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| Bernard Newman and King Zog I |
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| An excerpt from Bernard Newman's 1938 article about King Zog |
With the exception of a narrow coastal strip, Albania is entirely mountainous, and its high valleys are of rare beauty. One day, I ventured up to the pass above Kruja, the home of the medieval Albanian hero, Skanderbeg. The road was well marked but covered with such thick tar that a car that I saw approaching had difficulty entering. One of the passengers got out and stood by me as I looked at the Mat Valley.
"Take off my binoculars," he suggested in a friendly tone. "The view is worth examining."
I put the binoculars on my broad shoulders; I was looking for the birthplace of King Zog.
"Do you see that small village over there?" said the owner of the binoculars. "That's Burgajet. Just beyond it is a ruined castle perched on a rock. That's where I was born."
I trembled, for I had not realized that this random traveler was the King of Albania. Next to me stood a tall, slender man with beautiful blue eyes.
Zog was not born a king. His father was the hereditary chieftain of the Mat Valley. During the five-hundred-year Turkish occupation of Albania, the existing tribal organization was preserved; after the majority of Albanians accepted the Muslim religion, the leaders of the tribes retained their power.
Ahmet Zogu was born on October 8, 1895. He was educated in Constantinople, first in high school and then in the Military Academy. At the age of twenty, he was involved in the complexities of Balkan politics. His forefathers had fought more than once for the liberation of Albania, and the Balkan Wars offered a unique opportunity for action.
In 1912, effective independence was achieved, and the following year Prince William was chosen by the Great Powers as the first King of the new state. Ahmet Zogu served Prince William faithfully and is still his friend.
The prince was unfortunate in his hopes for the development of the country, as Albania was almost immediately devastated by the World War. The situation was complicated, with Austrians occupying the north of the country and Italians and French occupying the south. During this period, Zogu entered into negotiations with Austria, still striving for Albania's independence.
The Allies initially envisioned Albania as an Italian protectorate, but the spirit of independence could not be denied. At the age of twenty-three, Zogu became Minister of the Interior in the new republic. In 1925, after adventures and exile, he became President, and in 1928 he was proclaimed king.
He did not change his name, as is often supposed. In the Albanian language, "Ahmet Zogu" means "Ahmet Zogu" word for word, so "Ahmet of the Zogu family." When he became king, he used his surname - which, unrelated to a previous personal name, is Zog.
However, the omission of the final "u" caused a picturesque change. "Zog" means "bird" and the native name of Albania is "Land of the Eagle." The title Zog I, King of the Albanians, is read as "Zog the First, King of the Sons of the Eagle."
His title has caused much resentment in neighboring countries. Zog is not the King of Albania, but the King of the Albanians - and there are nearly half a million Albanians in Yugoslavia and a quarter of a million in Greece.
Like most men who achieve fame, Zog had an extraordinary mother. In 1920, the Yugoslavs invaded Albania and reached the Mat Valley, destroying Zog's ancestral home. Zog had fled south with his clan, fighting the Italians, but his mother Sadije gathered the elders and sons of the valley and kept the invaders at bay until Zog returned.
Throughout her life - she died in 1934 (more precisely, on November 25, 1934) - her greatest wish was for her son to get married. The difficulty was religious: few European princesses were prepared to marry a Muslim.
In Albania, there was no difficulty because tolerance is extraordinary. When the Pope decreed that every aspect of Zog's marriage to Countess Geraldine Apponyi must be Catholic, the opposition in Albania was merely a matter of scale. Albanians would welcome a Catholic queen - the members of Parliament remained in their seats and cheered when the announcement was made - but 70% of the people are Muslim, 20% are Orthodox Catholics, and only 10% are Roman Catholics. Therefore, it is natural that a Muslim heir would be favored.
King Zog is, in my opinion, one of the most industrious workers in Europe. He has a solitary figure in his palace, who telephones the hotels of Tirana to see if there are any British or American visitors and invites them to spend time playing cards with him. But, as his private secretary complained, King Zog doesn't have time to play cards.
