POLITIKA AMERIKANE NDAJ TË ARDHMES SË SHQIPËRISË (1941-1942)
THE AMERICAN POLICY IN RELATION TO THE FUTURE OF ALBANIA 1941-1942

Summary/Abstract: The article “The American Policy in relation to the future of Albania, 1941-1942” examines one of the most troublesome and uncertain periods of Albania’s history, namely the Italian occupation of the country and its prospect at the end of the Second World War. This article deals particularly with the US government’s policy towards Albania focusing on several peak moments such as: the non-recognition of the Italian occupation of Albania, the US-Albania relations after the issuing of the Atlantic Charter and the Charter of the United Nations [1 January 1942], and specifically after the Declaration of 10 December 1942, which issued the right for the re-establishment of the independent Albanian state at the end of the War. This short paper takes also under consideration the general policy of the USA and compares it to the one followed by the British government. Basically the US government’s policy continued to preserve a positive and supportive attitude towards Albania and the Albanians, in contrast to the erratic attitude followed in several cases by the Great Britain’s government. There are also examined the common and distinct aspects in the policies of these two countries based on the American and British archival sources. In addition, this paper will deal with the attitude of the Albanian diaspora, represented by prominent figures such as King Zog, Fan Noli and Kostandin Çekrezi, but also by simple Albanians who were highly sensitive towards the future fate of their father land. Although the American policy during this time was more appreciated than that of the British government, there was still reluctance, distrust and fear from future partition of the Albanian territories in favor of neighboring countries, in particular Greece.

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