Xhem Hasa

Xhem Hasa
Xhem Hasa(centre) with his brothers, Musli Hasa(left) and Abdullah Hasa(right)
Commander
Personal details
Born 1908
Simnica, Gostivar, Ottoman Empire
Died May 6, 1945
Unknown
Nationality Albanian
Occupation Soldier
Religion Islam
Military service
Allegiance Briefly the Royal Albanian Army, Balli Kombëtar

Xhemail Hasani (1908, Simnica, Gostivar - May 6, 1945), aka Xhemë "Xhemo" Hasa–Gostivari, was in charge of the Balli Kombëtar activities in western Macedonia.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Xhem Hasa grew up in a poor family with many children. During his childhood, up until his early stages of adulthood, Xhem worked as a farmer on his family's farm. The Hasa family experienced at first hand the cruelty of the Serbian regime. It was through this experience which led to Xhem leaving the life of a farmer and becoming a soldier.

Royal Albanian Army

Xhem left his home in Simnica and went to Albania to join the Albanian army. In the Albanian Army, Xhem was sent to the south of Albania to fight in the front line. His involvement helped Albania retain its borders and stop the advancement of the Greeks. For his success and brilliance in the army, King Zog promoted him to Army Officer of Albania.

World War II

With the onset of World War II, Xhem returned to Gostivar in 1941. In Gostivar, Xhem gathered Albanians from around to form a group of fighters. With his army, Xhem Hasa liberated Gostivar. In the autumn of 1943, Germany occupied all of Albania after Italy was defeated. The Balli Kombëtar made a deal with the Germans and formed a ‘neutral government’ in Tirana which continued its lav Partisans]].[1][2][3][4]. Xhem Hasa and his battalion was incorporated into the Balli Kombëtar. Hasa's victories in battles led him to being the Commander of the Balli Kombëtar in Macedonia. Xhem's Ballists, as well as the other Balli Kombëtar units from other Albanians, liberated the rest of the Albanian-populated lands. This resulted in the unification of the Albanians and forming a greater Albanian state.

However, both Yugoslav and Albanian partisans casually harassed the ballist forces. When Maqellarë, midway between Debar and Peshkopi, was recaptured by the Fifth Partisan Brigade, the Germans with the assistance of the Ballist forces of Xhem Hasa launched an attack from Debar, defeating the partisans[5]. Fiqri Dine, Xhem Hasa and Hysni Dema as well as three German Majors directed Millitary campaigns against the Albanian and Yugoslav partisans[6]. Hasa was a close acquaintance of Mefail Shehu and would often send troops from Gostivar and Tetovo to aid him.

Death

The Yugoslav partisans faced difficulty when fighting with Xhem Hasa. This resulted in the Yugoslav partisans in bribing a close associate of Xhems to assassinate him. On May 6, 1945, Xhem Hasa was killed by a close associate. It has been rumored that the associate was his brother in-law.

Legacy

Xhem Hasa was one of the most well known Ballists in World War II. Enver Hoxha, Communist leader of Albania, had a great dislike of Xhem Hasa and the Ballists of Gostivar and Tetovo[7]. After the break up of Yugoslavia, a statue of Xhem Hasa was erected in Gostivar.

References

  1. ^ Richard Morrock The Psychology of Genocide and Violent Oppression: A Study of Mass Cruelty
  2. ^ Philip J. Cohen,David Riesman. Serbia's Secret War: Propaganda and the Deceit of History. Texas A&M University Press, 1996 ISBN 9780890967607, p. 100.
  3. ^ Nigel Thomas,Peter Abbott. Partisan warfare 1941-45. Osprey Publishing, 1983, ISBN 9780850455137, p. 27: "Balli Kombetar, however, preferred German rule to Italian and, believing that only the Germans would allow Kosovo to remain Albanian after the war, began to collaborate.".
  4. ^ Tom Winnifrith. Badlands, borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania "Balle Kombetar, strongly Albanian nationalist, Muslim and at times pro-German". Duckworth, 2002, ISBN 9780715632017, p. 26:
  5. ^ Owen Pearson. "Albania in the twentieth century: a history, Volume 2". http://books.google.com.au/books?id=JWppAAAAMAAJ&q=Xhemal+Gostivari&dq=Xhemal+Gostivari&hl=en&ei=FdhDTo2PBM3trQfpvuDTBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 
  6. ^ Owen Pearson. "Albania as dictatorship and democracy: from isolation to the Kosovo War". http://books.google.com.au/books?id=D4wx7kQp4bgC&pg=PA228&dq=Xhemal+Gostivari&hl=en&ei=FdhDTo2PBM3trQfpvuDTBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Xhemal%20Gostivari&f=false. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 
  7. ^ Enver Hoxha. "The artful Albanian:memoirs of Enver Hoxha". http://books.google.com.au/books?ei=oA1EToDEFqbimAWbyaC6CQ&ct=result&id=TaC4AAAAIAAJ&dq=Xhem+Gostivari+enver&q=#search_anchor. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 

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