Enver Hoxha

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Enver Hoxha (1971)
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Enver Hoxha  [ ɛnˈvɛɾ ˈhodʒa ] , German also Enver Hodscha (born October 16, 1908 in Gjirokastra , † April 11, 1985 in Tirana ) was a communist Albanian politician . From 1944 to 1985 he was General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Labor Party of Albania and thus dictatorial ruler of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania . Please click to listen!Play

Career

Origin, early years and family

The house where Enver Hoxha was born in typical Ottoman style (today the Ethnographic Museum)

Hoxha was born into a wealthy Muslim family in the then Ottoman city ​​of Gjirokastra ; the mother's name was Gjylihan (Gjylo), the father Halil was a pharmacist - according to other sources, a cloth merchant - and was close to the Bektaschi order . Fourteen days before Enver went to study in France, his father sent him to İlbasanlı Selim Rûhi Baba from Zall-Tekke , where he received his blessing. In 1927 he successfully graduated from the French Lyceum in Korça and then studied from 1930 to 1934 in Montpellier and Paris . From 1934 to 1936 he studied law in Brussels , where he became secretary in the Albanian consulate. In France and Belgium, Hoxha first came into close contact with communist ideas. After returning to the Kingdom of Albania , he worked as a French teacher in his former school in Korça in 1936, until he was banned from working in 1939. Then he ran a tobacco shop in the capital Tirana .

Enver Hoxha was married to Nexhmije Hoxha (1921-2020) and had two sons, Ilir and Sokol , and a daughter, Pranvera .

Foundation of the Party of Labor of Albania, engagement in the partisan movement and takeover of power

Enver Hoxha at his Matura at the age of 18

With Yugoslav help he built the Communist Party of Albania, founded in 1941, of which he was chairman from 1943 and which was renamed the Labor Party of Albania (PAA) in 1948 . During the Second World War he soon took on leading tasks in the resistance movement against the occupying powers and in the partisan struggle . On October 22nd, 1944, the Communist-dominated “Antifascist National Liberation Committee” was transformed into a “Democratic Government of Albania” under Enver Hoxha as Prime Minister. On November 17, 1944, Tirana was taken. On November 29, 1944, the last troops of the Wehrmacht left Albania. On January 11, 1946, Hoxha proclaimed the People's Socialist Republic of Albania . By this time he had already placed members of his family clan in numerous leading party and government offices.

Economic and political tensions with Yugoslavia due to political and ideological differences of opinion with its president Josip Broz Tito led from 1948 onwards that Enver Hoxha leaned closely to Stalin's Soviet Union . At the same time, in Stalinist fashion, he had party purges carried out and opposition members killed.

Despite several severe health problems ( diabetes , heart failure and minor strokes ), he led the political business to the end and led several "purges" in which numerous people, mostly politicians and intellectuals who had become unpopular, were sentenced to death or to long imprisonment with subsequent internment ; the last 1982-1983 against the widow and sons of the powerful Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu and the head of the security service Sigurimi as well as the foreign and health ministers . Shehu himself died in unexplained circumstances in 1981 and was subsequently declared by Hoxha to be an " enemy of the people " and an agent of several secret services. It has often been claimed that Shehu committed suicide.

Alliance with the People's Republic of China

The death of Stalin and the de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union from 1956 onwards led Enver Hoxha to break off relations with the USSR in 1961, reduce those with most of the Eastern European states to a low level and instead enter into a close alliance with the People's Republic of China . Relations with the Western world and with most of the non-aligned countries were also poor, which did not prevent Hoxha and other party leaders from treating themselves to French doctors and having their own children study in France and Sweden . First, after the break with the Soviet Union, Maoism was elevated to the official line of the Party of Labor of Albania. All of the country's religious traditions were radically opposed, and in 1967 Hoxha finally declared Albania the “first atheistic state in the world”. Mosques and especially churches were misappropriated and to a large extent destroyed. In 1968 Albania formally withdrew from the Warsaw Pact under Hoxha's leadership . Hoxha later criticized Mao Zedong's ideas as revisionist . The theories of the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Enver Hoxha pointed out, “are fundamentally different from Marxism-Leninism . They are an amalgam of views, where ideas and theses borrowed from Marxism have mixed up with Confucian , Buddhist , anarchist , Trotskyist , Titoist , Khrushchevian and Eurocommunist ideas and theses and with a pronounced nationalist and racist influence. "

