The Albanian SS “Skanderbeg” Division - Albanian Collaboration during World War II
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- The Albanian SS "Skanderbeg" Division was a military unit formed during World War II as a part of Nazi Germany's efforts to recruit soldiers from various nationalities to fight for the Axis powers. The division was named after George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, a national hero of Albania who had fought against the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Albania had been occupied by Italy since 1939, and in 1943, when Italy surrendered to the Allies, Germany occupied Albania as well. To consolidate their control over the region and bolster their military presence, the Nazis sought to create a pro-German Albanian military force. In April 1944, the Albanian SS "Skanderbeg" Division was officially formed, primarily composed of Albanian volunteers. It's important to note that the division wasn't directly integrated into the Waffen-SS, which was the combat branch of the Nazi SS. Instead, the Albanian division was part of the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Skanderbeg" (1st Albanian). This division was intended to serve alongside German forces in the Balkans and other regions. The division's formation sparked mixed reactions within Albania. Some Albanians joined the division out of allegiance to the Axis powers, while others did so under coercion or due to economic factors. There were also individuals who joined in an attempt to protect their families or out of fear of reprisals by the Nazis. The division participated in Yugoslavia and Greece. It was involved in combat against both Partisan resistance forces and Allied troops. The division's actions were marked by brutality and atrocities, including massacres of civilian populations. As World War II reached its conclusion, the Albanian SS "Skanderbeg" Division was disbanded in 1945 as the Axis powers collapsed. Albania came under communist control after the war, and the wartime collaboration with the Axis powers, including the division's existence, became a taboo topic. The communist regime suppressed information about collaboration and focused on building a new national identity. The Albanian SS "Skanderbeg" Division remains a controversial and sensitive topic in Albania's history. It represents a complex chapter characterized by the interplay of geopolitical factors, nationalism, coercion, and collaboration under the shadow of wartime circumstances.
History Hustle presents: The Albanian SS “Skanderbeg” Division - Albanian Collaboration during World War II.
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SOURCES
- Albania at War, 1939-1945 (Bernd Jürgen Fischer).
- The Albanians. A Modern History (Miranda Vickers).
- Hitler's Jihadis, Muslim Volunteers of the Waffen-SS (Jonathan Trigg).
IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org and:
- www.nevingtonw...
- www.albanianpho...
- telegrafi.com/...
- Otto Klum - Prinz Eugen. The History of the 7 SS Mountain Division “Prinz Eugen.”
VIDEO
Video material from:
• Albania as seen in 194...
Albania as seen in 1943(Nzi Movie)
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Just come across this channel and have subscribed. These little covered aspects of history are fascinating. Was there an attempt to recruit pow's from the USA ? On the other side the RAF had many nationalities also. Poles probably being the most well known.
@@sfactory8253 thanks for replying. Welcome to the channel. Believe there was on paper a SS unit named Washington but only a handful served.
I've been on vacation in Mauritius. It is very interesting that there are hundreds of bastions along the coastlines of the island. Build by the Dutch. A subject, in case you run out of ideas 😊.
Nice video, I just want to add that one reason why Germany was so serious about an "independent" Albanian state was because they needed to control the country with as few troops as possible. Because of this the Wehrmacht was ordered not to mendle with the government too much and let the collaborators do the most work. This led to the Germans being regarded with some form of respect by the population for being "well behaved". The collaborators on the other hand and BK specificaly were losing support quickly due to their use of terror and fusing with the pro-german government wich lead to more support for the communist who were generaly disciplined and often used persuation rather than force to gain materials from the people.
Thanks for your reply.
Thanks for your reply.
@@virtuallifter2438 only partially true, because in the case of the saved Jews, the Albanian government itself was very much involved going against the order to turn in the list of Jewish families in Albania, and gave order to Albanian border guards to ignore fake papers etc.and let the Jewish families come in and then the local population did the rest. They were sheltered with Albanian families or in abandoned houses where locals send food etc.
Albania had more Jews after the war than before, the only country in Europe that did that. Many Jewish refugees found safety there.
Believe I mention this in the episode.
"History is not written by the victors it's by those who writes stuff down"-max miller tasting history
Good counterquote for those who bring up the cliche quote, thanks for sharing.
I’d argue that history is written by the observer, while the victor writes propaganda.
@@jonathancooper4914 I think so too, especially when the victor has a lot of dirt of his own to hide!
hmmm,,are you a Serbian,,,because the slaves came at 700 ,,they did worst then ur favorite ss show...Albanian they been here long long time,,,
Whataboutism.
And do you know why USA don't send astronauts on the Moon?
When Apolo is landed Americans find Buregdžinicu kod Beriše. Shvatili su da su Albanci indigenouse people on The Moon and because shame give up from another flight.
Why then oldest nation on the Balkan don't save culture, religiouse objects or anny proof of your culture before Otomans? How every Albanians take islam youngest religion on the World? Or you come from Asia with Otomans. Where is proof? Serbs have church before Otomans, Ritters, Kings, Flags, Army much earlyer before Turks. Where is your history before Turks?
MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT THE ALBANIAN COLLABORIST IN GREECE (THESPROTIA REGION -CHAMERIA IN ALBANIAN)
Too niche.
@@HistoryHustlethere was no collab, thats greek excuse ehy they massacred and drove out cham people. until now a open issue between albania and greece.
Lets not forget the Cham genocide by greeks
@@HistoryHustle Please make a video about the genocide of Chams. Greeks exterminated the entire population.
A video about the Cham genocide? Or a video about the Albanian partisans fighting for.Greece? Or a video about Albanian Arvanites being key figures and fighting for the independence of Greece? Did you forget that your heroes of the independece of your country are Albanians?
