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The Massacre and Destruction of Borova, 1943
Date posted: Friday, August 6, 2004
Author: Vladimir Misho

Borova in Albania was founded sometime between the 14th and 15th centuries by three brothers named Miho, Gjeke, and Pashka who were among the first to settle in the village where they created the three neighborhoods of Mihollare, Gjekollare, and Pashkallare. It is believed that the name of "Borova" is the result of a massive Slavic movement into Albania at the end of the 5th century since "boro" means "pine" in the Slavic language. Because the people of Borova were so industrious, it was rare to find family members that were not craftsmen such as masons, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, etc. Many emigrated to other Balkan countries, America, and Argentina.
The Borovans' love of knowledge and education was extraordinary. They opened an Albanian school as soon as Albania attained independence in 1912. By receiving a good education, many of the male population were employed by the state adminstration of Albania. One intellectual from the village even became a Minister in King Zog's royal court. Since 1925, Borova had its own theatrical group which regularly produced Albanian theatrical pieces. Elderly people recall that the village organized in 1925-1926 a broad colloquium on Arthur Lewis's "Science and Religion."
Regrettably, the most indelible event that is forever imprinted in the memories of the people was the massacre of the unarmed and unprotected population of the village by the Nazi German army on July 6, 1943. At that time, Borova had about 450 inhabitants and 100 houses, stores, offices, churches, etc. All of the houses and buildings were completely burned or otherwise destroyed by the Germans. 107 inhabitants were massacred including 5 entire families. The youngest victim was an infant of only 4 months, the oldest - a woman of 73.
The reason for the massacre and destruction was Nazi German army retaliation against the people of Borova because they supported Albanian partisans who had attacked German replacements of Italian military occupation forces. In the darkness of the massacres, there were rare appearances of the light from the human spirit: a German soldier found a live infant thrown in with dead bodies. He took the infant and placed it in a safe place where it survived.
In 1945, Borova was honored for its resistance during the Albanian war of liberation. A monument was erected of a baby being saved. From 1996, improvements by the German Embassy in Tirana were made to Borova's schools, roads, and water pipes along with the construction of a wall around the cemetery where the massacred victims are buried. The events at Borova are commemorated in a symphony by Albanian composer Thoma Gaqi entitled "Poema Simfonike Borova."
The above data was supplied by Vladimir Misho of Tirana, Albania, and translated into English by his daughter, Silva Misho.

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