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| The cover of the book "The Long Winter of 1945" |
At New York University, the American edition of the book "The Long Winter of 1945" was presented to the public in English. The authors are the Italian sociologist Anna Di Lellio and the artist from Kosovo, Dardan Luta.
The book in English, enriched with more details, sheds light on a significant event at the end of World War II, known as the Tivar Massacre, where Serbian forces killed hundreds of unarmed Albanians from Kosovo.
Through the stories of ten men from a village in Drenica who managed to survive the Tivar Massacre, the English edition of the book titled "The Long Winter of 1945" brings one of the most severe events in Albanian history at the end of World War II to American readers.
78 years ago, hundreds of young and unarmed men from Kosovo, called up for military mobilization by the authorities of former Yugoslavia to fight the Nazis, were killed by Serbian forces in Montenegro.
There is still work to be done to fully uncover this event, says author Anna Di Lellio, but she adds that books like this are essential, especially now when the world is facing two major conflicts: Russia in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.
"People continue to repeat the same actions. I think it's important that this book comes out now, as an indication that massacres should not be forgotten. The dead weigh on the history of a country. Their memory is preserved from generation to generation. The work of historians aims not only to prevent the suppression of history but also to understand it, talk about it, apologize, or atone if necessary. Let's not forget the dead. It's better to remember them openly through civilized discussions. To understand what happened to those people because they are not just numbers," says author Di Lellio to Voice of America.
Dr. Shinasi Rama from the International Relations program at New York University says that through such publications, people learn from the past how to solve present problems.
"We need to pay attention to history because what is happening today is yesterday's history. So, what is happening today will become history tomorrow. We need to preserve the true meaning and values related to what is happening. The clearer we have the phenomenon that is happening, the better we will be able to deal with that problem and with people in the future," says Dr. Rama to Voice of America.
The book is based on oral testimonies of survivors and their families, archival documents, and historical research.
In this publication, events are narrated with minimal text, accompanied by illustrations by the artist from Kosovo, Dardan Luta, who is also a co-author of the book. The aim of this format is to engage young readers.
"History is very touching. In fact, my society, which has seen the book, has no knowledge of Albania or Kosovo. But they are deeply touched by this story. We made the book for the younger generations, but the elderly also like it because it is easy to read. Through images, we convey the highly tragic and traumatic emotion of this story much better," says author Di Lellio.
This creative way of presenting history should also be utilized to uncover other events of the past, says Dr. Elidon Mëhilli, a history professor at Hunter College.
Raising the question of the platform, what is the right method to bring it, to connect the reader, especially a new generation, with the past and history, and to mythologize the process of writing history based on documents and testimonies, to make it more tangible as a process. There is much work to be done by authorities and research infrastructure in the Albanian-speaking world, whether in Albania, Kosovo, or other areas where Albanians are present, not to limit themselves to the narrow national or regional worldview but to create a register, to talk, even with new ways, methods, and technologies," says Mr. Mëhilli to Voice of America.
Dr. Rama agrees, emphasizing the necessity for young Albanian readers, despite facing a dynamic life, to learn about their past.
"In this effort to earn our daily bread, in the race to move forward, we are forgetting and bypassing exactly what is very important for us—who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. Where we will go is largely determined by where we have been," says Mr. Rama.
The English version has been published by the Canadian University "Toronto Press" and will be used as an example to explain to its students a way to conduct historical research.