Hoxha's European Hermit Kingdom - Cold War DOCUMENTARY

[@rhedosaurus2251]

The fact that Enver Hoxha made Albania even *more* isolated than North Korea is a strangely impressive feat.

[@showbizsam4440]

I wish he was still there. UK has a huge number of illegal Albanians, and there's an alarming level of organised crime involving them. I realise I shouldn't have to, because it's obvious, but I'll include the usual "not all".

[@Daniel-jk7pe]

​@showbizsam4440 all Albanians are in organized crime

[@joeshmoe8345]

*than

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

​@@showbizsam4440they would still be coming from Kosovo

[@nvelsen1975]

@@showbizsam4440 That'll be 6 years in HM's prisons for you then. I'm taking bets on whether the Labour judge strikes the desk with her hammer or her sickle as she announces your inevitable guilt. Also you're a transphobe and an islamophobe as well as being a reactionary capitalist agitator. All hail to Great Leader Starmer.

[@rsilkw2]

I spent roughly two months in Korce ( Southern Albania,) and some it’s neighboring villages up near Lake Orhid, and yea counted well over 100 bunkers alone - and it always floored me to hear how there were hundreds of thousand bunkers of all shapes, sizes and purposes in every imaginable place you can put one. My favorite was one in the middle of a playground painted as a lady bug.

[@rsilkw2]

@ I like it was an after thought to make it lady bug but very clearly a bunker.

[@andy99ish]

@RasVoja That is rather true for the Tetovo.

[@redwater4778]

They started building bomb shelters in every American city in the 50s.

[@chriskortan1530]

If you haven't already seen it, Rare Earth (Evan Hadfield) did a series on Albania. One was titled: The 750,000 Bunkers of Albania.

[@videonofan]

18:05 In France, there was even a "pro-Albanian" faction of the French Communist Party that split in 1979. And these guys still exist today!

[@Compulsive_LARPer]

Why did the two Trotskyist cross the street? To form three political parties.

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

​@@Compulsive_LARPerPeople's Front of Judea

[@casctober]

@@Compulsive_LARPerironically though, this is about a stalinist ML party split and not trotskyists, communists in general love splits it seems, look up how many maoist parties there are in Nepal, one thing is for sure communist parties love splitting and factional infighting

[@Kevc00]

​@@jeffkardosjr.3825 we're the Judean people's front, not the people's front of Judea.

[@HeathenDance]

@@casctober Communists love to spend their time in everything. Except actual WORK.

[@harryhanz1690]

I've been waiting forever for you to cover Hoxha.

[@aarondemiri486]

As someone of Albanian heritage abroad he is still reviled for what he did to our people decades after our people were freed from him.

[@FermentedOuroboros]

Some Albanians miss him

[@MrBleachfanboy]

Glad you guys do never let communism take root.

[@iverar]

He should be reviled. He was a garbage person and a maniac.

[@eaglempire_mapper]

​@@FermentedOuroborosYes, some brainwashed

[@zgemboadislic9350]

But today Albanians are most numerous and united then ever, despite having different religions. And look up the Yugoslavia.

[@Mark-yy2py]

I recall when I was a kid back in the 70s, my step dad was stationed in Southern Italy, and we would take a ferry to Corfu island - and from there, you had a great view of Albania- looked so empty.

[@id2888]

This talk of isolation and paranoia is exaggerated greatly by lazy journalists and politicians. Albania was very much part of the eastern communist block until late 1960s and many young people studied in Moscow and other European countries in the eastern block. After the dramatic breakdown in relationship with the Soviet Union and ending thier Warsaw Pact membership in 1968 (this was huge at the time) turned to China for support as western countries failed to offer support due to fear of the Soviet Union. Many people studied in China and the country economy was transformed rapidly and the army modernised. After relationship with China ended in 1978 Enver Hoxha himself approved the opening of talks with then known as Western Germany. In 1988, Albania became the first cooperation partner for Germany's bilateral development cooperation in South-Eastern Europe. Many Albanian students attended universities in France, Italy or Scandinavian countries. Yes, there was no freedom of movements and access to the country was restricted apart from few tourists and diplomats. However, it was the Cold War and things must be put in context. Albania was at the time the smallest country in Europe and was hostile to both Soviet Union and USA. Neighbours Greece and Yugoslavia at the time were both supported by US and Soviet Union. Both countries were hostile to Albania and attempted many times without success to overthrow Enver Hoxha.

[@giladpellaeon1691]

The bunkers bit is probably the best known fact about Hoxha's Albania.

[@twoheart7813]

As a teenager I remember listening to Albania radio on my shortwave radio, The English broadcasts were short but filled with enough propaganda to fill a lifetime:o). I seem to remember that Bulgaria was also considered a closed country at that time. Shortwave radio listening was very interesting during the cold war. I have lots of QSL cards from those countries.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

I remember Radio Tirana had quite a strong signal. I was listening to it in April 1985 when a lot of mourning music started - Enver Hoxha had died.

[@chrishenniker5944]

Radio Albania had a reputation for being very boring. I know PJ O’Rourke said communism bores people to death, but this takes the biscuit. If that’s what communism has to offer, boredom, then I prefer annihilation.

[@TheStarshipGarage]

Quite possibly the weirdest and most forgotten communist dictators. He single-handedly created the European North Korea.

