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Mustafa Merlika Kruja was an important figure in modern Albanian history. His political career began with the declaration of independence in 1912 and ended with his resignation as Prime Minister in 1943. After leaving Albania in September 1944, he lived in exile until he died in the United States in 1958, devoting himself primarily to historical and Albanological studies.

During the communist period, he was described as a quisling prime minister. At the same time, he is also remembered as the prime minister who sought to keep the Albanian-inhabited territories united and who refused to hand over Jews to the German forces. He left behind an important body of scholarly work, correspondence, and a lost dictionary; his works were republished posthumously.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate (Honoris Causa) by the University of Padua in 1942, named an honorary citizen of the city of Prizren in 1942, and awarded the title “Honour of the Nation” by the President of the Republic in 2012, on the occasion of the centenary of Albania’s independence. A bust has been erected in his honour in the city of Krujë.

Two files concerning Mustafa Kruja are held in the archives of the former State Security, comprising a total of 811 pages.

In the 1950s, when the State Security opened a file on Fan Noli, he had already been living in the United States for more than 20 years. Following the Second World War, he had supported the Albanian government and sought to secure recognition of Albania by the US government. Highly respected within the Albanian diaspora, he was honorary president of “Vatra” and led the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the United States, which he had helped establish.

During this period, amid growing dissatisfaction with communist policies, the State Security sought to strengthen its connections with Noli. At the same time, Noli requested assistance from the Albanian state to send a bishop and two priests to the United States, and expressed interest in republishing his works and in Albanian historical studies.

Fan Noli (1882–1965) was an important figure in 20th-century Albanian culture and history: an Orthodox clergyman, politician, diplomat, man of letters, and musician. Over the course of his career, he held a number of public and state positions, including member of parliament (April 1921–September 1923), minister, Prime Minister (1924), editor-in-chief of the newspaper Dielli, honorary chairman of the “Vatra” association, and Archbishop of the Albanian Orthodox Church in America.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a popular uprising against communist rule and Soviet control, which began on 23 October and was crushed by Soviet military intervention in November. Its calls for freedom and resistance resonated beyond Hungary’s borders.

An archival trace of this impact appears in Investigation and Judicial File No. 8676-A, Fund No. 1 of the former State Security archives, concerning Nikolin Pavaci, Ndrekë Bazhdari and Karlo Cefa. A leaflet described on page 38 includes the words “Glory to the Hungarian Martyr Heroes”, alongside calls for freedom and slogans opposing dictatorship. The document illustrates how the legacy of the Hungarian Revolution was reflected in materials examined by Albania’s communist regime’s investigative and judicial authorities.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27), we bring attention to archival documents that reflect how the Jewish community in Albania was registered and administered by the State Security after World War II. This section focuses on statistical and descriptive materials, which provide data on the number, geographical distribution, and administrative classification of this community.

The files belong to Fund 4 of the State Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and cover a time span from 1955 to 1991. They include analytical reports on the contingent of Israelis in Albania, local folders with nominal and biographical data, as well as documentation on procedures for repatriation and final departure to Israel. Together, these materials reflect different phases of the identification, administration, and institutional treatment of the Jewish community by state authorities during the socialist period and in the years of transition.

Internment decisions were administrative acts through which the communist regime expelled and isolated thousands of individuals and entire families in designated camps and areas of internment. During the early years of the regime, such measures were often imposed without regular judicial proceedings. After 1955, the system was formalized through the Internment and Expulsion Commission. Internment became an instrument of political repression, affecting not only those considered opponents of the regime but also the relatives of escapees and political prisoners. The practice continued until 1990; the last internment decision is believed to have been issued on 10 February 1990, while on 8 May 1990 the law governing internment and expulsion was repealed.

 

The camps and internment centres in Lushnjë were part of the system of internment and forced labour during Albania’s communist regime. After 1950, hundreds of persecuted families were interned in these centres, including prominent political families and established Albanian families such as Markagjoni, Pervizi, Bajraktari, Dukagjini, Kokalari, Dine, Vatnikaj, Koliqi, Biçaku, Mulleti, Merlika, Topalli, Alizoti, Kupi, Dosti, Kaloshi, Kolgjini, and Mirakaj, among others.

Internees were engaged in agricultural work, digging canals and draining marshlands, while living in difficult conditions and under continuous control and surveillance. Their movement was restricted and required official permission.

The archival documents presented in this section provide evidence of the organisation of these centres and the lives of families subjected to internment in the Lushnjë area.

Jusuf Vrioni (16 March 1916 – 1 June 2001) was born in Corfu. He was the son of Iliaz Vrioni, a former Albanian Prime Minister and diplomat. He studied in France and Italy, where he obtained a doctorate in law.

He returned to Albania in 1939, but in 1947 he was arrested by the communist regime as a “French agent” and sentenced to 15 years in prison. After his release, he worked as a translator, translating into French the works of Ismail Kadare, as well as several books by Enver Hoxha.

Following the fall of communism, he was appointed Ambassador to UNESCO in Paris. In 1998, he was awarded the title of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by France. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Albania established the “Jusuf Vrioni” Translation Award.

He died in Paris in 2001.

Et’hem Haxhiademi was born in Elbasan on March 8, 1902. After completing his primary education in Elbasan, he attended secondary school in Lecce, Italy, and Innsbruck, Austria, between 1919 and 1923. From 1924 to 1928, he pursued higher education in Berlin and Vienna, where he graduated in political and legal sciences.

After returning to Albania, he held positions in the state administration while continuing his literary and creative work. He is regarded as a pioneer of Albanian tragedy, with works including Ulisi, Akili, Aleksandri, Pirrua, Skënderbeu, Diomedi, and Abeli.

Following the establishment of the communist regime, he was arrested and accused of being an “enemy of the people” and a supporter of the Balli Kombëtar. He was initially sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He served his sentence in the prisons of Elbasan and Gjirokastër before being transferred to Burrel, where he died on March 17, 1965.

During his 20 years of imprisonment, he devoted himself to translating works from Ancient Greek, Latin, German, and Turkish. His remains have never been found.