Well done. Another fascinating subject and a intriguing, little known aspect of WW2 history. But, very relevant as regards later events in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990's.
Skanderbeg is the shock troops of the Lindybeige channel from Skandinavia.
Interesting..
Serbs suffered so much in both world wars.
True.
Well , they did kind of start the first one, shooting the leader of a European empire and thinking there would be no consequences.
even you don't believe in the nonsense you've just written... @@danditto6145
@@danditto6145are you trying to justify ethnic cleansing of Serbs and all other war crimes by claiming "they did kind of started it"?! Are you aware the WWI was a continuation of the Moroccan crisis? If someone killed Hitler in 1940 while he visited Paris, would that be considered as a terrorist attack and a just cause for continual satanizaton of the French? What about the assasination of Heydrich in Prague, was that also a "dreadful terrorist attack"? Don't forget, Austria Hungary occupied Bosnia, just like Nazis did with the most of the Europe in the XX century. The asassinations of occupiers and tyrants was always a way of fighting by the oppressed peoples all over the world. What's worrying is that someone justifies war crimes and criminals by saying "they kinda started it".🤮
It is naive to believe that the Serbs started the war through Princip. The war was already planned in advance, and a reason was being sought to start it. If you just look at how Franz Ferdinand's visit went, it is immediately clear that he was sent to his death. He arrives in extremely hostile territory on the most important day for Serbs, and then they drive him in a convertible through Sarajevo, and after the first unsuccessful assassination, they return him to the same car to finish the job. Instead of immediately removing him and looking for the assassins, no one did anything, but Ferdinand was driven in a convertible as an easy target. Imagine that they throw a bomb or fire a bullet at you, and then you return to the street as if nothing happened? Where is the logic?@@danditto6145
thanks bro
Thank you for watching!
I literally searched your channel yesterday for Albania content. Were you watching??
Haha, crazy coincidence!
The Skender Brigade made such large massacres and hundreds of thousands of Serbs fled from Kosovo, unfortunately only two years after the war, the CIA has started to finance Albanians with weapons and all the time there were problems with them until America has built its military base
Brohr you really do the world a service with your history content. I'm a fan.
Many thanks.
Amazing footage and staggering research.
Thanks for the post Stefan. 🙏🇦🇺
Many thanks Phil. Have a good weekend.
another banger from history hustle
Thank you for watching!
Thanks for this great and informative video. It also sheds a light on the roots of later present situation in Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo. Serbian population there was decimated during WWII and those who fled were not allowed to return by the communists who wanted to appease Kosovo Albanians.
Tito had also hard time to keep Yugoslavia together and mainly at the expense of Serbians. The consequence is a present ethnic imbalance in Kosovo where
Serbs became a minority. After NATO bombing of Yugoslavia many Serbs fled Kosovo again and were
never allowed to return. Today they live in few isolated enclaves under
constant harassment and under pressure to leave and this is unfortunately supported by several western governments such as Germany, the old enemy of Serbia.
Good!!Why did you leave Russia in the first place and came to colonize Dardania?What made you think that was a good idea?
@@marcoluppo5783 what are you talking about? I’ve never been to Russia. You don’t make any sense. Usually, I don’t respond to idiotic comments but this one time is the exception.
Sure, of course. During World War II, when the entire western Balkans were fighting each other, it was obviously the Albanians who bear the main blame. Serbian Chetniks were, of course, angels of peace who would never have thought of forming alliances with the Third Reich and committing unimaginable atrocities against Croats, Bosnians, and Albanians. Never. Everyone else is to blame except the Serbs. By the way, the Congo is now considered the heart of Serbia too!
First of all sebs never were a majority in kosovo and second of all i dont like how u completely ignored the thousands of people massacred and tortured by serbs both in kosovo and bosnia the thousands of women raped and millions dislocated
Pressured to leave? How? By having two state pensions?
Another fascinating piece Stef. Interesting that Catholics and Muslims served together. There can't have been many units like this
Thanks once else for your reply. Have a good weekend Aidan!
Handschar SS Division was one of many units in NDH that had them serving together.
Albanian Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox fought alongside as an Albanian unit for a long time, including KLA in Kosovo
In the Balkans muslims and catholics have always been in coalition against serbs chetnics, not only during ww2, but during 1990's war also!
a fragile coalition, in Bosnia they worked together until a catholic Unit HOS/HVO or voijna Policia commited a massacre , on civilians, in Travnik/Vitez Region in the Village of Amici, later they became allies again because of US pressure@@AlbanianManIB
There is a reason why Germans found support from Kosovo Albanians. Due to the opression suffered at the hands of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia(Serbians mainly), the Kosovo Albanians saw the Germans as liberators not invaders. As for the killings it was revenge for the over 200.000 albanians massacred during the Balkan Wars(1912-1913).
The massacre of Albanians is misinformation.
@@mildew1sure buddy, go read some reports from eyewitnesses of that time for a change
@@arlindasllani3828 the number that you're mentioning is gross exaggeration. Learn some history
@@mildew1 the numbers are between 150.000-250.000 massacred. Even Serbian opposition politicians of the time give numbers up to 150.000. Only the Serbian Government gives low numbers, but ofcourse they would, the were the ones who committed genocide. I know the history of my people my friend and much more.
But sure you can give your numbers.
@@arlindasllani3828 this number is incorrect
My ancestors fought for the Ballist till the last men in Northmacedonia. We fought more for rights and against Slavic colonization that was going on before
@MrPolinikisNever forget that the Greek is existence is the Non-Albanian existence. Without Greece we would be a superpower, without EU Money you are the poorest country
@MrPolinikisuhuuu... I like these kinds of facts pulled out from the a*s...