[@nickmoser7785]

Actually the closest to European North Korea would be Romania because the dictator there actually like the dprk so much that he literally modeled his own country after it

[@OR-_-147]

I'm pretty sure the other guy takes that title​@RasVoja

[@redwater4778]

@RasVoja Pol Pot by media.

[@id2888]

@RasVoja You do know that Pol Pot was supported by US via CIA? You should tell the Cambodians that we will be friends with them. They are murderous thugs but we won't let that stand in our way. - Henry Kissinger

[@user-jb6fs8fr6y]

This show how little you know about North Korea

[@warrentrout]

I have traveled through all the Eastern block communist countries. Only Albania still has this very strange feel like a hangover from communism.

[@Gamesbozz]

Yeah but slowly and surely it is getting out of it

[@bletrick3352]

Nonsense take.

[@marcusott2973]

Albania is progressing at an unbelievable pace. I was 1998, 2005 and last year....the difference is staggering.

[@marcusott2973]

@RasVoja also just people and how life flows in the cities. I spoke to a guy who has a flooring company, he worked in Germany and the Netherlands for 10 years. Learned everything about industrial floor laying, saved money, bought used machinery at bankruptcy auctions. Started 5 years ago in Albania, now he has contracts for hotels in Corfu and Northern Macedonia.

[@jakef.7126]

@RasVoja Any mentions of the century of genocides against Albanians? The economic stripping of Kosova? The forced colonising of Kosova under Tito? The lack of higher education for Albanians? The 1968, 1981 and 1989 peaceful protests as Albanians were smeared, mistreated and neglected? The hateful propaganda under Milosevic? The firing of ethnic Albanian civil servants in the 90s? This is why Kosovans rose up. Kosovans peacefully and kindly asked for respect for decades. Serbs got karma.

[@zivkovicable]

My Dad was a football journalist and in 1967 he was one of the first Yugoslavs to visit Albania since1948 when Tito split with Stalin (& Hoxha). As soon as he landed at Tirana airport he was taken to have his head shaved by immigration police so as not to corrupt the Albania youth with his decadent hair style (it was already short). Yugoslavia won the football match, and as a reward some of the Yugoslav delegation were attacked by Albanian FA officials after the game. He wrote this up, but it was cut from final copy on the orders of someone higher up. Albania and neighbouring Yugoslavia were at opposite ends of the scale when it came to oppressive communist regimes. Crucially, if you didn't like Yugoslavia you could leave and even come back at will, preferably with a load of western currency in your pockets. Everyone had a passport. In Albania you needed written permission to leave your village.

[@redwater4778]

I was touring Europe in the early 80s Albania was not on any tourists maps.

[@alb0zfinest]

Ok permission to leave your village is definitely exaggeration lol. Albanians were allowed internally to go where they liked. Many would go to the beaches for summer, or organize hiking expeditions. People also listened to Italian radio, so again it was extremely repressive, but not like some people are saying here like in North Korea.

[@zivkovicable]

​@@alb0zfinest So you never heard of Residents permits, internal passports, or the confinement of "politically unreliable" citizens to rural areas...Anyone living in Tirana was a party loyalist...I'm guessing that either you are too young to remember or lived outside of the borders of Albania. .

[@albodomi1979]

Thats not true. Permision to relocate from a village or city, 100% true. That is why Tirana in 1990 had only about 200k people, while now it has about 1 million or more . People were not free for anything. A writer was hanged in Kukës just because he wrote about freedom. And it was in 1988. Google Havzi Nela You are either too young, or you think you are being a patriot by lying about the bad stuff@@alb0zfinest

[@albodomi1979]

Unfortunately it was like that, and even worse. But some of those paranoias and fear Hoxha had was also because of Yugoslav connections in Albania. Also the collaboration between Yugoslavia and Greece, where both wanted to divide Albania. It was the serbs who started the communist party in Albania and who put Hoxha in power. But still, Hoxha was a lunatic, and his effects in albanian society are still visible today.

[@Duececoupe]

I'm looking to the day when you make a video on the "Catalina affair", back in 1952! Excellent video, as always!

[@hans7856]

In the Netherlands, one of the most senior and respected members of the Green Left party adored Hoxha (as well as Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot). Note that at the time, even the Soviet Union - so beloved by him - publicly condemned Hoxha's crimes and insanity. He currently leads the Senate fraction of the party, always correcting and reprimanding others. I wonder how the Albanians who suffered Hoxha's regime feel about such a privileged career politician in the West living in luxury.

[@davidcharnes3623]

I have travelled in the Albanian countryside. The number of bunkers is incredible. They were one of the poorest countries in the world and yet they were devoting huge resources to bunker building. It makes one think that Hoxha was mad.

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

Like everyone really wanted to invade Albania

[@AnkitSingh-pz2ju]

Mad ? Aren't you understating Hoxha !!!!!!

[@Gamesbozz]

He was mad and more

[@user-od5yn8pu2l]

All communists are mad. It is the most self destructive ideology on earth, literally not a single example of success. It only attracts narcissists, psychopaths, and those riddled with self hatred. Hoxha was just the one who happened to take leadership position, but they are all the same. It does not matter whether Albania, soviet union, venezuela, cuba, noth korea. The ideology/cult of communism always strive to take the pride and dignity of its victims.

[@John_Pace]

Interesting. Militarily, those bunkers were USELESS death traps. To be effective, such bunkers need interlocking fields of fire to cover each other, but these bunkers were placed to deliver maximum fire at specific points like roads (because it looked good), leaving blind spots were the enemy could reach each bunker freely and without risk....

