Bedri Pejani

^[a]

The Italian Invasion of Albania in April 1939 would find Pejani as part of the Albanian exile community in Paris. Though an old opponent of Zogu, Pejani together with other Albanian activists and French politicians (such as Justin Godart) organized a protest meeting in Paris on April 8, 1939. The meeting strongly opposed the invasion of Albania and called for western democracies to react. ^[9] He had previously forwarded a memorandum to Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister of the time through the French authorities as leader of the Popular Party (French : Parti Populaire) and the Albanian community of France on April 5. ^[10]

Pejani came back to Albania where he was arrested for anti-fascist and bolshevist activity and imprisoned in Porto-Romano near Durrës. He was released after Italy's capitulation.

During the Nazi Occupation, Mustafa Kruja and Shefqet Vërlaci would encourage him of taking a more active role. Assisted by the German emissary of Nazi Germany, Franz von Schweiger, and along with Xhafer Deva, Pejani created in 1943 the Second League of Prizren in order to protect Greater Albania, which, created in May 1941, was now in danger, because of political vacuum. ^{[5] [11]} Pejani's idea was that "the Albanians should be armed, so the end of the war, which was near, didn't find them unprepared and with hands up". In a document sent to the Führer from the position of the President of the Second League of Prizren, he took over to mobilize 120,000 - 150,000 Albanians under Nazi command. The German side would call the numbers "demographically impossible" and Pejani as "abnormal". ^{[12] [13]}

In 1946, Pejani was captured by the Albanian partisans and handed over to the Yugoslav side after having confessed in 13 pages his actions and beliefs and handed over to Petro Marko. ^[14] Due to health issues he was hospitalized in Prizren, where allegedly he was poisoned, and died on July 6, 1946.

Notes and references

Notes:

Bedri Bey Pejani
Member of the Chamber of Deputies in the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire
In office 23 December 1908 (1908-12-23) –17 January 1912 (1912-01-17)

a.

^ The archive of Comintern in Moscow [15] was digitalized in 2004 after a long cooperation between International Council on Archives, Federal Archives of Switzerland, and State Archive of the Russian Federation. Stephen Schwartz, Bernhart Bayerlyen, and Shaban Sinani assisted for the transliteration and precising of the Albanian personalities. Material about Pejani found under "Albania: Collection nr. 495, Inventory nr. 188".

References:

1. "Awarded Honours".
2. Qeriqi, Ahmet (2019-12-19). "Bedri Pejani (1885-1946), nënshkrues i Deklaratës së Pavarësisë së Shqipërisë, publicist, diplomat dhe atdhetar i njohur - Radio Kosova e Lirë" . Retrieved 2020-07-09.
3. Sejfi Vllamasi (2000), "IX", in Marenglen Verli (ed.), Ballafaqime politike në Shqipëri (1897-1942): kujtime dhe vlerësime historike, Shtëpia Botuese "Neraida", ISBN   9992771313, archived from the original on 2014-02-20, retrieved 2014-02-02, Bedri Peja në kohën e xhonturqve, i njohur si patriot midis rinisë patriote kosovare, i cili në Shkup ka luftuar, bashkë me shokët e tij, politikën xhonturke kundrejt shqiptarëve, ishte dënuar dikur me vdekje nga gjyqi ushtarak dhe me këtë rast pësoi një tronditje të madhe dhe ka pasur një lehtësi gjuhe të këndëshme...
   Ndërkohë ngjan një aksident rreth Bedri Pejës. Ky, pasi dështoi në planet e tij për t'u bërë ministër i Brendshëm, nga frika e një atentati eventual nga ana e Zogut, u frikësua aqë tepër, sa u anormalizua, duke shkuar deri në marri. Ndërsa Zogu, duke e njohur mirë se Bedriu s'mund të formonte një rrezik për të, as e ka shkuar ndër mend një të tillë. Por Bedri Peja, si shpërblim për komplotin e tij, u dërgua në spitalin e psikiatrisë të Napolit, ku pas disa kohësh u përmirësua. Ky ka qënë "choc cerebral"1 i dytë që ka pësuar Bedri Peja gjatë aktivitetit të tij politik
4. Michael Schmidt-Neke (16 November 1987), Entstehung und Ausbau der Königsdiktatur in Albanien (1912-1939): Regierungsbildungen, Herrschaftsweise und Machteliten in einem jungen Balkanstaat, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, p. 320, ISBN   978-3486543216
5. Robert Elsie (2004). Historical dictionary of Kosova (1 ed.). Scarecrow Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN   978-0-8108-5309-6.
6. Robert Elsie (November 15, 2010), Historical Dictionary of Kosovo, Historical Dictionaries of Europe, vol. 79 (2 ed.), Scarecrow Press, p. 64, ISBN   978-0810872318
7. Mirela Bogdani, John Loughlin (May 15, 2007), Albania and the European Union: The Tumultuous Journey Towards Integration and Accession, Library of European Studies, I. B. Tauris, p. 122, ISBN   978-1845113087, The first Albanian political parties, in the western meaning of the word, appeared in the early 1920s, the most prominent being: the Progressive Party led by Ahmet Zogu, the People's Party led by Fan Noli, and the Popular Party led by Xhafer Ypi...
8. Sejfi Vllamasi (2000), Marenglen Verli (ed.), Ballafaqime politike në Shqipëri (1897-1942): kujtime dhe vlerësime historike, Shtëpia Botuese "Neraida", ISBN   9992771313, archived from the original on 2014-02-02, retrieved 2014-02-02, Përveç kësaj pjese, edhe emigrantët kosovarë irredentistë, të grupuar e të organizuar nën emrin "Komiteti i Kosovës", si grup, u ndihmuan edhe ata nga "Cominterni". Ky komitet drejtohej nga një qëndër e përbërë prej major Ibrahim Gjakovës, Bedri Pejës e Qamil Balës...
9. "Meeting de protestation des Albanais de Paris" (22684). Aurillac, Paris: Le Petit Parisien. 1939-04-09: 4. OCLC   9504009.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. Bejtullah Destani (2003). Ethnic Minorities In The Balkan States 1860–1971. Vol. 6 (1939-1971). Slough : Archive Editions. p. vi. ISBN   978-1-84097-035-7. OCLC   643294244.
11. Pavle Dželetović Ivanov (1988), Jevreji Kosova i Metohije, Beograd: Panpublik, p. 70, ISBN   9788674310243, OCLC   22535146
12. Hakif Bajrami (1998), "Neubacher's Telegram, Nr. 864, 5 May 1944", Dokumente të institucioneve gjermane për historinë shqiptare 1941-1944[Documents of German Institutions for Albanian History 1941-1944], Prishtina, p. 233, OL   24466660M
13. Muhamet Shatri (1997), Kosova në Luftën e dytë botërore, 1941-1945[Kosovo in World War II, 1941-1945], Tirana: Botimet "Toena", p. 195, OCLC   40159152
14. Petro Marko (2000). Intervistë me vetveten : retë dhe gurët. Tirana: Shtëpia Botuese "Omsca". p. 444. ISBN   9789992740330. OCLC   48032169.
15. "INCOMKA". Archived from the original on 2013-09-08. Retrieved 2014-02-02.

Further reading

"History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. ISBN   99927-1-623-1