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‘SARA AND I were like sisters.’ — Family of Xhevat & Aferdita Gyergjani.
‘MY MOTHER SCOLDED the Gestapo.’ — Edip Pilku.
Exhibition paints a picture of Holocaust’s unsung heroes By Qainat Khan newsroom@riverdalepress.com
‘ALL JEWS are our brothers.’ — Beqir Qoqja.
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‘MY PARENTS were brave and were never frightened.’ — Hysref Binxhuiu.
‘THESE PEOPLE were no strangers.’ — Hasan Rema Xerxa.
t a time of hostility and distrust between many Jews and Muslims, the Manhattan College Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Center reminds us of the heroic acts of a Muslim nation sheltering Jews from the predations of Nazi Germany during World War II. BESA: Muslim Albanians Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust, is on display from now until Dec. 15, and comprises photographs by Norman Gershman of Albanian Muslim families and their descendants who sheltered Jews during the German occupation of Albania. Besa is an Albanian ethical code that translates “to keep the promise.” It is a code of conduct that unites all Albanians, regardless of religion. “If there’s a knock, no matter who, they have an obligation to take care of that person,” Mr. Gershman explains. Mr. Gershman traveled to Albania, photographing the Muslim families who saved Jews. The photographs show some who still have the possessions of Jewish families they sheltered. Many of the Jews left for Israel leaving behind their precious things — prayer books, religious objects — with the hope that they would return for them at a safer time, which never came. The vicissitudes of history have not been kind to the Balkans. As soon as the Germans were defeated, Albania was absorbed into Communist Yugoslavia, religion was outlawed and communication with the outside world became a crime. Many families lost touch with their Jewish friends and had their loved ones imprisoned. While there are many instances of individuals hiding Jews throughout Europe, in Muslim Albania families adopted Jewish families into their own. Remarkably, even the government participated in the effort, providing fake documents to Jews who had fled to Albania in search of shelter. Baba Haxhi Dede Reshatbardhi, the leader of the Bektashi Order — an Islamic sect — remembers the
Albanian Prime Minister at the time, Medi Frastieri — who was also a Bektashi Muslim — saying “All Jewish children will sleep with your children, all will eat the same food, all will live as one family.” Mr. Gershman’s black-and-white photos force the viewer to make eye contact with the subjects, to contemplate their faces and their acts of kindness. One of the most stunning photographs and stories is of Hasan Rema Xerxes, who was a young man during the Nazi occupation. His family had many Jewish friends with whom they did business. When the Germans came, Mr. Xerxes arranged transport and shelter for them. Mr. Xerxes was arrested by Yugoslavia’s dictator, Josip BrozTito, and imprisoned for 15 years. In prison, a rabbi gave him prayer beads, which he holds in the photograph. “If you hold them up to the light, you can see a flower in each bead,” the placard reads. “These beads kept me alive during the long years of confinement. They are precious to me.” Something that unites all the subjects, all the families, is the ease with which they describe their decision to shelter Jews. Mr. Xerxes asks “How could I not save Jews? I felt their suffering.” Baba Reshatbardhi explains, “We Bektashi see God everywhere, in everyone … There cannot be discrimination. If one sees a good face, one is seeing the face of God.” For Mr. Gershman, the Albanian ethic of Besa is unlike anything he had ever experienced. “This is the story that we are our brother’s keeper,” he said. “This is how we can save our world.” An official opening reception will take place on Thursday, Oct. 11, at which Mr. Gershman will be present. Several lectures have been planned to coincide with the exhibit. On Thursday, Sept. 20 and Tuesday, Oct. 23, Holocaust survivors will speak about being sheltered by Albanian Muslims. For more information, e-mail or call Mehnaz Afrididi, the director of Manhattan College’s Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Center, at mehnaz.afridi@manhattan.edu or 718-862-7284.
‘THERE ARE NO foreigners in Albania, only guest.’ ‘SAVE THEM AS you would save your eyes.’ — — Drita Vesli with a portrait of her late husband, Family of Rexhap Hoxha. Refik Vaseli.
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ROSH HASHANAH TO THE RIVERDALE COMMUNITY