[@mrmayhem259]

Very informative video. I did not know some of the things you said here. Thank you and keep up with good work !

[@id2888]

The figure of 700,000 bunker is a myth. Only between 50 to 80 thousands were build. An Albania high ranking military officer during the cold war said recently that the costs of bunker buildingnin Albania during the cold war was less then buying five F16 planes or their equivalent MIG. He said it made perfect sense to build bunkers then buying expensive foreign war planes.

[@RobR4455]

Thanks!

[@yaldabaoth2]

Everytime my ears hear Comecon, my brain hears Comiccon.

[@garrettallen7427]

It’s the peoples comics comrade!

[@FH-hu5vn]

Stalin in a Sailor Moon suit.

[@richardalex4516]

Both meetings tend to smell funny

[@snapdragon6601]

Same here. 😀

[@jimtaylor294]

Comecon 🚫 Comicon ✅️

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

To David and the entire Cold War crew, it would mean a lot to me if you made videos on these following topics: - Argentina during the rule of Juan Peron. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about the unique ideology of Peronism, Peron's cult of personality, his economic policies, and how they all affect Argentina's politics, economy and society to this day. - The history of Thailand during the Cold War. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about the return of Phibun (who governed Thailand during WW2) as well as the numerous on-and-off military governments that governed Thailand during the Cold War. - Gastarbeiters (foreign migrant workers) in both West and East Germany. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how Germany's Turkish diaspora came into existence. - Indonesia's Chinese diaspora population. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how this influential community was affected by the governments of both Sukarno and Suharto. - The history of Quebec's Quiet Revolution. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn not only about how it led to the secularisation of Quebec's society and government, but also how it led to the emergence of a distinct Quebecois identity. - The history of Macau during the Cold War. That way, all your viewers and subscribers will learn about how Macau's Cold War history differs from that of Hong Kong.

[@marjus89]

This is the content why I love your channel! :) thank you for covering this topic.

[@raiden5176]

"You get a bunker! You get a bunker! Everybody get a bunker!"

[@HansLasser]

Bunker Friday: big discount

[@AIEnhanced-ts5ko]

They went bunkers

[@LavKoz]

The Illyrian connection is not "widely discredit." It is infact the most accepted theory on the origin of Albanians, with Illyrian names, toponyms, and tribes like Albanoi only having meaning in the Albanian language.

[@ΚλάιντιΛέτσι]

Yeah for life. Even muzaka the historian who wrote about skanderbeg said we are the descendants of illyrians. So this was believed always not only after hoxha rracqiri

[@Pap294-j4l]

😂

[@Abuamina001]

Its a truly sad story. The 2016 biography "Enver Hoxha: The Iron Fist of Albania" by historian Blendi Fevziu should be on every bookshelf.

[@alb0zfinest]

Absolutely not lol. It's not a serious work of history, it's poorly written melodrama. There are far better books criticizing the dictatorship without being absurd.

[@user-jb6fs8fr6y]

"by historian Blendi Fevziu".. 😅😅😅😅😅

[@dsnodgrass4843]

There's a lot of cultural context missing in most modern analyses of Hoxha's regime. Albanians are like Sicilians, or Corsicans; hard, insular, clannish, + prone to ruthlessness in conflicts big + small. Hoxha's rule both reflected that character, + constantly was defending itself against the nastier outbursts of that kind of culture, against + between clan-group + religious factions. That excuses 0 of its worst excesses, of course; but it does contextualize a lot about his "hermit regime". You don't last 40 years on top in a society like that by playing nice.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Some of his purges, notably of Mehmet Shehu, which extended to Shehu's entire family, somewhat resembled traditional clan feuds in Albania.

[@timsaliu2619]

Very insightful take and relevant on said topic

[@alb0zfinest]

This was only true in the beginning, when Hoxha basically killed every tribal chief. Later on though most of the repressive actions were not only justified but criminal. As for religion, Albanians although divided into 4 religions never really had intra-religious conflict. Every historian or random bourgeois traveler who documented their time in Albania even in the 19th century all commented on how contrary to its neighbors religion was not a point of contention for Albanians.

[@euphoriaggaminghd]

I am a Kosovo Albanian and to this day, there are still big differences between us and our brothers in Albania, particularly on the views of Hoxha. However, despite what westerners view of him, he is quite liked here, especially by the older generations. They mostly claim that he was the man who kept Albania alive

[@Barricade379]

And how do those old generations feel about family and friends being repressed, sent to hard labour or executed by Hoxha? I doubt that's called "alive" You can't keep the country alive if there are no people in it to represent the country

[@euphoriaggaminghd]

@RasVoja albanians never mass migrated from albania to kosovo, there was already much poverty in kosovo through the 20th century. Most albanians fled to Greece and Italy after communism ended.

[@Gamesbozz]

@RasVojano there was no massive influx especially under communist Albania lol

[@euphoriaggaminghd]

@RasVoja those gheg albanians have populated albania kosova and montenegro for millenia, they didn't migrate to yugoslavia.

[@bletrick3352]

@RasVoja They were always there you muppet. Kosovo was Albanian territory conquered by Serbia. In 1912 Serbian sources put the number of Serbs in Kosovo as being under 25% percent. Stop trying to erase Albanian presence in Kosovo. Cunt.

[@yegirish]

Great video, thanks!

