Memory Days '22

Dear friends and colleagues,

We have the pleasure to invite you to save the dates 17–26 February 2022 of the 7th Edition of MEMORY DAYS.

MEMORY DAYS is an annual activity that aims to keep alive the social debate and the memory of the consequences of the communist regime in Albania. It has been conceived and organized by the Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture (IDMC) in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), since October 2016. Every year there is a certain motto. The focus of the 7th edition will be on the myths about communism that prevail to this day.

The totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century widely used political myths to legitimize their power and their policies including crimes and persecution. In communist countries, myths about World War Two, a genial leader, party as incarnation of historical wisdom, glorious achievements, internal and external enemies and the new communist man – to name just a few examples – were pervasive.

In Albania, communist mythology has found and still finds especially favorable conditions: a pronounced bizarreness and radicalism of the communist regime both in terms of ambitions to transform socio-economic conditions and ideologically indoctrinate society, a stark discrepancy between aspirations and reality, a dramatic post-communist transition including severe political and economic crises etc.

In this context, the 7th edition of MEMORY DAYS under the motto "Communist Myths in Albania, before and after the System Change" aims to illuminate a crucially important, broad and understudied topic. We are honored to announce the participation of the well-known anthropologist, Prof. Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (UK), as keynote speaker at the opening ceremony on 17 February 2022. For other guests we will inform you in future announcements.

During the MEMORY DAYS, IDMC and KAS, in cooperation with other actors in the field will offer to the public activities, such as: exhibitions, documentaries, scientific conferences, artistic installations, study visits, etc. We are interested in exploring all sorts of aspects of myths and their interaction with post-communist memory and debates.

We continue the tradition of previous editions, inviting all organizations and institutions operating in the field of memory: public and non-public institutions, museums and local memory initiatives, institutions dealing with the past, associations of former political persecuted, study centers etc. participate in this edition by submitting their proposals for activities and projects that can be carried out alone or in collaboration.

Your proposals can be emailed by 30 September 2021 to mirela.sheraj@idmc.al or office@idmc.al.

Or by mail to::

IDMC – Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture

Bardhok Biba St., Trema Bldg.
Entrance A, 11th Floor
Tirana, Albania

1st Day, 17 February 2022: MEMORY DAYS Opening Ceremony

7th edition starts with the "fall of the myths"

MEMORY DAYS' opening ceremony took place on Thursday. The event at "Skanderbeg" Square had several special guests, friends of the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture, partners and ordinary citizens.

Jonila Godole, Director of IDMC delivered the opening remarks. Mrs. Godole reminded the audience of the work and contribution the Institute is making for several years in the field of remembrance and stressed that eventually MEMORY DAYS have been extended and activities have become more diverse. The importance of commemorating victims is one of the most important issues these days. Mrs. Godole expressed gratitude for the presence of the young generation, which is a target group always in the focus of IDMC's work. During the MEMORY DAYS, the main goal will be to address the main issues that IDMC has identified during its work with former persecuted and former political prisoners.

Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) has also made great contributions in the field of memory, said Mr. Tobias Rüttershoff, head of the Foundation's office in Albania. He talked about idealisms and nostalgia for the Communist regime and emphasized the significance of knowing the historical truth. Speaking about a phenomenon that we often come across, which is remembering the "benefits" of Communism, Mr. Rüttershoff noted that one shouldn't forget that Albania at the end of the Communist system was the poorest and least advanced country of all of Europe, perhaps even of the world. The intention of these days of memory, he continued, is to break down the myths of Communism, increase public discourse and civil society activism.

Mr. Alex Hupin, the representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania, was also invited to the first MEMORY DAYS ceremony. He said that memory and reconciliation can come in many forms, but the focal points are truth and justice. "Understanding the past is a responsibility that should not be avoided, because facing the past enables the younger generation to move forward for a better and more meaningful future," noted Mr. Hupin. Sharing personal experience, he referred to the European Union, an organism that was born as a product of the ashes of the wars and dictatorships of Europe, because the past had to be known and faced. He stressed the contribution that each of us has in restoring the scientific history of the country.

