Herman Bernstein (1876–1935) was the United States ambassador to Albania from February 1930 to September 1933—a period marked by Albania's efforts under King Zog to maintain its independence between Italy and Yugoslavia. Bernstein was born in Neustadt-Shirvint—now Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lithuania—to a Jewish family, and immigrated to the United States in 1893. There he worked as a journalist, writer, and translator (of Russian literature), contributing to The New York Evening Post, The Nation and The IndependentHe was the editor of The Jewish Tribune and Jewish Daily Bulletin and traveled to Europe as a correspondent for The New York Times where he documented the plight of Jews in Eastern Europe and covered the Russian Revolution for new york herald. Bernstein met Herbert Hoover at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and supported his candidacy for president in 1928. In return, Hoover appointed him ambassador to Albania. Bernstein died in Sheffield, Massachusetts. His archives, including several writings on Albania, are preserved at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York. Herman Bernstein had good relations with King Zog. In the following article, published in New York Times, he shed light on Albania's difficult position in the efforts to balance relations between Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece.

By: Herman Bernstein[1]
Prepared by: Robert Elsie
Translation: Agron Shala / Telegrafi.com

Albania is carefully following its crisis issues in the various movements of the blocs led by France and Italy.

Albania is considered one of the most serious danger zones in Europe. A new war could break out there if the political and military interests of other nations, for Albania, continue to conflict with each other. Due to its geographical position, this small country holds the key to the Adriatic and has been a bone of contention between different nations for centuries.

From a strategic point of view, its coastline would be of invaluable value to Italy - in the event of war. Italy has for several years poured large sums into Albania, to help organize the army, to build roads, bridges and fortifications. In the Balkans it is believed that Italy's attempt to militarize Albania is part of the program of imperialist ambition - attributed to Mussolini - to penetrate the Balkans, to recover the famous Roman road Via Egnatia passing through Albania and Yugoslavia towards Thessaloniki and Istanbul.

Every movement of Italy in Albania is watched with suspicion and concern by France, by the Little Entente, and especially by Yugoslavia. During the last few years, the financial aid and military guidance offered by Italy to Albania have served to increase the feeling of nervousness in the Balkans and have caused Yugoslavia to undertake feverish military preparations to combat the formidable Italian penetration into the Balkans.

A soldier of the powers

Little Albania has thus become a pawn in the game of two conflicting blocs in European diplomacy - one led by Italy and the other by France. She has benefited to some extent from this conflict of interests and has managed to strengthen national unity, first with the help of Yugoslavia and then with the help of Italy. Whatever the ulterior motives of these nations, Albania has wisely and courageously preserved her independence - even though she has been forced to make many sacrifices, concessions and compromises in exchange for the material aid she has received since the end of the [First] war. Whether or not the roads and bridges built with the help of Italian money were intended for Italy's military plans, they now serve Albania's useful economic purposes, establishing normal communications between the different parts of this small mountainous country.

Occupied during World War

During the [First World] War, Albania was the scene of many invasions. Greek, Serbian, French, Austro-Hungarian, and Italian armies fought each other in Albania, and this small land was divided into several zones of foreign influence, while the people were subjected to indescribable deprivations and misery. Ahmet Zog, the current king, was exiled to Vienna for the entire period of the war. The independence of Albania - proclaimed in 1912 - was interrupted. At the Paris Peace Conference, its demands were initially completely ignored. The Albanian peace delegation, headed by Mehmed Bey Konica, brother of the current Albanian minister [ambassador] to the United States, placed its hopes in President Wilson and appealed to the American delegation that the United States, as an impartial power, should take over the mandate for Albania.

Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy were eager to secure their “spheres of influence”. In 1919 an agreement was reached between [Prime Ministers] Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Nitti, in the absence of the American representative, giving Italy a mandate over Albania under the League of Nations, and allocating a part of Northern Albania to Yugoslavia. The Albanians protested against this imposed solution which would deprive them of their independence and dismember their country.

Wilson's protest

President Wilson strongly opposed the agreement on the grounds that it had been reached in the absence of an American representative and that it aimed to "divide the Albanians, despite their strong protests, among three different foreign powers."

