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Enver Hoxha
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Enver Halil Hoxha (Albanian pronunciation: [ɛnˈvɛɾ ˈhɔdʒa] ( listen); 16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985)
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was the socialist leader of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of
Religion the Party of Labour of Albania. He was chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania and
commander-in-chief of the armed forces from 1944 until his death. He served as Prime Minister
Plants & Animals
of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times served as foreign minister and defence
Historical Figures minister as well.
Currency The 40-year period of Hoxha's rule was characterized by the elimination of the opposition,
Photos
prolific use of the death penalty[1][2] or long prison terms of his political opponents and evictions
from homes where their families lived and their internment in remote villages that were strictly
Videos controlled by police and the secret police (Sigurimi). His rule was also characterized by Stalinist
methods to destroy his associates who threatened his own power.[3] Economically, during his
People
period, Albania became industrialised and saw rapid economic growth, as well as
Culture unprecedented progress in the areas of education and health. He focused on rebuilding the
country which was left in ruins after World War II, building Albania's first railway line, eliminating
Mythology
adult illiteracy and leading Albania towards becoming agriculturally self-sufficient.[4]
Symbology
Hoxha's government was characterized by his proclaimed firm adherence to anti-
Contact
revisionist Marxism–Leninism from the mid-1970s onwards. After his break with Maoism in the
Essad Pasha 1976–1978 period, numerous Maoist parties declared themselves Hoxhaist. TheInternational
Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle) is the best known
Province of Macedonia
association of these parties today
Illium
Illyricum Early life

Albanians Diaspora Hoxha was born in Gjirokastër, a city in southern Albania (then under the Ottoman Empire) that
has been home to many prominent families. He was the son of Halil Hoxha,
Gjon Kastrioti a Bektashi[5] Tosk cloth merchant who travelled widely across Europe and the United States
Venita Albania
and Gjylihan (Gjylo) Hoxha. Fourteen years before Enver set off for France to study, his father
brought him to seek the blessing of Baba Selim of the Zall Teqe. The baba did not refuse the
Sanjak of Prizren request of the petitioner and made a benediction over the boy.[5] At age 16, Enver Hoxha
helped found and became secretary of the Students Society of Gjirokastër, which protested
Molossian Dog
against the monarchist government of Zog I. After the government closed the Society, he moved
Illyrian Sheep Dog to Korçë, continuing his studies in a French secondary school. There he learned French history,
literature and philosophy. In this city he read for the first time the Communist Manifesto.[6]
Albanian Lynx
Illyrian Language
https://albanianstudies.weebly.com/enver-hoxha.html Page 1 of 20
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
Byzantine Empire
Enver Hoxha at age 18
First Balkan War In 1930, Hoxha went to study at the University of Montpellier in France on a state scholarship
given to him by the Queen Mother for the faculty of natural sciences. He attended the lessons
Protocol of Corfu
and the conferences of the Association of Workers organised by the French Communist Party,
Second Balkan War but dropped out to pursue a degree in either philosophy or law. After a year, lacking interest
in biology, and after not having passed any university exams, he left Montpellier to go to Paris
London Conference hoping to continue his studies. He attended classes of philosophy at Sorbonne, but, again, did
Sanjak of Dibra
not sit for any exam. In Paris, it is said that he collaborated with L'Humanité, writing articles on
the situation in Albania under the pseudonym Lulo Malësori. He also got involved in the
Balkans Albanian Communist Group under the tutelage of Llazar Fundo, who taught him law.[7]
Chameria Battalion
He dropped out once more, and from 1934 to 1936 he was a secretary at the Albanian
Cham Issue consulate in Brussels, attached to the personnel office of Queen Mother Sadijé. He was
dismissed after the consul discovered that his employee kept Marxist materials and books in his
Janina
office. He returned to Albania in 1936 and taught grammar school in Korçë. His extensive
Constantinople education left him fluent in French with a working knowledge of Italian, Serbian, English and
Russian. As a leader, he would often reference Le Monde and the International Herald Tribune.
Population Exchange
[8]
Expulsion of Chams
On 7 April 1939, Albania was invaded by fascist Italy.[9] The Italians established a puppet
Massacres of the Albanians
government in Albania under Mustafa Merlika-Kruja.[10] Hoxha was dismissed from his
Battle of Luma teaching post following the 1939 Italian invasion for refusing to join the Albanian Fascist Party.
[11] He opened a tobacco shop in Tirana called Flora where a small communist group soon
Illyria Graeca started gathering. Eventually the government closed it.[12]
Phrygia
Illyrian warfare Partizan life

The Great Illyrian Revolt On 8 November 1941, the Communist Party of Albania (later renamed the Albanian Party of
Labour in 1948) was founded. Hoxha was chosen from the "Korca group" as
The Illyrian Wars a Muslim representative by the two Yugoslav envoys as one of the seven members of the
provisional Central Committee. From 8 April to 11 April 1942, the First Consultative Meeting of
Bato Daesitiate
Activists of the Communist Party of Albania was held in Tirana.[13] Enver Hoxha delivered the
Daesitiates main report on 8 April 1942.[14]
Secret Committee
In July 1942, Hoxha wrote a "Call to the Albanian Peasantry" and issued in the name of the
Treaty of San Stefano Communist Party of Albania.[15] The call sought to enlist support in Albania for the war against
the fascists. The peasants were encouraged to hoard their grain, refuse to pay taxes and/or
Assembly of Vlora
livestock levies brought by the government.[16] After the September 1942 Conference at Pezë,
All-Albanian the National Liberation Front was founded with the purpose of uniting the anti-Fascist Albanians,
regardless of ideology or class.
Balkan League
Central Committee for By March 1943, the first National Conference of the Communist Party elected Hoxha formally
Defending Albanian Rights as First Secretary. During World War II, the Soviet Union's role was negligible.[17] On 10 July
1943, the Albanian partisan groups were organised in regular units of companies, battalions and
brigades and named the Albanian National Liberation Army. The organization received military
support from the British intelligence service, SOE.[18] The General Headquarters was created
with Spiro Moisiu as the commander and Hoxha as political commissar. Communist partisans
in Yugoslavia had a much more practical role, helping to plan attacks and exchanging supplies,
but communication between them and the Albanians was limited and letters would often arrive
late, sometimes well after a plan had been agreed upon by the National Liberation Army without
consultation from the Yugoslav partisans.
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
Within Albania difficulties in communications faced groups of partisans fighting the fascist
invaders, throughout the war, repeated attempts were made to remedy this. In August 1943, a
secret meeting was held in Mukje between the anti-communist Balli Kombëtar (National Front)
and the Communist Party of Albania. The result of this was an agreement to:
1. Unite in a single struggle against the fascist invader.

2. Cease all attacks between the two parties signing the agreement.
3. Form a joint operational staff to coordinate military actions within Albania.
4. Recognize that the democratically elected national liberations councils are the state
power in Albania.
5. Recognize that the goal for the post-war era is an independent, democratic Albania where
the people themselves will decide the form of government.
6. Recognize and respect the Atlantic Charter, the London and Washington Treaties
between the USSR, Great Britain and the United States in connection with the question of
Kosovo and Çamëria. Be it resolved that the populations of Kosovo and Camëria will
themselves decide their future in accordance with their wishes.
7. Unite with any political group, whatever their beliefs, in a common military effort against
the fascist invaders.
8. However, the Communist Party of Albania will not collaborate with any group of the
National Front that continues to maintain contacts with the fascist invaders.
9. The Communist Party of Albania will unite with any group that used to have contacts with
the fascist invaders, but has now terminated those contacts and is willing to now fight
against the fascist invaders, provided those groups have not committed any crimes
against the people.[19]
To encourage the Balli Kombëtar to sign, the Greater Albania sections that
included Kosovo (part of Yugoslavia) and Çamëria (part of Greece) were made part of the
Agreement.[20]
Disagreements with Yougoslavian Communism

A problem developed when the Yugoslav Communists disagreed with the goal of a Greater
Albania and asked the Communists in Albania to withdraw their agreement. According to
Hoxha, Josip Broz Tito had agreed that "Kosovo was Albanian" but that Serbian opposition
made transfer an unwise option.[21] After the Albanian Communists repudiated the Greater
Albania agreement, the Balli Kombëtar condemned the Communists, who in turn accused the
Balli Kombëtar of siding with the Italians. The Balli Kombëtar, however, lacked support from the
people. After judging the Communists as an immediate threat, the Balli Kombëtar sided with
the Germans, fatally damaging its image among those fighting the Fascists. The Communists
quickly added to their ranks many of those disillusioned with the Balli Kombëtar and took center
stage in the fight for liberation.[22]
Enver Hoxha following the liberation of Tirana in 1944.