Thank you, Stefan, for so diligently researching and presenting such a complex aspect of WW2 political and military history. Albania has always been a mysterious, low-profile country to many outsiders, this video giving a little insight into the way that people thought during those troubled and dangerous times.
👍
Never a dull moment in the Balkans! Something interesting I read in a magazine when I was young, and by that I mean before the internet. The story was about Leka Jr. who was considered to be the King of Albania, was living in exile in suburban South Africa and looked like an ordinary bloke. I was quite intrigued but couldn’t easily find out more. This episode made me go look up the story. What privileged times we live in, being able to access the whole story at the click of a button😊
Indeed!
Sir I enjoyed your video lecture on the Albanian SS Unit. You presented the facts unambiguously. Thank you for producing another brilliant video lecture on the subject. I await your your next offering.
Great to read Fred, thanks!
Ss unit of Shqiperie were misguided ignorant people from poor origins.I do not accept they represented the majority of Albanian people.And believe that any of them still alive must be prosecuted for war crimes against innocent civilians.
There were several specifically Muslim SS divisions, dubbed by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, al-Hussein, who supported and helped organize the recruitment of Muslim volunteers into the SS. he was then a refugee in Berlin. An Albanian division, the 21st SS Skanderbeg division (6,500 men) and two Croats, actually Bosnians, the 13th SS Handschar division (21,000) and the 23rd SS Kama division (3,793). there was also a Free Arab Legion (in Arabic: جيش بلاد العرب الحرة Jaysh bilād al-ʿarab al-ḥurraẗ) in German: Deutsch-Arabische Legion (Sonderverband 287) formed of Arab volunteers from the Middle East and North Africa from 1941 to 1945. Mainly Iraqis, Syrians, but also other volunteers, later, from the Maghreb. This unit counted at its maximum up to 20,000 men, who fought in Caucase, Greece, Tunisia and yugoslavia.
Croat. Handschar and Kama were Croat Divisions.
@@9and7 yes......but muslim....... Bosnian muslim....Handschar SS division was not exclusively muslim, but in majority. And Kama SS division was exclusively muslim.
@@9and7in any case, they were listed as Croats and fought under Croatian flags, even though they were composed of Bosnian Muslims. But i mentioned it.
No they were Croatian Muslims. They always referred to themselves as Croats. They only started calling themselves Bosniaks after 1993. @@drfunkestein
Good film again Stefan ! War is chaos and unleashes forces that peace keeps largely under control and an example is the Balkans, an area with a tragic history but with such great potential that hopefully will see fruition in the coming years. Albania may have had a sideshow role in World War 2 but the impact on the inhabitants was as tragic as so many other states.
Thanks for your reply 👍
You should do a video about balli kombëtar they were bigger and allies of hitler aswell they did more operations
No wrong balli kombtar we’re Allie’s of nobody but only great Albania they collaborate with no one but fight all
Great video. Thanks. BZ
"Auf 20 Albaner müssen zwei deutsche Unterführer treffen, zwar einer zum Führen und einer hiten zum Aufpassen." Schmidhuber.
Thanks for your reply!
"The few ALBANIAN units raised to fight during the developments of the Greco-Italian War (1940-1941) alongside the Italian Army mostly "EITHER DESERTED OR FLED IN DROVES"."
Fischer, Bernd Jürgen (1999). Albania At War, 1939-1945. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, pp. 78-79
Thanks for sharing.
Balli Kombetar helped the Italians
Exactly this guy is trying to make it as if there were large groups of Albanians that collaborated. Truth is that Albanians at the time tried to unify what they had, not to attack their neighbors.
@@NikNiki-x9c Cham Albanians were probably some of the worst collaborator groups out there. Balli Kombetar and Albanian units helped massacre and invade Greece and in Kosovo where they killed Serb colonizers. Colonizing is wrong but mass murder is worse
@@thebalkanhistorian.3205balli kombetar was active only in albania north Macedonia Kosova sanxhak
0:59 I have a possible theory for this oblique cap that we see many times... maybe they used to fit better with the hair style at the time and don't disarange the cutline.
Obrigado, Stefan! 👽 🍀 🇧🇷
Could be yes! Thanks for sharing 👍
Yugoslavia and Albania is such a complex part of WW2 and yet again Stefan brings another interesting episode about Albania and Kosovo 👍🏻
👍
How is Albania a complex part of WWII? This country both the government and the vast majority of the people collaborated with both the Italian fascists and the Nazis - end of complexity.
''Vass majority of people''' no, they did not. Given that Albania was the *ONLY* European country to refuse to hand over Jews to Nazis, and the fact that it was the *ONLY* country to have more Jews at the end of the war than at the beginning, CLEARLY it couldn't have been the majority who collaborated with the Nazis given how many Jews they protected. @@papertoyss
@@eurech There was a resistance movement, which was insignificant. I mentioned collaboration and the vast majority of the people collaborated with both the Italian fascists and the Nazis. Fact!
Thank you for showcasing one of the least-known foreign units of the Waffen-SS. Kudos for also mentioning some of the differences between Albanians from Albania vs. the ones from Kosovo.
Thanks, glad you liked the episode.
waffles ss bs ms rs... branberg skaberg landerberg...alterberg...this diuvison tooo many goofee divsons meaninless
It was not created in Albania but in Kosovo and its activities were limited within Kosovo. The Germans used the long Serbian terror against the albanian population to recruit but, most of them realised they had been lied to and deserted.
@@screamingeagle1316the nephew of my great grandfather didn’t desert
The Albanians from Albania cooperated with fascist Mussolini they attack Greece with the Italian army at October's 1940 and they commit numerous crimes in Epirus and Macedonia in North Greece
The "Albanese Clan" is one of the oldest and powerful Sicilian family, but their methods are infamous. Other families "look down" on them.