Albania's independence was saved when the US Government declared that "Albanian questions should not be included in the proposed joint discussions between Italy and Yugoslavia, and the President had to reaffirm that he could not approve, in any way, any plan that assigned to Yugoslavia the northern regions of Albania - as territorial compensation for those denied to it elsewhere ..."! And, "it remained for Italy and Yugoslavia to resolve their differences, if they could, through separate negotiations, on the condition that they should not reach an agreement at the expense of Albania".

Albania was admitted as a full member of the League of Nations in December 1920, after a dramatic speech in defense of Albanian independence by Lord Robert Cecil - in the face of protests from several Balkan states.

A year later, the ambassadors of Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan, “recognizing that the violation of these borders or of the independence of Albania could constitute a danger to the strategic security of Italy”, concluded an agreement according to which “if Albania should at any time find it impossible to maintain its territorial integrity, it would be free to turn to the Council of the League of Nations for foreign assistance”; that “the governments of the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan would decide that, in the above-mentioned case, they would instruct their representatives in the Council of the League of Nations to recommend that the restoration of the territorial borders of Albania be entrusted to Italy”.

Although already a member of the League of Nations, Albania was not consulted at all about this agreement. It protested against it, declaring that it would not recognize its validity. To this day, Italy considers the Ambassadors' Agreement a binding international instrument that recognizes its special interests in Albania, but the pact is viewed with suspicion and fear by Albania's close neighbors in the Balkans; the agreement has thus served as a source of friction ever since, and has made Albania the sensitive area it is today.

In 1920, the Italians still occupied Vlora, in southern Albania. Albanian leaders, determined to free the country from foreign rule, forced the Italian army to withdraw. They then set about organizing the state and establishing order in the country. Ahmet Zogu was one of the most prominent of the new leaders, and the government in which he was Minister of the Interior - and later Prime Minister - was identified with his name. In 1924, Zogu's regime was overthrown by a revolution led by the Albanian bishop, Fan Noli. Ahmet Zogu, along with some of his associates, fled quickly to Belgrade - for shelter and aid. Fan Noli's revolutionary government lasted from June to December 1924, when Zogu - who had been sentenced to death by it - returned victorious to Tirana at the head of a small army he had organized in Yugoslavia.

Within a month of his return to Albania, Zog was elected president of the Albanian Republic for a seven-year term. His government began to reorganize and modernize the country. But outbreaks of discontent occurred from time to time. The Yugoslavs, having helped Zog regain power, expected him to have a strong pro-Yugoslav, or more precisely - anti-Italian, orientation. Realizing the great danger that such a policy posed for his country, President Zog tried to follow a middle path - to be pro-Albanian.

The Pact of Tirana

Suddenly, in 1926, a serious uprising broke out in Northern Albania. Ahmet Zogu was convinced that it had been instigated by Yugoslavia. Both Italy and Yugoslavia had proposed to him a pact of friendship and security. This uprising forced him to make a quick decision in favor of Italy and, on November 27, 1926, he signed a five-year pact of friendship and security between Albania and Italy.

This document, known as the Pact of Tirana, declared that Italy and Albania, “in order to strengthen mutual relations of friendship and security ... recognize that any disturbance directed against status quo"the political, legal and territorial integrity of Albania is contrary to their mutual interests."

The signing of the Pact of Tirana alarmed and alarmed Albania's neighbors. A year later, immediately after the signing of the Franco-Yugoslav Treaty, a treaty of alliance was concluded between Italy and Albania for a period of twenty years. Albania was given a loan of 50 million gold francs by Italy, through an Italian financial group known as SVEA. The National Bank of Albania was established under the supervision of this group. A major program of public works was begun and financed by this loan. Italian economic planners, engineers, and entrepreneurs came to Albania. Italian military planners and instructors also arrived. Roads, bridges, and public buildings were built.

