Albania is a small European country tucked away in the Balkans but for forty odd years from the end of the Second World War its people suffered under one of the most brutal regimes in modern history.
Liberals cherish freedom and liberty, if you want to look for an example of the opposite authoritarianism with a capital A it could be found in Enver Hoxha’s Albania.
In his excellent book Blendi Fevziu paints a graphic picture of a nation in the grip of fear.
Hoxha’s rise to power was in many way accidental, he was handpicked to lead by a representative of the Yugoslav Communists sent to assist the Albanian partisans in the fight against the Axis powers.
Once secure Hoxha stayed at the top by using terror in all its forms.
Torture, execution and murder were used against anyone seen to be an ‘enemy of the people.’
Internal exile was another favoured method of persecution.
Periodic purges of the ruling Communist party were also carried out, so even those who thought they were on the inside were not safe.
Their families were also targetted for persecution.
As years went by the regime became totally isolated following disputes with first Yugoslavia, then the USSR and finally China.
The coup de grace was a declaration in 1967 that Albania was officially an atheist state meaning more repression of a population already firmly held in check by fear.
Hoxha was helped by the fact that his country was one that the major powers were not bothered about.
British and American troops based there at the end of World War Two departed at the seccession of hostilities leaving the field clear for the Communists.
Albania was not even mentioned let alone discussed at Yalta. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin had bigger fish to fry.
When he died in 1985 Hoxha left an impoverished country totally sealed off from the outside world.
The regime collapsed in the early 1990s after the fall of the Berlin wall and a more democratic nation has slowly emerged.
Fevziu’s book is a difficult read at times because it pulls no punches in its description of what was a nightmare period for Albania.
I will keep it on my bookshelf as a constant reminder of how frightening Stalinist rule actually was in practice.
More importantly I will continue to do everything I can to protect and enhance the freedoms we often take for granted.
Enver Hoxha The Iron Fist Of Albania by Blendi Fevziu is available here.
* David Warren is a lifetime political activist for progressive causes and a liberal.