I did try some of their products/fruits preserve and were almost 99% natural !!! And this is back in the 70's when they were under Soviet rule.
Thank you, Stefan, for so diligently researching and presenting such a complex aspect of WW2 political and military history. Albania has always been a mysterious, low-profile country to many outsiders, this video giving a little insight into the way that people thought during those troubled and dangerous times.
Many thanks for your reply!
Yet, Albanians were some of the most influential people in history.
Only to the Ottoman Empire they gave 49 prime ministers.
They created modern day Egypt and Sudan and contributed immensely to the formation of modern Greece
Pse nuk thoni që hebrenjt e Serbis gjetën streh në Shqipëri ..!
Respekt for your knowledge!!!! There was also a Bosnian SS "Handzar" division who was build in Bosnia and Hercegovina and only moslem fighters!!! Like skenderbeg was handzar like ustasa and killed many serbian, jews, romanes etc... Monster!!!!
Very convenient for you to spread propaganda …. and great timing for sure! Albanians protected jewish people because of our code of honour BESA, but what do you know, you read a book and make a documentary about it as its the absolute truth!
Care to explain or you just wanted to shout in the comments.
@danditto6145 Gavrilo Princip was ethnicly Bosnian Serb but he was Austrohungarian Citizen! He was not born in Serbia and he never had Serbian citizenship.Clame that Serbia and Serbs are guilty for Sarajevo asssassination is similar clame Britain is started war against USA Iff American with english or scottish origin kill someone in USA.
Thanks for sharing.
I know Ireland was neutral in ww2 would it be possible to make a video about Ireland in ww2 history hustle?
By far the best wwii history channel on RUclips
😃
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me" -Michael Scott looking forward for more history from you
Interesting quote.
Michael Scott quotes always relevant
In political view Italy came to Albania 🇦🇱 to protect Albanians. So did germany to protect Albanian borders from serbs and russian communist but they failed cause they lost the war. Anyway that failure was regained in 1998 when nato freed kosova Albanians from serbian killers.
Italy wanted to conquer Albania not protect it 😂
Really interesting insight into a more obscure corner of the war.
Interesting Kosovo information. Nice video 👌
Thanks for watching!
Another obscure but interesting aspect of WWII. Thankyou.
Thank you for replying!
"Instructor"...you "continue" to "uphold" the "bar"....in the " presentation"of...."military history""!!!
Thanks Michael!
Thank you again.
👍
Good article. Albanian iridentialism over the now independent state of Kosovo sometimes gets a occasional news article on the net.
Thanks for watching.
Cant wait for the comments from Sweden, Germany and Italy
Me too, you always love to hear nationalists who aren’t even in their country.
We will see.
I am really getting into Albanian history with a book about Skanderbeg, a history of Albania 🇦🇱, one about Yugoslavia, the Albanian mafia. Thank you for another source of Albanian knowledge
Thanks for watching.
If you go to National museum in Tirana you will fond how Great Br are forming them from tribes isto state
You think London is founded before Apollonia ,Durrahium ,Berat ,Argirocastra ,Shkoder ,Dagna and many other cities ?@@predragnicic7138
@@predragnicic7138 Albanian principalities, kingdoms, confederations ect have existed for millennia
@@predragnicic7138 actually even before the birth of modern Balkan states through ethnic cleansing by Russo serbs ..independent autonomus Albanian states from the Ottoman Empire already existed...
Unfortunately this period is completely erased from the collective kosovar memory. It isn’t spoken about, it isn’t taught in schools and isn’t included in any kosovar history books.
Interesting to read.
A niche side of the history... I'm Albanian and yet I did not know about this part...thank you!
Thanks for watching.
Pershendetje ! I am surprised you did not know I thought every one in Shqiperia knew.It is something I hope you and your family will always be proud of.Shqiperia has never been bad for the jewish people in that there we jews have always been treated equally.The people of your beloved precious country have been victims of racism they have never been racists against other peoples.Zoti bekofte Shqiperie.
Great video as always👍
Thanks!
Thanks for mentioning this. Massacres and ethnic cleansing that Albanian collaborationists commited against Serbs in Kosovo is almost forgotten in history.
There are many forgotten aspects of WW2, this is one of them.
Serbs were massacring albanians since albanians welcomed serbs in balkans. They even did it in 1998, imagine what serbs have done through history…
Where is Kosovo?! Wasn't part of Albanian! Serbs must be informed
Perhaps watch the full video first.
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What has to be remembered is that in what was albania before the nazis that same area saw no Holocaust of my jewish people.There was no betrayal of jews and no deportation of jews as such from Albania to nazi death camps.From kosova sadly yes that happened but not from Albania.Part of my own relatives were albanian jews all of them like all the rest of our community there were hidden by fellow Albanian non jews.Albania is the only country in nazi occupied europe where there were actually more jews at the end of The Holocaust than at the begining.
Yes my grandfather's brother hid a large group of jews in his house basement and he really risked his own life for that but fortunately they were all saved. No jew was handed to germans because the albanian people gave their besa and protected them, I'm talking about Albania.
Both Germans and Albanians benefit from this regiment Germans had ss Albanians to protect south Europe from communist serbs while Albanians had back their land and nice German weapons
True.
Although the Albanian SS was very ineffective.
I think is important to underline that there was no Albanian identity before XIX century and there was no Albanian state before. It was the most backward society with enormous illiteracy and feudal structure of power linked to the clan identity rather to the national identity. You can't build the nation without a written language being widespread. Secundo, Albania become selfproclaimed Kingdom with Zog as usurper since coup detat he sucessfuly launched but majority of royal european dynasties didnt acknowledge him as legitimate King. What bothers me is that the authoritarian/fascist nature of the state is missing from the narrative. Z symbolism, Albanian salute , shutdown on freedom of press etc. were the key elements of his regime. To sum up i think that fully developed Albanian national identity appeared in Hoxa regime. Only then the reforms within society were implemented such as women's suffrage, mass education, industrialization so on.
