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Albanian Fascist Party

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Albanian Fascist Party
Partia Fashiste Shqiptare
AbbreviationPFSh
LeaderTefik Mborja
FoundedJune 2, 1939 (1939-06-02)
DissolvedJuly 27, 1943 (1943-07-27)
HeadquartersAbdi Toptani street Tirana
NewspaperFashizmi
Youth wingDjelmnia e Liktorit Shqiptar (GLA)
Paramilitary wingAlbanian Fascist Militia
Membership (1940)13,500
IdeologyFascism
Albanian nationalism
Albanian irredentism
Italophilia
Anti-Serb sentiment
Anti-Greek sentiment
Political positionFar-right
National affiliationNational Fascist Party

The Albanian Fascist Party (Albanian: Partia Fashiste Shqiptare, or PFSh) was a fascist organisation active during World War II which held nominal power in Albania from 1939, when the country was invaded by Italy, until 1943, when Italy capitulated to the Allies. Afterwards, Albania fell under German occupation, and the PFSh was replaced by the Balli Kombëtar.

History

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Establishment

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On 25 March 1939, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini gave Albanian King Zog I an ultimatum demanding that he accept an Italian military protectorate over Albania.[1] Zog refused, and the Italians invaded on 7 April and deposed him.[2] Zog fled the country.[3] The Italians re-established the Albanian state as the protectorate of the Kingdom of Italy.[2]

On 11 April, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano arranged for a group of well-known Albanians to "request" the formation of the Albanian Fascist Party (Albanian: Partia Fashiste e Shqipërisë, or PFSh). On 23 April, Achille Starace, the Secretary of the National Fascist Party (Italian: Partito Nazionale Fascista, or PNF), accompanied by two Regia Marina warships, arrived in Albania to officially announce the establishment of the PFSh,[4] which was founded on 2 June.[5] However, it did not receive its constitution until 6 June, and was not presented with an organised directorate and central council until March 1940.[4]

Italian rule

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The PFSh enacted laws that prevented Albanian Jews from joining, and excluded them from professions such as education.[6] Composed of ethnic Albanians and Italian colonists in Albania,[7] the party existed as a branch of the PNF, and members were required to swear an oath of loyalty to Mussolini.[8] All Albanians serving the Italian occupiers were required to join, and it became the only legal political party in the country.[9]

List of ministers

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Ministers secretaries of the Albanian Fascist Party

Ministers secretaries of the Guard of Great Albania

"Geraca" (rank insignia) of the Albanian Fascist Party

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Bideleux & Jeffries 2007, pp. 30–31.
  2. ^ a b Fischer 1999, pp. 21–57.
  3. ^ Lemkin 2008, p. 99.
  4. ^ a b Fischer 1999, p. 45.
  5. ^ Elsie 2012, p. 426.
  6. ^ Frank 2010, p. 97.
  7. ^ Fischer 1999, pp. 45–46.
  8. ^ Lemkin 2008, p. 102.
  9. ^ Bideleux & Jeffries 2007, p. 31.

References

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  • Bideleux, Robert; Jeffries, Ian (2007). The Balkans: A Post-Communist History. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-96911-3.
  • Elsie, Robert (2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. London: I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
  • Fischer, Bernd Jürgen (1999). Albania at War, 1939–1945. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue Research Foundation. ISBN 1-55753-141-2.
  • Frank, Chaim (2010). Petersen, Hans-Christian; Salzborn, Samuel (eds.). Antisemitism in Eastern Europe: History and Present in Comparison. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-59828-3.
  • Lemkin, Raphael (2008). Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. Clark, New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange. ISBN 978-1-58477-901-8.
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