Despite being occupied by Italy and later Germany, predominantly Muslim Albania was one of the safest places in Europe for Jews during the Holocaust and one of the few that saw their Jewish population grow during World War Two.

It is these little known historical facts that underpin Besa: A Code of Honour, an exhibition touring South Africa by photographer Norman H. Gershman.

“Besa is a code of honour deeply rooted in Albanian culture that demands that one takes responsibility for the lives of others in their time of need,” the exhibition brochure reads.

Through a series of portraits of the families who put their lives at risk to save people who were often strangers to them, Gershman tells the heartwarming personal stories of this largely unexplored chapter of European history – stories like that of Beshim and Aishe Kadiu, as told to Gershman by their daughter, Merushe.

During the Nazi occupation, the Kadius hid Jewish siblings Jakov, 18, and Sandra Batino, 16, in their house in the town of Kavaje, southwest of the capital Tirana. Their parents sheltered by another family, the Batino children had first taken refuge with a friend of the Kadius, but moved in with Beshim, Aishe and their children because the family home was in a more remote area, less likely to be visited by German soldiers.

“Sandra, Jakov and I were close friends,” Merushe Kadiu told Gershman.

“We all lived in the same bedroom. I remember we cut a hole in the bars of our rear bedroom window so they could escape if the Germans discovered that they were hiding with us. We were constantly watching for German patrols.

“When the Germans began house-to-house searches, looking for Jews, my father took Jakov and Sandra to a remote village. We then supplied them with all their needs until the liberation. There was a great celebration in Kavaje. I remember the telegram we received from Jakov and Sandra and the joy of liberation. Soon they left for Tirana and then for Israel.”

To Albania, via Kosovo

Arsllan Mustafa Rezniqi’s house in Decan, Kosova, in which many Jews were sheltered. Photo: Leke Rezniqi

Predominantly Muslim Albania had a Jewish population of just 200 when Hitler took power in Germany in 1933. Only five Albanian Jews, all belonging to the same family, lost their lives during the Holocaust.

Besides protecting Jews in Albania, Albanians also offered refuge to hundreds of Jews from other parts of the continent, especially from Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia.

Most of those who sought protection in Albania entered the country through Kosovo.

One of those who aided their flight was Arsllan Reznqi, a merchant from the western Kosovo town of Decan/Decani, whose family features in the exhibition.

According to his great grandson, Leke Rezniqi, Arsllan hid more than 40 Jewish families in his home while his contacts on either side of the border found ways to send them clandestinely to Albania, which was then under Italian control.

Leke Rezniqi told BIRN it all began when Jewish business partners of Arsllan in Skopje asked him for help to escape the Nazi advance.

Arsallan Mustafa Rezniqi. Photo: Leke Rezniqi

“My great grandfather talked to his other partners about how it might be possible to help them, and they decided to shelter them in our family house in Decan,” he said.

Those fleeing would stay in the Rezniqi home for “days, weeks or months”, depending on the circumstances.

Once on Albanian territory, Arsllan’s contacts took charge. “They were not only providing houses in Albania, but also made sure they [the Jewish refugees] were integrated in the society,” said Rezniqi, often with ‘fake’ jobs such as shoemakers or handbag makers.

The exhibition was brought to South Africa by the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Center.

The director of the Center, Tali Nates, whose own father was saved by Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust, told BIRN that the photographs and stories demonstrated the importance of decisions taken by individuals and communities in times of tyranny.

“Those individuals that we highlighted from Albania and Kosovo show that you can go against the stream, that you can actually make a huge difference to hundreds of lives.”

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