Relations between Enver Hoxha and Mehmet Shehu, during the communist regime, were not good at all. At least, that's what the Americans claim.

The CIA has declassified a document from 1955 and it tells about the departures in the government, but also about the Hoxha-Shehu relationship. It says that there was great rivalry between them, while according to the report, Hoxha introduced his people into the government and especially Spiro Koleka, in order to strengthen his positions. Further in some other documents it is shown what was happening with the education system in the country.

Two major shake-ups have occurred in the Albanian regime in the last three weeks, with two high-level leaders dismissed on charges of incompetence, Deputy Prime Minister Tuk Jakova and Minister of Education and Culture, Bedri Spahiu. Among the possible reasons for this is the change in Albanian policy orientation towards Yugoslavia, or the development of what has been previously reported as a rivalry between Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu and party leader Enver Hoxha.

One of the dismissed, Bedri Spahiu, headed the commission that tried and convicted Koçi Xoxe, the Albanian Titoist leader, in May 1949. While the other dismissed, Tuk Jakova, is reported to have been in Moscow in the fall of 1948, to receive orders for Xoxe's removal and his replacement as party secretary. On the other hand, both of them began to fall out of favor from 1951. Their dismissal was part of the personal difficulties of both within the party.

Regarding the Hoxha-Shehu rivalry, the evidence for their involvement with each other is largely based on hearsay. The strongest evidence concerns the elevation of Hoxha loyalist Spiro Koleka to the post of deputy prime minister, which signals that further moves can be expected from Hoxha to strengthen his position. Even the Italian Foreign Ministry claims that the changes come after the departures of anti-Tito figures, and that it is time for the US to raise the issue of Albania's neutrality.

The proposal points to Italy's desire for more maneuverability in Balkan affairs and suggests that perhaps Rome is exaggerating the danger of Yugoslav-Albanian moves. The Yugoslavs have shown little willingness to take unusual steps toward Albania and in fact seem more interested in what can be done with Bulgaria.

The education system, December 1950

The education system in Albania functions as follows: The Minister of Education, Karaman Ylli, is also a member of the Party's Central Committee. He is about 30 years old and has proven the party's trust. In 1947, he was a member of the Albanian delegation to the Paris Peace Conference.

When he returned, he became Minister of Education, replacing Naxhie Dume, a woman of about 35, the wife of an army general who was dismissed in the wave of purges and arrests following the execution of Koçi Xoxe. Informants say that the Minister of Education is under the supervision of a Soviet consultant, with an office inside the ministry. These consultants never intervene personally but pass on instructions to the minister.

Deputy Ministers

Kadri Baboçi is about 45 years old, deputy minister of education, responsible for administration and personnel. He is from Gjirokastra, where he was a teacher in a high school. Baboçi registered with the Communist Party with the arrival of the new regime and was appointed deputy mayor of Gjirokastra. In 1947-48 he was appointed president of the Commission for Textbooks and School Programs. When he became deputy minister, Baboçi replaced a certain Malile, who had left for the Soviet Union to study. Informants say that Baboçi is a man of average culture and intelligence.

Shemsi Totozani is about 40 years old, deputy minister of education responsible for school organization, and according to the informant, has shown ability in this field. Totozani went to France to study, but did not manage to graduate. He was a teacher in Vlora and Gjirokastra during the Italian occupation, and was a partisan during the German occupation.

With the arrival of the new “democratic” government, he became secretary of the Ministry of Education, when the position of deputy minister had not yet been created. Suspected of “deviationism,” he was assigned the position of director of a girls’ school in Tirana, but after the Koçi Xoxe trial, he was reinstated in the ministry where he was appointed to his current position.

General managers

A general director is subordinate to Deputy Minister Baboçi, but we have no information on the person holding this position. Another director is Siri Shapllo, subordinate to Deputy Minister Totozani. Shapllo is about 50 years old, from Gjirokastra, he was a teacher in a high school. He was a partisan during the German occupation and is now a “moderate” manipulator in politics.

Section heads

The heads of sections are subordinate to the general directors, and have direct contact with the public. The Commission on Textbooks and School Programs is responsible for drafting school textbooks and is merely a 'pro-forma' function, i.e. to ensure that they adhere to the communist political program. Most of the textbooks are simply translated Soviet textbooks.

The commission is composed of professors from different schools reflecting two currents of thought: one is for the full use of Soviet textbooks translated into Albanian, while the other favors the adaptation of Soviet textbooks to the environmental conditions of Albania. The leader of the first school of thought, Qibrie Ciu, is a lame woman of about 30, who studied pedagogy in Florence.

During her administration, all Albanian textbooks were translations from Russian. She was described as having “violent political feelings” and was highly regarded by the Soviets for her spoken and written language. The second school of thought was led by Kol Popa, a chemistry teacher at the Pedagogical School of Tirana. During the Italian occupation, he had been a pharmacist in Elbasan, and had studied in Pisa, where he graduated in pharmacy and chemistry.

Our informant states that in February 1950, instead of philosophy, Marxism was taught in Albanian schools, while in natural science courses much importance was given to the theory of Evolution. Teaching in Western foreign languages ​​(English, French, Italian, etc.) was prohibited. Russian was mandatory in every gymnasium.