Nevertheless, the legend quickly spreads because Zog doesn't speak English, although he is a good linguist and besides Albanian, he also speaks German, French, Turkish, and Serbo-Croatian. But he has a high regard for England and everything English, and he has sent his two daughters to a school near Ascot.
In his limited free time, he is an excellent reader, history being his favorite subject. He is eager for physical fitness, has a small gymnasium in his modest palace, and energetically plays tennis. He is an excellent horseman and is often seen galloping in the hills around Tirana.
I found him quiet but full of vitality and energy, serious in mind but with a welcome spark of humor. I never saw him except well-dressed - he employs a famous Viennese tailor. He prefers simple attire to uniforms but wears both well. He lives very simply, and his court life has a minimum of ceremony, befitting the king of a mountainous land.
In Europe, it is freely stated that Zog has sold himself to Italy, that he is nothing more than a puppet of Mussolini. This is not true. His country was backward and primitive, and Zog needed money for its development. Britain and France were not interested, having recognized Italy's "special interests" in Albania. The only other possible candidate was Yugoslavia, which had no money and was Albania's hereditary enemy.
Since 1929, Albania has borrowed 150,000,000 gold francs from Italy, an enormous sum for such a small country where total budgetary expenses and revenues amount to only 18,000,000 gold francs per year.
Italy's economic gains have been insignificant; its trade balance is unfavorable and represents only 25% of Albania's trade. Incidentally, Albania is one of the few countries with which Britain has a favorable trade balance, with British exports worth 1,400,000 gold francs and imports only 58,000.
Italy does have a monopoly on supplying Albania with oil, which may one day be important. However, its main advantage is strategic. Influence in Albania secures control of the Adriatic and poses a military threat to Yugoslavia.
In my view, Zog is a fervent patriot, willing to use foreign aid to develop his country but fiercely jealous of its independence. A generation ago, Albania was a relic of medieval times. The only law in the country was that of Leka (Lekë Dukagjini), the Albanian Moses of five centuries ago. His law purported to be based on honor but included the worst features of blood feuds, which ruined Albania for generations. The speed with which Zog's law has replaced Leka's law is extraordinary.
In the wild valleys of the north, ancient Albanian customs continue. Every member of the clan carries his rifle, and King Zog provides free armed escorts for foreign travelers. I did not need such precautionary measures in all my travels, as the Albanian clan is friendly and hospitable. Furthermore, an efficient gendarmerie has eliminated the need for personal vendettas.
The Italians designed his roads and trained his army, but for his gendarmerie, King Zog recruited a British force under the leadership of Sir Jocelyn Percy - a distinguished collection of officers who had fought Chinese pirates and Pathan raiders.
Turkish corruption has been wiped out, and now there is justice in the country. Not that the Albanian clan is entirely law-abiding. Zog has not hurried history, and the clan patriarch or chieftain is still a powerful figure. In the Mat Valley, I witnessed a meeting of the local council. It was held in the open air, under a tree, in the fashion of our own Witenagemot. There, the men presented their grievances and accepted the judgment of the valley's elders.
Zog's material reforms have been extensive. He found his country almost illiterate and has already built 622 schools. Italian engineers planned 1,600 miles of roads, which are now completed, but the labor force was provided locally - many Albanians must give ten days of labor to the state each year or pay someone else to do it for them. There are no railways in the country, but the air service is exceptionally efficient for a country the size of Wales.
Only a brave man can be the king of a primitive land like Albania. Two assassination attempts have been made on King Zog - once his chauffeur was killed in the attack. There have been periodic rebellions against his rule, usually led by jealous leaders.
A national celebration was held on April 27th in honor of his marriage to "The White Rose," the beautiful Countess Geraldine Apponyi of Hungary, whose mother was an American. Even the warring factions of the existing blood feuds forgot their hatred during the period of rejoicing.