National Front parade in Priština. Young Kosovo Albanians, members of the National Front (Balli Kombëtar – the so-called Ballists, that is, Frontists), listen to their leaders' speeches in front of Hotel "Scanderbeg" in Priština. On their white caps, they wear the coat of arms of Albania – a black double-headed eagle on a red field – an old Byzantine symbol that their national hero George Castriot "Scanderbeg" adopted after reverting to Christianity, and used during his quarter-of-a-century-long struggle against the Ottomans. The Albanian people, however, were far more influenced by the centuries of Turkish rule than by the Christian warlord Scanderbeg (translated: Lord Alexander), which was also reported by the commander of the Albanian SS division (of the same name), August Schmidhuber, October 1944: "As a 400-year-old Turkish province, Albania has remained 'more Turkish' in every way than Turkey itself. Starting with women's veils up to the national concept. Since the death of their national hero Scanderbeg (1468), the Albanians have not evolved, but vegetated. They do not yet have a strong national and state awareness, but still live, like the old Germanic peoples, in a clannish and tribal mindset. The ethnic fate of Albania after Scanderbeg's death could probably be best compared to what Germany would be like if it had not produced another leader after the Cheruscan Lord Arminius." (Arminius was killed in the 1st century CE.)
Text: Ivan Ž.; August Schmidhuber.
Photographer: Ernst A. Zwilling, Air Force War Correspondent Battalion South-East.
Date: July 1944.
Location: Priština, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.
Sources: ECPAD, LFT SO F2684 L11; Bundesarchiv, RS 3-21/1; Oliver Jens Schmitt, Skanderbeg – Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan, Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg, 2009, pp. 15, 90, 242, 333; Johannes Bühler, "Arminius der Cherusker", Deutsche Biographie. (Photo restoration: Ivan Ž.)
NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files; using text without crediting the original author; using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.
Parada Nacionalnog fronta u Prištini. Mladi kosovski Albanci, članovi Nacionalnog fronta (Balli Kombëtar – tzv. balisti, odnosno frontovci), slušaju govore svojih vođa pred Hotelom "Skenderbeg" u Prištini. Na svojim belim kapama oni nose grb Albanije – crnog dvoglavog orla u crvenom polju – stari vizantijski simbol koji je njihov nacionalni heroj Đurađ Kastriot Skenderbeg usvojio pri povratku u hrišćanstvo, i nosio tokom svoje četvrtvekovne borbe protiv Osmanlija. U albanskom narodu su, međutim, znatno veći trag ostavili vekovi provedeni pod Turcima nego hrišćanski vojskovođa Skenderbeg (u prevodu: knez Aleksandar), o čemu je pisao i komandant (istoimene) albanske SS-divizije, August Šmidhuber, oktobra 1944: "Albanija je kao četristogodišnja turska provincija u svakom pogledu ostala 'turskija' od same Turske. Počevši od ženskih velova pa sve do nacionalnog koncepta. Albanci se od smrti svog nacionalnog heroja Skenderbega (1468) nisu razvijali, već su vegetirali. Oni još uvek nemaju izraženu nacionalnu i državotvornu svest, nego se i dalje nalaze, kao i Germani nekada, u klanovskom i plemenskom stanju svesti. Etnička sudbina Albanije posle Skenderbegove smrti otprilike bi se najbolje mogla uporediti sa Nemačkom u slučaju da nije iznedrila nijednog drugog vođu posle heruskog kneza Arminija." (Arminije je ubijen u I veku n.e.)
Tekst: Ivan Ž.; August Šmidhuber.
Fotograf: Ernst A. Cviling, Vazduhoplovni ratnodopisnički bataljon Jugoistok.
Datum: jul 1944.
Mesto: Priština, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.
Izvori: ECPAD, LFT SO F2684 L11; Bundesarchiv, RS 3-21/1; Oliver Jens Schmitt, Skanderbeg – Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan, Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg, 2009, str. 15, 90, 242, 333; Johannes Bühler, "Arminius der Cherusker", Deutsche Biographie. (Foto-restauracija: Ivan Ž.)
NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova; korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora; korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.