After the deaths of Lin Biao (1971) and Mao Zedong (1976) and the associated change in Chinese politics, Hoxha finally broke off privileged relations with the People's Republic of China in 1978, although diplomatic relations remained at a low level. Until his death in 1985, Hoxha pursued an isolationist foreign policy that was completely free of ties.

His paranoid fear of attacks by foreign powers and neighboring states, which grew with age, led Hoxha to commission the construction of 750,000 bunkers in the country to defend Albania . The necessary expansion of the concrete industry and the import of steel put a heavy burden on the Albanian economy for years and created an image of permanent external threat among the people.

Since 1968 an edition of the works ( Albanian  Vepra ) Enver Hoxhas appeared, which was canceled in 1990 with volume 71. In addition, the dictator's diaries and memoirs were published. The aim of the work edition was to elevate Enver Hoxha to a classic theoretician of Marxism-Leninism.

death

Hoxha's grave in Sharra cemetery

Enver Hoxha died of heart failure on April 11, 1985 in Tirana at the age of 76. He was buried in the war heroes cemetery in Tirana.
His political legacy Ramiz Alia (1925-2011) took over the leadership of the party and the state.

After the end of real socialism , Hoxha's body was exhumed in 1992 at the Heroes' Cemetery and buried in a small circle at the Sharra cemetery on the western edge of Tirana.

The museum dedicated to him in Tirana has been converted into a cultural center. The numerous institutions that had borne his name were renamed after his death.

Hoxha cult

Mount Shpirag in southern Albania with propaganda inscription ENVER (1995)

The Hoxha cult in socialist Albania was omnipresent in banners and posters, in songs and slogans such as Popull - Parti - Enver (People - Party - Enver) , which, for example, were carved into mountain walls or laid out with bright stones and were visible for miles (compare picture).

Even after his death, he was revered until the fall of the dictatorship. This was expressed very clearly in the larger-than-life statues in various cities, including on Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, as well as in the newly built pyramid-shaped museum in Tirana dedicated to him . His grave in the capital's heroes' cemetery was guarded around the clock by an honor guard.