[@chrisvickers7928]

When I attended the University of Toronto in the mid to late 70s the Marxist-Leninists used to poster the campus urging people to vigorously support the struggle of Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Communist Party. I was tempted, but never had the time or budget, to put up posters calling to vigorously support the struggle of King Leka and the Albanian Monarchist League.

[@komisossoutsidi5801]

I bet those people are now the ones who run Canada

[@snapdragon6601]

@9:05 - In the part of the video where he says "He decided to cut mid and high level bureaucratic salaries to make sure they were completely ideologically and commited to his vision." When has cutting someone's pay ever made them more loyal or more committed to the leader's vision of the future? 🤷

[@Numba003]

I've heard Albania joked about as being Europe's North Korea before, but I never really knew the history behind it. Thank you for another informative video. God be with you out there, everybody. ✝️ :)

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Hoxha was diabetic (apparently first diagnosed in the late 1940s - it is noticeable that he lost considerable weight around that time, though he was a bit on the chubby side for much of his life). In his later years he reportedly needed kidney dialysis, and in his last official portrait he is quite emaciated.

[@naponroy]

@TheColdWar You mentioned several hundred foreign nationals executed... can you comment on that? What were they doing there? What were they executed for? They weren't diplomatic staff I assume.

[@NobleKorhedron]

I second this Q.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

In 1957 a US Shooting Star was made to land in Albania by Albanian MiG-15s. The pilot, a Major Curran, was later repatriated to the USA but the jet is still on display in Albania. There were a number of other incidents, involving foreign aircraft. German, Yugoslav, Greek etc. Whether anyone was executed, I don't know.

[@dimamatat5548]

Will you talk about Ramiz Alia, the one who succeeded Hoxha and eventually democratized Albania?

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating.

[@Cybereagle4122]

Enver Hoxha created a real life Orwellian state. In the Museum of Leaves in Tirana which focuses on Sigurimi spy devices, some Albanian engineers invented a small microphone that they hid inside shoes and fake fruits. It’s bizarre.

[@Janandrea1477]

Judging from the fact they were Albanian engineers I'm guessing that super small extremely advanced spy microphone was created in 2012?

[@id2888]

@@Cybereagle4122 there was nothing made in Albania all purchased from abroad. I have visited museum and was nothing in there you don't see in any other museum in Europe.

[@brianrunyon266]

A very obscure Cold War figure, in my opinion. When able, see if you can cover Popes Paul Vi and John Paul 2's time in office during the Cold War.

[@the_Kutonarch]

7:22 There is no such thing as _"Outer Mongolia",_ there is only Mongolia, and the PRC occupied "Inner Mongolia".

[@boilingwateronthestove]

Hoxha is the weirdest man in the Cold War history. Like he was so paranoid that people would invade Albania, but let's be honest, who would have wanted that?

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

well, USSR, for example

[@altosh7]

Realistically speaking, Yugoslavia wanted to annex Allbania.

[@Barricade379]

@@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5 Mostly because he didn't do away with Stalinism like most of the Eastern Bloc did. So in a sense, this fear of invasion was by his own doing. You might say he feared himself

[@Floppedd]

Bruh u know nothing about history dont u ? Italy,greece and yugolslavia all wanted to invade albania

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

​@@Barricade379the USSR only invaded Communist countries that were democratizing (Czechosolvakia, Hungary), while leaving the authortrian Communist states who weren't very obedient alone (Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania).

[@AIEnhanced-ts5ko]

Realistically Hoxha was the embodiment of Albanian society of the time. Even today Albania is a bit weird, mostly rural in mentality country.

[@Janandrea1477]

​@RasVojaSerbs don't fuck goats mate

[@gGc-r6b]

not at all stop slav propaganda

[@evryatis9231]

The bunkers were anything but weird. You'd bet ukraine would be glad to have such an immense amount of concrete bunkers all over her current frontlines.

[@intelliGENeration]

Albanian landowners have still (in Dec 2024) not received their lands forcefully taken from them, since the Agrarian Reform.

[@karenbaisch2868]

For years at 332 West Hastings street in Vancouver there was an Enver Hoxha book store. I went in there a few times and it always was empty. I am amazed how long it stayed in business. The people working there felt Enver was the true perfect communist. I will admit it was a very interesting and odd vibe in the store. To this day I do not know how it stayed in business for years. I would love to know who was footing the money to keep the store open. I can tell you the workers were in love with Enver.

[@illeagleproducts4u]

I live here now. I cannot complain.

[@Mark-yy2py]

He was the Kim jong un of Europe.

[@geronimo8159]

Well, he didn't manage to establish a dynasty like the Kims did...

[@scotthunter7737]

More like Kim il sung. But neither of like each other

[@Barricade379]

You're two generations earlier though

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

More like Mao. Nicolae Ceaușescu was Kim Il Sung of Eastern Bloc

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

​@@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5Ceausescu did alot of trade and received investment from Western countires which Mao didn't do. I guess he's a mixture of Deng, Mao, and Kim

[@AlOfNorway]

Crazy as he was, in our geopolitical world he was nothing compared to what was out there. He saved Albania from being divided to Greece and Serbia. He pretty much saved the whole Albanian culture from being erased. Illiteracy disappeared, everyone was fed, the country was self reliant and could build anything it wanted. He gave Albania a possibility to exist and he also loved and put our heritage (our language) above religion and ideology. We mustn’t forget that Albania is a small isolated place to begin with but the superpowers always played around there. And the fight for existence still goes on today, in terms of history and existence on the Balkan Peninsula. Albanians consider themselves indigenous to the Balkans, so the Slavs have researched the Albanian language more than anyone else to disprove just that.