According to information received in August 1950 from a former Albanian teacher, the Ministry of Education has two representatives in each party committee. In the Erseka committee, the people responsible for primary education are Anesti Furxhiu and Gjon Verdufi. Four-year schools have been opened in almost all villages in Albania. In some localities, kindergartens and evening courses for the illiterate have also been opened.

A former school teacher in Albania gives this analysis of secondary schools: Tirana has five or six gymnasiums with a four-year program, and one three-year trade school. There are also three or four Pedagogical schools for teachers, from which primary school teachers are appointed. (Another report says that after completing the Pedagogical school, new teachers must also complete a three-month course at the Party school.)

Tirana also has a Technical School with a four-year program, where students are prepared for various trades and professions. The above informant says that after high school, Albanian students can transfer to one of the universities of chemistry, physics, natural sciences, literature and history-philosophy. University studies last two years, at the end of which graduates become teachers in high schools. The most distinguished students are sent to the USSR or to satellite countries east of the Iron Curtain, to continue their studies.

The university offices are on “Rruga e Kavajës” (formerly “Rruga Mussolini”). Our informant says that scholarships are given to special students for their devotion to the Communist Party. School books are sold cheaply, and textbooks praise the assistance that the USSR gives to Albania. Teachers’ salaries range from 3000 to 5000 lekë per month.

School teacher appointments, August 1951

Graduates of the Pedagogical Institute can be employed as teachers up to the gymnasium grades. The Russian language is taught both at the Pedagogical Institute and at the gymnasium. For those who want to be appointed as school teachers, the following criteria are required:

A certificate from the village grassroots organization that they are “good people,” interested in work, and come from the lower social classes. If the candidate is a member of the Communist Party, the certificate is given to him personally. If he is not a member, the certificate is sent by courier from the grassroots organization to the local party committee. The applicant must send the certificate to the committee, along with his diploma. He is then examined by a doctor to see if he is mentally sound and does not have any communicable diseases.

The doctor gives him another certificate. The candidate also requests a certificate from the vital statistics office of his area. After two weeks, the Committee office responds in writing to the candidate about his approval, if he does not receive a response, it means that the application has been rejected. Regularly, opponents of the political line of the Communist Party of Albania are not appointed as school teachers.

The appointment of a teacher is announced by the local party committee. It is not known whether the Ministry of Education interferes in the appointments of local teachers, but our informants believe that the local party committee has the authority to make the appointments itself. After the appointment, the new teacher should consult a manual called “The Teacher’s Assistant.” The book sets out the main principles of communist propaganda that the teacher should reflect in his interactions with the students.

It also presents problems related to the work of cooperatives and collective farms. The teacher is obliged to spread propaganda in favor of these communist institutions and also in favor of the Soviet Union. For example, the book says that in 1947, the Soviet Union gave Albania ten tractors, and in 1948 it gave 56 tractors and quotes; “you see how much our friend the Soviet Union has helped us”. In general, all the subjects of the study are filled with propaganda in favor of communism.

Youth organizations

In the school in Bilisht where our informant studied, there is a youth organization. Not all students of the school were registered in this organization, as only those from the lower social classes could participate and possibly only the children of partisans who had been killed fighting against the occupier. Registration in the youth organization took place after a meeting with all students of the school.

At this meeting, the youth leader, who had all the names of the students, read out those who met the criteria for admission to the Youth Organization based on the biographical data of the students and their families. The youth leader read out the names of the students who would be admitted to the youth organization and for each name accepted, he explained the specific reasons for each student’s admission.

He also gave reasons for not accepting students into the organization, but promised that they would be accepted later when they had worked hard for the Party. Regularly, students wanted to enroll in the organization not out of ideology or communist sympathies but to avoid being seen as “reactionaries,” since reactionaries were usually expelled from school. In another statement, he says that students who belonged to the Organization had more chances to advance in their studies due to the teachers’ concessions.

There were two methods for electing the youth leader: a secret vote among the council members, and a secret vote by the students for eight pre-selected candidates. The votes were then counted and the one who received the majority became the Youth Leader, while the one who came in second became the Youth Secretary. The school youth council pledges to implement the training program presented by the local party committee.

From the seventh grade, propaganda and communist theory lessons are given by members of the youth organization council, while in the lower grades these lessons are given by ordinary teachers, who are also members of the communist party. According to the decision of the school organization council, all students gather twice a week for three hours in the afternoon, to explain the theories of communism and the teachings of Stalin, Lenin, etc.

Whenever there are Soviet holidays, there are also afternoon meetings with students where the meaning of the holiday and what it means for humanity is explained. On one anniversary of the October Revolution, paintings of Stalin and slogans in support of Albanian-Soviet friendship were placed on the walls of schools. The celebrations of the October Revolution last for a month.

Teachers' salary

The basic salary of a primary school teacher is 3500 lek. But from this, social contributions, Red Cross and government taxes are deducted, which amount to approximately one month's salary per year and are deducted from each month's salary. The total deduction amounts to 550 lek per month. / Memorie.al