Here in the Balkans we identify ourselves by our native language and religion, not by the state where we live. If your native language is albanian, you are an Albanian , never mind where you live. If your mother is an albanian, and your father is a greek, you will have to choose your identity through you can speak both languages fluently.
@@tatqnadelcheva5509 "The language of the Albanians is unformed and adulterated. In many areas Italian elements have been incorporated into the language, in others Greek and in others Slavonic. Therefore Albanians who live fifty or sixty miles apart do not understand each other. In addition, there are racial differences between the Gegs who live in the wild north and the Tosks in the less rugged south. One would say that they belong to different ethnicities. And indeed this is the case. It would be easy to prove that the Albanians are not one people but half a dozen peoples."
Sir John Foster Fraser, "Pictures from the Balkans", CHAPTER XXIV. THE ALBANIANS, p. 257-258)
I am not an Albanian, so I can not answer you precisely. But I have had contacts with different Albanians from Kosovo, North Macedonia and proper Albania and they considered themselves one nation with their own common albanian language. Some people in London do speak Cockney, which other people can not understand, but this doesn't mean that they are Not English or British. At the end if you consider yourself an Albanian you ought to be an Albanian. Have a pleasant time of the day according to your location!
The preface to Gjon Buzuku’s “Meshari” proves you wrong. A gheg Albanian priest, that refers to a clear albanian identity. And this goes back to the kingdom of Arbanon. What youre saying is delusional anti-albanian propaganda.
ILLIRYA kingdom 250 bc ruler agron Kingdom of arbanon arbèria 12 centuries ruler Karl tropoja league of lezhe kastrioti skanderbeg 14 centurie Isa boletini league of prizren 1878 and you say we had no own state 😂don’t steal my wallet polish thief 😂
It is pronounced "skander-beg" not "skanderbezh"
Ok.
Albania was collaborating with Italy. It was not conquered in reality...
It was.
@@HistoryHustleItalian invasion 1939 king zog flee the country
@@HistoryHustleYes.But after King Zogu,New albanian government was pro nazzi colaborators.
ss Skenderbeg ska vra civil
Civilians recruited into soldiers.
which one rebelled against the SS?
Amazing video
👍
In October 1944 it was withdrawn from Greece to the Yugoslav Front and was reinforced in early 1945 by the addition of other Arabs from an Arab volunteer battalion disbanded before its full formation. He ended the war near Zagreb as part of the 104th Fighter Division of the Wehrmacht. The 1st and 2nd battalions of the Free Arab Legion which were not part of the Deutsche-Arabische Lehr Abteilung were used on 2 May 1943 to replace losses and rebuild Grenadier Regiment 92 with a company of light artillery and light pioneers , which was later renamed "Grenadier Regiment 92 (MOT)" on June 5, 1944. The regiment moved to Yugoslavia to fight against the Yugoslav Partisans and became part of Army Group F. The regiment suffered heavy losses during of the Belgrade Offensive in October 1944 and its remnants were integrated into the 2nd Panzer Army, where they were reconstituted as Panzergrenadier Brigade 92 in January 1945. The entire army capitulated to Nazi Austria in May 1945.
Those Iraqi soliders never returned to Iraq 💀 red army superior
Many nations collaborated with the NAZIS. Just ask which nations handed their Jewish population over to the NAZIS. Albania and Yugoslavia were the only two who didn't. The presenter of this video is totally biased. When the Albanian King went into self exile it created a power vacuum. Political parties split in 3 factions all vying for control.
This video is about Albanian collaboration. On my channel other nations collaborators is widely covered.
You fail to explain by I am biased.
@@HistoryHustle you mentioned the term Albanian irredentismis it is an inappropriate term ...Maybe you don't know but Kosovo was taken away from the Albanians at the London Conference in 1913...The Albanian population has suffered horrific massacres and ethnic cleansing not only in those years but even before
@@HistoryHustle have you ever heard of cubrilovic's plan??
@@HistoryHustle or about the Massacres of Albanians civilians in the Balkan Wars??is estimated to be at least 120,000 Albanian civilians ...the Scanderbeg division is a very small fraction of the story not only in the history between Serbs and Albanians but in Albanian history itself that division has a tiny role
@@HistoryHustle and then you didn't even mention that the musolini soldiers were transformed into partisans in Albania forced to fight on behalf of the Albanians until the total liberation of Albania
Another informative and wonderful historical coverage video about Skanderbeg Waffen SS divisions in Albania 🇦🇱 during WW2. By German invaders... thank you an excellent ( History Hustle) channel and 🙏 Sir Stefan for sharing this incredible video about Albania 🇦🇱
Thanks for replying once else.
General Napoleon Zervas love albanias😂😂😂
Lol
The funniest part is that he was of Arvanitic ancestry, while the Sqipetars nowadays claim that the Greek Arvanites are... "Albanians"... lol
Ty 4 ur work
Thank you for watching!
🇦🇱❤
Interesting country.
My great grandfather fought during the Greco-Italian war of 1940-1941. We still have as a heirloom an ID of an albanian soldier who fought for the Italians. I don't know how my great grandfather acquired that ID or what happened to the albanian soldier.
Thank you for this episode!
👍
Beste Stefan,
According to me, your history lesson about Albanian collaboration during the world war 2 is a mix of factual information and a bit pretentious and propagandistic.
You should have contextualised a bit more.
