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Arnold Zable shared Accidental Talmudist's photo.
Arnold Zable shared Accidental Talmudist's photo.
A story to be told and retold and
spread far and wide
When the Nazis invaded Yugoslavia in
1941, Moshe & Ela Mandil fled with their two children, Gavra and Irena.
They reached Tirana in Muslim Albania,
where Moshe found a photography store owned by his former apprentice,
Neshad Prizerini.
Neshad invited Moshe's family to stay in
his home.
When the Nazis invaded Albania, Neshad's
17-year old apprentice Refik Veseli undertook a long and dangerous journey by
mule, leading the Mandil family to his parents' house in the mountain town of
Kruja.
The Mandils hid during the day while
their children mingled with the Veseli kids. Some time later, Refik's brother
Xhernal brought another Jewish family from Tirana - Ruzhica and Yosef ben
Yosef, and Yosef's sister Finica.
The two families stayed with the Veselis
until the liberation in 1944. Toward the end of the Nazi occupation, partisan
activity intensified, and the village was often bombed and searched by the
German occupiers.
Fortunately, the Veselis and their
guests escaped harm.
After the war, the Mandils returned to
Yugoslavia, and Moshe reopened his photography shop. Refik continued his
training under Moshe's supervison, and their families remained close.
In 1987, Yad Vashem recognized Vesel and
Fatima Veseli and their children Refik, Hamid and Xhemal as Righteous Among the
Nations - the first Albanians so recognized.
Gavra Mandil wrote, "In those days,
when danger and death were all around, the small and brave Albanian people
proved their greatness! Without any fuss and without asking anything in return,
the Albanian people performed the elementary human duty and saved the lives of
their Jewish refugees."
The remarkable assistance afforded by
Muslim Albanians to the persecuted Jews was grounded in Besa, a code of honor.
Besa means literally “to keep the
promise.” One who acts according to Besa is someone who keeps his word, someone
to whom one can trust one’s life and the lives of one’s family. It is estimated
that 600 to 1800 Jews, as well as many non-Jews were saved under Besa, as a
matter of national honor by the brave people of Albania.
Forgotten heroes remembered every
Thursday at Accidental
Talmudist.
Learn more about the Veselis and the
code of Besa:http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/stories/veseli.asp
Image: The Mandil and Veseli families in
Kruja
