Refik Veseli

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Refik Veseli in a photo from 1946

Refik Veseli (* 1926 or 1927 ; † 2000 or 2003 ) was a photographer and a Righteous Among the Nations from Albania . During the German occupation of Albania, he initiated the acceptance of two Jewish families in the house of the Veseli family. He is the first Albanian and one of the first Muslims to be honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.

Life

Refik Veseli grew up with his parents in Kruja in a Muslim family. As a teenager, Refik Veseli began an apprenticeship with the photographer Neshad Prizerini in the Albanian capital Tirana in 1942 , where he also worked throughout the war.

Rescue of the Mandil and Joseph families

Moshe (Mosa) Mandil and his wife Gabriela Mandil were professional photographers and owners of a photo shop in Novi Sad . With the occupation of Yugoslavia by the Wehrmacht in 1941, the Mandils fled with their two children Gavra and Irena to Italian-occupied Albania , where Jews were still relatively protected. They were initially detained in a camp in Pristina , Kosovo, and later moved to Kavaja . In the summer of 1943 the Mandil family moved to Tirana, where Moshe - while looking for work - met the photo shop of his former apprentice Prizerini. Prizerini offered him a job, and for the time being, the family stayed with him at Prizerini's invitation. Shortly thereafter, Italy surrendered . The occupation of Albania by German troops immediately followed the withdrawal of the Italians. The Nazis were aware of the fact that there were probably many Jewish refugees in Albania, which is why an intensive search was initiated.

Refik Veseli realized that it was getting dangerous for the Mandil family in the capital Tirana. He suggested moving the family to his hometown in the mountains. The dangerous journey to Kruja lasted several nights, parents and children were taken away one after the other. In Kruja the family was welcomed with open arms, provided with food and housed in a room above the barn. Inspired by Refik's act, Refik's brothers Hamid and Xhemal brought Joseph Ben Joseph's family into their parents' home; Joseph had worked in Hamid's clothing store in Tirana. The Jewish families were dressed in Albanian peasant costumes and some of the day spent in a nearby cave.

Partly because the Albanian and Jewish children were playing outside together, everyone in Kruja knew that the Veselis were keeping Jews hidden. Over time, other residents also began to hide Jews. During controls of the German occupiers, however, nobody said a word about this, despite intimidation on the part of the Germans. Even reward money for anyone who gave tips on the capture of hidden Jews could not induce the poor population of Kruja to denounce.

photographer

After the end of the Second World War, the Mandil family returned to Novi Sad and continued their photography business. Refik Veseli moved in with them in 1946 and completed his training with Moshe Mandil. In 1948 the Mandil family emigrated to Israel , Refik returned to Albania and started a family.

After the war, Refik Veseli opened a photo studio in Tirana, which he had to close in 1965. From 1952 he worked for the Academy of Sciences , later for the Institute of Cultural Monuments in Tirana. Pictures of him are part of the exhibition in the National Historical Museum and have been published in numerous books.

Refik was married to Drita. Her sons Bujar and Fatmir were still running a small photo shop in Tirana in 2014.

Historical classification and honor

The Veseli family acted - like hundreds of other Albanian families - according to the so-called Besa , a code of honor based among other things on hospitality, loyalty and loyalty, which is also rooted in the archaic customary law of the Albanians, the Kanun .

“Our parents were devout Muslims and, like us, believed that 'every knock on the door is a blessing from God'. We never took any money from our Jewish guests. All people are from God. Besa exists in every Albanian soul. "

- Hamid Veseli, Xhemal Veseli : Exhibition Besa

The hospitality as well as the protection of the guest to whom one has given one's word of honor, even with one's own life, was based on the idea that personal honor is inseparable from respect and equality towards others. The modern or western conception of a “stranger” or “foreigner” does not exist in the Kanun, the Jews were not viewed as strangers but as guests.

The concept of besa was the main motive behind the actions of many Albanians who undertook to save Jews. They risked their own lives and saved more than 1,800 Jews: after the end of World War II there were more Jews in Albania than before.

1987 Yad Vashem honored Refik Veseli together with his parents Fatima and Vesel as the first Albanians with the award Righteous Among the Nations . Gavra Mandil had previously contacted the memorial, published his story and called attention to his rescuers on behalf of all those who were rescued in Albania. Refik was able to attend a ceremony in Jerusalem in 1990 . In 2004 his brothers Hamid and Xhemal were also honored as Righteous Among the Nations.

In the 1990s, Refik Veseli was chairman of the Albanian-Israeli Friendship Society.

Refik Veseli School in Berlin-Kreuzberg

The Refik Veseli School in Berlin-Kreuzberg has been named after him since 2014 . Refik Veseli stands for the ideal of recognition of diversity and acceptance across cultural differences. He also stood up for values ​​such as solidarity, tolerance and moral courage, which the school would like to convey.

See also

literature

  • Harvey Sarner: Rescue in Albania . Brunswick Press, Cathedral City 1997, ISBN 1-888521-11-2 , The Veseli and Mandil Families, pp. 48 f .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Veseli Refik (1926 -?). In: The Righteous Among The Nations. Yad Vashem, accessed January 7, 2018 .
  2. ^ A b Paul R. Bartrop: Resisting the Holocaust: Upstanders, Partisans, and Survivors . ABC-CLIO, 2016, ISBN 978-1-61069-879-5 , p. 295 ( google.de [accessed on January 5, 2018]).
  3. ↑ a b Qerim Vrioni: Shkolla "Refik Veseli" në të Berlin Gjermanisë. In: Tirana Observer. October 24, 2014, accessed January 7, 2018 (Albanian).
  4. ↑ a b Refik Veseli. In: jfr.org. Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, accessed December 27, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e Refik Veseli. In: moralheroes.org. May 8, 2012, accessed December 27, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b Hamid and Xhemal Veseli. In: BESA: A code of honor. Muslim Albanians save Jews during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem, accessed January 7, 2018 .
  7. ↑ a b Daniel Rozenga: interview with Nomi Mandil Mandil Ron and Ruthie Mandil Halabi. In: Yad Vashem. The International School for Holocaust Studies (ISHS), accessed January 7, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Veseli Refik (1926 -?). In: The Righteous Among The Nations. Yad Vashem, accessed on January 7, 2018 (English, image 3).
  9. ^ Stephan Ozsváth: Albania: How the right of hospitality protected Jews. In: ARD Vienna. November 29, 2014, accessed January 7, 2018 (radio report (audio file)).
  10. ^ Jewish Survival in Albania & the Ethics of 'Besa'. In: kosovaisrael.org. 'Dr. Haim Abravanel '- Kosova-Israeli Friendship Association, July 28, 2011, accessed January 5, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Veseli and Fatima Veseli and their children: Refik, Hamid and Xhemal. In: yadvashem.org. Yad Vashem , accessed January 6, 2018 .
  12. ^ Green Flag, Sidney Lightman: The Jewish Travel Guide . Jewish Chronicle Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-85303-273-4 , pp. 218 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  13. ↑ Who was Refik Veseli? (PDF) Refik Veseli: A role model for moral courage. In: Digital State Library Berlin. 2014, p. 4 , accessed January 6, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Veseli, Refik
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Photographer and a Righteous Among the Nations
DATE OF BIRTH 1926 or 1927
DATE OF DEATH 2000 or 2003