Vojo Kushi

Vojo Kushi[a] (Serbian Cyrillic: Војо Кушић, August 3, 1918 – October 10, 1942) was an Albanian and Yugoslav communist guerilla fighter (partisan) and one of the founders of the Communist group based in Shkodër, following the Italian occupation of Albania in April 1939. He was proclaimed a National Hero of Yugoslavia by the Yugoslav communist government on February 12, 1945, and then a Hero of Albania by the Albanian communist government in 1946.

Vojo Kushi
Born(1918-08-03)3 August 1918
Shkodër
Died10 October 1942(1942-10-10) (aged 24)
Tirana
NationalityAlbanian
Other namesKušić
OccupationAlbanian resistance in World War II
Political partyCommunist Party of Albania
Communist Party of Yugoslavia
Awards Hero of the People
People's Hero (Yugoslav) (posthumous)

Life

Kushi was born in 1918, in Vrakë, near Shkodër. He belonged to the Serb-Montenegrin (or Yugoslav) minority.[1][2][3] His original surname was Kušić (Serbian Cyrillic: Кушић); due to King Zog's state persecution of Serbs following 1920, surnames with obvious Slavic suffixes such as '-ić' and '-vić' were removed, as were Slavic-speaking schools.[3] The minority was instrumental in the National Liberation.[3]

Following the Italian occupation of Albania in April 1939, the first communist revolutionary organization was established in Shkodër (Shkodër group), which included minority members brothers Vaso and Branko Kadija, Vojo Kushi, Jordan Misja, Ivo Jovanov, Vojin Dragović, Petar Bulatović and Vasil Shanto.[3] The Shkodër group was led by Shanto and Qemal Stafa.[4] The other organization, established in Korçë (Korçë group), was united into one on November 8, 1941, in Tirana, at the house of Bojko Lazarov, hence forming the Communist Party of Albania.[3] In 1942, he was chosen as a member of the regional committee for Tirana and appointed commander of guerilla units.[1] Enver Hoxha was appointed the Party leader in order to include the majority Muslim population.[3]

Kushi was sent by the Albanian government for education at the Military Academy in Belgrade, in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Before his return to Albania, he joined the Yugoslav Partisans and became a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.[5] One of the discussions of Partisans in Prokletije, including Kushi, was included in Đurica Labović's Lučonoša sa Prokletija (1985).[6]

The Albanian fascist regime sentenced communist fighters to death for treachery and unrest.[7] In Tirana, Qemal Stafa,[7] and later Kushi, Sadik Stavileci and Xoxi Martini were surrounded and killed by carabinieri on 10 October 1942.[8][1][9] Their house on the Kodra Kuqe quarter was surrounded and a fight ensued for 6 hours, with tanks forcing them out; Kushi stormed out and killed several carabinieri, then ran out of bullets and jumped onto the tank and was killed.[8] Albanian historiography characterize their fight as "one of the most heroic fights in the city in 1942".[1]

After the war, he was proclaimed a National Hero.[1] In Albania, many streets, quarters, schools, sport institutions and others were named after him.[1] In Tirana, a monument was erected in his honour.[1] An Albanian documentary about him, Vojo Kushi (1969), was made. In Serbia, a street in Novi Banovci and a football club in Stara Pazova are named after him.

Later Hoxha imprisoned Vojo's brother Marko and his family in southern Albania as part of his party purges.[3]

Annotations
  1. ^
    His given name, Vojo, is a shortened form of the Slavic name Vojislav. His surname, Kushi, is the Albanian form of Serbian Kušić (Serbian Cyrillic: Кушић. In Serbo-Croatian sources his name is written Vojo Kuši (Војо Куши),[10] Vojo Kušić (Војо Кушић),[11] and Voja Kuši (Воја Куши).[12]

