THE SHINING BEACON OF SOCIALISM IN EUROPE JAGIELLON IAN STUDIES IN HISTORY Editor in chief Jan Jacek Bruski Vol. 3 Tadeusz Czekalski THE SHINING BEACON OF SOCIALISM IN EUROPE The Albanian State and Society in the Period of Communist Dictatorship 1944-1992 The publication of this volume was financed by the Jagiellonian University - Faculty of History REVIEWER Andrzej Chwalba SERIES COVER DESIGN Jan Jacek Bruski COVER DESIGN Agnieszka Winciorek Cover photography: Albanian youth work brigade, 1946 Translated from the Polish by Ian Corkill © Copyright by Tadeusz Czekalski & Jagiellonian University Press First edition, Kraków 2013 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any eletronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers ISBN 978-83-233-3515-3 ISSN 2299-758X I wydawnictwo] www.wuj.pl Jagiellonian University Press Editorial Offices: Michałowskiego St. 9/2, 31-126 Cracow Phone: +48 12 631 18 81, +48 12 631 18 82, Fax: +48 12 631 18 83 Distribution: Phone: +48 12 631 01 97, Fax: +48 12 631 01 98 Cell Phone: + 48 506006 674, e-mail: [email protected] Bank: PEKAO SA, IBAN PL80 1240 4722 1111 0000 4856 3325 Contents Index of abbreviations.............................................................................................. 7 Introduction............................................................................................................... 9 Chapter I: The road to power................................................................................. 13 Chapter II: Party and state...................................................................................... 25 1. Yugoslav p erio d ................................................................................................ 25 2. Soviet p erio d ..................................................................................................... 35 3. Chinese period.................................................................................................. 45 4. Period of isolation............................................................................................ 55 Chapter III: Economy............................................................................................... 65 1. Agriculture........................................................................................................ 70 2. Industry.............................................................................................................. 74 3. Communication and transport...................................................................... 77 Chapter IV: Socio-demographic changes............................................................ 81 Chapter V: The apparatus of repression.............................................................. 93 1. Sigurimi............................................................................................................. 97 2. Prisons and labour camps .............................................................................. 99 Chapter VI: Culture and education....................................................................... 105 Chapter VII: Confessional policy.......................................................................... 119 Chapter VIII: First steps to de-communisation................................................. 135 The new history of Albanian communism? Instead of an epilogue.............. 147 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 153 List of tables................................................................................................................ 161 Personal index............................................................................................................ 163 Geographical index................................................................................................... 167 5 Index of abbreviations AAOC - Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church AFNCL - Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council APL - Albanian Party of Labour ASA - Albanian State’s Archive Comecon - Council for Mutual Economic Assistance CPA - Communist Party of Albania CPCh - Communist Party of China CPSU - Communist Party of Soviet Union CPY - Communist Party of Yugoslavia d. - dossier (Alb. dosje) DPA - Democratic Party of Albania DPD - Department of People’s Defence (Alb. Drejtoria e Mbrojtjes se Popullit) GDR - German Democratic Republic HTC - higher type cooperatives LNÇ - National Liberation Movement (Alb. Levizja Nacionalçlirimtarë) PASOK - Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Greek naveXXf|vio ZoaiaXiatiKÔ KLvnpa) PUWP - Polish United Workers’ Party UDBA - State Security Administration (Serbocroat. Uprava drzavne bezbednosti) UN - United Nations USSR - The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Albania is the shining beacon of Socialism in Europe (Mao Zedong in his message of greetings to the Fifth Albanian Party of Labour Congress in November 1966) Introduction The works dedicated to European communist dictatorships represent, in modern history writing, a rich and varied collection, analysing a wide range of appearances identified with communism - from political-ideological matters to the rituals of daily life. In the wealth of literature, the case of Albania seems to be clearly margin­ alized. Covering an area of less than 29 thousand square kilometres, Albania belongs to the smallest European states, but its strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea basin has long given this country a greater significance than a country of its size and population would normally warrant. Recalling the communist period of Albanian history shows a range of phenom­ ena, which give base to the special treatment of this country against the background of other countries with similar ideology, or, in actual fact, its treatment as the totally separate “Albanian case.” Attempts to define the specifics of the rule of Enver Hoxha inclines critics of the system to use the description of crazy or irrational dictatorship, built upon a picture of the hundreds of thousands bunkers which cover the country. Other researchers, who are less critical towards Hoxha’s regime, provide examples of Albanian rationality, treating it as an example of an exceptionally pragmatic com­ munist dictatorship. In many aspects, the Albanian regime of Enver Hoxha oper­ ated in a system which seems to be original and unrepeatable. It is suffice to recall the example of an atheist state, which as opposed to other communist countries, brought about the extreme negation of religion and recognized religious activities as a crime. The durability of the socialist-realism cultural model for a period of over forty years and the application of a “people’s war” model, which from the 1970s was the doctrine of Albanian national defence, seem to be unprecedented, at least on the continent of Europe. It is impossible to understand the changes which took place in Albania in the years 1944-1992 without defining the point of entry - a difficult heritage, resulting from a few hundred years of Ottoman rule, less than twenty years of independence and, finally, five years of Italian and Germ an occupation during World War II. Al­ banian identity was based for centuries on two pillars: language and tribal identity (clans). Albania was the only Balkan state where dependence to a religious group did not define nationality. During the Ottoman rule, the scale of Albanian converts to Islam belonged to the highest in the Balkans and could be compared only with Bosnia. The motive behind converting was often for fiscal reasons, and also the de­ sire to maintain family prestige. At the beginning of the 20th Century, about 70% of 9 society were Muslims, 20% were of the Orthodox faith and 10% were Catholics. The Catholics lived mainly in the north of the country, the Orthodox people dominated in the south, and Islam was popular all over the country, with its greatest influence in the central parts of the country and in Kosovo. In principle, however, Albanian society was not accustomed to religious conflict. If there was such a thing, it was usually caused by conflicts between the principles of common law and religious beliefs. In 1912, both Catholics and Muslims participated in anti-Ottoman events. Catholics, the Orthodox and Muslim dervishes combined to fight for the creation of a national school. To avoid accusations of religious con­ flicts, the majority of nationalist movement documents contained approval of their contents by the most important religious communities. Similarly, when creating as­ sociations, the principle of religious equality among delegates was usually set. Religion to only a small degree designated ethical principles, losing out to com­ m on law (k a n u n ), which had its origins reaching back to the pre-Ottoman times. The Ottomans did not destroy common law, just as they did not destroy the tribal organisations. The basic element of internal social organisation in Albania was the tribe (fis). Because of the declared blood relations between members, the idea of fis is also translated as “clan.” The division of clans was also overlapped by ethnic and language differences. The north of the country was the home of the Gegs - an Al­ banian ethnic group using the Geg dialect. The main occupation of Gegs was shep­ herding, and the clan-tribal structures