Every movement in the Balkans is watched as if under a microscope. The Yugoslavs viewed the Italian efforts in Albania with suspicion. They considered the Italo-Albanian treaties, the loan, and the arrival of Italian organizers and instructors as part of a political and military scheme to secure a strong base in the Adriatic, with the aim of penetrating the Balkans. Belgrade considered such a program a direct challenge to Yugoslavia. The situation was dangerous.

On 1 September 1928, President Zog was proclaimed King of the Albanians by a Constituent Assembly, and the Republic became a Kingdom. The Italian General, Alberto Pariani, helped organize and train the Albanian Army. The Gendarmerie was organized and led by the British General, Sir Jocelyn Percy. The courts of justice were reorganized. New schools were opened. A faster pace was established in this small country, where in the past “things could only be achieved if you had enough tobacco and patience.”

When the five-year period of the Pact of Friendship and Security ended, King Zog refused to renew it, despite reported pressure from Mussolini. King Zog declared that the treaty was no longer necessary, as he did not need any external power to protect him. He also emphasized that his treaty of alliance with Italy, which would remain in force for several years, covered all points related to friendly cooperation between the two countries.

Critical financial situation

Meanwhile, Albania’s economic and financial situation had reached a critical stage. Italy offered to help Albania again by granting it ten annual loans of 10 million gold francs each. Albania’s neighbors were alarmed, believing that Italy’s proposal was nothing more than a new subsidy for military purposes. The annual loans were to be spent under the supervision of a mixed Albanian-Italian commission. Albania accepted and the first two annual loans were granted, although not in full. The third annual loan, this year, was held in abeyance on the grounds that Albania was not fulfilling the terms of the agreement for “friendly cooperation.”

When Italy suggested to King Zog, about a year earlier, that a customs union between Italy and Albania would be acceptable to Italy and would be very beneficial to Albania, King Zog rejected this suggestion, realizing that such an agreement would not only irritate its Balkan neighbors, but could also cause unrest throughout Europe.

Then, Italy was angered by a sudden change in the Albanian Constitution that led to the closure of several foreign and religious schools. The Albanian government explained that this measure was necessary, for the time being, to consolidate national unity through the public school system and to prevent foreign propaganda against the nation. The Italians refused to accept such administrative directors in their schools. They closed the schools and sent their teachers back to Italy. The wisdom of the new Albanian law on the school system was questioned, given the current shortage of qualified Albanian teachers.

No more help from Italy

The Italian government, fully aware of Albania's desperate financial situation, adopted a policy of cautious waiting, refusing any further financial assistance. Italy's imports from Albania continued to fall. The Italians denied that they wanted any new concessions in Albania, that they wanted control over the army, the gendarmerie, or other branches of government. They said that all they wanted was friendship, friendly cooperation, and cultural influence.

King Zog refused to reopen the schools, but made a gesture of goodwill by ordering that the Italian language be made mandatory in Albanian high schools. This did not fully satisfy the Italians, and they continued to delay the promised annual loan. King Zog then ordered a drastic cut in the 1934 budget. He cut spending on the army by almost half. He also donated a quarter of his salary and the royal family's expenses for that year to the state. All of this helped to increase King Zog's popularity among Albanians, but Rome was still angry.

Current problem

Albania, knowing full well that its only hope for recovery lies in peaceful development, is trying to get out of the political entanglements that endanger friendly relations with its Balkan neighbors. Italy, Yugoslavia, and Greece have repeatedly declared that they are against the violation of Albania's independence.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic battle of wits between Prime Minister Mussolini and King Zog continues. So far, King Zog seems to have emerged victorious, because Albania's strength lies in its weakness. Recently, it has concluded a favorable trade treaty with Greece, and is now negotiating a new trade treaty with Yugoslavia. These are clear signs of closer cooperation between Albania and its Balkan neighbors.

If Albania manages to establish friendly relations with its Balkan neighbors, without inciting Mussolini's hostility, this small country on the Adriatic coast, called the "Forgotten Land of Europe", will be able to peacefully and successfully develop its agricultural and economic potential. /Telegraph/

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[1] Published in: The New York Times, New York, January 28, 1934.

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