Albanian lands in 1912 were divided after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and for more than the half of the Albanian territories were occupied by Serbs, Montenegrins and Greeks. Sinds then they continued committing ethnic cleansing and genocidal politics as they have done in the second half of the 18 century.
Southern Serbia is almost ethnically cleansed from Albanians.
Albanian state internationally recognised in 1913 was attacked by Italian fascist forces. The king fled the country. As wel as in all European countries the most of Albanians were not happy with the situation and resisted. Some of them in very small numbers when the Germans came to Albania, after the Italian fascist capitulated, collaborated with them.
The half of Albanian population under the occupation of the kingdom of Serbs from 1912 had undergone massive killings and torture. They forcefully had to leave their homeland and emigrate everywhere in the world specially Turkey.
When the Germans occupied the kingdom of Serbia in 1941, they were not seen as the occupier in the Albanian territories who were in fact occupied by Serbs.
The Albanians under the occupation of Kingdom of Serbia saw them the Germans as liberators.
Just the same story in Baltic states. They also viewed Germans as liberators from harshly Russian occupation.
All the Jews from Belgrade and Serbia together with the Jews from Thessaloniki and Greece were sent to concentration camps in Germany and killed during the world war 2. Some Serb and Greek authorities were involved in this matter.
Only in Albanian lands the number of Jews was bigger after the war than before the war started. I have to correct me in Bulgaria the Jews were also saved from Bulgarian people. The only places in Balkan
This means that Albanians were not ideologically same with the Nazis and they didn’t share the same beliefs and convictions.
Albanians have integrated the Jews into their families as a part of family. The Germans couldn’t distinguish the Jews from Albanians. So all of them were saved. I can refer you to Yad Vashem in Israel.
The Serbs and the Greeks, nobody of their factions saved any one of the Jew community.
They are truly collaborators of the Nazis ideologically.
Of course the Partisans of their countries fought the Germans for their liberation. They fought also the collaborators too.
The fascist regime of Croatia during the Second World War indeed killed a lot of Serbs and Bosnian people.
The Serbian Chetniks did the same what Croatian Ustashi have done to none Serbs.
Het lijkt mij dat deze feiten niettemin zeer belangrijk zijn. Ik zeg ook niet dat de rechtse conservatieve Albanezen, Serviërs niet hebben vermoord tijdens de bezetting door de Duitsers. Maar de nummers kloppen niet.
Wat had je anders verwacht na al die genocide die door Serviërs was gepleegd vanaf 1840 tot 1941.
Na de tweede wereldoorlog helaas ging dit door in de nieuwe gevormde land Yugoslavia.
De Duitsers hadden verloren. Precies hetzelfde gebeurde in de Baltische staten, wederom bezet door Rusland.
Kosova en de Baltische staten zijn eindelijk vrij van gebroeders Rusland en Servië mede dankzij door de vrije westerse wereld die moest ook militair ingrijpen om Albanezen te redden van de zoveelste genocide en etnische zuivering aan de kant van onze buren Serviërs.
Dat zij slachtoffers zouden zijn in sommige korte delen van het geschiedenis klopt.
De Duitse volk was ook slachtoffer van de bombardementen van de geallieerden. De Duitse vrouwen in Berlijn zijn massaal verkracht door de Russen maar daar praten we niet graag.
Ik stel voor dat er een eerlijke verhaal verteld wordt.
Dat de weg vooruit voor Servië is de weg van verzoening en excuses aanbieden aan de Albanezen en Bosniërs.
Het samenspannen met Putin van Rusland en President Xi van China tegen je buren en de westerse wereld om nieuwe expansies te maken lijkt mij niet de goede weg.
Propaganda, leugens, verdraaiingen, samenzweringen met Rusland en toenmalige Europese grootmachten heeft de Serviërs geholpen in de 19-de en 20-ste eeuw om veel land te veroveren van de Albanezen door middel van etnische zuivering en genocide.
Die tijd is voorgoed voorbij. Het is de 21-ste eeuw, de tijd van internet en massamedia. Ze hebben het geprobeerd ook in deze tijd in Kosova met middeleeuwse, voor hen bekende methodes, wederom etnische zuivering en genocide te plegen tegen Albanezen maar het lukte hun deels hun donkere dromen te verwezenlijken. De antwoord van de Albanezen en het vrije westen was helder en duidelijk.
No more genocide op European continent.
Met vrindelijke groet,
Skenderbeg its really hard to pronounce 😂😂😂
Try chatgpt! 😁
Ok.
Skenderbeg was a Serb from Mother's and Father's side Definitely not shiptar...
@@j2198 look at your genes, you are probably assimilated albanian. 😘
@@j2198your answer is so silly, not worth of answering. 🤣😂😂
@@j2198sorry but he was a medieval Albanian
Albania Scopia Bulgaria Romania Croatia Slovenia even Turkey they cooperated with Nazism and Fascism against Greece and Serbia
First day after Germans occupied Greece, started do business with local state related intelligencia.
Your point?
Great research as usual Stefan!
Thanks for sharing.
Balli kombëtar fought for the independence against every invader, it was composed of highly educated leaders that had studied in the best European universities...a threat for the communists that started a civil war destroying every other political faction...
My friend do a video about the albanians collobarators in greece and what they did to greeeks and why napoleon zervas (a arvanite like me ) kick them out ! Very good video by the way ❤
The Albanians did the same to the Germans, as the afghans to the Americans; they scammed them. They scammed a much larger empire out of weapons, food and pay, by pretending to be their allies. Never underestimate these mountain people who managed to live on the same land for thousands of years; they know how to survive.