The Permet National Congress held during that time called for a "new democratic Albania for
the people." Although the monarchy was not formally abolished, King Zog was barred from
returning to the country, which further increased the Communists' control. The Anti-Fascist
Committee for National Liberation was founded, chaired by Hoxha. On 22 October, the
Committee became the Democratic Government of Albania after a meeting in Berat and Hoxha
was chosen as interim Prime Minister. Tribunals were set up to try alleged war criminals who
were designated "enemies of the people"[23] and were presided over by Koçi Xoxe.
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
After liberation on 29 November 1944, several Albanian partisan divisions crossed the border
into German-occupied Yugoslavia, where they fought alongside Tito's partisans and
the Soviet Red Army in a joint campaign which succeeded in driving out the last pockets of
German resistance. Marshal Tito, during a Yugoslavian conference in later years, thanked
Hoxha for the assistance that the Albanian partisans had given during the War for National
Liberation (Lufta Nacionalçlirimtare). The Democratic Front, dominated by the Albanian
Communist Party, succeeded the National Liberation Front in August 1945 and the first elections
in post-war Albania were held on 2 December. The Front was the only legal political
organisation allowed to stand in the elections, and the government reported that 93% of
Albanians voted for it.[24]
On 11 January 1946, Zog was officially deposed and Albania was proclaimed the People's
Republic of Albania (renamed the People's Socialist Republic of Albania in 1976). As First
Secretary, Hoxha was de facto head of state and the most powerful man in the country.[25]
Albanians celebrate their independence day on 28 November (which is the date on which they
declared their independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912), while in the former People's
Socialist Republic of Albania the national day was 29 November, the day the country was
liberated from the Italians. Both days are currently national holidays.
The sacrifices of our people were very great. Out of a population of one million, 28,000 were
killed, 12,600 wounded, 10,000 were made political prisoners in Italy and Germany, and 35,000
made to do forced labour, of ground; all the communications, all the ports, mines and electric
power installations were destroyed, our agriculture and livestock were plundered, and our entire
national economy was wrecked.
—Enver Hoxha[26]
Hoxha declared himself a Marxist-Leninist and strongly admired the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
During the period of 1945–1950, the government adopted policies which were intended to
consolidate power. The Agrarian Reform Law was passed in August 1945. It confiscated land
from beys and large landowners, giving it without compensation to peasants. 52% of all land
was owned by large landowners before the law was passed; this declined to 16% after the law's
passage.[27] Illiteracy, which was 90–95% in rural areas in 1939 went down to 30% by 1950
and by 1985 it was equal to that of a Western country.[28]
The State University of Tirana was established in 1957, which was the first of its kind in Albania.
The Medieval Gjakmarrja (blood feud) was banned. Malaria, the most widespread disease,
[29] was successfully fought through advances in health care, the use of DDT, and through the
draining of swamplands. From 1965 to 1985, no cases of malaria were reported, whereas
previously Albania had the greatest number of infected patients in Europe.[30] No cases
of syphilis had been recorded for 30 years.[30] In order to solve the Gheg-Tosk divide, books
were written in the Tosk dialect, and the majority of the Party's members came from southern
Albania where the Tosk dialect is spoken.
By 1949, the United States and British intelligence organisations were working with King
Zog and the mountain men of his personal guard. They recruited Albanian refugees and
émigrés from Egypt, Italy and Greece, trained them in Cyprus, Malta and the Federal Republic
of Germany (West Germany), and infiltrated them into Albania. Guerrilla units entered Albania in
1950 and 1952, but they were killed or captured by Albanian security forces. Kim Philby, a
Soviet double agent working as a liaison officer between the British intelligence service and the
United States Central Intelligence Agency, had leaked details of the infiltration plan to Moscow,
and the security breach claimed the lives of about 300 infiltrators.[31]
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
Relations with Yugoslavia[edit]

Miladin Popović and Enver Hoxha
At this point, relations with Yugoslavia had begun to change. The roots of the change began on
20 October 1944 at the Second Plenary Session of the Communist Party of Albania. The
Session considered the problems that the post-independence Albanian government would face.
However, the Yugoslav delegation led by Velimir Stoinić accused the party of "sectarianism and
opportunism" and blamed Hoxha for these errors. He also stressed the view that the Yugoslav
Communist partisans spearheaded the Albanian partisan movement.[32]
Anti-Yugoslav members of the Albanian Communist Party had begun to think that this was a plot
by Tito who intended to destabilize the Party. Koçi Xoxe, Sejfulla Malëshova and others who
supported Yugoslavia were looked upon with deep suspicion. Tito's position on Albania was that
it was too weak to stand on its own and that it would do better as a part of Yugoslavia. Hoxha
alleged that Tito had made it his goal to get Albania into Yugoslavia, firstly by creating the Treaty
of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Aid in 1946. In time, Albania began to feel that the treaty
was heavily slanted towards Yugoslav interests, much like the Italian agreements with Albania
under Zog that made the nation dependent upon Italy.[32]
The first issue was that the Albanian lek became revalued in terms of the Yugoslav dinar as
a customs union was formed and Albania's economic plan was decided more by Yugoslavia.
[33] Albanian economists H. Banja and V. Toçi stated that the relationship between Albania and
Yugoslavia during this period was exploitative and that it constituted attempts by Yugoslavia to
make the Albanian economy an "appendage" to the Yugoslav economy.[34] Hoxha then began
to accuse Yugoslavia of misconduct:
We [Albania] were expected to produce for the Yugoslavs all the raw materials which they
needed. These raw materials were to be exported to the metropolitan Yugoslavia to be
processed there in Yugoslav factories. The same applied to the production of cotton and other
industrial crops, as well as oil, bitumen, asphalt, chrome, etc. Yugoslavia would supply its
'colony', Albania, with exorbitantly priced consumer goods, including even items such as
needles and thread, and would provide us with petrol and oil, as well as glass for the lamps in
which we burn the fuel extracted from our subsoil, processed in Yugoslavia and sold to us at
high prices ... The aim of the Yugoslavs was, therefore, to prevent our country from developing
either its industry or its working class, and to make it forever dependent on Yugoslavia.
—Enver Hoxha[35]
Joseph Stalin advised Hoxha that Yugoslavia was attempting to annex Albania. "We did not
know that the Yugoslavs, under the pretext of 'defending' your country against an attack from
the Greek fascists, wanted to bring units of their army into the PRA [People's Republic of
Albania]. They tried to do this in a very secretive manner. In reality, their aim in this direction was
utterly hostile, for they intended to overturn the situation in Albania."[36] By June 1947, the
Central Committee of Yugoslavia began publicly condemning Hoxha, accusing him of talking an
individualistic and anti-Marxist line. When Albania responded by making agreements with the
Soviet Union to purchase a supply of agricultural machinery, Yugoslavia said that Albania could
not enter into any agreements with other countries without Yugoslav approval.[37]
Koçi Xoxe tried to stop Hoxha from improving relations with Bulgaria, reasoning that Albania
would be more stable with one trading partner rather than with many. Nako Spiru, an anti-
Yugoslav member of the Party, condemned Xoxe and vice versa. With no one coming to Spiru's
defense, he viewed the situation as hopeless and feared that Yugoslav domination of his nation
was imminent, which caused him to commit suicide in November.[37]
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
At the Eighth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party which lasted from 26 February to 8
March 1948, Xoxe was implicated in a plot to isolate Hoxha and consolidate his own power. He
accused Hoxha of being responsible for the decline in relations with Yugoslavia, and stated that
a Soviet military mission should be expelled in favor of a Yugoslav counterpart. Hoxha managed
to remain firm and his support had not declined. When Yugoslavia publicly broke with the Soviet
Union, Hoxha's support base grew stronger. Then, on 1 July 1948, Tirana called on all Yugoslav
technical advisors to leave the country and unilaterally declared all treaties and agreements
between the two countries null and void. Xoxe was expelled from the party and on 13 June 1949
he was executed by a firing squad.[38]
Relations with the Soviet Union[edit]After the break with Yugoslavia, Hoxha aligned himself with
the Soviet Union, for which he had a great admiration. From 1948 to 1960, $200 million in
Soviet aid was given to Albania for technical and infrastructural expansion. Albania was
admitted to the Comecon on 22 February 1949 and Albania remained important both as a way
to put pressure on Yugoslavia and also to serve as a pro-Soviet force in the Adriatic Sea. A
submarine base was built on the island of Sazan near Vlorë, posing a possible threat to
the United States Sixth Fleet. Relations remained close until the death of Stalin on 5 March
1953. His death was met with national mourning in Albania. Hoxha assembled the entire
population in the capital's largest square featuring a statue of Stalin, requested that they kneel,
and made them take a two-thousand word oath of "eternal fidelity" and "gratitude" to their
"beloved father" and "great liberator" to whom the people owed "everything."[39]
Under Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin's successor, aid was reduced and Albania was encouraged to
adopt Khrushchev's specialization policy. Under this policy, Albania would develop its
agricultural output in order to supply the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations while
these nations would be developing specific resource outputs of their own, which would in theory
strengthen the Warsaw Pact by greatly reducing the lack of certain resources that many of the
nations faced. However, this also meant that Albanian industrial development, which was
stressed heavily by Hoxha, would have to be significantly reduced.[40]
Symbol of the Party of Labour of Albania.

