In the village of Gril in Shkodra, Vasil Shanto, activist of the communist and anti-fascist movement, participant of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War, Hero of the People, was killed fighting against the Nazi forces. He was born in Shkodër. He moved to Tirana with his family in 1928. Then he became a member of the first communist cell (1931). Member of the Communist Group of Shkodra and chairman of the Regional Committee for Tirana of this group. After the fascist aggression (April 7, 1939) he became one of the first organizers of the popular resistance and the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War. He participated in the meeting of communist groups for the establishment of the Albanian Communist Party, as a representative of the Communist Group of Shkodra. He was sent to the Anti-Fascist Squad of Peza (1941) and to other regions of the country for the organization of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist Movement and the strengthening of the organizations of the Albanian Communist Party. (In the photo: Vasil Shanto)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 2426.
Photo: © National History Museum
Graphic processing: AHCF
