– Comrade Enver Hoxha, May 10, 1945 –
(Given by radio and published in the newspaper “Bashkimi”)
People of Albania,
The great day of victory, for which we shed so much blood and made so many sacrifices, has come. Hitlerite Germany was defeated, and it has surrendered unconditionally. The war in Europe is over. When from heroic Moscow Marshal Stalin gave the world the magic that over Berlin shines the red flag, the victorious flag of the Soviets, all peoples felt relief and I personally breathed easier. The great anxiety that had squeezed the people’s hearts for years disappeared along with the nazi swastika. On this great day of joy, we turn our heads and see in what great catastrophe fascist Germany had thrown Europe into.
Never had the world seen an enemy that assaulted humanity with such ferocity and barbarism as Hitlerite Germany. The power of darkness covered Europe in blood. The Nazis, the greatest criminals history has ever seen, like wild beasts, slaughtered, massacred, tortured, killed and plundered mercilessly. These human-faced beasts, representing the darkest medieval barons with modern military art and the newest means of warfare, decided at all costs to crush the world of progress to establish their barbaric laws. All of Europe drowned in blood under the weight of German iron and fire. In the West, the people of Great Britain stood unwavering, in Moscow, in the Kremlin, Stalin’s genius shone and saved humanity, across the Ocean, the great American people poured their anti-fascist fighting potential into the balance of the war. The strong alliance against this aggressive fascism became a reality. The great and glorious army, the Red Army, shattered the Hitlerite armies one after another. It completely overturned the situation. Marshals, generals and officers of the Stalinist school thwarted the enemy’s diabolical plans and led the great Soviet peoples’ army to victory. Their victories were the victories of progressive humanity, they were our victories. Alongside the Soviets, the Anglo-Americans made their invaluable contribution.
In blood-soaked Europe, we, the oppressed peoples, also shed blood, but we did not break; under indescribable terror, we held high the flag of resistance and never lost faith in victory. For victory, we sacrificed everything: we were killed, burned and destroyed, but we always marched forward to break the chains of slavery. Our war was superhuman because it was unequal; our war was magnificent, although at first we were poorly armed and ill-prepared. Our contribution to the great cause of humanity is immeasurable, for with spirit in our teeth and with courage we climbed the Calvary[1] and, taller and stronger than ever, we reached the apotheosis of victory.
In this fierce war, the Albanian people stood at the forefront, just as they stand today alongside all peoples who fought fascism. Our country, with its heroic army, struck the enemy, bloodied it and expelled it from our Homeland. Our people won freedom, secured independence, established democracy, and today, confident in its own strength, it strides boldly towards progress and prosperity. Our people, who have suffered immeasurably, are more determined than ever to erase every trace of the dreadful past; they are determined to uproot all fascist and pro-fascist remnants that may exist in our country; only thus can we move forward on the path of peace and reconstruction. In this, we are more than convinced. Our main task is to strengthen our power and our army, the true defender of the rights we won with blood.
Today, at the height of joy for this great victory, the Albanian people, just as it remained faithful to the great anti-fascist alliance during the war, will remain faithful thereafter to the defence of peace; just as it threw all its forces without reservation into this war for liberation, it will also mobilize all its forces and raise its voice to win all the rights it justifiably deserves and won with blood. It is our right, based on the contribution we have made in this war, to speak our words and claim our place in the United Nations. We demand this boldly in the name of the forefathers for whom this war was fought, and in the name of the forefathers upon whom the peace of tomorrow must and will be based.
Long live the alliance of the great anti-fascist alliance!
Long live the glorious Red Army!
Long live the Albanian people!
Long live our heroic army!
Glory to the martyrs who fell on the battlefield for the liberation of the Homeland!
Note
[1] The hard way.
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