Branko Kadia, Jordan Misja and Perlat Rexhepi

On 22 June 1942, the Albanian student trio of Branko Kadija, Jordan Misja and Perlat Rexhepi, who stayed in Misja's house at Firaj Street in Shkodër (at the time part of the fascist Italian protectorate of the Albanian Kingdom), were for several hours surrounded by Albanian (fascist) forces and police, numbering some 600 people. The three young friends were members of the Communist Party of Albania, which was established on 8 November 1941 and had begun with smaller detachments of 5-10 people which engaged in various acts of sabotage to the Italian forces, including antifascist propaganda in order to gain support of the masses.[1] After an air bombardment,[2] they rushed out of the house and managed to kill many of the quisling soldiers, but were shot down and instantly killed.[3][4][5][6][7] The three were proclaimed People's Heroes of Albania for their act,[6][7] and they are collectively known as the Three Heroes of Shkodër (Albanian: Tre heronjtë e Shkodrës).[8]

A legendary epic, one of the most heroic episodes of our [Albanian] national liberation struggle

— Academy of Sciences of Albania on the Three Heroes of Shkodër[9]
Branko Kadija
Born1921
Shkodër
DiedJune 22, 1942
Shkodër
NationalityMontenegrin/Albanian
Occupationstudent, Albanian resistance in World War II
Political partyCommunist Party of Albania
Awards Hero of the People
Jordan Misja
Born1913
Shkodër
DiedJune 22, 1942
Shkodër
NationalityAlbanian
Occupationstudent, painter, Albanian resistance in World War II
Political partyCommunist Party of Albania
Awards Hero of the People
Perlat Rexhepi
Born(1919-10-25)October 25, 1919
Vajzë, Vlorë
DiedJune 22, 1942(1942-06-22) (aged 22)
Shkodër
NationalityAlbanian
Occupationstudent, Albanian resistance in World War II
Political partyCommunist Party of Albania
Awards Hero of the People

Jordan Misja was a painter.[4] Kadija and Misja belonged to the Orthodox community of Shkodër, which at that time there were a few families, which all belonged to the same social level.[10] According to Serbian sources, both Misja and Kadija were ethnic Serbs (see Serbs in Albania),[8][11] and their surnames were originally Misović (Миcовић) and Kadić (Кадић). Jordan Misja, a nephew of the hero bearing the same name, has rejected the latter claim and said that an ancestor had come from the suburbs of Elbasan, and the surname Misja has not changed its form while being spread throughout the Elbasan region. Perlat Rexhepi was an ethnic Albanian, originally from Vlorë.

Legacy

The "Perlat Rexhepi" partisan battalion from Shkodër operated in the Gjakovë highlands in 1943, and assisted the conference of Albanian and Yugoslav communists in the same year.[12]

Several schools, streets and other buildings have been named after the three individuals.

  • In 1946, the first middle school for art, the "Jordan Misja Artistic Lyceum", was opened in Tirana, with the branches of music, figurative arts and choreography.
  • Jordan Misja High School, in Shkodër
  • Prison 313, also known as "Jordan Misja Prison", in Tirana
  • Branko Kadija Street (Rruga Branko Kadija), in Shkodër
  • Perlat Rexhepi Street (Rruga Perlat Rexhepi), in Tirana
  • Perlat Rexhepi agricultural enterprise

See also

References
  1. Albania at war, 1939-1945 Bernd Jürgen Fischer Edition illustrated Publisher C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1999 ISBN 1-85065-531-6, ISBN 978-1-85065-531-2 p. 127
  2. Opat 1969, p. 310: "Perlat Redžepi, Branko Kadija a Jordan Misja — v obklíčení oddílům karabiniérů a fašistické milice. Dům. ve kterém se bránili, byl dobyt teprve po leteckém bombardování."
  3. Pearson 2006, p. 198: "In Shkoder three students, Perlat Rexhepi, Branko Kadia, and Jordan Misja, were surrounded in a house by a large force of troops and police. They rushed out of the house, killing many of the besiegers, but were shot down and died instantly"
  4. New Albania 1971, p. 5: "The news spread like wildfire that hundreds of fascists had surrounded painter Jordan Misja's house on Firaj Street. Inside were Jordan and two clandestine comrades: Perlat Rexhep and Branko Kadia. Hundreds of fascists were deployed to ..."
  5. Maksutovici 1995: "Baricadaţi într-o casă, tinerii Perlat Regepi, Branko Kadia şi Jordan Misja au rezistat în mod eroic atacului a peste 600 de carabinieri, agenţi de poliţie şi miliţieni fascişti."
  6. Frasheri 1964, p. 285
  7. Hoxha 1984, pp. 173-174
  8. Burovic, K. (2011-01-23), "Doprinos Srpsko-Crnogorske manjine u istoriji Albanskog naroda", Novinar Online, Sva Albanija posebno poznaje Perlata Redžepi, Branka Kadića i Jordana Misju, afirmirani kao Tri heroja Skadra (Tre heronjt e Shkodrës)9), koji su 22.VI.1942. godine poginuli sred Skadra, a boreći se u okruženju protiv italijanskih fašističkih okupatora. Sami su Albanci njihovu borbu do poslednje kapi krvi okarakterisali kao „epope legjendare, një nga epizodet më heroike të Luftës sonë Nacionalçlirimtare”(Legendarna epopeja, jedna od najherojskih epizoda naše Narodno-oslobodilačke borbe”)10), koju su opevali i u pesme. U toj veleslavnoj epopeji samo je Perlat Redžepi Albanac. Branko Kadić (1921-1942, posle rata progašen za Narodnog Heroja) i Jordan Misja su pripadnici srpsko-crnogorske nacionalne manjine.
  9. AKADEMIA E SHKENCAVE E RPSSH – FJALOR ENCIKLOPEDIK SHQIPTAR, Tiranë 1985, p. 641
  10. Pipa 1978, p. 156
  11. Sanja Lubardić. "Život Srba u Albaniji, Razgovor sa Pavlom Brajovićem, predsednikom Udruženja Srba u Albaniji" [Life of Serbs in Albania, Conversation with Pavle Brajović, President of the Association of Serbs in Albania]. Pravoslavlje, 996 (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 2014-04-13.
  12. Pearson 2006, p. 315

Sources

Further reading
  • Bushati, Sitki (1997). "Ata ranë për t'u pavdekësuar :[Perlat Rexhepi, Jordan Misja, Branko Kadija]". Ushtria Dhe Koha. - Nr. 47, 21 Qershor, 1997, F.6 (in Albanian).
  • Blerimi, Gentian (2004). "Drita dal' ka herë..." : [kënga për tre heronjtë e Shkodrës]". Fllad. - P. 2, 2004, P. 2 - 3 (in Albanian). Shkodër.
  • Llazari, Vasil (1964). Jordan Misja : dëshmor i luftës nacional-çlirimtare (in Albanian). Tirana: N.Sh. Botimeve "Naim Frashëri,".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.