Editing History of Albania (section)

=== Albania under Germany ===
{{Main|Albania under Nazi Germany}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-203-1691-20, Albanien, deutsche Soldaten, italienischer Panzer.jpg|230px|thumb|German soldiers in Albania.]]

After the surrender of the Italian Army in September 1943, Albania was [[Albania under Nazi Germany|occupied by the Germans]].

With the collapse of the Mussolini government in line with the Allied invasion of Italy, Germany occupied Albania in September 1943, dropping paratroopers into [[Tirana]] before the Albanian guerrillas could take the capital. The [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] soon drove the guerrillas into the hills and to the south. The Nazi German government subsequently announced it would recognize the independence of a neutral Albania and set about organizing a new government, police and armed forces.

The Germans did not exert heavy-handed control over Albania's administration. Rather, they sought to gain popular support by backing causes popular with Albanians, especially the annexation of Kosovo. Many [[Balli Kombëtar]] units cooperated with the Germans against the communists and several Balli Kombëtar leaders held positions in the German-sponsored regime. Albanian collaborators, especially the [[21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg (1st Albanian)|Skanderbeg SS Division]], also expelled and killed [[Serb]]s living in Kosovo. In December 1943, a third resistance organization, an anticommunist, anti-German royalist group known as [[Legaliteti]], took shape in Albania's northern mountains. Led by [[Abaz Kupi]], it largely consisted of Geg guerrillas, supplied mainly with weapons from the allies, who withdrew their support for the NLM after the communists renounced Albania's claims on Kosovo.
The capital Tirana was liberated by the partisans on 17 November 1944 after a 20-day battle. The communist partizans entirely liberated Albania from German occupation on 29 November 1944, pursuing the German army until [[Višegrad]], [[Bosnia]] (then [[Yugoslavia]]) in collaboration with the Yugoslav communist forces.

The Albanian partisans also liberated Kosovo, part of Montenegro, and southern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
By November 1944, they had thrown out the Germans, being with [[Yugoslavia]] the only European nations to do so without any assistance from the allies. [[Enver Hoxha]] became the leader of the country by virtue of his position as Secretary General of the [[Albanian Communist Party]].
After having taken over power of the country, the Albanian communists launched a tremendous terror campaign, shooting intellectuals and arresting thousands of innocent people. Some died due to suffering torture.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://apnews.com/0e903acb2a394a378d91817e9ae95d12/Albania%27s-broken-men-fear-prison-horrors-will-be-forgotten | work=Associated Press News| title=Albania's broken men fear prison horrors will be forgotten | date=19 June 2016 }}</ref>

Albania was one of the only European countries occupied by the [[Axis powers]] that ended World War II with a larger Jewish population than before the war.<ref>Sarner. ''Rescue in Albania: One Hundred Percent of Jews in Albania Rescued from the Holocaust'', 1997.</ref><ref>"Muslim Family Who Hid 26 Jews in Albania from the Nazis Honored by ADL" [http://www.adl.org/PresRele/HolNa_52/4963_52.htm Anti-Defamation League] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105140322/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/HolNa_52/4963_52.htm |date=5 January 2009 }}</ref><ref>Escape Through the Balkans: the Autobiography of Irene Grunbaum (University of Nebraska Press, 1996)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%205725.pdf |title=Shoah Research Center&nbsp;– Albania |access-date=27 August 2010}}</ref> Some 1,200 Jewish residents and refugees from other [[Balkan]] countries were hidden by Albanian families during World War II, according to official records.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.foxnews.com/story/israeli-historians-study-how-albanian-jews-escaped-holocaust | publisher=Fox News Channel | title=Israeli Historians Study How Albanian Jews Escaped Holocaust | date=20 May 2008}}</ref>