From 16 May to 17 June 1955, Nikolai Bulganin and Anastas Mikoyan visited Yugoslavia and
Khrushchev renounced the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the Communist bloc. Khrushchev also
began making references to Palmiro Togliatti's polycentrism theory. Hoxha had not been
consulted on this and was offended. Yugoslavia began asking for Hoxha to rehabilitate the
image of Koçi Xoxe, which Hoxha steadfastly rejected. In 1956 at the Twentieth Party
Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, Khrushchev condemned the cult of personality that
had been built up around Joseph Stalin and also accused him of many grave mistakes.
Khrushchev then announced the theory of peaceful coexistence, which angered Hoxha greatly.
The Institute of Marxist–Leninist Studies, led by Hoxha's wife Nexhmije, quoted Vladimir Lenin:
"The fundamental principle of the foreign policy of a socialist country and of a Communist party
is proletarian internationalism; not peaceful coexistence."[41] Hoxha now took a more active
stand against perceived revisionism.
Unity within the Albanian Party of Labour began to decline as well, with a special delegate
meeting held in Tirana in April 1956, composed of 450 delegates and having unexpected
results. The delegates "criticized the conditions in the party, the negative attitude toward the
masses, the absence of party and socialist democracy, the economic policy of the leadership,
etc." while also calling for discussions on the cult of personality and the Twentieth Party
Congress.[42]
Movement towards China and Maoism[edit]In 1956, Hoxha called for a resolution which would
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
uphold the current leadership of the Party. The resolution was accepted, and all of the delegates
who had spoken out were expelled from the party and imprisoned. Hoxha stated that this was
yet another of many attempts to overthrow the leadership of Albania which had been organized
by Yugoslavia. This incident further consolidated Hoxha's power, effectively making
Khrushchev-esque reforms nearly impossible. In the same year, Hoxha traveled to the People's
Republic of China, then enduring the Sino-Soviet Split, and personally met with Mao Zedong.
Relations with China improved, as evidenced by Chinese aid to Albania being 4.2% in 1955
before the visit, and rising to 21.6% in 1957.[43]
In an effort to keep Albania in the Soviet sphere, increased aid was given but the Albanian
leadership continued to move closer towards China. Relations with the Soviet Union remained
at the same level until 1960, when Khrushchev met with Sophocles Venizelos, a left-
wing Greek politician. Khrushchev sympathized with the concept of an autonomous Greek North
Epirus and hoped to use Greek claims to keep the Albanian leadership in line with Soviet
interests.[44]
Especially shameless was the behavior of that agent of Mao Zedong, Enver Hoxha. He bared
his fangs at us even more menacingly than the Chinese themselves. After his speech,
Comrade Dolores Ibárruri [a Spanish Communist], an old revolutionary and a devoted worker in
the Communist movement, got up indignantly and said, very much to the point, that Hoxha was
like a dog who bites the hand that feeds it.
—Nikita Khrushchev[45]
Friction with the Soviet Union[edit]Relations with the Soviet Union began to decline rapidly.
A hardline policy was adopted and the Soviets reduced aid shipments, specifically grain, at a
time when Albania needed them due to flood-induced famine. In July 1960, a plot to overthrow
the government was discovered. It was to be organized by Soviet-trained Rear Admiral Teme
Sejko. After this, two pro-Soviet members of the Party, Liri Belishova and Koço Tashko, were
expelled, with a humorous incident involving Tashko pronouncing tochka (Russian for "full
stop").[46]
In August, the Party's Central Committee sent a letter of protest to the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union, stating its displeasure at having an anti-Albanian Soviet
Ambassador in Tirana. The Fourth Congress of the Party, held from 13 to 20 February 1961,
was the last meeting that the Soviet Union or other Eastern European nations attended in
Albania. During the congress, the Soviet Union was condemned while China was
praised. Mehmet Shehu stated that while many members of the Party were accused of tyranny,
this was a baseless charge and unlike the Soviet Union, Albania was led by genuine Marxists.
The Soviet Union retaliated by threatening "dire consequences" if the condemnations were not
retracted. Days later, Khrushchev and Antonin Novotny, President of Czechoslovakia (which
was Albania's largest source of aid besides the Soviets), threatened to cut off economic aid. In
March, Albania was not invited to attend the meeting of the Warsaw Pact nations (Albania had
been one of its founding members in 1955) and in April all Soviet technicians were withdrawn
from the nation. In May nearly every Soviet troop on the Oricum Sea base was withdrawn,
leaving the Albanians with 4 submarines and other military equipment.
On 7 November 1961, Hoxha made a speech in which he called Khrushchev a "revisionist, an

anti-Marxist and a defeatist." Hoxha portrayed Stalin as the last Communist leader of the Soviet
Union and began to stress Albania's independence.[47] By 11 November, the USSR and every
other Warsaw Pact nation broke relations with Albania. Albania was unofficially excluded (by not
being invited) from both the Warsaw Pact and Comecon. The Soviet Union also attempted to
claim control of the Vlorë port due to a lease agreement; the Albanian Party then passed a law
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
prohibiting any other nation from owning an Albanian port through lease or otherwise.
Later rule[edit]
Bunkers in Albania built during Hoxha's rule to avert possible external invasion. Over 700,000
were built.
As Hoxha's leadership continued he took on an increasingly theoretical stance. He wrote
criticisms based both on current events at the time and on theory; most notably his
condemnations of Maoism post-1978.[48] A major achievement under Hoxha was the
advancement of women's rights. Albania had been one of the most, if not the
most, patriarchal countries in Europe. The Code of Lekë, which regulated the status of women,
states, "A woman is known as a sack, made to endure as long as she lives in her husband's
house."[49] Women were not allowed to inherit anything from their parents and discrimination
was even made in the case of the murder of a pregnant woman.
... the dead woman [is] to be opened up, in order to see whether the fetus is a boy or a girl, If it
is a boy, the murderer must pay 3 purses [a set amount of local currency] for the woman's blood
and 6 purses for the boy's blood; if it is a girl, aside from the three purses for the murdered
woman, 3 purses must also be paid for the female child.
—Code of Lekë Dukagjini[50]

Women were forbidden from obtaining a divorce, and the wife's parents were obliged to return a
runaway daughter to the husband or else suffer shame which could even result in a
generations-long blood feud. During World War II, the Albanian Communists encouraged
women to join the partisans[51] and following the war, women were encouraged to take up
menial jobs, because the education necessary for higher level work was out of most women's
reach. In 1938, 4% worked in various sectors of the economy. In 1970, this number rose to 38%
and in 1982 to 46%.[52]
During the Cultural and Ideological Revolution (discussed below), women were encouraged to
take up all jobs, including government posts, which resulted in 40.7% of the People's Councils
and 30.4% of the People's Assembly being made up of women, including two women in the
Central Committee by 1985.[53] In 1978, 15.1 times as many females attended eight-year
schools as had done so in 1938 and 175.7 times as many females attended secondary schools.
By 1978, 101.9 times as many women attended higher schools as in 1957.[54]
The entire party and country should hurl into the fire and break the neck of anyone who dared
trample underfoot the sacred edict of the party on the defense of women's rights.
—Enver Hoxha, 1967[55]

In 1969, direct taxation was abolished[56] and during this period the quality of schooling and
health care continued to improve. An electrification campaign was begun in 1960 and the entire
nation was expected to have electricity by 1985. Instead, it achieved this on 25 October 1970,
making it the first nation with complete electrification in the world.[57] During the Cultural &
Ideological Revolution of 1967–1968 the military changed from traditional Communist army
tactics and began to adhere to the Maoist strategy known as people's war, which included the
abolition of military ranks, which were not fully restored until 1991.[58]
... [T]he health service is free of charge for all and has been extended to the remotest villages.
In 1960 we had one doctor per every 3,360 inhabitants, in 1978 we had one doctor per every
687 inhabitants, and this despite the rapid growth of the population. The natural increase of the
population in our country is 3.5 times higher than the annual average of European countries,
whereas mortality in 1978 was 37% lower than the average level of mortality in the countries of
Europe, and the average life expectancy in our country has risen, from about 38 years in 1938
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
to 69 years. That is, for each year of the existence of our people's state power, the average life
expectancy has risen by about 11 months. That is what socialism does for man! Is there a loftier
humanism than socialist humanism, which, in 35 years, doubles the average life expectancy of
the whole population of the country?
—Mehmet Shehu, November 28, 1979 speech[59]
Hoxha's first name engraved on the side of Shpiragu Mountain.