References
  1. Burovic, K. (2011-01-23), "Doprinos Srpsko-Crnogorske manjine u istoriji Albanskog naroda", Novinar Online, Vojo Kušić (1918-1942) – komunistički militant, član Komunističke grupe Skadra od osnivanja, 1942. godine bira se za člana Pokrajinskog komiteta za Tiranu i imenuje se komandantom gerilskih jedinica Narodno-oslobodilačkog rata u Albaniji. Pao je u okruženju u Tirani, zajedno sa Sadikom Stavileci (Albanac) i Džodži Martini (Vlah). Istoriografija Albanije je okarakterisala njihovu borbu kao „Një nga luftimet më heroike të zhvilluara në qytet gjatë vitit 1942″(Jedna od najherojskih borbi razvijenih u grad duž godine 1942)12). Posle rata je proglašen za Narodnog Heroja. Njegovo ime dato je u Albaniji mnogim ulicama gradova, kvartovima, školama, sportskim institucijama i dr. U Tirani mu je podignut i spomenik. Sve sa pretendiranjem da je bio Albanac! Kao i za sve druge.
  2. Lakić, Zoran; Žugić, Tomislav. "Položaj jugoslovenskih manjina u Albaniji 1945-1990". Stanovništvo slovenskog porijekla u Albaniji; Zbornik radova sa međunarodnog naučnog skupa održanog na Cetinju 21, 22. i 23. juna 1990. godine.
  3. Zlatičanin, Blagoje (2011). "Crnogorci iz Vrake na stalnoj Golgoti" (PDF). Matica, ljeto/jesen 2011: 157–160.
  4. Pearson 2006, p. 158.
  5. Pero Morača (1961). Ratna sećanja: aktivista jugoslovenskog revolucionarnog radničkog pokreta. Kultura. U našoj grupi bio je Vojo Kuši iz Skadra, koga je tadašnja albanska vlada poslala na školovanje u Vojnu akademiju u Beogradu. Pri povratku za Albaniju, otišao je u partizane i postao član KPJ. Izvodila se jedna akcija u zimu 1942. godine.
  6. Đurica Labović (1985). Lučonoša sa Prokletija. Nova knjiga. насмеши се Воја Куши. — Али зашто му отвара^ у апетит! — заврте Радуле главом. — Медитираш? — упита Зеко Во^водић. Милић истог трена одговори: — На^бол>е разми1шьам и све мисли ми до- бщу крила, нарочито када ...
  7. Marović, Miodrag (1 January 1995). Balkanski Džoker: Albanija i Albanci : istorijska hronika nastajanja i razvoja albanskog pitanja. Kulturni centar. ISBN 9788670040052. Oni su optuženi da su krivi za „izdajstva i provale” zbog kojih su u Tirani poginuli Kemal Stafa i Vojo Kuši, u Skadru Perljat Redžepi, Jordan Misto i Branko Kadija. „Čaša strpljenja bila je prepuna”, rečeno je na vanrednoj konferenciji u Tirani, ...
  8. Pearson 2006, p. 208.
  9. Vladimir Dedijer (1949). Jugoslovansko-albanski odnosi, 1939-1948. Borba. Partija je doživela tudi hude udarce. V Tirani je v borbi s kara- binjerji junaško padel sekretar CK komunistične mladine Djemal Stafa. V Skadru so junaško padli tovariši Perljat Redžepi, Jordan Misto in Branko Kadija. V Tirani je bil Vojo Kuši z ...
  10. Dedijer 1949, p. 28, Marović 1995, Morača 1961
  11. Burovic 2011.
  12. Labović 1985, p. 137.

Sources
  • "Zivot Srba u Albaniji". Pravoslavlje 996. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014.
  • "STRANAC U SOPSTVENOJ DOMOVINI". Poslije okupacije Albanije od strane fašističke Italije u aprilu 1939. prvi koji su ustali u odbranu Albanije bili su Crnogorci iz Skadra. Oni su stvorili komunističku grupu u Skadru, a druga komunistička grupa je bila u Korči. Na čelu skadarske grupe, u kojoj su bili braća Vaso i Branko Kadić, Vojo Kušić, Jordan Mistović, Ivo Jovanov, Vojin Dragović, Petar Bulatović, bio je Vasil Santić. Spajanjem ove dvije komunističke grupe stvorena je 8. novembra 1941. u Tirani, u kući Bojke Lazarove, Komunistička partija Albanije.
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