Toponyme Alteration in Albania during the interwar period: a reinterpretation

TOPONYMY ALTERATION in ALBANIA DURING THE INTERWAR PERIOD: A REINTERPRETATION

In the creation of the State-nations in the Balkans, the modification of the toponomy, turned to be a very important instrument for the nationalization and the “confiscation” of the territories. Especially in the Balkans, the inter-period War, was very intense in the toponomic changes, even if these changes started by the authorities very soon in different regions and continued even after the Second World War. Considering Albania, a country which claimed independence since 1912, but was recognized officially in 1913 by the Great Powers, the real organization of the State started in 1920.

This paper is going to demonstrate that, the inter war period and the alteration of toponomy in Albania, is the first phase of the construction of a national identity of the Albanians in the Balkan. “The “Albanian” idea started to rise in the beginning of the XIX century. The loss of major territories started to became the principal genesis. In a very close symbiosis with the other national projects of the Balkan region, the Albanian’s become a major political source regarding the Ottoman Empire and the new State-nations that were born.” (Clayer, Aux origines du nationalisme albanais, 2007)

Regarding the questions of power, the state and religious construction, in the south of Albania, territories in the front line with Greece, is shown that Greek culture in this province was very dominant, until the “End” of the Ottoman Empire. This policy was principally build with the aid of schools and “churches” . But the toponomic “albanisation” constituted a very important case, especially by revising the central national archives of the Albanian state.

In a first case, it is noticed that two local commissions were created for social change of the toponomic places – the prefecture of Gjirokaster and Himare – and by also revising the report of the national commission that worked from 1928 and 1932. These sources are not very clear till 1937-1938, until a law was published and voted in the Albanian parliament. The use of toponomy is still very unclear because very intense studies should be made in specific places and provinces.

Still we are going to study the process of re-denomination and the factors included in this by national actors or local ones. Still we are going to see, why this process took so long and in the end this process aborted. The Albanian authorities took another path in the “albanisation” of the toponomy.

UNIT 1: Toponymy changes and Albania in the interwar period

Even before the Albanian state decides, in 1926, to lunch in the nationalization of the names of the localities in their territory, toponomy started to appear as a very important instrument. The Albanian patriots, for different social and political raisons, started to forge ahead the idea of an Albanian Nation.

The process of the State construction, which was made by the Albanian authorities, under the direction of the president Ahmet Zogu, started to consolidate the ethnic borders with the state border. The Greek, started to replace the toponomy in the South of the Balkans and since the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Albanians started to change the names of certain places and territories, to give them an Albanian trait.

The Albanian authorities manifested the change of toponomy during the middle of the 1920, after the stabilization of the authority power. In 1923, a correspondence has been made, between the Prime minister and certain prefectures, about the change of the names in the region of Golloberde and certain other villages. In 1926-1927, Ahmet Zogu, who became the president of the Albanian Republic, started a process of toponomy change in a national scale.

For these purpose, Ahment Zogu used all his administration, especially the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the prefectures . In a first phase, the toponomic change of the local regions seemed to be more acceptable to the president and his advisors. Therefore different commissions were created, with the request of the prefectures. From the two examples studied (Gjirokaster and Himare), it seems that the rules of compositions of the commissions could vary. It was therefore not entirely the same actors who intervened in the process, according to local configurations.

The Gjirokaster commission included also three other officials, the district commander and the director of the school, and a journalist. All these characters were likely of hardcore supporters of the scheme and fervent of the Albanian cause.

The commission of Himara, which meets under the chairmanship of the sub-prefect, in 1927, was composed only by the teachers of the region. However, just after the commission started, certain of the members retrieved themselves from the charge. This can be interpreted as resistance to redenomination process or, more generally, with regard to the policy of the Albanian authorities in this very special area, which till of the 1920s, had enjoyed his autonomy against the central power, Ottoman and Albanian.

The replacement of toponomy at national scale, done by the Chief of State, was not released simultaneously in all provinces, of the country. “Thus, correspondence between the Department of Interior, Department of Education, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Prefecture of Shkodër "for training his commission for the change of village names foreign names", kept in the archives of Albanian State, date 1928” (Clayer, L'Albanisation des Toponymes dand l'Albanie de l'etre-deux-guerres, 2011).

And, in April 1932, five years after the meeting of the local, the prefect of Gjirokastër referred the report to the commission Department of Interior, which was again controlled.

The reports of local commissions were indirectly the basis for the renaming process. At the request of the Department of Interior, a national commission was indeed named to reexamine the lists provided by the provinces and elaborate the global list of new names.

Mehdi Frashëri, Karl Gurakuqi and Mati Logoreci, were the persons who composed this commission. The list and te report of the process of toponomic change was presented to the Department of Interior and the Council of Ministers. But the Government did not act immediately in return.

At this time, correspondence was exchanged, for example, on the changes of names of villages and neighborhood’s, between the office of the Prime Minister and the Gjirokastër Prefecture, as well as with the General command of the police.

Legislation was indeed passed in Parliament on 22 April, and then signed by the King on 5 May

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