Albanian Kingdom ( 1943 – 44 ) The Albanian Kingdom ( Albanian : " Mbretnija Shqiptare " , German : " Königreich Albanien " ) existed as a " de jure " independent country , between 1943 and 1944 . Before the armistice between Italy and the Allied armed forces on 8 September 1943 , Albania had been in a de jure personal union with and was de facto under the control of the Kingdom of Italy . After the armistice and the Italian exit from the Axis , the Germans took control . The Germans favoured the Balli Kombëtar over King Zog I ' s Legalists and therefore put Balli Kombëtar in charge of Albania under German rule . Albania under the Balli Kombëtar included most of Kosovo , as well as Western Macedonia , the town of Tutin in Central Serbia and a strip of Eastern Montenegro . It was the policy of the Balli Kombëtar to have all Albanian populated territories under one state . History . German invasion and construction of a German Albania . In anticipation of such invasion , the Wehrmacht drew up a series of military plans for action against Italian holdings in the Balkans code - named " Konstantin " . And for a more direct nature , units of German Military Intelligence ( Abwehr ) section II were sent to Mitrovica ( present day Kosovo ) in April 1943 in an attempt to gain some influence among the growing number of Albanians disaffected with the Italians . Even more directly , in July and August 1943 , the German army occupied Albanian airports and ports , ostensibly to protect Italian Albania from the possibility of an Allied invasion . By mid - August there were some six thousand German troops in Albania . The first political move made by the Foreign Ministry prior to the invasion was the appointment of Hermann Neubacher , a former mayor of Vienna , as Ribbentrop ' s special representative for southerneastern Europe . Neubacher , already active in the Balkans as Hitler ' s representative for economic concerns , would become the key German figure in the balkans during the second half of the war . Although he was not officially assigned Albania as part of his responsibility until 10 September . Apart from the appointment of Neubacher , Major Franz von Scheiger was dispatched to Mitrovica . Scheiger , who had been to Albania before as an officer in the Austro - Hungarian army , was acquainted with many Albanian interwar politicians of influence on a personal basis . The Germans planned to construct an independent neutral Albania controlled by a government friendly to the Germans . After the Mukje Agreement was broken by the Albanian Partisans , war broke out between the Albanian Partisans ( who were backed by the Yugoslav Partisans , who in turn were backed by the Allies } and the Balli Kombëtar . After the capitulation of Italian forces on 8 September 1943 , German troops swiftly occupied Albania with two divisions . The Germans formed a ' neutral government ' in Tirana with the Balli Kombëtar . An independent state of Albania . The Germans were intent on setting up an autonomous administration and endeavored to persuade Albanian leaders to form a government to take over the administration of the country themselves . Many hesitated , in particular when rumors spread that British forces were preparing to invade Albania . Kosovo Albanian leaders , however , realizing that a German defeat would mean a return to Yugoslav rule , were more willing to cooperate . On 14 September 1943 , an Albanian government was then set up under Ibrahim Biçaku of Elbasan , Bedri Pejani and Xhafer Deva of Kosovo . The national assembly , composed of 243 members , began to function on 16 October 1943 , electing a four - member High Regency Council ( Këshilli i Lartë i Regjencës ) to govern the country . The new government , which promised to remain neutral in the war , succeeded in restoring a good deal of stability . The administration and justice systems functioned once again , and Albanian schools were reopened throughout northern and central Albania . Steps were also taken to implement a land reform . On 13 July 1944 , Albania attained formal independence under German aegis . Albania had a status similar to that of Croatia and Slovakia , having relative sovereignty under Nazi Germany . Ante Pavelic ' s Ustashi regime in Croatia extended their recognition to the Albanians . End of World War II and the beginning of Communism . With the Grand Alliance established , the Germans began losing the war . With the current situation favouring the communists , the partisans began a full scale attack on the Germans and Balli Kombëtar . British Liaison officers in Albania noted that the Communists were using the arms they received to fight fellow Albanians far more than to harass the Germans . The west noted that the Communists could not have won without the supplies and armaments from the British , America and Yugoslavia , and that the LNC were not afraid of murdering their country men . Government . High Regency Council . After the Union with Italy was officially dissolved ; many of the laws passed after Italian invasion were revoked , and Albania was declared free , neutral and independent . At the same time , the assembly revoked the draft law of June 1940 that declared Albania to be a co - belligerent with Italy . The assembly announced that Albania would be governed by a regency of four - one representative from each of Albania ' s four major religious communities - for the remainder of the war . The Germans had created a government similar to the one that had ruled after the retreat of Prince Wied in September 1914 , demonstrating an appreciation for not only Albanian history but also for Albania ' s religious makeup . Lef Nosi was chosen as the Orthodox representative . Representing the