"Everyone has to play their part, starting from the public authorities, the former persecuted, the media, the artists, the civil society etc. We have to talk about the unresolved issues of the past. The European Union has been and will be in support of these voices and this important mission."

The event was also greeted by Mr. Marek Mutor, President of the European Platform of Memory and Conscience (PEMC). IDMC is part of the Platform since 2016, including MEMO, the Institute for the Study of the Crimes of Communism and Kujto.al. This platform has strongly supported the important cause of memory and political persecution, through various exhibitions and publications.

Mr. Mutor began by emphasizing his coming to Albania as a representative of 66 organizations working in the field of memory. The purpose of the PEMC is to remember the crimes committed, to remember the victims and to administer justice. He stressed his support for the Decommunization and Justice Petition initiated by IDMC in Albania. According to Mr. Mutor, the reason why it should be strongly supported is primarily related to the existence of such a difficult Communism in Albania, one of the harshest in Europe.

"Justice and remembrance are a prerequisite for a democratic and functional society. I am here too because the history of Albania is part of the history of Europe and it should be better known."

A message for the cleansing of society from the Communist myths came through the artistic performance by DoART. It preceded the important moment of the launch of the Petition in Albania for dealing with the past and the historical memory. Its signing was accompanied by the showing of video and support messages by various figures, scholars, professors, persecuted and young people.

2nd Day, 18 February 2022: The Conference

"Communist Myths in Albania, before and after the System Change"

The international conference "Communist Myths, before and after the System Change" included dozens of scholars and participants interested in transitional justice and beyond. Session I opened with a greeting under the moderation of Mrs. Jonila Godole, Director of the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture, along with the representatives of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Mr. Mauro Puzzo and Mr. Marek Mutor, President of PEMC.

Mrs. Godole stressed the importance of curriculum review as an unaddressed issue 31 years after the fall of the Communist regime. This process must be taken seriously in order to decommunize society in the 21st century, she noted. At the same time, Mrs. Godole asked for support for the new petition being addressed to the Albanian Parliament, for a complete legal package to do what hasn't been done in over three decades.

"Through academic research, open and genuine debate and the genuine involvement of civil society, we can help heal the wounds that the country has inherited from the heavy burden of the communist past."

Mr. Puzzo added that "despite the structural progress, the mechanisms of transitional justice that deal with the past and dispel the myths of the Communist regime in Albania should be further strengthened."

The conference continued with the remarks of the keynote speaker, Prof. Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, a social anthropologist at Bournemouth University.

"It is quite different when it comes to memories of lived history. The plurality of memory, instead of hardened and formalized memory, can be part of the democratic landscape. Yet the memory of Communist Albania seems deeply divided and often antagonistic to outside observers."

Mr. Enis Sulstarova addressed the first panel with the political myth of resistance through Ismail Kadare's novels. Mrs. Anjeza Xhaferaj focused on the phenomenon of volunteer work and the myths created in Socialist realism literature. Mrs. Inis Shkreli referred to the co-authored work with Mrs. Zhaneta Gjyshja on the instrumentalization of archeology and ethnology under Communism. Mrs. Rovena Vata talked about Communist myths in songs, analyzing the volumes "For the Party of Mountain Eagle". The panel was moderated by Prof. Dr. Valentina Duke.

In the second panel Mr. Çelo Hoxha delivered a lecture on the issue of the existence of the Albanian Communist Party (PKSH) in theoretical and legal terms. He argued that in 1941 there weren't the necessary conditions for the establishment of a Communist Party, as envisaged by the principles of Marxist theory, because the proletariat was lacking. The absence of the proletariat meant the absence of the bourgeois class, which, by owning the means of production, created the working class. In the absence of both classes, class antagonism was lacking. Consequently, the PKSH, Hoxha argued, was a subsidiary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (administered through Yugoslavia). In legal terms, Mr. Hoxha argued that the PKSH was illegal from its inception until the fall of regime.