Hoxha's legacy also included a complex of 750,000 one-man concrete bunkers across a country
of 3 million inhabitants, to act as look-outs and gun emplacements along with chemical
weapons.[60] The bunkers were built strong and mobile, with the intention that they could be
easily placed by a crane or a helicopter in a previously dug hole. The types of bunkers vary from
machine gun pillboxes, beach bunkers, to underground naval facilities, and even Air Force
Mountain and underground bunkers.
Hoxha's internal policies were true to Stalin's paradigm which he admired, and the personality
cult developed in the 1970s organized around him by the Party also bore a striking resemblance
to that of Stalin. At times it even reached an intensity similar to the personality cult
surrounding Kim Il Sung (which Hoxha condemned[61]) with Hoxha being portrayed as a genius
commenting on virtually all facets of life from culture to economics to military matters. Each
schoolbook required one or more quotations from him on the subjects being studied.[62] The
Party honored him with titles such as Supreme Comrade, Sole Force and Great Teacher.
Hoxha's governance was also distinguished by his encouragement of a high birthrate policy. For
instance a woman who bore an above-average amount of children would be given the
government award of Heroine Mother (in Albanian: Nënë Heroinë) along with cash rewards.
[63] Abortion was essentially restricted (to encourage high birth rates) except if the birth posed a
danger to the mother's life, though it was not completely banned; the process being decided by
district medical commissions.[64][65] As a result, the population of Albania tripled from 1 million
in 1944 to around 3 million in 1985.
Relations with China[edit]

A Cultural Revolution poster promoting Albanian-Chinese cooperation featuring Hoxha and
Mao. The caption at the bottom reads, "Long live the great union between the Parties of Albania
and China!" Despite what the painting may suggest, the two leaders met only once in 1956,
before the Sino-Albanian alliance.[66]
In Albania's Third Five Year Plan, China promised a loan of $125 million to build twenty-five
chemical, electrical and metallurgical plants called for under the Plan. However, the nation had a
difficult transition period, because Chinese technicians were of a lower quality than Soviet ones
and the distance between the two nations, plus the poor relations Albania had with its
neighbors, further complicated matters. Unlike Yugoslavia or the U.S.S.R., China had the least
influence economically on Albania during Hoxha's leadership. The previous fifteen years (1946–
1961) had at least 50% of the economy under foreign commerce.[67]
By the time the 1976 Constitution prohibited foreign debt, aid and investments, Albania had
basically become self-sufficient although it was lacking in modern technology. Ideologically,
Hoxha found Mao's initial views to be in line with Marxism-Leninism. Mao condemned Nikita
Khrushchev's alleged revisionism and was also critical of Yugoslavia. Aid given from China was
interest-free and did not have to be repaid until Albania could afford to do so.[68]
China never intervened in what Albania's economic output should be, and Chinese technicians
worked for the same wages as Albanian workers, unlike Soviet technicians who sometimes
made more than three times the pay of Hoxha.[68] Albanian newspapers were reprinted in
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
Chinese newspapers and read on Chinese radio. Finally, Albania led the movement to give the
People's Republic of China a seat in the UN, an effort made successful in 1971 and thus
replacing the Republic of China's seat.[69]
During this period, Albania became the second largest producer of chromium in the world, which
was considered an important export for Albania. Strategically, the Adriatic Sea was also
attractive to China, and the Chinese leadership had hoped to gain more allies in Eastern Europe
with the help of Albania, although this failed. Zhou Enlai visited Albania in January 1964. On 9
January, "The 1964 Sino-Albanian Joint Statement" was signed in Tirana.[70]
Both [Albania and China] hold that the relations between socialist countries are international
relations of a new type. Relations between socialist countries, big or small, economically more
developed or less developed, must be based on the principles of complete equality, respect for
territorial sovereignty and independence, and non-interference in each other's internal affairs,
and must also be based on the principles of mutual assistance in accordance with proletarian
internationalism. It is necessary to oppose great-nation chauvinism and national egoism in
relations between socialist countries. It is absolutely impermissible to impose the will of one
country upon another, or to impair the independence, sovereignty and interests of the people, of
a fraternal country on the pretext of 'aid' or 'international division of labour.'
—Treaty Text[71]
Like Albania, China defended the "purity" of Marxism by attacking both "US imperialism" as well
as "Soviet and Yugoslav revisionism", both equally as part of a "dual adversary" theory.
[72] Yugoslavia was viewed as a "special detachment of U.S. imperialism" and a "saboteur
against world revolution."[72]These views however began to change in China, which was one of
the major issues Albania had with the alliance.[73] Also unlike Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union,
the Sino-Albanian alliance lacked "... an organizational structure for regular consultations and
policy coordination, and was characterized by an informal relationship conducted on an ad
hoc basis." Mao made a speech on 3 November 1966 which claimed that Albania was the
only Marxist-Leninist state in Europe and that "an attack on Albania will have to reckon with
great People's China. If the U.S. imperialists, the modern Soviet revisionists or any of their
lackeys dare to touch Albania in the slightest, nothing lies ahead for them but a complete,
shameful and memorable defeat."[74] Likewise, Hoxha stated that "You may rest assured,
comrades, that come what may in the world at large, our two parties and our two peoples will
certainly remain together. They will fight together and they will win together."[75]
Shift in Chinese foreign policy after the Cultural Revolution[edit]China entered into a four-year
period of relative diplomatic isolation following the Cultural Revolution and at this point relations
between China and Albania reached their zenith. On 20 August 1968, the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia was condemned by Albania, as was the Brezhnev doctrine. Albania then
officially withdrew from the Warsaw Pact on 5 September. Relations with China began to
deteriorate on 15 July 1971, when United States' President Richard Nixon agreed to visit China
to meet with Zhou Enlai. Hoxha felt betrayed and the government was in a state of shock. On 6
August a letter was sent from the Central Committee of the Albanian Party of Labour to the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, calling Nixon a "frenzied anti-Communist."
We trust you will understand the reason for the delay in our reply. This was because your
decision came as a surprise to us and was taken without any preliminary consultation between
us on this question, so that we would be able to express and thrash out our opinions. This, we
think, could have been useful, because preliminary consultations, between close friends,
determined co-fighters against imperialism and revisionism, are useful and necessary, and
especially so, when steps which, in our opinion, have a major international effect and
repercussion are taken. …Considering the Communist Party of China as a sister party and our
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
closest co-fighter, we have never hidden our views from it. That is why on this major problem
which you put before us, we inform you that we consider your decision to receive Nixon in
Beijing as incorrect and undesirable, and we do not approve or support it. It will also be our
opinion that Nixon's announced visit to China will not be understood or approved of by the
peoples, the revolutionaries and the communists of different countries.
—Enver Hoxha[76]
The result was a 1971 message from the Chinese leadership stating that Albania could not
depend on an indefinite flow of further Chinese aid and in 1972 Albania was advised to "curb its
expectations about further Chinese contributions to its economic development."[77] By 1973,
Hoxha wrote in his diary Reflections on China that the Chinese leaders:
... have cut off their contacts with us, and the contacts which they maintain are merely formal
diplomatic ones. Albania is no longer the 'faithful, special friend'... They are maintaining the
economic agreements though with delays, but it is quite obvious that their 'initial ardor' has died.
—Enver Hoxha[78]
In response, trade with COMECON (although trade with the Soviet Union was still blocked) and
Yugoslavia grew. Trade with Third World nations was $0.5 million in 1973, but $8.3 million in
1974. Trade rose from 0.1% to 1.6%.[79] Following Mao's death on 9 September 1976, Hoxha
(who attended Mao's funeral in Beijing) remained optimistic about Sino-Albanian relations, but in
August 1977, Hua Guofeng, the new leader of China, stated that Mao's Three Worlds
Theory would become official foreign policy. Hoxha viewed this as a way for China to justify
having the U.S. as the "secondary enemy" while viewing the Soviet Union as the main one, thus
allowing China to trade with the U.S. "... the Chinese plan of the 'third world' is a major diabolical
plan, with the aim that China should become another superpower, precisely by placing itself at
the head of the 'third world' and 'non-aligned world.'"[80] From 30 August to 7 September 1977,
Tito visited Beijing and was welcomed by the Chinese leadership. At this point, the Albanian
Party of Labour had declared that China was now a revisionist state akin to the Soviet Union
and Yugoslavia, and that Albania was the only Marxist–Leninist state on earth.
The Chinese leaders are acting like the leaders of a 'great state.' They think, 'The Albanians fell
out with the Soviet Union because they had us, and if they fall with us, too, they will go back to
the Soviets,' therefore they say, 'Either with us or the Soviets, it is all the same, the Albanians
are done for.' But to hell with them! We shall fight against all this trash, because we are Albanian
Marxist–Leninists and on our correct course we shall always triumph!
—Enver Hoxha[81]
On 13 July 1978, China announced that it was cutting off all aid to Albania. For the first time in
modern history, Albania did not have an ally or major trading partner.
Human rights[edit]
Checkpoint memorial in Tirana featuring a bunker, walls from Spac prison, and a Berlin Wall
fragment.
Certain clauses in the 1976 constitution effectively circumscribed the exercise of political
liberties that the government interpreted as contrary to the established order.[82] In addition, the
government denied the population access to information other than that disseminated by the
government-controlled media. Internally, the Sigurimi followed the repressive methods of
the NKVD, MGB, KGB, and the East German Stasi. At one point, every third Albanian had either
been incarcerated in labour camps or interrogated by the Sigurimi.[83]
To eliminate dissent, the government imprisoned thousands in forced-labour camps or executed

