Righteous Among The Nations of the Balkans I: Albania & Bulgaria

Righteous Among The Nations - Yad Vashem

"And so we must know these good people who helped Jews during the Holocaust. We must learn from them, and in gratitude and hope, we must remember them."

Elie Wiesel

in the photo: Righteous Among the Nations medal

The Holocaust in Albania in WWII

The Holocaust in Albania consisted of crimes committed against Jews in Albania while Albania was under Italian and German occupation during World War II. Throughout the war, nearly 2,000 Jews sought refuge in Albania-proper. Most of these Jewish refugees were treated well by the local population, despite the fact that Albania-proper was occupied first by Fascist Italy, and then by Nazi Germany. Albanians often sheltered Jewish refugees in mountain villages and transported them to Adriatic ports from where they fled to Italy. Other Jews joined resistance movements throughout the country.
In Albania-proper, five Jews from the same family were killed by the Germans, the only native Jews to be killed there over the course of the war. Albania-proper emerged from the war with a population of Jews eleven times greater than at the beginning, numbering around 1,800. Together with Denmark and Bulgaria, Albania-proper was one of the only Axis-occupied European countries where the majority of Jews were saved.

The Holocaust in Bulgaria in WWII

The Holocaust in Bulgaria was the persecution of Jews between 1941 and 1944 in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and their deportation and annihilation in the Bulgarian-occupied regions of Yugoslavia and Greece during World War II, arranged by the Nazi Germany-allied government of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. The persecution began in 1941 and culminated in March 1943 with the arrest and deportation of almost all – 11,343 – of the Jews living in Bulgarian-occupied regions of Northern Greece, Yugoslav Macedonia and Pirot. These were deported and sent to extermination camps in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The deportation of the 48,000 Jews from Bulgaria-proper was subsequently initiated but halted following widespread public protests and Orthodox Church leaders and parliament pressure to revoke the initial deportation order. This included all Sofia's 25,743 Jews, who were instead internally deported to the countryside and had their property confiscated, and Jewish males between the ages of 20 and 46 were conscripted into the Labour Corps until September 1944. These events are termed the "Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews". The survival rate of the Jewish population in Bulgaria as a result was one of the highest in Axis Europe.

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In 1963 Yad Vashem embarked upon a worldwide project to pay tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. This represents a unique and unprecedented attempt by the victims to honor individuals from within the nations of perpetrators, collaborators and bystanders, who stood by the victims' side and acted in stark contrast to the mainstream of indifference and hostility that prevailed in the darkest time of history.

If in your Geni family tree you have an individual whose life is associated with Albania or Bulgaria and who saved Jews during Holocaust, his/her name is most probably listed below. It would be great if within "profile description" there would be brief biography and the story related to her/his being honored as Righteous Among The Nations.

• Within opened profile page use the 'Actions' button to "Add to project". Select this project (you must be on the list of collaborators in this project to see it on the selection list). You may add any public profile that you have permission to edit. If you do not have permission to edit the profile, a request is sent to the profile manager to add the profile to the project. Or - you could contact one of the project collaborator(s) who will gladly assist or do it for you.

Righteous Among The Nations of the Balkans include: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and former Yugoslavia.
They are divided into three separate projects (due to the large number of names):
Righteous Among The Nations of the Balkans I: Albania & Bulgaria (this project)
Righteous Among The Nations of the Balkans II: Greece
Righteous Among The Nations of the Balkans III: Former Yugoslavia

List of the Righteous Among The Nations of the Balkans I:

Righteous Among The Nations of Albania:

• Balla, Destan & his wife Lima. In 1943-1944, in their village Shengjergji, the Destans took in and sheltered in their home the three brothers Lazar out of a group of 17 Jewish refugees from Tirana. The local police knew about it but did nothing. After the liberation the Lazars emigrated to Israel.
• Bicaku, Mefail and his son Niazi, sheltered the Fraggi Jewish family in a hut they have owned in the mountains near Struga through 1943-1944 till liberation day.
• Borici, Shaqir, his wife Qamile & their daughter Bahrije, sheltered a Jewish family of his friends Isak and Bela Bivas and their daughter Rashel in their home in Shkoder. Shaqir was the burgomaster of our district and he arranged for them false passports with Albanian Muslim names. They stayed with the Borici family fro 1943 till liberation in November 1944.
• Budo, Shyqyri & Xhemile
• Ciftja Agostin & Gjysepina; dghtrs: Margarita, Cezarina, Gjovana
• Frasheri, Hysref & his wife Ermine & their son Mehmet sheltered three jewish refugees families in their home's upper floor for more than a year and refused any sort pf payment.
• Hoti, Hasan, his sister Fife Gjylbegu and his children Cele & Vehbi sheltered 16-years-old Rashela Lazar at their home and property in 1943-1944, as a muslim relative. It was a very dangerous situation since the Germans have used the same property as a barrack for some of their troops.
• Hoxha, Rifat and his wife Fejzije sheltered in their home and protected a Jewish family for six months during WWII, until they were able to flee Albania.
• Hoxha, Nuro () was a Muslim teacher and religious man. He sheltered four Jewish families in underground bunkers that extended from his large house. There were three generations of the extended families of Ilia Sollomoni and Mojsi Negrin comprising 12 people, and few others Jewish refugees.
• Hoxha, Shaban & Siavet; son Hilmi
• Kadiu, Besim & Aishe
• Kasapi, Zyrha and her son Hamdi (d.1989). Hamdi and his mother, Zyrha hid the Jewish family of Mose Frances, his wife, two children and mother. They came from Skoplje in Macedonia, and were sheltered in the Kasapi home in Tirana. Hamdi spoke the Macedonian language. During the German occupation, The Kasapi-s sheltered them in their small apartment in Tirana and the home of friends in the nearby village of Babrru. It was very difficult as they had only two rooms.
• Kilica, Mikel
• Kucerri, Kasem Jakup (1915-d), an Albanian shepherd, sheltered Jakov Solomoni and his family by taking them into the hills and hiding them in a barn where he kept sheep.
• Kona, Vasil & Kristina
• Lekatari, Mihal provided the Konforti Jewish family with false papers he stole from the municipality that enabled them to stay in Kavaja, Albania after escaping from persecution in Belgrad.
• Mece, Sulejman & Zenepe
• Muasil, Dulaj
• Myrto, Abdulla & Ije
• Myrto, Shyqyri
• Nosi, Vasil & Kelkira; br. Stiliano; sis. Adelina Kosturi
• Orgocka, Paskal & Lefkothea
• Panariti, Isuf & Niqi
• Pilku, Njazi & Liza
• Qoqja, Beqir (b.-2005), was a Muslim tailor who in 1943 took in his friend, a Jew named Avram Eliasaf Gani from the city of Vlore, after the Germans had arrested Gani’s brother. Qoqja, who was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations in 1992 and died in 2005, hosted Gani at great risk at his Tirana home, where Qoqja was living with his wife, Naile, and one son.
• Rezniqi, Arslan () was a grocer, owned a truck that picked up fruit and vegetables from Macedonia. He used the back of the car to smuggle jewish refugees and over time (1943-1944) he transported 400 Jews first to Decan, Kosovo before smuggling them to inner-Albania.
• Ruli, Metin Aziz & Shpresa Ali
• Sharri, Faik & Sabrije
• Sheko, Stavro & Nora
• Sheqer Pashkaj Ali () owned a general store with food provisions on Pukë. One day he assisted Yeoshua Baruchowiç, a jewish prisoner on his way to be shot, to escape his pro-Nazi guards to a nearby forest. He later retrieved him from the forest and hid him in his home until the war was over.
• Shkurti, Pietro & Magdalena
• Shpuza, Esheref
• Toptani, Atif & his wife Ganimet invited the Altarac Jewish family, who were desperate to find a shelter from Nazi collaborators in Albania's police force, to stay at their estate in Kamza. They remained there between February and August 1944.
• Veseli, Hamid; and his brother Xhemal. The Veseli family sheltered two families of jewish refugees in their home in the village of Kruja from 1942 till liberation day in November 1944 - Moshe and Ela Mandil and their children Gavra and Irena; and Ruzhica and Yosef Ben Yosef, and Yosef's sister Finica. The Veselis were the first Albanians honored as Righteous Among The Nation!
• Veseli, Vesel & his wife Fatima and his son Refik. The Veseli family sheltered two families of jewish refugees in their home in the village of Kruja from 1942 till liberation day in November 1944 - Moshe and Ela Mandil and their children Gavra and Irena; and Ruzhica and Yosef Ben Yosef, and Yosef's sister Finica. The Veselis were the first Albanians honored as Righteous Among The Nation!
• Xhyheri, Qamil & Hanume
• Zyma, Bessim & Higmet