Following the panel was a paper by researchers Egin Ceka and Doan Dani on the myth of the parasite. Mrs. Mrika Limani presented her study on the perception of Communist Albania and Enver Hoxha by Marxist groups in Kosovo. While Mrs. Isabel Strohle brought in the analysis "Enver Hoxha's Albania as Imagined and in Policies of Socialist Yugoslavia". The panel was moderated by Dr. Klejd Këlliçi.

During the coffee break, researchers Ardit Metani, Ardita Dylgjeri and Irgen Xhyra, Aris Dougas Chavarria, Etleva Cani, Ines Stasa, Irena Gorica, Nuredin Nazarko and Vojsava Kumbulla exhibited their art works.

The third panel, which consisted of the myths of Communism after the fall of the regime, was moderated by Prof. Merita Poni. The three papers were by Mr. Artan Hoxha with his work on the demystification and reproduction of communist myths in post-Socialist Albania. Dr. Këlliçi spoke about the Martyrs' Cemetery and the moving of human skeletons of the heroes and non-heroes martyrs in post-Communism. The panel's final paper was by a group of scholars on the narrative of shared suffering, a psychological study of the role of communities in Communist crimes.

The conference continued with a speech by the second keynote speaker, Prof. Lavinia Stan. She explained the 5 main myths. The post-Communist transformation in Central and Eastern Europe sought to confront the horrors of the Communist past as much as to establish a sustainable democracy for the future, and to address social and economic issues. Regardless of the method chosen for the implementation of transitional justice, such as lustration, court trials, access to secret files, restitution or keeping properties as places of remembrance, Eastern European countries share a number of myths related to their policy of memory. Rather than being coherent systems that explain reality, these myths and beliefs have foundations that go beyond logic, and so it is unlikely that the evidence provided could break their pseudo-cognitive immunity. These myths touch on a range of simplistic assumptions, presuppositions and arguments, which have served as the basis of transitional justice policies, of the public debate on the usefulness, legitimacy and feasibility of the process, and as the framework for research papers on the subject.

• Myth 1: Political justice is political revenge
• Myth 2: Justice is unnecessary
• Myth 3: Justice is only about blame
• Myth 4: Guilt is collective
• Myth 5: Spies were more to blame than party officials
  

Central and Eastern European societies have tended to regard political secret police agents as more cruel and guilty than Communist officials, although evidence shows that the nomenclature acted as the brain orchestrating the torture, oppression, and intimidation exercised by the secret police muscle. Throughout the region there was considerable interest in opening the documentation collected by the political secret police, but not so much interest in the Communist Party archives, which were opened to the public only in specific cases. Some local analysts have focused their attention on the similarities between the intelligence activity undertaken by the Party and the secret police, and have argued that the Party gathered information on members and candidates through secret informants in operations similar to those of the secret police. According to these researchers, the secret police archives should be supplemented with party archives for a clearer picture of the espionage and denunciation activities, cooperation or patterns of resistance associated with them.

It is difficult to pinpoint the reasons leading to the conviction of undercover agents rather than communist party officials, but the secretive nature of their work may be an plausible explanation. Moreover, Eastern Europeans admit that even among spies there was a degree of guilt, where part-time collaborators taken from all walks of life were more punishable than full-time officers. In the command hierarchy party officials decided on the general framework within which the secret services operated, full-time officers implemented the party program and selected specific methods to translate it into reality, while part-time informants gathered the necessary information for blackmailed and intimidated dissidents. The smallest details, i.e. part-time informants, are those ingrained in the public mind. They were closer to the victims and did their secret work from undoubted positions as relatives, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. While in some cases officers were acquitted on the grounds that they were doing their job, part-time informants were unanimously denounced for their hypocrisy and willingness to betray those they trusted. The more the victims trusted the informants who secretly spied on them, the more surprised and disappointed they were when they learned the identities of the spies.