[@lorenzolocatelirossi]

Thank you. Very interesting.

[@David_Bower]

I'm guessing some way or another Albania must have had the ability to mount a fierce enough resistance to deter the Soviets, and certainly Yugoslavia, from using military force at some point, to bring Albania back into line. You could argue, from a Soviet perspective at least, that Albania wasn't geopolitically important enough, but that certainly wasn't the case with Yugoslavia.

[@id2888]

In actual fact Soviet Union had in Albania their biggest naval base in Mediterranean in the 60's. The breakdown in relationship forced them to leave Vlora's naval base living behind 4 submarines. The Italians were the happiest people on earth. Most people in Albania belive that the Cuban missile crisis avoided Soviet Union invasion of Albania.

[@shehansenanayaka3046]

I think he is a great and also an autocratic ruler. We always appreciate your hard work and dedication to make these videos. Albania is such a great country. Huge fan of you from Sri Lanka ❤️

[@peterchristian541]

There won’t be a Cult of Personality for Starmer because he hasn’t got one.

[@mrmr446]

Never a good sign when a country bans beards, this reminded me of travelling through Yugoslavia as a child and seeing across a lake Albania which my father explained wouldn't have allowed him entry for possessing facial foliage.

[@mojewjewjew4420]

There are many paralels to Romania during this period, which was more extreme in its North Korea esque? Also what were the relations between those 2?

[@markomarko2338]

Very interesting story. Main question that you didn’t pay attention to is what happened to Albanian military and security service personnel who were educated in China during 60’s and 70’s and what is their role in Balkan wars during 90’s?

[@phyarth8082]

The last Stalinist left are North Korea Ceausescu Romanian Stalinist of personality cult was gun down on publics TV. Hoxha's paranoid 70 thousands concrete bunkers are still present and is biggest tourist attraction in Albania, which consumed 60% all GDP and was more than Soviet Union expenditure on militarism. Ceausescu Palace of the Parliament 2nd most expensive government building after Pentagon which destroyed beautiful old city tissue of old Bucharest with small churches and narrow low-rise baroque style buildings, instead it has 8 lanes boulevard road which leads to marble building but is is ugly.

[@phyarth8082]

@RasVoja Mao was based on cult of personality, but today it is not. Same with Capitalists far-right Latin American countries Junta style Generalissimo uniform wearing "banana republics".

[@phyarth8082]

@RasVoja Stalin created cult of personality. North Korea, Mao China, Hoxha later Romanian Ceausescu being followers of that style. But it is not specific for communist's countries too. Capitalist (right wing ) countries also have their own cult of leaders: fascist Italy, nazi Germany and majority of Latin America junta style countries. For example Peronism in Argentina is the same meaning as Stalinism even they are on different party spectrum.

[@stukafaust]

More Hoxha content please.

[@libertyliberty6829]

Te be honest Hoxha was also a very skilled politican. He did finished some major projects in Albania of course with help of China and Soviets.

[@kylebritt1225]

Curious about Hoxha and his views/actions related to the future state of Kosovo with it's Albanian majority.

[@LukeSzczepaniak]

"voluntary" comment to appease the all mighty algorithm

[@timsaliu2619]

Hands down you win the comment section bud ! It works on a lot of levels, and no I won’t sacrifice my first born on that altar…..yet

[@alleshi5]

Not been on Hoxha's side but today may be on his side. Have look today people are loosing every thing from today politics selling even there country.

[@scotthunter7737]

I really enjoy these type of episodes i love couple of episodes covering. People like Ulbricht, bierut and rakosi. And episode covering kim ll sung personality cult.

[@domenicomiletti7366]

Enver Hoxha would have loved reddit

[@vladilenkalatschev4915]

Hoxha was a despot BUT during his dictatorship there were lots of achievements: - the population of Albania increased almost triple - the university of Tirana which was established - the question of the illiteracy was completely solved - Albania was electrified

[@Horde_of_the_Swarm]

It's a fascinating story that is often not told

[@MithunOnTheNet]

3rd poorest in the world? Wow, wonderful ☭ achievement!

[@HeathenDance]

LOOOOOOOOOOL.

[@Jonathan-d8d7i]

Oh and the fact that Hoxha's favourite comedian was Norman Wisdom only reinfores his reputation as Britain's unfunniest man.

[@Daniel-jk7pe]

Comic-con? 4:24

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

Comie-con

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

COMECON

[@inappropriatejohnson]

Is the Museum Of Atheism still there? I'd love to visit.

[@nvelsen1975]

16:51 "China doesn't follow marxism-leninism!" Meanwhile, in China "Hahaha, Deng Xiaoping's totally-not-capitalist-trust-us-bro economy goes brrrrr"

[@artur8434]

15:50 Widely discredited Illyrian descendent theory? Albanians and Albanian language are widely considered descending at least partially from Illyrians. This is not a newly hatched communist theory but studied well before Albania's independence. The rest of your content is questionable and hardly researched.

[@jaymudd2817]

He was always a foot note in Cold War history books.

[@caseclosed9342]

Stalin invited Hoxha to Comicon, Kruschev tried to cancel him…

[@christopherjustice6411]

Yo! The entire nation of Albania got to go to Comic-con thanks to the Soviet Union? What a bro move.

