Vasil Laçi
Vasil Laçi | |
---|---|
![]() Vasil Laçi on police photo before execution | |
Born | [1] | 15 September 1922
Died | 27 May 1941 | (aged 18)
Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
Nationality | Albanian |
Known for | An attempt to kill in 1941Victor Emmanuel III,thenKing of ItalyandShefqet Bej Vërlaci,thenPrime Minister of Albania |
Parent(s) | Mihal Laçi (father), Vitori Laçi (mother) |
Relatives | Kolë Laçi (cousin) and Sister |
Awards | ![]() |
Vasil Laçi,People's Hero of Albania,also referred to asVasil Llaçi[2](15 September 1922 – 27 May 1941), was anAlbanianpatriot and anti-monarchist[3]who attempted to killVictor Emmanuel III,King of ItalyandShefqet Bej Vërlaci,Prime Minister of Albaniaafter theoccupation of Albania by fascist Italy.
Early life
[edit]Vasil Laçi was born in the village ofPiqerasin southern Albania near the city ofSarandëon 15 September 1922, son of Mihal Laçi and Vitori. His father died at the age of 30, while Vasil was still a child. He spent his childhood in Piqeras, where he studied in the local elementary school. In 1933-1935 he worked inDurrësas astevedore.In 1936 he moved toTirana,capital of Albania, after being invited to work there.[4]TheItalian invasionfound him in Tirana. There he developed relations with patriotic groups, and helped several of their members escape from the Italian troops and police.[3]He worked initially as a dishwasher, and later as a servant. His cousin Kolë Llaçi was member of the Communist Group ofKorçë(where he had migrated) and died in September 1941 in the prison ofVoskopojëafter being arrested by the Italians.[1]The Fascist military reports states that "Llaçi had communist ideas and he had been in contact with communist literature".
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d5/Vasil_La%C3%A7i_Questura_report.jpeg/240px-Vasil_La%C3%A7i_Questura_report.jpeg)
Assassination attempt against Victor Emmanuel III
[edit]Victor Emmanuel III decided to visit Albania on April 12, 1941 and he arrived one month later, after being reassured by the Italian fascist police of Tirana that all security measures had been taken. Laçi found out about Victor Emmanuel's visit to Albania 15 days before his arrival on May 2, 1941. He got a job at the Hotel International where Victor Emmanuel would stay, and borrowed aBeretta M1915pistol fromPëllumb Koka,another Albanian patriot. On May 17, 1941 the 19-year-old Laçi, wearing an Albanian national costume, attacked the car in which Victor Emmanuel andShefqet Bej Vërlaci,Prime Minister of Albaniawere travelling accompanied by the ministers of the government. He fired four shots towards them while shouting "Long live Albania! Down with fascism", but failed to hit anyone.[3][4]After the assassination attempt, the Italian sources inRomeaccusedGreeceof being behind Laçi and called him a "Greek-Macedonian named Mihailoff Vasillaci" (di origine grecomacedone).[5][6][7]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/Enver_Hoxha_and_Llaci%27s_family60s.jpeg/300px-Enver_Hoxha_and_Llaci%27s_family60s.jpeg)
Aftermath and legacy
[edit]Laçi was arrested immediately and executed by hanging ten days later. The Italian fascist government attributed his attack to economic issues he had with Shefqet Bej Vërlaci, to prevent possible uprisings of the Albanian people.[3][4]
Laçi was one of the first people to posthumously receive thePeople's Hero of Albaniaaward from the Albanian government. His assassination attempt was documented in a book, which was adapted for the 1980 movieBullets for the Imperator(Albanian:Plumba Perandorit). A monument to Laçi stands in Tirana.[3]
References
[edit]- ^abVasil Llaçi, Hero i Popullit,Tirana: Directory of Museums, Committee of Veterans of Tirana, May 1976, pp. 5, 6
- ^Comando Superiore Carabinieri Reali dell Albania - document of 25 May 1941
- ^abcdeShqip on Vasil Laçi
- ^abcOwen Pearson,Albania in Occupation and War: From Fascism to Communism 1940-1945,2006, p.153,ISBN978-1-84511-104-5
- ^Bernd Jürgen Fischer (1999).Albania at War, 1939-1945.Purdue University Press. p. 102.ISBN978-1-55753-141-4.
- ^Owen Pearson (11 July 2006).Albania in the Twentieth Century, A History: Volume II: Albania in Occupation and War, 1939-45.I.B.Tauris. pp. 153–.ISBN978-1-84511-104-5.
- ^Antonio Spinosa (1993).Vittorio Emanuele III: l'astuzia di un re.Mondadori. p. 385.ISBN978-88-04-36653-9.
L'attentatore era un ragazzo diciottenne, Vasil Laci Mihailoff, di origine grecomacedone