them for crimes such as alleged treachery or for disrupting the proletarian dictatorship. Travel
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
abroad was forbidden after 1968 to all but those on official business. Western European culture
was looked upon with deep suspicion, resulting in arrests and in bans on unauthorised foreign
material.[84] Art was made to reflect the styles of socialist realism.[85] Beards were banned as
unhygienic and to curb the influence of Islam (many Imams and Babas had beards) and
the Orthodox faith.
The justice system regularly degenerated into show trials. An American human rights group
described the proceedings of one trial: "... [The defendant] was not permitted to question the
witnesses and that, although he was permitted to state his objections to certain aspects of the
case, his objections were dismissed by the prosecutor who said, 'Sit down and be quiet. We
know better than you.'"[86] In order to lessen the threat of political dissidents and other exiles,
relatives of the accused were often arrested,ostracised, and accused of being "enemies of the
people".[87] Political executions were common with between 5,000 and 25,000 killed in total
under the regime.[88][89][90]
Torture was often used to obtain confessions:
One émigré, for example, testified to being bound by his hands and legs for one and a half
months, and beaten with a belt, fists, or boots for periods of two to three hours every two or
three days. Another was detained in a cell one meter by eight meters large in the local police
station and kept in solitary confinement for a five-day period punctuated by two beating sessions
until he signed a confession, he was taken to Sigurimi headquarters, where he was again
tortured and questioned, despite his prior confession, until his three-day trial. Still another
witness was confined for more than a year in a three-meter square cell underground. During this
time, he was interrogated at irregular intervals and subjected to various forms of physical and
psychological torture. He was chained to a chair, beaten, and subjected to electric shocks. He
was shown a bullet that was supposedly meant for him and told that car engines starting within
his earshot were driving victims to their executions, the next of which would be his.[91]
"There were six institutions for political prisoners and fourteen labour camps where political
prisoners and common criminals worked together. It has been estimated that there were
approximately 32,000 people imprisoned in Albania in 1985."[92]
Article 47 of the Albanian Criminal Code stated that to "escape outside the state, as well as
refusal to return to the Fatherland by a person who has been sent to serve or has been
permitted temporarily to go outside the state" was an act of treason, a crime punishable by a
minimum sentence of ten years or even death.[93]
An electrically-wired metal fence stands 600 meters to one kilometer from the actual border.
Anyone touching the fence not only risks electrocution, but also sets off alarm bells and lights
which alert guards stationed at approximately one-kilometer intervals along the fence. Two
meters of soil on either side of the fence are cleared in order to check for footprints of escapees
and infiltrators. The area between the fence and the actual border is seeded with booby traps
such as coils of wire, noise makers consisting of thin pieces of metal strips on top of two
wooden slats with stones in a tin container which rattle if stepped on, and flares that are
triggered by contact, thus illuminating would-be escapees during the night.[94]
Religion[edit]Further information: State atheism and religion in Albania

Albania, being a predominantly Muslim European country, largely due to Turkish influence in the
region, had not, like the Ottoman Empire, identified religion with ethnicity. In the Ottoman
Empire, Muslims were viewed as Turks, Orthodox Christians were viewed as Greeks,
and Roman Catholics were viewed as Latins. Hoxha believed this was a serious issue, feeling
that it both fueled Greek separatists in southern Albania and that it also divided the nation in
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
general. The Agrarian Reform Law of 1945 confiscated much of the church's property in the
country. Catholics were the earliest religious community to be targeted, since the Vatican was
seen as being an agent of Fascism and anti-Communism.[95] In 1946 the Jesuit Order and in
1947 the Franciscans were banned. Decree No. 743 (On religion) sought a national church and
forbade religious leaders from associating with foreign powers.
The Party focused on atheist education in schools. This tactic was effective, primarily due to the
high birthrate policy encouraged after the war. During holy periods such
as Lent and Ramadan many forbidden foods (dairy products, meat, etc.) were distributed in
schools and factories, and people who refused to eat those foods were denounced. Starting on
6 February 1967, the Party began a new offensive against religion. Hoxha, who had declared a
"Cultural and Ideological Revolution" after being partly inspired by China's Cultural Revolution,
encouraged communist students and workers to use more forceful tactics to promote atheism,
although violence was initially condemned.[96]
According to Hoxha, the surge in anti-religious activity began with the youth. The result of this
"spontaneous, unprovoked movement" was the closing of all 2,169 churches and mosques in
Albania. State atheism became official policy, and Albania was declared the world's first atheist
state. Religiously based town and city names were changed, as well as personal names. During
this period religiously based names were also made illegal. The Dictionary of People's Names,
published in 1982, contained 3,000 approved, secular names. In 1992, Monsignor Dias, the
Papal Nuncio for Albania appointed by Pope John Paul II, said that of the three hundred
Catholic priests present in Albania prior to the Communists coming to power, only thirty
survived.[97] All religious practices and all clergymen were outlawed and those religious figures
who refused to give up their positions were arrested or forced into hiding.[98]
Cultivating nationalism[edit]Main article: Albanian nationalism
A nationalist mosaic on the facade of the National History Museum in Tirana.

Enver Hoxha had declared during the anti-religious campaign that "the only religion of Albania is
Albanianism,"[99] a quotation from the poem O moj Shqypni ("O Albania") by the 19th-century
Albanian writer Pashko Vasa.
Muzafer Korkuti one of the dominant figures in post-war Albanian archaeology and now Director
of the institute of Archaeology in Tirana said this in an interview on 10 July 2002:[100]
"Archaeology is part of the politics which the party in power has and this was understood better
than anything else by Enver Hoxha. Folklore and archaeology were respected because they are
the indicators of the nation, and a party that shows respect to national identity is listened to by
other people; good or bad as this may be. Enver Hoxha did this as did Hitler. In Germany in the
1930s there was an increase in Balkan studies and languages and this too was all part of
nationalism."
Efforts were focused on an Illyrian-Albanian continuity issue.[101] An Illyrian origin of the

Albanians (without denying Pelasgian roots[102]) continued to play a significant role in Albanian
nationalism,[103] resulting in a revival of given names supposedly of "Illyrian" origin, at the
expense of given names associated with Christianity. At first, Albanian nationalist writers opted
for the Pelasgians as the forefathers of the Albanians, but as this form of nationalism flourished
in Albania under Enver Hoxha, the Pelasgians became a secondary element[102] to the Illyrian
theory of Albanian origins, which could claim some support in scholarship.[104]
The Illyrian descent theory soon became one of the pillars of Albanian nationalism, especially
because it could provide some evidence of continuity of an Albanian presence both in Kosovo
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
and in southern Albania, i.e., areas that were subject to ethnic conflicts between Albanians,
Serbs and Greeks.[105] Under the government of Enver Hoxha,
an autochthonous ethnogenesis[101] was promoted and physical anthropologists[101] tried to
demonstrate that Albanians were different from any other Indo-European populations, a theory
now disproved.[106] They claimed that the Illyrians were the most ancient people[101][107] in
the Balkans and greatly extended the age of the Illyrian language.[101][108]
Life and death