Germans besides of taking the area under their political control had exact 0 interests to do anything in the Albanian mountains, they could ever care less about local conflicts so they were never interested in the territorial aspects of this. If they had interests like they had in occupied Yugoslavia Albania as you know it today would be a way different territory. Comparing Afghanistan retreat with overall German retreat from the Balkans is totally different universe. Also majority Kosovo Albanians did not "pretend" they were real Nazi collaborators and Kosovo Albanians never chase Germans since they look them as a friends who give them open card policy for prosecution the local Serbs and others who not agreed with them. Members of this so called SS division were often robbers, criminals and uneducated villagers while there were some exceptions when famous Albanian families in Kosovo who had relations with Serbs for centuries reject to join such group of bandits.
@rogyn8484 Kosovo Albanians regarded the Germans as allies and if Germans would have won ww2 , Kosovo would have joined Albania and Serbia would be out of the map.
Simple as that.
Yes most SS Skanderbeg division was made.of middle aged men.
Real Albanian warriors were in the Vullnetari formations.
@MrPolinikis they survived, while others disappeared - how is that the wrong side of history?
@MrPolinikis Germans were Allied of Albanians.
Their victory in ww1 and ww2 would mean a larger Albania and extinction of servs.
Simple as that.
Greece is also a nation created by Albanians.
@@rogyn8484read Fischer and Malkolm, the above commenter has a good point, Albanians did not care about Nazi policies. World war 1 memories were still fresh and Albanians knew that if they did not compromise, they would end up in the midst of fire from both ends...whether the nazis would win or not, we would survive. We always do. Trying to make Albanians look bad to cover the athrocities serbs commited throughout the centuries toward Albanians, speaks for itself. There is no justification for the genocide of Albanians in Nish all the way to Lume in proper Albania...an episode which is known as Albanian Golgoda is also published by Austrian authors, how 100k Albanians were massacred in few weeks in 1912.
my albanian greatgrandfather was part of Balli Kombtar. the man who created the militia party was from my village
Thanks for sharing.
Wauw! Thank you for this amazing information! I only knew very little off this myself. My father in law (he´s albanian) told me once that a member of his family had joined that division and at the end of the war fled to Germany and stayed there. He never came back and spend the rest of his life in Germany.
Thanks for sharing this.
❤️❤️🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱👑
Ok.
can you please explain how the border between Kosovo and Albania was decided? How did it happen that Albania didn't end up in Yugoslavia, or that Kosovo didn't end up in Albania?
(- This SS Skënderbeu seems to be one reason why comunist Albania wouldn't want them nazis and why Serbs had a very harsh and crude relation with kosovars after taking Kosovo.)
.. sepse gabelo-shkito-avaro-srpët shkelën Marrëveshjen e mbajtur në Bujan në 31 dhjetor 1943 - 1, 2 janar 1944 në të cilen ishte vendosur që pas L2B viset shqiptare të gllabëruara padrejtësisht, nëpërmes terrori, masakrimeve e dëbimeve nga trupat agresioniste e kriminale të Beligradit (korrik 1913) të ribashkoheshin në 1 shtet shqiptar. 👋🏻
As a Briton, I always find the obsession with borders and territory that countries and people have when they’re located on continents. As an islander, borders are defined naturally and so politics are more simple. I believe it manifests itself with an obsession with race and belonging, and people in places as diverse as Norway and Hungary people are proud of their ethnic history more than islanders in some ways. You hear Norwegians whose family have occupied the same house for centuries, and that is across Scandinavia. I know a young Hungarian woman whose paternal grandfather was German and she claims to be German, not Hungarian. Considering they were all part of the Austrian Hungarian Empire (not all of Germany I know) I can’t really understand why this detail should be so important, but it is. Blood and soil are not to be ignored it seems, even in our EU inclined, pan-European modern world.
Britain committed numerous crimes around the world (starting on the neighboring island of Ireland) it outright theft and massacres of indigenous people will forever be a stain on the history of that septic country. Britain never contributed anything worthwhile to the countries they invaded and one by one they were force to leave. Incidentally Ireland was the first country and within 30 years the British empire was consigned to the dust bin of history where it rightly belongs.
In modern time Britain is a pariah state within Europe because of the stupidity of Brexit 😂😂😂
Sry, but this is very shallow mainstream history; that kind of discourse told dummies who then wash the comment section with nonsense like "serbs suffered a lot"... So many flaws, not worth a listening.
See sources below the video.
Who's Moozzlini?
lol
Thank you for this segment. It's the first thing I have ever heard about WWII in Albania.
👍👍👍
You should read about SS Handschar too. They also were formed by Albanians and Bosnjaks while using the Albanian legion insignia from WW1 under Austro-Hungary, showing their pledge to the Reich.
Albanians whenever they could they tried to exterminate and genocide their neighbours as their neighbours did. The first Balkan war was about that too, Albania pledging loyalty to Ottomans over the Balkans trying to exterminate Bulgarians, Serbs, Montenegrins and Greeks.
Ther are in kosovo not in albania
@@clintwestwood3539 and let me guess!! You have been gobbling up serb propaganda and washing it down with russian vodka!
How is it Albania pledging loyalty to Ottomans when 1389 in Kosovo battle is the last time Serbs fight on the side of the Christian coalition passing on the Ottoman side as vassals AND with a Queen for the Sultan Beyazid and another Queen for Sultan Murad II, undermining the crusades and strengthening their positions in Balkan with Ottoman help.
All this while Albanians resisted at least 25 years longer with Scanderbey until defeated after his death, and punished brutally by even banning the Albanian language to be used. They commissioned Turkish, Serbian and Greek schools though. Of course, they need more of the subdued race!! That's why you don't see much Christian population in Kosovo.. all turned serb and greeks for relief!
That's how you destroy a people and now that's how you hide your own dirt, by throwing as much trash as you can on the neighbor!!
Serbs have suffered for long time.
