Zef Mala, a publicist and political activist, passed away in Tirana. He was born in Shkodra in 1915. He completed his studies with excellent results at the Jesuit College in Shkodra. A year later, he began publishing the newspaper “Besa” (“Pledge”) in Tirana. During the monarchy period, he won a scholarship from King Zog to study at the University of Vienna, Faculty of Philosophy. In 1937, he founded the communist group in Shkodra in collaboration with Qemal Stafa, Vasil Shanto, and Tuk Jakova. During this period, he sought the overthrow of the monarchical system. For this reason, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and sent to the village of Mbreshtan in Berat. Later, taking advantage of the Italian occupation, he fled on April 6, 1939, together with Vasil Shanto. He was captured by fascist authorities and brought back to Albania to be sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released after the capitulation of fascist Italy in September 1943. Upon Enver Hoxha’s request, he became part of the Second Battalion in the Peza group. In this group was also the special envoy from Belgrade, Miladin Popović. In 1946, while working at the national library, he was suddenly arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The reason for his sentence was “for political positions against cooperation with the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.” He served two years of his sentence and was released on January 19, 1949, through an amnesty “for changing his stance and cooperation with Yugoslavia, as a victim of Koçi Xoxe.” In 1950, he prepared a historical dissertation for the Pedagogical Institute, “About Albania in the years 1912–1924,” which was later confiscated and lost. In 1955, he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison with the motivation “suspected of ties with left-wing exponents in the West.” From 1961 to 1964, he was interned in Zvërnec, Vlorë, where he found and created companionship with Kasëm Trebeshina. There, he wrote a philosophical treatise of about 140 pages, which also disappeared. After his release, he was interned again by Enver Hoxha in 1977 in Labovë, Gjirokastër. In 1978, he refused to participate in the elections, and for this reason, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Ballsh, where he went completely blind.
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(In the photo: Zef Mala)
Text: National Museum “House with leaves”, Tirana.
Photo: © https://www.ballikombetar.info/zef-mala-mes-lavdise-dhe-persekutimit
Graphic processing: AHCF
