Saint George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral, in cooperation with Saint Mary’s Albanian Orthodox Church, Vatra Adult Day Care, MAASBESA and Harvard Albanian Studies is honored to welcome Dr. Anna Kohen to present her new book, “Flower of Vlora: Growing up Jewish in Communist Albania.”
Join us for this unique event when Dr. Kohen, a Romaniote Jew with roots in Ioannina (Greece), will tell the fascinating story of how her family was saved from the Nazis by Muslim Albanians who selflessly risked everything.
Covering the years 1938 through present, “Flower of Vlora” is an eye-opening, passionate account of Anna Kohen’s Romaniote-Jewish family in Albania and how they were saved from the Nazis. Arriving in picturesque Vlora, her family joined a small, Greek-speaking Romaniote-Jewish community of merchants just before WWII. During WWII, they were sheltered from the Nazis by compassionate Muslim families. Her family who remained in Greece were all murdered in death camps. “Flower of Vlora” then focuses on the Romaniote traditions of Dr. Kohen’s family, which they had to celebrate in secret because of the Albanian dictatorships repression of religion. Rendered stateless since they did not have any documents and would not join the Communist Party, the family had a bold scheme to leave Albania for the West, right under the eyes of the secret police.
The story of the Holocaust in the Balkans, particularly in Albania, is still very little-known even to scholars. This is an excellent opportunity to listen to powerful personal stories of Holocaust survivors in Albania, a multi-religious country where there were more Jews after WWII than before. From 1937-1944, thousands of European Jewish refugees from Western and Eastern Europe traveled to Albania, the poorest country in Europe seeking shelter and protection against the Nazi persecution and the extermination camps. All of them were saved thanks to the protection provided by the local authorities and the population, Muslims and Christians alike.
Q&A following the presentation. Autographed copies of Dr. Kohen’s book will be available. Refreshments will be served.
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