Righteous Among The Nations of Bulgaria:

• Denkov, Spiro
• Dimitrov, Rubin
• Georgieva Damianova Popostefanova, Anna
• Gerdjikov, Dr. Pavel
• Ichkova, Vera (Paseva) (). In 1942, Vera sheltered her family friend Yakov Levi, a merchant in Sofia (who was sent to a labor camp), and his son, 7-year-old Nisim. She manages to provide false documents to Yakov, but nevertheless he hardly left her apartment for months. later the three of them moved to the village of Peshtera where they stayed till liberation day.
• Ivanov, Mladen
• Ivanov, Vasili
• Kazasov, Dimo (1886-1980) was a publicist, editor of Bulgaria’s largest newspaper and in 1918 - 1935, with brief interludes, a representative in Bulgaria’s assembly, until the democracy became a dictatorship. During WWII, in 1943 Kazasov tried to prevent the deportation of the Bulgarian Jews, by stirring the public, the Church and public leaders to rise up against the persecution of Jews. He was arrested, prisoned and his life was threatened, but he never stopped, and even hid three jewish leaders in his home.
• Kiril (Cyril) of Bulgaria (Konstantin Markov) (1901-1971), was Metropolitan of Plovdiv during WWII, and actively contributed to the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews during the War. In 1953 He was elected first Patriarch of the restored Bulgarian Patriarchate, holding the position until his death.
• Kostov, Dr. Atanas (1900-1961) was a Bulgarian physician. During WWII in 1943 he saved 58 jewish physicians & pharmacists and their families from deportation from Bulgarian held territories to death camps in Poland.
• Kurtev, Vladimir (1888-d.). On March 9, 1943, a delegation from Kyustendil (Souitchemesov, Assen, Michalev, Petar, Momchilov, Ivan and Kurtev, Vladimir) arrived in Sofia to petition for the cancellation of the deportation of Bulgaria jews and contacted National Assembly vice chairman Dimitar Peshev. That day, Peshev and 10 other MPs met with Interior Minister, resulting in the deportation order being revoked, and eventually canceled by Tzar Boris III.
• Michailov, Michail
• Michalev, Petar (). On March 9, 1943, a delegation from Kyustendil (Souitchemesov, Assen, Michalev, Petar, Momchilov, Ivan and Kurtev, Vladimir) arrived in Sofia to petition for the cancellation of the deportation of Bulgaria jews and contacted National Assembly vice chairman Dimitar Peshev. That day, Peshev and 10 other MPs met with Interior Minister, resulting in the deportation order being revoked, and eventually canceled by Tzar Boris III.
• Momchilov, Ivan ()
• Peshev, Dimitar (1894 – 1973) was the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and Minister of Justice (1935–1936), before World War II. He rebelled against the pro-Nazi cabinet and prevented the deportation of Bulgaria's 48,000 Jews.
• Sertchedzieva, Anna
• Souitchemesov, Assen (). On March 9, 1943, a delegation from Kyustendil (Souitchemesov, Assen, Michalev, Petar, Momchilov, Ivan and Kurtev, Vladimir) arrived in Sofia to petition for the cancellation of the deportation of Bulgaria jews and contacted National Assembly vice chairman Dimitar Peshev. That day, Peshev and 10 other MPs met with Interior Minister, resulting in the deportation order being revoked, and eventually canceled by Tzar Boris III.
• Stefan I (Stoyan Popgueorguiev) (1878-1957). He was Metropolitan of Sofia and from 1945, also served as Exarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. He actively contributed to the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews in World War II.
• Stoicheva Stanka () In the summer of 1942, Stanka sheltered Leah Farchi, who was pregnant, in her house in Gergoviste until after she gave birth. Stanka even made an improvised hiding place for Leah in an old stable in the courtyard, and cared for all her needs. This was particularly dangerous since Leah did not have an official permit to be in that area. Stanka, who was a midwife, helped Leah give birth with the basic means at her disposal, and thus saved both the lives of Leah and the baby, Medi. Leah and Medi remained in Stanka’s house till liberation day.
• Vasileva, Nadejda (1891 - d.). In March 1943, she was living at Lom, a port city where Jews from the occupied Greek provinces were transferred en route to Treblinka camp. Nadežda Vasileva provided assistance to these people. She was allowed to distribute water to them. Some locals who were present, followed her lead and also distributed food and water, slightly easing the suffering.