A new Constitution was decided upon by the Seventh Congress of the Albanian Party of Labour
on 1–7 November 1976. According to Hoxha, "The old Constitution was the Constitution of the
building of the foundations of socialism, whereas the new Constitution will be the Constitution of
the complete construction of a socialist society."[109]
Self-reliance was now stressed more than ever. Citizens were encouraged to train in the use of
weapons, and this activity was also taught in schools. This was to encourage the creation of
quick partisans.[110]
Borrowing and foreign investment were banned under Article 26 of the Constitution, which read:
"The granting of concessions to, and the creation of foreign economic and financial companies
and other institutions or ones formed jointly with bourgeois and revisionist capitalist monopolies
and states as well as obtaining credits from them are prohibited in the People's Socialist
Republic of Albania."[111]
No country whatsoever, big or small, can build socialism by taking credits and aid from the
bourgeoisie and the revisionists or by integrating its economy into the world system of capitalist
economies. Any such linking of the economy of a socialist country with the economy of
bourgeois or revisionist countries opens the doors to the actions of the economic laws of
capitalism and the degeneration of the socialist order. This is the road of betrayal and the
restoration of capitalism, which the revisionist cliques have pursued and are pursuing.
—Enver Hoxha[112]
During this period, Albania was the most isolated and poorest country in Europe and socially
backward by European standards. It had the lowest standard of living in Europe.[113] As a result
of economic self-sufficiency, Albania had a minimal foreign debt. In 1983, Albania imported
goods worth $280 million but exported goods worth $290 million, producing a trade surplus of
$10 million.[114]
In 1981, Hoxha ordered the execution of several party and government officials in a new purge.
Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, the second-most powerful man in Albania and Hoxha's closest
comrade-in-arms for 40 years, was reported to have committed suicide in December 1981. He
was subsequently condemned as a "traitor" to Albania, and was also accused of operating in
the service of multiple intelligence agencies. It is generally believed that he was either killed or
shot himself during a power struggle or over differing foreign policy matters with Hoxha.
[115] Hoxha also wrote a large assortment of books during this period, resulting in over 65
volumes of collected works, condensed into six volumes of selected works.[116]
Hoxha suffered a heart attack in 1973 from which he never fully recovered. In increasingly
precarious health from the late 1970s onward, he turned most state functions over to Ramiz
Alia. In his final days he was a wheelchair user and was suffering from diabetes, which he had
suffered from since 1948, and cerebral ischemia, which he had suffered from since 1983. On 9
April 1985, he suffered a massive ventricular fibrillation. All efforts to reverse it failed, and he
died early on the morning of 11 April 1985.[117]
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
Hoxha's death left Albania with a legacy of isolation and fear of the outside world. Despite some
economic progress made by Hoxha,[118] the country was in economic stagnation; Albania had
been the poorest European country throughout much of the Cold War period. Following
the transition to capitalism in 1992, Hoxha's legacy diminished, so that by the early 21st century
very little of it was still in place in Albania.
Family
The surname Hoxha is the Albanian variant of Hodja (Persian: ‫ ﺧواﺟﮫ‬khawājah), a title given to
his ancestors due to their efforts to teach Albanians about Islam.[119] In addition, among the
population he was widely known by his nickname of Dulla, a short form for the Muslim name
Abdullah stemming from his Muslim roots.
Enver Hoxha's parents were Halil and Gjylihan (Gjylo) Hoxha, and Hoxha had three sisters
named Fahrije, Haxhire and Sanije. Hysen Hoxha ([hyˈsɛn ˈhɔdʒa]) was Enver Hoxha's uncle
and was a militant who campaigned vigorously for the independence of Albania, which occurred
when Enver was four years old. His grandfather Beqir was involved in the Gjirokastër section of
the League of Prizren.[120]
Enver Hoxha's son, Sokol Hoxha, was the CEO of the Albanian Post and Telecommunication
service, and is married to Liliana Hoxha.[121] The later democratic president of Albania Sali
Berisha was often seen socializing with Sokol Hoxha and other close relatives of leading
communist figures in Albania.[122]
Hoxha's daughter, Pranvera, is an architect. Along with her husband, Klement Kolaneci, she
designed the Enver Hoxha Museum in Tirana, a white-tiled pyramid. The museum opened in
1988, three years after her father's death. The building now houses the International Cultural
Centre.[123]
Assassination attempts
Banda Mustafaj was a group of 4 Albanian emigres led by Xhevdet Mustafa who wanted to
assassinate Enver Hoxha in 1982. The plan failed and two of its members were killed and
another one was arrested.[124][125] It marked the only real effort to kill Hoxha.[126][127]
In popular culture
On their 1986 album, The Unacceptable Face of Freedom, London industrial/techo
band Test Dept wrote a song entitled "Comrade Enver Hoxha."
In the 2006 film, Inside Man, bank robbers foil police attempts to eavesdrop by playing an
Enver Hoxha speech near surveillance devices.
In 2012, Hoxha's first name (ENVER) engraved on the Shpiragu mountain was changed
to "NEVER" by artist Armando Lulaj.
In The Simpsons episode, "The Crepes of Wrath", the character Adil is from Albania and
has the last name of Hoxha.
American punk band Cleveland Bound Death Sentence has on their self-titled album
(Lookout Records, the album is a collection of prior 7" I believe) an HOXHA song; lyrics
include: enter HOXHA / head of CCCPA / No more Zog / No more Emmanual III /
Independent Albania under a single Party
Also see
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
People's Socialist Republic of Albania

Autarky
History of Albania
Ramiz Alia
Mehmet Shehu
Bunkers in Albania
Albanian Resistance of World War II
References
1. Jump up^ Varja e Havzi Nelës, zbardhet vendimi dhe firma e Kristaq Ramës
2. Jump up^ Poeti disident Havzi Nela ...
3. Jump up^ Dënimi i krimeve të komunizmit, guri në qafën e politikës në Shqipëri
4. Jump up^ 40 Years of Socialist Albania, Dhimiter Picani
5. ^ Jump up to:a b Biography of Baba Rexheb: "[Enver Hoxha was] from the Gjirokastër area and [he] came
from [a family] that [was] attached to the Bektashi tradition. In fact, fourteen years before Enver set off for
France to study, his father brought him to seek the blessing of Baba Selim. The baba (dervish) was not one to
refuse the request of a petitioner and he made a benediction over the boy."
6. Jump up^ A Coming of Age: Albania under Enver Hoxha, James S. O'Donnell, New York 1999, p. 193.
7. Jump up^ Hamm, Harry. Albania – China's Beachhead in Europe. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.,
1963., p. 84, 93.
8. Jump up^ O'Donnell, p. 196. He is described as "by far the best-read head of state in Eastern Europe."
9. Jump up^ See note 1 on page 32 of the Selected Works of Enver Hoxha: Volume I(Tirana: 8 Nëntori
Publishing House) p. 32.
10. Jump up^ See page 34 and also note 2 on page 35 of the Selected Works of Enver Hoxha: Volume I.
11. Jump up^ John E. Jessup, An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945–1996.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 1998. p. 288. "At the time of the Italian invasion of Albania, he was fired for
refusing to join the Albanian Fascist Party and became a tobacconist in the capital city, Tirana."
12. Jump up^ The Albanians: An Ethnographic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present Vol. II, Edwin E.
Jacques, North Carolina 1995, p. 416.
13. Jump up^ See note 1 on page 3 of the Selected Works of Enver Hoxha: Volume I(Tirana: 8 Nentori Publishing
House, 1974) p. 3.
14. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, "Report Delivered to the 1st Consultative Meeting of the Activists of the Communist
Party of Albania" contained in the Selected Works of Enver Hoxha: Volume I, pp. 3–30.
15. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, "Call to the Albanian Peasantry" contained in the Sellected Works of Enver Hoxha:
Volume I, pp. 31–38.
16. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, "Call to the Albanian Peasantry" contained in the Selected Works of Enver Hoxha:
Volume I, p. 36.
17. Jump up^ Of Enver Hoxha And Major Ivanov, New York Times, 28 April 1985
18. Jump up^ Bernd J Fischer. "Resistance in Albania during the Second World War: Partisans, Nationalists and
the S.O.E.", East European Quarterly 25 (1991)
19. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, "Letter from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Albania to the Vlora
Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Albania" dated 17 August 1943 contained in the Selected
Works of Enver Hoxha: Volume I, pp. 167–168.
20. Jump up^ O'Donnell, p. 9.
21. Jump up^ Nora Beloff, Tito's Flawed Legacy (Boulder: Westview Press, 1985), 192.
22. Jump up^ O'Donnell, pp. 10–11. Jacques, pp. 421–423.
24. Jump up^ Jacques. p. 433. Miranda Vickers. The Albanians: A Modern History. New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000. p.
164.
25. Jump up^ Taylor & Francis Group (September 2004). Europa World Year. Taylor & Francis. p. 441. ISBN 978-
1-85743-254-1. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
26. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, Selected Works, 1941–1948, vol. I (Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1974, 599–
600.
27. Jump up^ Ramadan Marmullaku, Albania and the Albanians, trans. Margot and Bosko Milosavljević (Hamden,
Connecticut: Archon Books, 1975, 93–94.
28. Jump up^ Library of Congress Country Studies
29. Jump up^ Gjonça, Arjan. Communism, Health, and Lifestyle: The Paradox of Mortality Transition in Albania,
1950–1990. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001., p. 15. "20.1% of the population was infected."
30. ^ Jump up to:a b Cikuli, Health Care in the People's Republic of Albania, p. 33.
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
31. Jump up^ Jacques, p. 473.

