May 5th is a significant historical date for the Albanian people, as it commemorates the Martyrs of the Nation.
On this day, numerous names from all eras are remembered with gratitude, not only for their eternal values and the contribution they made to the liberation of the country for a better future but also for all those who sacrificed their lives for freedom, democracy, human rights, and the dignity of every Albanian.
The origin of this event dates back to May 5, 1942, when Qemal Stafa was killed, who, through his activism, became a symbol of the National Anti-Fascist Liberation War.
After the declaration of independence in 1912, and until 1945, the Albanian state did not establish a legal status for the martyrs of the homeland. During the National Liberation War, the first efforts began to honor the martyrs who fell on the battlefields. After the liberation, on August 28, 1945, the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council adopted law No. 109, titled “On the compensation of the families of martyrs and invalids of the National Anti-Fascist Liberation War.”
This law sanctioned the treatment of families of patriots who had fought and fallen for the homeland even before the National Anti-Fascist Liberation War, during the National Renaissance and wars for independence, marking the first attempt for a comprehensive law for the martyrs of the homeland.
During the communist era, May 5th became a tradition. It was an important day! A distinctive feature of this day was the visits to the martyrs’ graves of the National Anti-Fascist Liberation War and the visits to the families of the martyrs. Martyr cemeteries were built in every district center. Albania, in addition to the 26 such cemeteries in the district centers, had two others that were completely unique and belonged to two martyr villages, Kuçi of Kurvelesh and Pezë of Tirana. In the latter, both the party and state leadership paid homage on May 5th, as well as on September 16th, the day of the Conference of Pezë. In Kuçi, as a rule, the students of the village school and the families of the martyrs would visit.
In honor of the fallen for the country’s freedom, every year, homage is paid at the Martyrs’ Cemetery by the highest state leaders. Today, as well, tributes are expected to be made in their honor.
