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Albania: Anti-fascist resistance, 1941-1944

Communist guerillas
Provisional autonomous government (1943)
Democratic Government of Albania (1944)
Flag used in the liberation festivities (1944)

See also:

Communist guerillas

With the spread of Second World War to Albania, Communist guerillas were organized and increased in importance after 1941. They mostly used red flags with the hammer and sickle (the emblem of the Albanian Communist Party) and occasionally the national flag used before 1939 and reestablished since 1943.

Jaume Ollé, 15 June 1996

Provisional autonomous government (1943)

Flag of the provisional government - Image reconstructed by Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996

After the defeat of Italy, on 14 September 1943, Enver Hoxha constituted a provisional autonomous government for the liberated zones. A regularized design for the flag was established, which consisted of the flag used before the Italian occupation with a yellow star added to the canton.

Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996

Democratic Government of Albania (1944)

Flag of the Democratic government of Albania - Image reconstructed by Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996

The Germans withdrew from Albania in the fall of 1944 and on 10 October 1944 Enver Hoxha proclaimed the constitution of the Democratic Government of Albania as a provisional government. Although the flags with the yellow star continued to be used, other flags emerged with a hammer and sickle instead of the star, symbolizing the dominant ideology (and following a Soviet influence). The hammer and sickle was the emblem of the Albanian Communist Party, that led the liberation struggle.

Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996

Flag used in the liberation festivities (1944)

Flag used in the liberation festivities - Image by Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996

In the liberation festivities held in Tirana on 29 November 1944, the national flag with the black eagle was used, but without the star or the hammer and sickle. The shade of red was much lighter than the one used before the war (source: Flag Bulletin Newsletter [fbn] # 138).

Jaume Ollé, 15 July 1996