NEW YORK & KOSOVA–The Albanian American Foundation and the Kosova-Israel Friendship Association are pleased to announce the official opening of The Wall of Honor, modeled on the Wall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem in Israel, in the National Park in Prishtina, Kosova’s capital, at 10:00 am on Wednesday, August 23.

The Wall of Honor is dedicated to the unique role that Albanians in Kosova and Albania played in saving every Jew who either lived in Albania or sought refuge there during the Holocaust.

Inscribed on the Wall of Honor are the names of more than 80 Albanians from Kosova and Albania who are known to have saved the lives of Jews who sought their protection during World War II.  For the first time the Kosovar Albanian rescuers will be recognized because they could not reveal themselves during the wartime occupation of Kosova by both the Germans and their Serbian nationalist collaborators.

The hour-long dedication ceremony will be led by Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, Balkan Affairs Adviser to the Albanian American Civic League and Executive Director of the Albanian American Foundation, and Lekë Rezniqi, the head of the Kosova-Israel Friendship Association.  The speakers will include Kosova Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Prishtina Mayor Përparim Rama, Albanian American Civic and Foundation President Hon. Joseph J. DioGuardi, and the honorees:  Avner Shalev, recently retired Chair of the Yad Vashem Directorate, and Professor Rachel “Shelly” Levy-Drummer, whose grandfather was saved by Arsllan Rezniqi.

Lekë’s grandfather, Mustafa Rezniqi, established the Kosova-Israel Friendship Association with Xhangyle Ilijazi in 2005, and his great-grandfather, Arsllan Rezniqi, was the first Kosovar Albanian to receive posthumously the Righteous Among the Nations award from Yad Vashem for his rescue and protection of Jews in Decan, Kosova, in 1941 and their eventual transfer during World War II to safety in Albania

Lekë Rezniqi, who became Chair of the Association after Mustafa died in 2009 and who has conducted extensive research over many years with the families of the rescuers, said that “The Wall of Honor not only will recognize the contribution of the individuals in Kosova and Albania who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II.  The Wall will remain a testament for generations to come that evil will not prevail over justice and human rights.”  Lekë Rezniqi is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Holocaust Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel.

As Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi has explained in her writings and speeches, the unique role that Albanians played in saving Jews during the Holocaust might never have been known if it were not for the trip that Congressmen Tom Lantos and Joe DioGuardi made to Albania in 1990, the first US officials to enter the country in almost fifty years.  Albania’s last communist dictator, Ramiz Alia, gave the Congressmen a dossier documenting the Albanian rescue in original letters, newspaper clippings, and photos.  DioGuardi, the first member of the US Congress of Arberesh Albanian descent, transferred the dossier to Yad Vashem with the help of his long-time Israeli friend Elli Streit.  DioGuardi will help dedicate the Wall of Honor on August 23^rd.

From 2:00 to 4:00 pm on the 23^rd, a seminar will be held at the Emerald Hotel in Prishtina to examine the role that Kosovar Albanians played in protecting Kosova’s pre-War Jewish community and the thousands of Jews from neighboring countries and Western Europe who sought refuge in Kosova and Albania during the Holocaust.  The speakers will include former Congressman Joseph J. DioGuardi, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, Lekë Rezniqi, Avner Shalev, and Professor Shelly Levy-Drummer.  Also included are Agim Alickaj, member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the Albanian American Civic League & Foundation, whose father, Arif Alickaj, partnered with Arsllan Rezniqi in the rescue, and Dr. Faton Bislimi, member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the Albanian American Civic League & Foundation and editor of the Albanian Rescue of Jews During the Holocaust.