How come so many Jews in Albania Survived?

Adolf Hitler was dedicated to wiping out the European Jews. So how come so many Jews in Albania survived? How come most of the 200 native Jews and 400 hundred Jewish refugees in Albania were saved and able to be free? How come the Jewish population before World War II was smaller than it was after the war? This is because so many Albanian Muslims helped the Jews of Albania escape while countless others hid them in their homes. Thanks to the besa code (which means to keep the promise, and the promise orders hospitality and the protection of guests as if they are members of one’s family), many Jews were able to escape with the help of Albanian Muslims. Arif Alickaj is an example of one such hero because he created many false identities for the Jews of Albania and enabled them to escape to Decan. He helped so many Jews on their way to safety and freedom, with the help of other Albanian Muslims.

When Germany lost World War I, the country was plunged into a huge debt crisis. In 1921, Adolf Hitler assumed control of the national Socialist party in Germany, which is more commonly known as the Nazi party. In 1933, Hitler becomes High Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg. Later in the same year, the Nazi party is declared the official party in all of Germany, and all the other political parties have been banned. In 1934, President von Hindenburg dies and Hitler takes control of Germany. He combines the role of Chancellor and President and becomes the Fuhrer of all of Germany. In 1938, Germany invades Austria. Later that year, Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) occurs on November 9th through November 10th, 1938. This was just one of the first anti-Semitic acts that would plague the European Jews in the next sev...

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...s to sneak the Jews through,” he said. Finally, Arif Alickaj was recognized in 2012 by the United States Senate for his role in helping the Rezniqi family and risking his life and job to help multitudes of Jews escape.

In short, Arif Alickaj was one of the many, many Albanian heroes of the Holocaust. Thanks to the besa code and his job, he was able to create fake identity papers and helped many Jews pass as Muslims. He was risking more than just his job while doing this-he was risking his life. After World War II ended, Arif Alickaj lived out a long life and he was dedicated to following the besa code, like so many other Albanian Muslims. Arif Alickaj could have lost everything he had, but he went ahead and risked it. Because of this and his willingness to help keep the Jews safe from the Nazis, Arif Alickaj truly deserves to be called a hero of the Holocaust.