5th Day, 21 February 2022: "Faces of the Dictatorship"

Exhibition shows over 160 former officials responsible for installing the Communist regime in Albania

The Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture (IDMC) and the Institute for Research of Communist Crimes and Consequences (ISKK) opened the "Faces of the Dictatorship" multimedia exhibition on Monday, at former dictator Hoxha's Villa 31 in Bllok.

More than 160 individuals pictured in the exhibition are responsible for the decisions that violated human rights, the repression and the terror caused by the Communist regime in Albania. They are members of the Politburo, the highest executive body of the PPSH; directors of the State Security (Sigurimi); judges, prosecutors, investigators, heads of internal affairs' branches and Sigurimi officers, prison and camp commanders and commissaries.

"This wall is smaller than it should be, and I hope it will be completed with other photographs and documents. We wanted to open the exhibition in this place specifically because it is here these officials decided the fate of the people. In the context of our Petition for Decommunization and Justice, we want this building to turn into a special museum on dictatorship, to serve the young people who have no account of the Communism period," said Dr. Jonila Godole, executive director of IDMC.

From ISKK, Dr. Çelo Hoxha noted: "What this exhibition shows is very little if we consider how broad and invasive were the crimes committed by the dictatorship for 50 years."

The exhibition is supported by the German Foundation Konrad Adenauer. Its office's chief in Albania, Dr. Tobias Rüttershoff, emphasized: "We should never forget the victims. They spent many years of their young life there, and were not able to enjoy the youth but instead had to work hard in the labor camps. It is them who we support and we also remember the people who did not survive."

Bulgaria shares a similar experience under Communism. The Ambassador of Bulgaria to Albania, Momchil Raytchevski, our special guest on this occasion, said that societies like ours that suffered under the totalitarian regimes, are now discussing less about it.

"The past is very often forgotten, often deliberately. But we should not talk only about the victims, or only about those who issued the orders and the perpetrators or those who executed the orders. We should talk about the whole complex!"

Secretary Gjergj Marku from the Anti-Communist Persecutees' Association, asked that places of special memory from that dark period of Albania transform into museums, like the Prison of Spaç, the Prison of Burrel or Tepelena's internment camp.

"The youth that are here today, you must preserve them so you can remember the evil of that old system. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a paradox, because the people who made the dictatorship then, they want to build democracy now."

The exhibition opened with wide participation, from former politically persecuted people, to ambassadors, representatives of international organizations such as the UN, UNDP, media, students and more.

6th Day, 22 February 2022: The Documentary

Screening of the German documentary "When Mom Goes to Work Early"

The life of women in Communism was the main subject at the "When Mom Goes to Work Early" ("Wenn Mutti früh zur Arbeit geht") documentary screening on Tuesday.

The event was part of the MEMORY DAYS, and was organized by the Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship in collaboration with the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Albania. German ambassador Peter Zingraf held the opening speech.

Following the documentary screening, human rights activist Elsa Ballauri in the role of the moderator was joined in a discussion by the Federal Foundation's Director Anna Kaminsky and Prof. Nevila Nika.

7th Day, 23 February 2022: New Publications and ISKK Documentary

New books "Vademecum Albania" and "Lest We Forget"

On Wednesday we had a book presentation as part of our MEMORY DAYS. "Vademecum Albania" is a guide to archives, research institutions, libraries, associations, museums and sites of memory from the dictatorship period in Albania.

"Vademecum Albania" is edited by Dr. Jonila Godole. It was made possible through cooperation between the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany and the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture.

The book was presented by Dr. Sabine Kuder, head of the Public History Department at the Federal Foundation, and its two researchers Brisejda Lala and Oriada Dajko.