32. ^ Jump up to:a b O'Donnell, p. 19.
33. Jump up^ See Nicholas C. Pano, The People's Republic of Albania (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press,
1968), 101.
34. Jump up^ H. Banja and V. Toçi, Socialist Albania on the Road to Industrialization(Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing
House, 1979), 66. "... Albania didn't need to create its national industry, but should limit her production to
agricultural and mineral raw materials, which were to be sent for industrial processing to Yugoslavia. In other
words, they wanted the Albanian economy to be a mere appendage of the Yugoslav economy."
35. Jump up^ Ranko Petković, "Yugoslavia and Albania," in Yugoslav-Albanian Relations, trans. Zvonko Petnicki
and Darinka Petković (Belgrade: Review of International Affairs, 1984, 274–275.
36. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, With Stalin (Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1979, 92.
39. Jump up^ The Economist 179 (16 June 1956): 110.
40. Jump up^ On the "socialist division of labor" see: The International Socialist Division of Labor (7 June 1962),
German History in Documents and Images.
41. Jump up^ The Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies at the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of
Albania. History of the Party of Labor of Albania, 2nd ed. Tiranë: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1982. p. 296.
42. Jump up^ William Griffith, Albania and the Sino-Soviet Rift, p. 22
43. Jump up^ Elez Biberaj, Albania and China (Boulder: Westview Press, 1986), p. 27.
45. Jump up^ Khrushchev Remembers, trans. Strobe Talbott (Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1970), 475–476
46. Jump up^ Albania Challenges Khrushchev Revisionism (New York: Gamma Publishing, 1976), 109–110n.
Enver Hoxha stated: "This ridiculous action of Koço Tashko made it quite evident that the text of his
contribution had been dictated by an official of the Soviet Embassy and during the translation he had become
confused, failing to distinguish between the text and the punctuation marks."
47. Jump up^ The Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies at the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania.
p. 359. "... the Albanian people and their Party of Labour will even live on grass if need be, but they will never
sell themselves 'for 30 pieces of silver', ... They would rather die honourably on their feet than live in shame on
their knees."
48. Jump up^ Imperialism and the Revolution (1978), Hoxha's work condemning Maoism
49. Jump up^ Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit [The Code of Lekë Dukagjini] (Prishtinë, Kosove: Rilindja, 1972): bk. 3,
chap. 5, no. 29, 38.
50. Jump up^ Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit [The Code of Lekë Dukagjini], bk. 10, chap. 22, no. 130, secs. 936–937,
178.
51. Jump up^ Harilla Papajorgi, Our Friends Ask (Tirana: The Naim Frashëri Publishing House, 1970), 130.
52. Jump up^ Ksanthipi Begeja, The Family in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, (Tirana: 8 Nëntori
Publishing House, 1984), 61.
54. Jump up^ The Directorate of Statistics at the State Planning Commission, 35 Years of Socialist
Albania (Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1981), 129.
55. Jump up^ Anton Logoreci, The Albanians: Europe's Forgotten Survivors (Boulder: Westview Press, 1977),
158.
56. Jump up^ An Outline of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Tirana: The 8 Nëntori Publishing House,
1978.
57. Jump up^ Pollo and Puto, The History of Albania, p. 280.
58. Jump up^ Vickers, p. 224.
59. Jump up^ Mehmet Shehu, "The Magnificent Balance of Victories in the Course of 35 Years of Socialist
Albania", Speech (Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1979), p. 21.
60. Jump up^ Albania's Chemical Cache Raises Fears About Others – Washington Post, Monday 10 January
2005, Page A01
61. Jump up^ Radio Free Europe Research 17 December 1979 quoting Hoxha's Reflections on China Volume
II: "In Pyongyang, I believe that even Tito will be astonished at the proportions of the cult of his host, which has
reached a level unheard of anywhere else, either in past or present times, let alone in a country which calls
itself socialist."
62. Jump up^ Kosta Koçi, interview with James S. O'Donnell, A Coming of Age: Albania under Enver Hoxha,
Tape recording, Tirana, 12 April 1994.
63. Jump up^ Medals of the World
64. Jump up^ William Ash. Pickaxe and Rifle: The Story of the Albanian People. London: Howard Baker Press
Ltd. 1974. p. 238.
65. Jump up^ Albania – ABORTION POLICY – United Nations
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
66. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha. The Khrushchevites. Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House. 1980. pp. 231–234, 240–
250.
67. Jump up^ Elez Biberaj, Albania and China (Boulder: Westview Press, 1986), 40.
68. ^ Jump up to:a b Hamm, 45.
69. Jump up^ Owen Pearson. Albania in the Twentieth Century: A History Vol. III. New York: St. Martin's Press.
2006. p. 628.
70. Jump up^ Biberaj, 48.
71. Jump up^ "Sino-Albanian Joint Statement," Peking Review (17 January 1964) 17.
74. Jump up^ Hamm, 43.
76. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, Selected Works: 1966–1975, vol. 4 (Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1982), 666–
667, 668.
78. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, Reflections on China, vol. 2: (Toronto: Norman Bethune Institute, 1979), 41.
79. Jump up^ Biberaj, 98.99.
80. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, Reflections on China, vol. 2: (Toronto: Norman Bethune Institute, 1979), 656.
81. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, Reflections on China, vol. 2. (Toronto: Norman Bethune Institute, 1979), 107
83. Jump up^ Raymond E. Zickel & Walter R. Iwaskiw. Albania: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Federal
Research Division of the United States Library of Congress. p. 235.
84. Jump up^ Dance fever reaches Albania "The former student, now the mayor of Tirana, said that he would
cower beneath the bedclothes at night listening to foreign radio stations, an activity punishable by a long
stretch in a labour camp. He became fascinated by the saxophone. Yet, as such instruments were considered
to be an evil influence and were banned, he had never seen one. "
85. Jump up^ Keefe, Eugene K. Area Handbook for Albania. Washington, D.C.: The American University (Foreign
Area Studies), 1971.
86. Jump up^ Minnesota International Human Rights Committee, Human Rights in the People's Socialist
Republic of Albania. (Minneapolis: Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee, 1990), 46.
87. Jump up^ James S. O'Donnell, "Albania's Sigurimi: The ultimate agents of social control" Problems of Post-
Communism #42 (Nov/Dec 1995): 5p.
88. Jump up^ 15 Feb. 1994 Washington Times
89. Jump up^ "WHPSI": The World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators by Charles Lewis Taylor
90. Jump up^ 8 July 1997 NY Times
91. Jump up^ Minnesota International Human Rights Committee, 46–47.
92. Jump up^ O'Donnell, A Coming of Age, p. 134.
93. Jump up^ Minnesota International Human Rights Committee, p. 136.
94. Jump up^ Minnesota International Human Rights Committee, 50–53.
95. Jump up^ Anton Logoreci, The Albanians: Europe's Forgotten Survivors (Boulder: Westview Press, 1977),
154.
96. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, "The Communists Lead by Means of Example, Sacrifices, Abnegation: Discussion in
the Organization of the Party, Sector C, of the 'Enver' Plant", 2 March 1967, in Hoxha, E., Vepra, n. 35, Tirana,
1982, pp. 130–1. "In this matter violence, exaggerated or inflated actions must be condemned. Here it is
necessary to use persuasion and only persuasion, political and ideological work, so that the ground is
prepared for each concrete action against religion."
97. Jump up^ Henry Kamm, "Albania's Clerics Lead a Rebirth," New York Times, 27 March 1992, p. A3.
98. Jump up^ Jacques, p. 489, 495.
99. Jump up^ One World Divisible: A Global History Since 1945 (The Global Century Series) by David Reynolds,
2001, page 233: "... the country." Henceforth, Hoxha announced, the only religion would be "Albanianism. ... "
100. Jump up^ The practice of archaeology under dictatorship, Michael L. Galary & Charles Watkinson, Chapter 1,
page 9
101. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e The practice of Archaeology under dictatorship, Michael L. Galary & Charles
Watkinson, Chapter 1, pages 8–17,2
102. ^ Jump up to:a b Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Bernd Jürgen Fischer, Albanian Identities: Myth and History,
Indiana University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-253-34189-1, page 96, "but when Enver Hoxha declared that their
origin was Illyrian (without denying their Pelasgian roots), no one dared participate in further discussion of the
question".
103. Jump up^ ISBN 978-960-210-279-4 Miranda Vickers, The Albanians Chapter 9. "Albania Isolates itself" page
196, "From time to time the state gave out lists with pagan, supposed Illyrian or newly constructed names that
would be proper for the new generation of revolutionaries."
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
104. Jump up^ Madrugearu A, Gordon M. The wars of the Balkan peninsula. Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. p.146.
105. Jump up^ Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Bernd Jürgen Fischer, Albanian Identities: Myth and History,
Indiana University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-253-34189-1, p. 118.
106. Jump up^ Belledi et al. (2000) Maternal and paternal lineages in Albania and the genetic structure of Indo-
European populations
107. Jump up^ The Balkans – a post-communist history by Robert Bideleux & Ian Jeffries, Routledge, 2007, ISBN
978-0-415-22962-3, page 23, "they thus claim to be the oldest indigenous people of the western Balkans".
108. Jump up^ The Balkans – a post-communist history by Robert Bideleux & Ian Jeffries, Routledge, 2007, ISBN
978-0-415-22962-3, page 26.
109. Jump up^ Enver Hoxha, Report on the Activity of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of
Albania (Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1977), 12.
110. Jump up^ Letter from Albania: Enver Hoxha's legacy, and the question of tourism: "The bunkers were just one
component of Hoxha's aim to arm the entire country against enemy invaders. Gun training used to be a part of
school, I was told, and every family was expected to have a cache of weapons. Soon, Albania became awash
in guns and other armaments – and the country is still dealing with that today, not just in its reputation as a
center for weapons trading but in its efforts to finally decommission huge stockpiles of ammunition as part of its
new NATO obligations."
111. Jump up^ Elez Biberaj, Albania and China (Boulder: Westview Press, 1986), 162n. See also The Albanian
Constitution of 1976
112. Jump up^ Hoxha, Report on the Activity of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania, 8.
113. Jump up^ On Eagle's Wings: The Albanian Economy in Transition, p. vii
114. Jump up^ The Directorate of the Intelligence of the Central Intelligence Agency, The World
Factbook (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1986), 3.
115. Jump up^ O'Donnell, pp. 198–201. Vickers, pp. 207–208. Jacques, pp. 510–512.
116. Jump up^ NYtimes.com "Hoxha, who died in 1985, was one of the most verbose statesmen of modern times
and pressed more than 50 volumes of opinions, diaries and dogma on his long-suffering people, the poorest in
Europe."
117. Jump up^ Jacques, p. 520. "... there was a detailed medical report by a distinguished medical team. Enver
Hoxha had suffered since 1948 with diabetes which gradually caused widespread damage to the blood
vessels, heart, kidneys and certain other organs. In 1973 as a consequence of this damage a myocardial
infarction occurred with rhythmic irregularity. During the following years a serious heart disorder developed. On
the morning of 9 April 1985, an unexpected ventricular fibrillation occurred. Despite intensive medication,
repeated fibrillation and its irreversible consequences in the brain and kidneys caused death at 2:15 am on 11
April 1985."
118. Jump up^ O'Donnell, A Coming of Age, p. 186. "On the positive side, an objective analysis must conclude that
Enver Hoxha's plan to mobilize all of Albania's resources under the regimentation of a central plan was
effective and quite successful ... Albania was a tribal society, not necessarily primitive but certainly less
developed than most. It had no industrial or working class tradition and no experience using modern
production techniques. Thus, the results achieved, especially during the phases of initial planning and
construction of the economic base were both impressive and positive."
119. Jump up^ "Ju Tregoj Pemën e Familjes të Enver Hoxhës," Tirana Observer 15 June 2007
120. Jump up^ * Pero Zlatar. Albanija u eri Envera Hoxhe Vol. II. Zagreb: Grafički zavod Hrvatske. 1984. pp. 23–
24.
121. Jump up^ Liliana Hoxha personal website. 25 February 2010.
122. Jump up^ [1][dead link]
123. Jump up^ Wheeler, Tony (2010). Lonely Planet Badlands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil. Victoria: Lonely
Planet. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-1-74220-104-7. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
124. Jump up^ "Zbulohen dokumentet e CIA-s dhe FBI-se per Xhevdet Mustafen". Shqiperia.com. Retrieved 2012-
11-13.
125. Jump up^ "Zbuluesi ushtarak: Xhevdet Mustafa do vendoste monarkinë". Zeriikosoves.org. Retrieved 2012-
11-13.
126. Jump up^ "Xhevdet Mustafa, sot 29 vite nga zbarkimi në Divjakë, zbulohet biseda me kunatin e Hazbiut
Panorama 2011-09-25". Lajme4.shqiperia.com. 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
127. Jump up^ "Rrëfimi i Halit Bajramit: Unë, njeriu i Hazbiut në bandën e Xhevdet Mustafës Panorama 2011-08-
12". Lajme4.shqiperia.com. Retrieved2012-11-13.
Further reading[edit]
Banja H. and V. Toçi, Socialist Albania on the Road to Industrialization, Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House,
1979
Beloff, Nora. Tito's Flawed Legacy, Boulder: Westview Press, 1985, ISBN 978-0-575-03668-0
Cikuli, Zisa. Health Care in the People's Republic of Albania 1984
Fevziu, Blendi. Enver Hoxha: E para biografi e bazuar në dokumente të arkivit personal dhe në rrëfimet e atyre
Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55
që e njohën, Tiranë: UET Press, 2011.