Sunni Muslims , the Germans were able to attract Fuat Dibra , a landowner from new Albania who , like Nosi , had a long and distinguished record . Unlike the others , Dibra had served in the collaborationist cabinet of Mustafa Kruja , but in November 1942 he had been elected to the central committee of the Balli Kombëtar and was therefore something of a catch for the Germans . Albanian Catholics were represented by the prior of the Franciscans in Shkodër , Father Anton Harapi , who maintained connections with both the Kosovars and the Albanian partisans . Learning of his appointment , partisan emissaries unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade him from accepting . Hermann Neubacher seemed to have developed a warm personal relationship with Harapi , in part because Harapi had received some of his education at the monastery school of Meran and Hall in the Tyrol . Mehdi Frashëri , a Bektashi Muslim , was one of the most respected living Albanians . He agreed to head the Council of Regency . The leadership of the council was originally designed to rotate , but Lef Nosi declined for heath reasons and Anton Harapi argued that as a Catholic monk he could accept no position in which he would be forced to sanction the death penalty . Once committed , the regency moved to form a permanent government , which would begin the process of ending the chaos and stabilizing Albania . Following hurried negotiations , on 5 November , a government headed by the Kosovar , Rexhep Mitrovica was introduced . Military . The Ballists and German forces pressed hard against the Communists after the neutral government was formed . The Ballists destroyed a fairly large Communist partisan group south - west of Tirana . The partisan force of about 2000 strong had been annihilated . With other major partisan forces losing , the Albanian Communists tactically retreated , establishing guerrilla warfare to fight the Balli Kombetar . The Ballists , along with the Germans , occupied the region of Chameria ( Cham Albanian collaboration with the Axis ) . In Kosovo and western Macedonia , when it was a part of the independent state of Albania , the German and Ballist forces had occasional skirmishes with Yugoslav partisans . When Maqellarë , midway between Debar and Peshkopi , was recaptured by the Fifth Partisan Brigade , the Germans with the assistance of the Ballist forces of Xhem Hasa launched an attack from Debar , defeating the partisans . Fiqri Dine , Xhem Hasa and Hysni Dema as well as three German Majors directed military campaigns against the Albanian and Yugoslav partisans . The Albanian and Yugoslav partisans were the main threat to Albania , but not the only force . In the Sandzak regions that were part of the independent state of Albanian , Chetnik forces harassed the local populace . Dzemail Konicanin and Ballist forces under Shaban Polluzha successfully repelled Chetnik forces back from Novi Pazar and crushed their stronghold in Banja . Police . To maintain the military occupation in the new German state of Albania , the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS sought to utilise local manpower to maintain law and order , and fight off Yugoslav Partisan and communist Albanian Resistance activity in the region . For their part Albanian leaders hoped to form an " army , which will be able to safeguard the borders of Kosovo and liberate the surrounding regions " . Led by German officers , in May 1944 , some troops from the division were stationed in the Gjakova ( present - day Ðakovica ) area to guard the mines . Xhafer Deva was the Minister of the Interior and therefore the head of the police in the country . Large number of Serbs were killed across Kosovo or deported to camps in Albania starting from 1942 . Local Albanian fighters ( Ballists ) saw an opportunity to take their revenge upon their Serbian neighbours for the suffering they had endured over previous two decades ( Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars , Colonisation of Kosovo ) . The Ballists attacked the Serb colonists , burning perhaps as many as 30 , 000 houses belonging to Serb and Montenegrin settlers . Economy . When the Germans entered Tirana , they had hoped to find enough money in the National Bank of Albania to pay their troops . This was to be considered a loan . But they found only thirty million francs and overhead expenses for the German army in Albania proved to be about forty million francs a month . With some degree of urgency , they turned to the German authorities in Rome , where an SS commando raid had recently captured 120 million francs in notes , the plates , twenty - three sacks of gold coins and twenty - nine cases of gold bars from the main branch of the National Bank of Albania ( Zog ' s government became almost completely dependent on Mussolini , to the point that the Albanian national bank had its seat in Rome . After capitulation , National Bank reserves had remained in Italy ) . The gold was sent to Berlin and the notes were sent to Tirana . The substantial sums were immediately transferred to the National Bank of Albania in Tirana . The money was used to pay German troops in Albania and Montenegro . It was also used to finance German construction projects such as buildings , roads , road repairs , airports and coastal gun emplacements . Currency . The currency used in Albania was the Albanian Gold Franga . Ideology . According to Mit ' hat Frasheri , the founder of Balli Kombëtar , the Albanian provinces under the Ottoman Empire were unfairly partitioned during World War I among Yugoslavia and Greece . Hitler also viewed Albanians as a vital warrior mountain race and as Aryans of Illyrian heritage . Notes and references . Notes : References :