Ali Demi
Born
Ali Ahmet Demi

(1918-01-18)18 January 1918
Filiates, Greece
Died19 December 1943(1943-12-19) (aged 25)
Kaninë, Vlorë, Albania
Cause of deathAssassinated by Balli Kombëtar
Resting placeNational Martyrs Cemetery
Political partyPKSH
Opponents
FamilyDemi family
Awards Hero of the People
Military career
AllegianceLANÇ
Service/branchÇermenika Battalion
Years of service1943
RankCommissar

Ali Demi (18 January 1918 – 29 December 1943) was an Albanian hero of World War II and a communist.[1][2] He was killed in battle fighting German forces in Vlora, Albania in 1943.[3]

Biography

He was born in Filiates, Greece (Çamëria), to a Cham Albanian family. Later Ali Demi studied at the Lyceum, in Tirana, Albania and in 1939 he participated in antifascist demonstrations. He was also one of the founders of the Communist party of Albania. He was sentenced to death by Italian forces but managed to escape and joined partisan forces. In 1943 he was killed in a battle fighting against German forces in Kaninë village, near Vlora.[4][5]

Aftermath

In May 1944, the Greek People's Liberation Army formed and named a mixed unit of both Greeks and Cham Albanians in his honor, the IV "Ali Demi" battalion of 15th regiment.[6]

Ali Demi Street and Ali Demi (neighborhood) in Tirana, are named after him. There is a statue of Ali Demi in Tirana stating on it “ ALI DEMI HERO I POPULLIT” - in English “ Ali Demi hero of the people”.

References

  1. ^ Balkan Newspaper Archived April 30, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ article of Tirana Observer newspaper[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ [1] A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History By Robert Elsie, pages 101-2.
  4. ^ Zane, Hyqmet. "Ali Demi, i vetmi Hero i Popullit i Çamërisë". sot.com.al. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  5. ^ Rama, Luan. "Ali Demi, muajt e fundit të jetës së një heroi (FOTO)". www.gazeta-shqip.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  6. ^ "...in May 1944 ”a mixed battalion of the Cham minority that was formed within ELAS-fighting units under the command of the 15th regiment in the village of Kastanjë”, was named “Ali Demi” and comprised in the time of its formation 460 men..." Kretsi, Georgia: Verfolgung und Gedächtnis in Albanien: Eine Analyse postsozialistischer Erinnerungsstrategien, ISBN 3-447-05544-8
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