Further, the Institute for Research on Communism Crimes and Consequences (ISKK) presented a series of new publications from various authors. The panels were moderated by the Institute's chairman, Dr. Çelo Hoxha and by author Luljeta Lleshanaku. Researcher Ergys Mërtiri from ISKK showed his documentary "Architecture in Communism".

You can re-watch the discussions and the discussions via IDMC's Facebook page.

The dictatorship and the Communist regime in Albania have left deep impressions on the victims who are still among us. This was evident in the personal stories of Ylber and Shpresa Merdani, or in Viktor Martini.

They were invited in the context of MEMORY DAYS to convey messages to the younger generation so they can learn from their tragic past in order not to repeat it. Their stories are summarized in the book "Lest We Forget". The new edition brought together the Merdani couple, journalist Fatmira Nikolli and school curriculum expert Fatmiroshe Xhemalaj.

"Lest We Forget: Memory of Totalitarianism in Europe" is a practical book for European high school students. The aim is to educate the younger generation about the importance of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democratic societies.

The second edition was made possible by the Platform of European Memory and Conscience (PEMC) in collaboration with the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture.

The event was welcomed by Polish historian Łukasz Kamiński, former President of PEMC, and President of the Association of History Teachers, Vojsava Kumbulla.

In the end, the guests became the last visitors of the exhibition "Faces of the Dictatorship". The exhibition remained open for three days at Villa 31, the former villa of dictator Hoxha in Bllok, featuring photos and videos of over 160 men and women responsible for keeping the Communist regime in Albania alive through repression, persecution, violence and terror.

8th Day, 24 February 2022: "Memory Places: Challenges and Initiatives"

Discussing memory places in Albania and other post-Communist countries

On MEMORY DAY 8 we talked about remembrance in Albania and Europe.

Jonila Godole, the Director of the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture (IDMC), chaired a round table with local and foreign officials.

The participants discussed "Memory Places – Challenges and Initiatives" centering on the future of prisons, internment camps and the houses of the former persecutors in Albania and abroad.

The opening speech made mention of the difficult situation Ukraine is going through due to Russian aggression. "What we feared has unfortunately materialized," Mrs. Godole said.

Daniel Schuster, the head of Vienna Office at Austrian Service Abroad, was the first to address the meeting.

He referred to the Austrian experience with regard to memory places, and gave the example of the birth house of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.

"Hitler's house must turn into a 'house of responsibility'. It should be used as a global center teaching other on individual responsibility, democracy, antisemitism."

Polish historian Łukasz Kamiński noted that failure to build remembrance museums on Communism is not only an Albania, but a European problem as well.

"If you try to imagine our landscape of memory without museums in the former Nazi camps, it is hard to tell the history of the Nazi without the camps, without preserving such places. And we are doing exactly this thing regarding the history of Communism."

Kaminski, once President of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, commented on the "Faces of the Dictatorship" exhibition which was jointly opened this week by IDMC and ISKK at dictator Enver Hoxha's former villa in Bllok.

"I think from a European perspective, this place gives us a very unique opportunity, if there is space to discuss, if there is a chance to turn it into a museum. Because we are focusing on the buildings of the former secret service, on the prisons, and what is missing? The Communist Party which orchestrated the whole system!"

The round table can be re-watched via IDMC's Facebook page.

9th Day, 25 February 2022: "Memory as a Mission"

IDMC and our local partners on Friday had several local activities under the motto "Memory as a Mission". The cities of Korca, Berat, Kucova, Lezha and Saranda were the last stops outside the capital marking the closure of MEMORY DAYS.

Lezha

The meeting in Lezha at the HANA Youth Center was coordinated with the Anticomunist Association of Political Prisoners - Lezha's branch, with Chairman Mr. Anton Kolziu and its Secretary, Mr. Bardhok Ndreca. Mr. Gjergj Leka participated in the discussion as a former political prisoner from an early age. Internment or imprisonment for political reasons during the past communist regime can only be imagined by today's young people. In their minds many questions arouse. What was isolation like back then? Why sometimes grandparents still talk about nostalgia for communism? What happened to the families of those convicted by the regime?