Gjonça, Arjan. Communism, Health, and Lifestyle: The Paradox of Mortality Transition in Albania, 1950–1990.
CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-313-31586-2
Hamm, Harry. Albania – China's Beachhead in Europe, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1963.
Hoxha, Enver. Selected Works, 1941–1948, vol. I, Tirana: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1974.
The Institute of Marxist-Leninist Studies at the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania. History of
the Party of Labor of Albania, 2nd ed. Tiranë: 8 Nëntori Publishing House, 1982.
Jacques, Edwin E. The Albanians: An Ethnographic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present Vol. II, North
Carolina 1995, ISBN 978-0-7864-4238-6
Jessup, John E. An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945–1996. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press. 1998, ISBN 978-0-313-28112-9
Marmullaku, Ramadan. Albania and the Albanians, trans. Margot and Bosko Milosavljević, Hamden, CT:
Archon Books, 1975
Myftaraj, Kastriot. The Enigmas of Enver Hoxha's Domination 1944–1961, Tirana 2009, ISBN 978-99956-57-
10-9
Myftaraj, Kastriot. The Secret Life of Enver Hoxha, 1908–1944, Tirana 2008, ISBN 978-99956-706-4-1
O'Donnell, James S. A Coming of Age: Albania under Enver Hoxha, New York 1999, ISBN 978-0-88033-415-0
Pearson, Owen S. and I.B. Tauris. Albania in Occupation and War, London 2006, ISBN 978-1-84511-104-5
Pano, Nicholas C. The People's Republic of Albania, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1968
Pipa, Arshi, Albanian Stalinism, Boulder: East European Monographs, 1990, ISBN 978-0-88033-184-5
Works[edit]
Speeches (1961–1962). The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1977.
Speeches and articles (1963–1964). The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1977.
Speeches, conversations and articles (1965–1966). The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1977.
Selected works. 6 Volumes, The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1974–1987.
Reflections on China. 2 Volumes, The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1979.
Two Friendly Peoples. The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1985.
The Superpowers. The '8 Nëntori' Publishing House, Tirana 1986.
External links[edit]
Enver Hoxha Reference Archive at marxists.org
English collection of some of Hoxha's works
Another English collection of some of Hoxha's works
A Russian site with the works of Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha tungjatjeta
Disa nga Veprat e Shokut Enver Hoxha
Albanian.com article on Hoxha
Virtual Memory Museum Official Website
Enver Hoxha's Underground Bunker Official Website
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Enver Hoxha 07/12/23, 17:55

Illyricum Early life

Illyrian warfare Partizan life

1. Unite in a single struggle against the fascist invader.

Disagreements with Yougoslavian Communism

Enver Hoxha following the liberation of Tirana in 1944.

Relations with Yugoslavia[edit]

Symbol of the Party of Labour of Albania.

On 7 November 1961, Hoxha made a speech in which he called Khrushchev a "revisionist, an

—Code of Lekë Dukagjini[50]

—Enver Hoxha, 1967[55]

—Mehmet Shehu, November 28, 1979 speech[59]

Hoxha's first name engraved on the side of Shpiragu Mountain.

Relations with China[edit]

To eliminate dissent, the government imprisoned thousands in forced-labour camps or executed

Torture was often used to obtain confessions:

Religion[edit]Further information: State atheism and religion in Albania

Cultivating nationalism[edit]Main article: Albanian nationalism

A nationalist mosaic on the facade of the National History Museum in Tirana.

Efforts were focused on an Illyrian-Albanian continuity issue.[101] An Illyrian origin of the

Life and death

People's Socialist Republic of Albania

31. Jump up^ Jacques, p. 473.

që e njohën, Tiranë: UET Press, 2011.

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