They did. Yet they also inflicted suffering on others, in the 1990s.
it is not true because they are albanians from kosovo... while in albania it was the communist party that led the war and fought the nazis... tell the truth don't lie
I don't understand this reply.
Fake fake fake, it looks like you are very pro serbian
You have no explaination. A sad reply.
You should ask jewish about Albanian in second world war, nice try though
?
@@HistoryHustleAlbanians saved more jews than any country in the world. The only country in the war to have more jews when WW2 ended that when it began. Just because albanians have risen against the atrocities done upon us by greeks,serbs and turks doesn't make us bad people and jews can testify our humanity and besa.
They succeeded. Kosovo Serbs are gone.
Nope, there is a minority living in Kosovo.
@@HistoryHustle Yeah, that's nothing. Only 50k.
There are still serbs in Kosovo and they will stay here. Our Republic of Kosova will protect them. Don't forget that there were several ethnic cleansings by Serbia, in todays Kosova and in todays southern Serbia. There was also a colonization program by which Serbs and Montenegrins were brought to Kosova while Albanians were expelled. That is history, forgive but not forget, because we need peace between our people in the future.
@@KingBeqa Our Republjik of Kosova will protect them, hahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahah. I mean, I understand brain damage, but this is another level. Come on man. Look, you destroyed Yugoslavia, and you have no right to say not even one letter, let alone sentence. You are responsible for all wars in Yugoslavia and for the all killed people. It was your fault. Don't pretend to be innocent sheep waiting to be slaughtered. It was your Kosovo Republjik in 1981 (even before that) that started the whole process of disintegration of Yugoslavia. So you can tell these fairy tale stories to 2 year old kids.
@@user-irj1nxa3cof2z Look kiddo, again tell these stories to 2 year old kids. Right now you are talking to the guy that saw everything with his own eyes. I don't need some general stupid quotes from Dobrica Cosic or Seselj or anyone else. I know the truth. You started all wars in Yugoslavia. Troublemakers, nothing else.
most of the albanians in the ss ( skanderbeg handschar) wore a specific fez known as the ss Albanerfez. other than that great video. could you make a video about the bali kombetar?
Its not fez,its called qeleshe or plis in kosovo.
@@rudolfb9359 i know but the germans called it like that
Albania was never a match in wars only a bit for the Ottomans, but they are Moslem loving Eagle showers, so again, there was no match even for them 😂
@user-jrl2giyavq0a as I said...a bit...and then became Moslems !
After the Byzantines, Serbs, Ottomans, Italians, Austro-Hungarians and Germans, the Albanians will one day say that they were actually the biggest thorn in the side of the US and NATO in the Balkans, as in all previous cases. Mark my words
Ok.
You are wrong because in all the previous cases Albanians were invaded without asking or deserving it. You expect albanians to comply with their invaders? We just want to be free and we owe US & NATO a lot, our freedom.
@@albarmy1 One question but answer honestly. Can Albania and Kosovo decide something that the US would oppose?
@@herzog1857.. përse u dashka ta kundërshtojnë ???!!!
Albania 4 Life
Ok.
stupid in this time, and to-day
Ok.
But at the WW2 VE celebration in France,, Germans and Albanians in front rows. Thats the new world order!
Please explain.
Are you in Colombia hahaha??😅😅😅 why talk about Albania now haha
Made thia video before I left. I am in Peru now 🇵🇪
Italians tried to blame Albanians for the setbacks in the Greco-Italian war. This is not true, it was because Italy simply didn’t properly prepare for a war in mountainous terrain just before winter.
It should be noted that the reason the Albanians committed atrocities against the Serbs is because for many many years Serbs committed atrocities against Albanians. In the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 over 25,000 Albanian civilians were massacred and in the 1990’s there was of Genocide of Albanians committed by the Serbs in Kosovo. And that’s just the tip of the ice berg.
Siege of Kruje 1450:
ruclips.net/video/657FHezjQlc/видео.html
You conveniently "forgot" to mention that albanians who were not indigenous to Kosovo but settled there by the turks after a failed uprise of Serbians around 1600 , using the ancient albanian recipe of affiliating to the superpower of each era (romans, venitians, turks, germans in WW2) in order to loot, kill and rape unpunished, did terrible things to Serbs for three centuries and stole their most emblematic and ancestral piece of Serbia. This of course doesn't legalize what they did later to albanians , but my friend history is not "black and white" and all "details" should be mentioned, no matter who much they hurt.....
Three centuries? Please don't make stuff up, that's beyond silly. Also Albanians didn't steal no 'ancestral piece' of Serbia. Serbs are descendants of the Sclaveni people who were 7th century settlers to the Balkans. On the other hand, DNA testing, linguists, and historians all agree Albanians are Paleo-Balkan people. What's more ironic is that a majority of linguists agree that it looks like the South Serbia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia is *PRECISELY* where the language evolved. None of these scholars are Albanians.@@odysseasntalias5950
@@eurech I will not debate you about modern albanians being palaio-balcans (Illyrians yes -modern albanians probably not) but originally they didn't live in Kosovo. Slavs (serbs) lived there from the 7th century and they suffered from the albanians from the moment turks settled them there after an unfortunate uprise against the sultan. This is a historical fact. So I am exact when I say that they suffered for three centuries. I don't want to insult you -in case you are albanian- but albanians have been recorded in the collective memory of all balcan nations as intruders , looters and killers , long before fake news and trolls were invented. Is true or not that Albanians always joined the local superpower of the area (romans, venitians, turks ) in order to , violently settle , attack and steal unpunished??. Even in WW2 they joined the germans , even formed SS regiments of very small fighting ability and terrorised the balkans once more....
Ca po thotë ky mor aman???
🤔🤔
It is called English.