Co-sufferers, parents and schoolchildren spoke openly about the suffering in dictatorship and the importance of remembrance, the values of democratic principles that young people must protect so that the past does not recur.

Berat

"Drita e Dijes" high scool in Berat organized the "Remember Not to Forget" activity. Many students prepared brochures, paintings, presentations on the most sensational events of the period 1945–1991, and recited the poems of Havzi Nela. They gave messages on the importance of democracy and memory about the country's historical past.

Kucova

Meanwhile, a group of students and their teacher Anduela Dhimitri from the "5 Tetori" high school conducted a study trip to the former women's prison in communist times. Mrs. Dhimitri introduced young people to new facts they did not know, despite living in Kucova. Some of them even had their house near the prison. After the visit, a further training focused on the local history of the city of Kucova.

Korca

The "Korca Remembers" exhibition, organized by IDMC, aimed to bring to the memory of Korca citizens the names of intellectuals and patriots, peers and former colleagues of dictator Hoxha, who fell victim to his revenge. He, on charges of "agitation and propaganda", interned and executed the most prominent intellectuals and true patriots of the Albanian nation. The portraits of 25 such victims, who were once friends of dictator Enver Hoxha, appeared at the exhibition. Prominent Korca philanthropists experienced judgment, persecution and internment for the sole reason they were wise, businessmen and visionaries. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held in Korca's main square, in the presence of former political prisoners, students, representatives of the municipality of Korca and Maliq, etc.

Saranda

In Saranda, high school students met at the community center in the village of Mursi, where the guests included Lol Gërbura and Kozma Gogo, two former political prisoners who at the same time had their fathers serve sentences in the communist prisons of Burrel and Spac. Students had the chance to listen to personal stories and about others persecuted in Mursi. Finally they visited the Memorial built in the center of the village.

Tirana

A short feature feature film "Planting of Trees", written by Ylljet Aliçka, directed by Fabio Seferi and produced by Mateo Cingu was screened as part of MEMORY DAYS. A panel discussion followed in the presence of Ylljet Aliçka, Fabio Seferi, Fatmiroshe Xhemali (historian, school curriculum expert) and Hektor Ruci (a professor at New York University in Tirana).

The film tells the suffering of those imprisoned under dictatorship. The story of a young man who suffered and lost his life due to the communist rule, came true in a short-length film played by prominent Albanian actors, such as Luiza Xhuvani, Roerd Toçe, Kastriot Çaushi, etc. The protagonist in the film was renowned actor Gulielm Radoja.

10th Day, 26 February 2022: MEMORY DAYS Closing Ceremony

Commemorating the victims of the Communist dictatorship in Albania

IDMC closed the MEMORY DAYS 2022 with commemorating the victims of dictatorship in Albania.

The "Light Memorial" was accomplished by IDMC in collaboration with the Dutch psychologist, Janneke Geurts. Attendees were given the symbolic opportunity with a candle and a message on paper to reflect on February 26, 1951, and on those who passed away early in life. In the massacre of February 26, the writer Manush Peshkëpia was one of the 22 intellectuals shot without trial by order of the Central Committee of the Party of Labor of Albania. While Gëzim Peshkëpia, his son, was persecuted at that time. He appealed from "Skanderbeg" Square for the erection of a memorial in Tirana, so that the descendants of the victims of the dictatorship can finally have a place to commemorate them.

MEMORY DAYS opened on February 17 at the initiative of the Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture with the invaluable support of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Albania and with the participation of many partner institutions. We also thank the countless citizens that took part in our activities.

For 10 days, former political persecutees, scholars, young people, teachers and citizens learned facts about Albania's past under dictatorship. Communism violently restricted the beliefs of society, religion, culture, democracy and the freedoms of Albanians.

MEMORY DAYS will return in 2023 and we hope as a society will be more aware of our dark historical past.

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