[@petershen6924]

What is crazy about Hoxha was how he deal with his supposed successor, Mehmet Shehu, who according to the official information, lost his life to insanity, and Hoxha subsequently rounded up the entire family, along with the killers in the national security department who did the dirty job.

[@id2888]

@@petershen6924 wait what? Is this your fantasy? Shehu killed himself.

[@kuukeli]

interesting video

[@ABC.947-y3i]

Without Hoxha Albania would become a 8th Republic of Jugoslavia or a northern part of Greece. You have to judge Hoxha not by 2024 opinions. But by the years of his rule.

[@chanpasadopolska]

People understand it very poorly. They call him mad for all the bunkers. Yet, they apparently don't understand how heated was the world, the region and how big blessing these bunkers would be for regular Albanians during real military conflict.

[@ABC.947-y3i]

@chanpasadopolska yes indeed And now the rest of Europe is clearing and maintaining the old bunkers because the Russian invasion of Ukraine... The only mistake Hoxha did (in my opinion) was the isolation from the outside world ,persecution of the intelektuals and the ban of religion....

[@eaglempire_mapper]

By his years of rule I can say worse things than in the 2024 opinion

[@ABC.947-y3i]

@@eaglempire_mapper and I can say a lot more good things .... Let's see who can say the truth and not the mythic legend's... 🫡

[@eaglempire_mapper]

​@@ABC.947-y3iCrazy how you love a psychopathic dictator...

[@command-pidd7979-WhiteBrown]

A channel called HistoryMatters has some videos on Albania 🇦🇱

[@andy99ish]

Strange that a man with such a religious name was anti-religion.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

His family belonged to the Bektashi version of Islam.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Despite the encouragement of non-religious names (Arben for example for men, Pranvera for women, the latter derived from the word for "spring"), people who already had religious names do not seem to have changed them, certainly in the case of Muslim ones - Enver Hoxha himself being a prime example.

[@andy99ish]

@@stevekaczynski3793 Thanks ! You seem to be a "Albaniologist". I wonder if there was a change of the Muslim convention of names into Western style (name & surname) as it was the case in Turkey under Mustafa Kemal ?

[@eaglempire_mapper]

​​@@andy99ishSurnames no, just during communism Slavic names like Bogdanovic, was changed to Bogdani (an "Albanized" form). But Albanian surnames, religious or no, weren't changed

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@andy99ish I read something about the place in Hoxha and Alia's time, but did not learn the language, probably vital to be a true Albania expert. I don't know how Albanian surnames were formed, and the fact that a significant number are Christians by origin would also complicate things.

[@BHuang92]

To this day, I’m still baffled at Albania’s decision at an alliance with China which really did not make any sense in a geopolitical stance!

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

Who he should have aligned himself with? United States? Hoxha liked Stalinism and he didn't want to be a marionette of Kremlin anymore, especially after Hungary-1956. And Czechoslovakia-1968 showed him that he was right and Brezhnev was no better than Khrushchev. Nothing baffling. He saw Moscow's national-communism for what it really was - Russian Imperialism

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

What baffles me more is what advantage Mao saw in the alliance.

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

@@Matt_The_Hugenot Nothing baffling here too - any ally is good ally, especially in Europe, especially critical of Moscow revisionism. Chinese tried to subvert Romania and Yugoslavia too

[@dr.nosborn6330]

​@@Matt_The_HugenotAs it was pointed out in History matters at the time China didn't have the vote on the UN, so Albania was its permanent presence in the UN (alongside other recently freed colonial nations)

[@dr.nosborn6330]

Plus, yeah they saw the thaw that was happening in Moscow and they didn't want any part on that.

[@jonahartistdavis1858]

Enver hoxha is a legend an icone. He educated and build a country in record time, the rest is trash .

[@YiannissB.]

Shortly after the fall of Albanian Communism, countless of Albanian immigrants came to Greece. The stories they told of their lives and authoritarianism there were unheard of; most knew that communist countries lacked freedom, yet Albania was much, much worse.

[@crak6776]

History of 20th century Albania🇦🇱 Friendship ended with Italy, now Tito is my best friend. Friendship ended with Tito, now the USSR is my best friend. Friendship ended with USSR, now China is my best friend. Friendship ended with China, now bunker is my best friend. Friendship ended with bunker, now ponzi scheme is my best friend. Friendship ended with ponzi scheme, now Mercedes is my best friend.

[@eaglempire_mapper]

