Dear friends and supporters,/On August 17, 2018 a newspaper in Albania published my letter to the Mayor of Tepelena of July 12, 2018 concerning the so-called Memorial on the Tepelena Extermination Camp project.
A copy of my original letter in English is here:
https://bit.ly/2vQTPoP
Since the article was published in Albania, I have been contacted by many friends and supporters who have expressed their solidarity with my position. Others expressed concern that my letter to the Mayor of Tepelena has been misinterpreted by some, for their own purposes, making clarifications by me necessary to avoid any confusion about my message and its purpose. There is no question that the Communist government in Albania was one of the most repressive, dictatorial regimes in history and that it carried out a policy of systematic persecution and repression of its political opponents and the people at large in Albania.
I am fully aware of the immense suffering, horrific torture, inhumane conditions, and systematic persecution of the people of Albania during the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha, and I support the idea that memorials should be built on important prison sites in Albania so that the past horrors inflicted on the people by the communist regime after World War II are never forgotten. Respecting and honoring the victims of communism in Spaç, Burrel, Lushnje, Maliq, Kruja, Tepelena, etc. serves a good public purpose which I fully support consistent with their affordability and other pressing priorities in such poor areas.
But, comparing Communist repression in Albania with the Holocaust, or any prison or internment site in Albania with Auschwitz, is completely wrong and, to my mind, unacceptable. Nothing can be compared to the Nazi Holocaust and the programmed extermination of the Jewish people. And no camp or prison in Albania can be compared to the incredible scale of horror of Auschwitz, where almost one million Jews were systematically gassed and incinerated.
Finally, attaching the “Auschwitz” label to the Tepelena internment camp creates the false impression that Jews were killed in Albania. In reality, Albania is the only nation in the world that saved every Jew who either lived in Albania or sought refuge there during the Nazi Holocaust. This unique and proud history between Albanians and Jews should leave no room for misrepresentation or confusion.
Sincerely, Joe
Hon. Joseph J. DioGuardi
President, Albanian American Civic League
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