Fonts

  • Vepra. ["Works"] (71 volumes) Shtëpia Botuese "8 Nëntori", Tiranë, 1968–1990. Collected works from November 1941 to October 1979.
Work editions
  • Selected Works. (2 volumes) Verlag Roter Morgen, Dortmund 1976/78. Selection of works from April 1942 to August 1960.
    • Excerpt from the materials of the first volume in: “Roter Morgen”, central organ of the KPD / ML, No. 39/1976, p. 9.
  • Selected speeches and essays. Verlag Roter Morgen, Hamburg, 1974. Selection of works from the period 1957 to 1974.
  • The struggle of the Party of Labor of Albania against Khrushchev revisionism. From the 19th volume of the works of Enver Hoxha. Verlag Roter Morgen, Dortmund, 1976. Selection of works from June to December 1960.
Theoretical works
  • The Yugoslav “self-government”, capitalist theory and practice. Publishing house "8 Nëntori", Tirana, 1978.
  • Imperialism and revolution. Verlag Roter Morgen, Dortmund, 1980. ISBN 3-88196-209-3 . Originally published April 1978.
  • Eurocommunism is anti-communism. Verlag Roter Morgen, Dortmund, 1980, ISBN 3-88196-211-5 .
memoirs
  • Encounters with Stalin. Memories. Verlag Roter Morgen, Dortmund 1980, ISBN 3-88196-210-7 .
  • The Khrushchevians. Memories. Publishing house "8 Nëntori", Tirana, 1980.
  • Anglo-American machinations in Albania. Memories from the national liberation struggle. Publishing house "8 Nëntori", Tirana, 1982.
  • The Titoists. Historical records. Verlag “8 Nëntori”, Tirana, 1983. Originally published in late 1982.
    • Excerpts in: "Die Zeit", No. 3/1983, p. 6.
From the political diary
  • Reflections on the Near and Middle East, 1958–1983. From the political diary. Publishing house "8 Nëntori", Tirana, 1984.
  • The superpowers, 1959–1984. From the political diary. Publishing house "8 Nëntori", Tirana, 1986.
  • Reflections on China. From the political diary. (2 volumes) Verlag “8 Nëntori”, Tirana, 1979. Diary entries from April 1962 to December 1977.
Party conference speeches
  • Report on the activities of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania. Reported at the 5th Party Congress of the PAA, November 1, 1966. Naim Frashëri Publishing House, Tirana, 1966.
    • Excerpts in: “Rote Fahne”, organ of the Marxist-Leninists Austria (MLÖ), No. 68 (December 15, 1966).
  • Report on the activities of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania. Refunds on the VI. PAA party conference, November 1, 1971. Naim-Frashëri-Verlag, Tirana, 1972.
    • Excerpts in:
      • “Roter Morgen”, No. 15/1971, pp. 4–6.
      • a supplement to “Rote Fahne”, central organ of the KPD / ML (central office), No. 24/1971.
  • Report on the activities of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania. Refunded at the 7th party congress of the PAA, November 1, 1976. Verlag Roter Morgen, Dortmund, 1977. ISBN 3-88196-205-0 .
    • Excerpts in: “Roter Morgen”, No. 46/1976, pp. 3–15; "Roter Morgen", No. 5/1977, p. 2.
  • Closing remarks by Comrade Enver Hoxha at the 7th Congress of the Labor Party of Albania. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 47/1976, p. 10. Speech of November 7, 1976.
  • Report on the activities of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania. Reported at the 8th party congress of the PAA, November 1, 1981. Verlag "8 Nëntori", Tirana, 1981.
Election speeches
  • Our strength lies in the complete solidarity between the party and the people. Speech given on September 18, 1970 at the meeting with the voters of electoral zone No. 219. Naim Frashëri Publishing House, Tirana, 1970.
  • Speech by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania to his voters in constituency 209 in Tirana. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 43/1974, pp. 7–12. Election speech given on October 3, 1974.
  • Albania is proceeding with steadfastness and fearlessness. Speech at the meeting with voters of electoral district No. 209 in Tirana on November 8, 1978. “8 Nëntori” publishing house, Tirana, 1978.
    • Excerpts in: "Roter Morgen", No. 46/1978, p. 9.
  • Speech before the elections for the 10th legislative period of the People's Assembly of the Albanian SAR. Held in electoral district 210 in Tirana, November 10, 1982. “8 Nëntori” publishing house, Tirana, 1982.
conversations
  • Let us enlighten those who are wavering and let us fight those who stubbornly walk the path of betrayal. The conversation between Enver Hoxha and the “Rote Fahne” delegation on July 24, 1964. In: “Rote Fahne”, Central Organ of the MLPÖ, No. 200 (12/1981), pp. 65–81.
  • Conversation contribution by Comrade Enver Hoxha in the conversation with Comrade Tschou En-lai in March 1965 in Tirana. In: “The way of the party”, Theoretical Organ of the KPD / ML, No. 5/1977.
  • The more revolutionary, more combative and pure the youth, the stronger and more hardened the party, the safer the future. From a conversation between Enver Hoxhas and a delegation of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Austria (MLPÖ) on May 10, 1967. In: “Rote Fahne”, Zentralorgan der MLPÖ, No. 175 (6/1979), pp. 5-19.