More like from 1945 to 1999, not all 20th century I'll tell you the history for the 20th century 1. 1900 (2nd League of Prizren)-Ottoman, stop these attacks immediately! -I will crush you! (Battles happen) -OK, we [Albanians] surrender... 2. 1905 -NOO, OUR CITY SHKODRA...😭, WHAT AN EARTHQUAKE! 3. 1907 3a. -Young Turks we support you, you will give us autonomy! -Thank you, Albanians! 3b. -Young Turks, YOU BETRAYED US! YOU DIDN'T KEEP YOUR WORD! WE WILL REVENGE! 4. 1908 4a. -We have a language, but we don't know with what alphabet to write it🥲 Let's meet in Monastir (Bitola) YES, WE NOW HAVE AN ALPHABET! THE LATIN ALPHABET! 3b. -You Ottomans give us autonomy or else... -Else? -(Uprising starts)... OK we [Albanians] surrender... 5. 1910 -Ottoman, take this! 🔪 -You again?!!! -(Albanians surrender) 6. 1911 -Ottoman, we Albanian highlanders declare UPRISING! -Not again... (Uprisings happens) -We [Albanians] surrender, but we will strike you again in the future! -That wasn't easy... 7. 1912 7a. -We will never stop until we get AUTONOMY! UNTIL ALBANIAN LANDS BECOME UNITED! WE DECLARE NATIONAL UPRISING! OTTOMAN, YOU WILL PAY FOR 5 CENTURIES OF OPPRESSION! -Allah, why??? (Uprisings continue) We [Ottomans] surrender... Four Albanian vilayets will unite and create an autonomous Albanian state...😫 -YAY!!! (Meanwhile Serbia, Greece and Montenegro: No! The Greater Albanian state will be created, we won't allow this! War to the Ottomans! First Balkan War starts) 7b. No! Balkan League is invading our lands! Our lands which we won by blood! We won't allow this. Change plans! No more autonomy, INDEPENDENCE! On 28th November, our leader Ismail Qemali declares independence in Vlora! Our government is formed on 4th December! 8. 1913 8a. We will fight in the London Conference for our rightful lands!! 8b. The British...🤬! 40% of Albanians are left outside our borders 😭 8c. We now have international recognition. 8d. -Thanks Greece, for returning Southern Albania! -Don't thank me! I was forced to cede Northern Epirus! I will get it back! 8e. -We ethnic Greeks declare the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus! -You...🤬! 9. 1914 9a. Why did you resign Ismail Qemali😭? We now have a German prince, Wilhelm the Wied. 9b. -Essad, please Essad, don't... -I, Essad Pasha Toptani, declare the Muslim Republic of Central Albania! Everything against Wilhelm! We want a Muslim prince! 9c. -My country is collapsing 😢 -Take this Albania!!! I said I will get Northern Epirus! -.... Do as you wish Greece...😭 9d. Wilhelm the Wied flied from here...WW1 started...Italy and Montenegro is starting to invade me...I, Albania, officially collapse! 10. 1915 Italy invaded my beautiful Vlora😭, Montenegro is bombing my candle of culture, Shkodra, oh no! Serbia is invading me to be saved from Austria-Hungary! What a mess... 11. 1916 Italy invaded Southern Albania, also got the real Southern Albania from Greece, Austria-Hungary invaded the north... My people are sometimes supporting Entente, sometimes the Central Powers...I'm really separated... 12. 1918. ENOUGH WITH THIS!!! WE DECLARE UPRISINGS IN ALL ALBANIAN LANDS, IN AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN AND ITALIAN OCCUPATIONS! END SEPARATION! LONG LIVE ALBANIA! 13. 1919 You, Essad!!! You s.. of a b.....! You killed AVNI RUSTEMI! HE WAS THE ONLY HOPE FOR US TO REGAIN INDEPENDENCE IN THE PARIS CONFERENCE! Now we're going to be split between Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy😫. Uprising will continue everywhere!!! 14. 1920 -Thank you USA! You are my best friend, you're the independence keeper, you're the legend!! President Woodrow Wilson supported the Albanian delegation in the Paris Conference, Albania got independence again!!! We must be bigger than this, but at least we are independent with the 1913 lands😄 15. 1921 YUPPY!!! Essad 🔪 Pasha is no more! 😊 16. 1922 16a. Meet with our new leader: Ahmet Zogu is now the Prime Minister of the princeless Principality of Albania! But there are clashes between him and a pro-Western, patriot and poet named Fan Noli. 16b. American-Albanian diplomatic relations started! 17. 1923 Will stability ever come...? Fan Noli becomes the new prime minister! Ahmet Zogu is not allowed to come to Albania, he flew to Yugo. Fan Noli starts to implement democratic and Westernisation policies. But faces opposion from feudals, beys, and land owners. Wait, it's not the end of this political instability! 18. 1925 18a. I feel scared! Ahmet Zogu comes armed, supported by Yugoslavia and overthrows Fan Noli. 18b. Ahmed Zogu proclaimed our FIRST REPUBLIC! He becomes President and promises modernizations. 19. 1927 President Zogu ends the good relations with Yugoslavia and starts to cooperate with Fascist Italy... He makes the Albanian Bank under Italian protection... I feel that bad things will happen in the future...🫤 20. 1928 20a. Ahmed Zogu abolished the 3 year-living Republic, and makes us a Kingdom! WOW! A Kingdom! The makes himself the only monarch of Albania and Albanians. He was sworn in front of both the Qur'an and the Bible! What a great act! 21. 1934 Under his Monarchy, we are becoming more and more developed. Better infrastructure and better education, also war against analfabetism. Great! But...these were mostly Italian money...I feel that we are unofficially becoming a vassal of Italian Fascists. 22. 1938 Ahmet Zogu marries with a Hungarian princess, Geraldine! May both have a prosperous life! 🙏 23. 1939 23a. Ahmed Zogu and Geraldine have a child, Leka Zogu! Happy birthday to him! 23b. Italy...Italy... They sent us an ultimatum about us becoming their protectorate without war. A great thanks to the Albanian parliament which was categorically against the Ultimatum! The ultimatum was refused! Great patriots!...Or worse thing will happen to our fatherland? 23c -Hello, Albania! My glorious army is in you port city, Durrës. Think again before we start the invasion! -Italy🤬, we should have never trusted you! We will never make our country a gift for you! -😂 So sad, because your King already left you. -What?? -So it's war, let's not lose time! -You will pay for this!!! Maybe not, now but you will! (Italy invaded all Albanian for 5 days and some hours). 23d. Italy establishes the Italian Protectorate of Albania, with King Victor Emmanuel III as king of both Albania and Italy. Mussolini called us like we made a personal union with Italy, voluntarily, but that is just propaganda! 24. Enough until this point. 10 likes for the other part until today

[@konst80hum]

For the glory of the algorithm!

