Lefter Talo

Lefter Talo
Born1913
Hajdëragas, Albania
(modern-day Lefter Talo)
Died29 March 1944(1944-03-29) (aged 30–31)
Cause of deathKIA
Resting placeNational Martyrs' Cemetery
Political partyParty of Labour of Albania
Awards Hero of the People
Military career
AllegianceNational Liberation Movement (Albania)
Service / branchÇamëria Battalion
Years of service1943–1944
RankCommissar

Lefter Talo (Greek: Λευτέρης Τάλλιος, 1913 – 29 March 1944) was an Albanian resistance leader, revolutionary, hero of World War II and a teacher.[1] He was killed in battle fighting German forces in Margëlliç, Fier, Albania in 1944.[2]

Early life

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Lefter Talo was born Lefteris Talios (Λευτέρης Τάλλιος) in 1913, in the village of Hajdëragas, Albania (now Lefter Talo), in a local family of Greek background.[3] He attended elementary school in Dhrovjan in the district of Delvinë, Albania, and high school in Filiates, Greece. He finished the university and graduated as a teacher in Elbasan, Albania.[2]

Talo graduated from the Zosimaia Greek language school in Ioannina, Greece.[4] He also studied at the Velas seminary in Greece. After graduating he became a teacher in various Greek schools in southern Albania[5] among them in the villages of Pepel and Cuka.[4]

Resistance

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Talo disagreed over the future of the Greek population in southern Albania with Vasileios Sachinis, the latter being the leader of the Northern Epirus Liberation Front (MAVI) that contested the incorporation of northern Epirus to Albania.[6]

Legacy

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The name of the village where he was born was changed from "Hajdëragas" to "Lefter Talo".

On 6 June 1944, a battalion named Lefter Talo was created by members of the Greek minority of Albania in Dhivër, Finiq. It was one of three battalions consisting of Greek minority fighters in the Albanian National Liberation Front.[7][8]

The "Lefter Talo" battalion was attached to battalion "Çamëria" which operated in 1944 in the region between Mallakastër and Chameria (today in Epirus, Greece) was named after him.[9]

  • Lefter Talo Street (Rruga Lefter Talo), in Sarandë is named after him.
  • Lefter Talo School (Shkolla Lefter Talo), in Livadhe in Finiq municipality is named after him.

Greek poet Yiannis Panos wrote an elegy dedicated to Talo.[10]

References

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  1. ^ tg (2015-03-30). "Miti NITO/ Beteja legjendare e Margëlliçit ku ranë heroikisht 4 "Heronj të Popullit"". Gazeta Telegraf (in Albanian). Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  2. ^ a b Pollo, Stefanaq (1983). Historia e Shqipërisë: 1912-1944 (in Albanian). Albania: Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Historisë. p. 578.
  3. ^ Kofos, Evangelos (1 January 1993). "The Greek minority school textbooks during the Enver Hoxha period". Balkan Studies. 34 (1). Institute for Balkan Studies: 95. ISSN 2241-1674. Retrieved 14 September 2022. ... was re-named "Lefteris Tallios" (indicating that it was Greek) in honour of the leader of a band of guerilla fighters from the Greek community
  4. ^ a b Γιώτης, Σπυρίδων (2022). "Η ιταλική πολιτική στην Αλβανία και η ελληνική μειονότητα, 1939-1943" (in Greek). Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. Σχολή Οικονομικών και Περιφερειακών Σπουδών. Τμήμα Βαλκανικών, Σλαβικών και Ανατολικών Σπουδών. doi:10.12681/eadd/52391. hdl:10442/hedi/52391. S2CID 252823486. Retrieved 11 April 2023. Ο Λευτέρης Τάλιος γεννήθηκε το 1913 στο χωριό Χαντήραγα του Βούρκου. Παρακολούθησε τη Ζωσιμαία Σχολή Ιωαννίνων και εργάστηκε ως δάσκαλος στα χωριά Πέπελη και Τσούκα. Φέρεται ως πρωτεργάτης της κομμουνιστικής κίνησης στην περιοχή του Βούρκου και ένθερμος υποστηρικτής της συνεργασίας των Βορειοηπειρωτών με το FNÇ
  5. ^ [1] p. 173, 205
  6. ^ [2] Kostoulas p. 154
  7. ^ Salata, Ilir. ""BALKAN HEADQUARTER" IN THE OPTIC OF ALBANIAN COMMUNISTS IN THE 1939-1944 YEARS". International Journal: 1501. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  8. ^ Γιώτης, Σπυρίδων (2022). "Η ιταλική πολιτική στην Αλβανία και η ελληνική μειονότητα, 1939-1943" (in Greek). Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. Σχολή Οικονομικών και Περιφερειακών Σπουδών. Τμήμα Βαλκανικών, Σλαβικών και Ανατολικών Σπουδών. p. 314. doi:10.12681/eadd/52391. hdl:10442/hedi/52391. S2CID 252823486. Retrieved 11 April 2023. το τάγμα «Παντελής Μπότσαρης στις 9 Μαρτίου 1944 στο Καλτσάτι του Βούρκου, ενώ το τάγμα «Λευτέρης Τάλιος» στις 6 Ιουνίου 1944 στη Δίβρη
  9. ^ Hasani, Proletar (1999). Historia e organizimit të UNÇSH-së 1939 -1944 (in Albanian). Fllad. p. 83. Grupi IV (apo Çamëria) me batalionet e tij përbërës "Çamëria", "Lefter Talo", "Telo Plaku" e "Pandeli Boçari"
  10. ^ Frantzi, Anteia (2006). "Literature and National Consciousness of the Greek Minority in Northern Epirus". The Historical Review / La Revue Historique: 210. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23.