  • Conversation between Enver Hoxha and Pedro Pomar, member of the Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Brazil, on August 18, 1967. In: "Roter Morgen", No. 12/1977, pp. 9 and 11.
  • Only under the leadership of a truly Marxist-Leninist party can the goals be achieved. From a conversation between Enver Hoxha and Comrade Ernst Aust, then chairman of the KPD / ML, on November 30, 1979. Red Star Press, London, 2007.
Other speeches, articles and letters
  • Enver Hodscha, The Party of Labor of Albania in the Struggle for Socialism. Speech at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Party of Labor of Albania. Dietz-Verlag, Berlin, 1953. Speech given in 1951.
  • Let us reject the revisionist theses of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the anti-Marxist positions of the Khrushchev group! Let's defend Marxism-Leninism! Speech given at the meeting of the 81 Communist and Workers' Parties in Moscow on November 16, 1960. “Naim Frashëri” publishing house, Tirana, 1971.
  • Khrushchev kneels before Tito. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 36/1977, pp. 9-11. Originally published on September 13, 1963 as an editorial article for the Zëri i Popullit newspaper.
  • A significant speech by Enver Hoxha: No force can stop the victorious advance of the peoples and prevent the complete annihilation of imperialism and revisionism. Published as: “Roter Morgen”, December 2, 1969 edition. Some excerpts from the speech of November 28, 1969.
  • Let us learn Marxist-Leninist theory in close connection with revolutionary practice. Publisher Naim Frashëri, Tirana, 1970.
  • Excerpts from the address to the 7th Congress of the Albanian Trade Union Federation (1972) in: “Roter Morgen”, No. 11/1972, p. 2f.
  • The "help" of the imperialists and social-imperialists is a trap. In: “Rote Fahne”, central organ of the MLPÖ, No. 140 (3/1973), pp. 17-20. From a speech on November 28, 1972.
  • Excerpt from the message of greeting to the Xth Party Congress of the CPC (1973) in: “Roter Morgen”, No. 39/1973, p. 5.
  • The writers and artists are helpers of the party in the socialist education of our people. In: "Roter Morgen", No. 8/1975, p. 6.
  • Comrade Enver Hoxha affirms: Glorious Sino-Albanian friendship. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 20/1976, p. 7. First part of the report on the reception of a group of Chinese and Albanian workers at Enver Hoxha on April 29, 1976 and its fundamental statements.
  • Comrade Enver Hoxha announces: Two young women appointed ministers. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 21/1976, p. 8. Second part of the report on the reception of a group of Chinese and Albanian workers at Enver Hoxha on April 29, 1976 and its fundamental statements.
  • Speech by Comrade Enver Hoxha on the new constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. In: "Roter Morgen", No. 1/1977, p. 10f. Speech of December 27, 1976.
  • About the champions of Albanian independence. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 22/1977, p. 8. From the greeting to the participants in a rally on May 24, 1977.
  • Excerpts from the speech of Comrade Enver Hoxha. In: “Die Rote Garde”, newspaper of the youth organization of the KPD / ML, No. 8/1977, p. 4. From a speech of June 17, 1977.
  • 8th Congress of the Albanian Trade Union Federation: Greetings from Comrade Enver Hoxha . In: "Roter Morgen", No. 26/1977, p. 6f.
  • Excerpts from the address to the 7th Congress of the Association of Youth of Labor in Albania (September 1977) in: “Die Rote Garde”, No. 10/1977, p. 8.
  • Albania: Comrade Enver Hoxha visits the Gjirokastra district. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 13/1978, p. 10. Report on Hoxha's visit in March 1978 and its fundamental statements.
  • From a speech by Comrade Enver Hoxha in the Saranda district: “We always tell everyone the truth openly”. In: "Roter Morgen", No. 14/1978, p. 9.
  • Comrade Enver Hoxha on the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Albanian People's Army: Our army stands guard for socialism. In: "Roter Morgen", No. 30/1978, p. 9.
  • Proletarian democracy is real democracy. Speech at the meeting of the General Council of the Democratic Front of Albania, September 20, 1978. “8 Nëntori” publishing house, Tirana, 1978.
    • Excerpts in: "Roter Morgen", No. 40/1978, p. 11.
  • Letter to the Central Committee of the KPD / ML of October 27, 1978 in: "Roter Morgen", No. 47/1978, p. 9.
  • Palestine / Albania: Enver Hoxha reaffirms Albanian support for the Palestinian struggle for freedom. In: “Roter Morgen”, No. 45/1978, p. 10. Excerpts from the correspondence between Hoxha and Yasser Arafat published by the Albanian press .
  • The party-led democratic front is the great organization of the unification, organization and political education of the people. Article published in the newspaper “Bashkimi”, No. 132 (10729), June 3, 1979. Verlag “8 Nëntori”, Tirana, 1979.