[@100domathon]

Who is Shannon Woodcock and what does she even have to do with Albania?

[@id2888]

I'm an Albanian and until 1994 I thought Hoxha's bunker building was mad until I visited Switzerland. It was a shock, their bunker building paranoia made Albania a joke. Every house in there had a bunker and their Alps are full of tunnels with ammunition. Who was to invade Switzerland? Not even the Germans during WW2 bothered. I then visited France and other European countries museums and read about their attomic bombs and their cold war propaganda wich was bizarre. They were advising thier childrens to hide under the table during an attomic strike. Im now convinced that Albania did not do anything bizarre or stupid that other countries did not do during the cold war. By the way Enver Hoxha bunkers were very helpful during the Kosovo war and will be helpful again if Russia decides to strike Europe since Albania is a NATO member.

[@stopinjorancestuaj]

First of all, Hoxha, in 40 years, made a giant positive to change to Albania In only 40 years: From 1.1 million population to 3.3 million. He completely dissappear analfabetism He completely electrified Albania in every metter square. He built everything from zero, and the best of the best, he denied religion. He was alone, isolated from the world, but let me ask you a question. For how long can your country survive nowadays in total isolation? 1 week? Albania survived for decades, and you know what? Peoples were happy, and stress didn't exist. Homeless people didn't exist, and unemployed people also didn't exist. The apartments were for free, now you should all your life to buy one. The food was 100% bio and people were strong. Even fat peoples didn't exist.😂 Everyone lived in harmony with their family and relatives. It has arts, sports, military, culture, and development. What Hoxha did have done in 40 years, Albania had never seen in the last 500 years. P.s. From the declassified documents of USA, only CIA failed more than 100 attempts to kill Enver Hoxha, which was "paranoid." If you calculate military attacks from Greece and Yugoslavia, he was just smart enough. Thanks for the video.

[@robscovell5951]

Those Thug Life glasses at 1:23 lol

[@ianblake815]

Albania was like the Turkmenistan of Europe

[@chrishenniker5944]

Why couldn’t Albania have someone like Lee Kuan Yew, who can give the country throbbing gristle?

[@thorthewolf8801]

Comic con? Arent you talking about the comintern?

[@Kawauso21]

COMECON = Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, the Soviet answer to the Marshall Plan: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comecon

[@АлександрСизоненко-с9б]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comecon

[@qZbGmYjS4QusYqv5]

Comintern was dissolved by Stalin in 1943

[@thorthewolf8801]

@@Kawauso21 I see, I know the organization by a different name, KGST. Thank you for the clarification!

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

Commie-Con

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

Hoxha, far better liked by ethnic Albanians in neighbouring countries the by his own people. Incidentally the History of Everything channel just did a video about the adventures of the exiled Albanian crown prince. In person not a lot different from Hoxha.

[@WenceslasHolec]

So it was only European Maoist country before Romania?

[@kitanowitsch]

Please change that font!

[@bulqizafotovideo8602]

He was the best for Albania I'm born in communism but I like him the best of the best🇦🇱🇦🇱😊

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

Enver was bonkers for bunkers .

[@neversaynever9709]

there was build 173000 bunkers not 700000

[@europeanlover]

800,000 bunker were build in 29,000 square meter and today one bunker cost about 7-8000$ so this is what was build ! Albania was 99% green energy (hydropower ) and Albania military reserves were 200 MIG , and about 7-8milliard $ military reserves !

[@id2888]

Is a myth, only 70,000 were build.

[@Barricade379]

Hoxha was good at one thing, imitating others. First Stalin, then Mao until finally he combined the two and basically called it Hoxhaism Creativity was obviously not his strongest suit

[@Nathan-jh1ho]

Image if he added Pol Pot in the mix

[@kwc0435]

​@@Nathan-jh1ho oh god

[@Josef-v8i]

That would be a nightmare of extreme proportions.

[@Monatio79]

Hoxha's flip flopping went as follows: 1. Supporter of Yugoslavia. 2. Supporter of Stalin's Russia on anti-Yugoslavia grounds. 3. Supporter of Mao's China on anti-"revisionist Soviet" grounds. (During the late 1970s, Albania was one of few nations which had diplomatic relations with Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. ) 4. Supporter of Soviet Union/Vietnam when the latter invaded Cambodia, this time on anti-China grounds. No wonder Albania had no friends.

[@HeathenDance]

LOL. Creativity and Communism, not exactly the perfect match.

[@michaelcutler5538]

B U N K E R B O Y 👁️👄👁️

[@SomePotato]

One bunker per 4 citizens. Not bad, not bad.

[@Hillbilly001]

Watched another video on this character. As my British friend's would say, he was a complete bellend.

[@skipperson4077]

old joke in National Lampoon (humor magazine) re: Hoxha's Albania: Welcome to Albania We have no Women here Now go home!!