minimal gains it received from the peace negotiations, which it considered to have violated the Treaty of London. Italian fascists claimed that Albanians were ethnically related to Italians through connections with prehistoric Italians, Illyrian and Roman populations, and that the major influence exerted by the Roman and Venetian empires on Albania justified Italy's right to possess it[3]. Italy also justified the annexation of Albania on the basis of the fact that several hundred thousand people of Albanian origin had already been incorporated into society in southern Italy, that the incorporation of Albania was a reasonable measure that would unite people of Albanian origin in one state.[4 ] Italy supported Albanian irredentism, directed against Kosovo with a predominantly Albanian population in Yugoslavia and Epirus in Greece, especially in the border area of Chameria, inhabited by the Albanian Cham minority.
The economy
With the conquest of Albania and the installation of a new government, the economies of Albania and Italy were linked through a customs union that resulted in the removal of most trade restrictions.
Through a tariff union, the Albanian tariff system was established in Albania.
Due to the expected economic losses in Albania from the change in tariff policy, the Italian government gave Albania 15 million lek annually in compensation. Italian customs laws would apply in Albania and only Italy could conclude treaties with third parties.
Italian capital was allowed to dominate the Albanian economy.
As a result, Italian companies were allowed to hold monopolies in the exploitation of Albanian natural resources.
In 1944, the number of companies and industrial enterprises reached 430, up from only 244 in 1938 and only 71 such in 1922.
The degree of concentration of workers in industrial production in 1938 was doubled compared to 1928. At this time, Albania's economy had trade relations with 21 countries, but the most developed were first in Italy and then in Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Greece etc.
The country entered capitalist economic development much later than other European countries. Despite the presence of some foreign (mainly Italian) investment, Albania had made little move towards industrial development at the start of World War II. Agriculture, which employed over 87% of the workforce, was the main sector of the economy and contributed 92.4% of national income, with wheat, maize and rye being the main crops. Agriculture used primitive tools such as logs, while fertilizers were almost unknown and drainage was poor. The level of productivity and the level of organization and mechanization of agriculture in this period was very low.
MANAGEMENT
There were originally 10 prefectures.
Below this were 30 sub-prefectures and 23 municipalities.
Each prefecture was headed by a prefect located in the city of the same name.
In 1941, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, three new prefectures were added. Kosovo, Metohsi and Dibres, with 5 sub-prefectures.
The Italians left Albania in 1943, to be followed by the occupation by Germany. / Alfapress.al
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