literature

  • Rino Benincasa: Enver Hoxha. The Pharaoh of Socialism and the Sons of the Albanian Eagle. Prisma Point, Lengwil 1995, ISBN 3-907567-01-3 .
  • Blendi Fevziu: Enver Hoxha. E para biografi e bazuar në dokumente të arkivit personal dhe në rrëfimet e atyre që e njohën . UET Press, Tiranë 2011, ISBN 978-99956-39-35-8 .
  • Blendi Fevziu: Enver Hoxha. The Iron Fist of Albania. IB Tauris, London 2016, ISBN 978-1-78453-485-1 (translated by Majlinda Nishku) ( review ).
  • Harry Hamm: Rebels against Moscow. Albania - Beijing's bridgehead in Europe. Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, Cologne 1962, DNB 451789644 .
  • Lloyd Jones: The man who Enver Hodscha was. Hanser, Munich / Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-8031-2298-8 ; Wagenbach, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-8031-2298-8 (novel).
  • K. Lange: Hoxha, Enver , in: Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte Südosteuropas . Vol. 2. Munich 1976, pp. 186-188.
  • Enver Hodscha , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 31/1985 of July 22, 1985, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available).
  • James S. O'Donnell: A coming of age. Albania under Enver Hoxha. East European Monographs, Boulder 1999, ISBN 0-88033-415-0 .
  • Riccardo Orizio: Alone with the devil: encounters with seven dictators (original title: Talk of the Devil , translated by Bärbel Deninger). Hugendubel / Diederichs, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7205-2485-X , pp. 103–128.
  • Thomas Schreiber: Enver Hodja. Le sultan rouge. Editions Jean-Claude Lattès, Paris, 1994, ISBN 2-7096-1390-5 .

Web links

Commons : Enver Hoxha  - p
Wikiquote: Enver Hoxha  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Cavendish: Death of Enver Hoxha. Richard Cavendish provides an overview of the life and career of the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha, who died on April 11th, 1985. In: History Today (Volume 60, Issue 4). April 2010, accessed May 3, 2014 .
  2. ^ Baba Rexheb 1901-1995. In: The Bektashi Order of Dervishes. Retrieved on December 26, 2014 : "In fact, before Enver set off for France to study fourteen years earlier, his father brought him to seek the blessing of Baba Selim."
  3. ^ Solveig Grothe: Bunkerland Albania. All for cover. In: one day (Spiegel Online) . August 6, 2012, accessed March 14, 2014 .
  4. ↑ The time 17/1985: chief change in the land of Skipetars
  5. ↑ Book review: Enver Hoxha talks to Ernst Aust about revolutionary work in Germany. In: Work Future . January 7, 2008, accessed March 16, 2015
predecessor Office successor
- Secretary of the Central Committee of the Labor Party of Albania
1941–1985 		Ramiz Alia
Ibrahim Biçakçiu Prime Minister of Albania
1944–1954 		Mehmet Shehu
personal data
SURNAME Hoxha, Enver
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hoxha, Enver Halil
BRIEF DESCRIPTION political leader of Albania
DATE OF BIRTH October 16, 1908
PLACE OF BIRTH Gjirokastra
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1985
Place of death Tirana