March 1950
Statement from Enver Hoxha, First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania
"Comrades, we rejoice in our freedom, in our independence, in our constant drive to achieve a full fledged socialist state! We are a small nations, we may lack resources but what we do not lack is our will, and a man's will can move mountains; not by his arm but by a machine. So what the government seeks right now is industrialization but, sadly, this will have to wait for some time, right now our comrades are facing hardships as well and we do not wish to burden them. And speak highly of those comrades that are fighting a great fight against imperialism, just as we did with the Italian fascists!
I refer to Fidel Castro, great leader of the Cuban people, liberator of the Caribbean island and a great man, just like every man in Cuba; I refer to Mao Zedong, great empowerer of the Asian people and a rising figure in the world of Socialism and of course, I refer to our closest ally, comrade Stalin, of which pictures can be seen all throughout Albania. It is he, who has led the USSR, that is a close friend to the Albanian people. These great people have engaged in open combat with imperialism, yet we, as a small nation who has faced many troubles with it, can't do much but see from the stands and defend ourselves from the waves of enemies that wash upon our shores, we can not engage in combat.
But we can do something else.
Right now, the highest expression of Imperialism finds itself in Africa, a heartland, the biggest continent on Earth and the most diverse one. How long has it been opressed under the boot of imperialism? For how long will it remain that way? Is it just complacent leaders that give way for their people to be abused or, like the Egyptians, will these people stand up. Although the Egyptian people have not achieved a complete liberation from opression, we salute them and wish them luck, for revolutions are the way to achieve real justice in this world. We can help Africa achieve a complete freedom. Most infamous among these examples of abuses made by the falling Empires is the Congo, genocide denied by the Belgian state. What atrocities have they commited to the African people, what any other things can we help to avoid?
The Albanian nation, closest socialist state to the African continent, seek support of their comrades to bring the colonization and opression of the many African states, under blantant colonialism that has been overlooked, to be able to decide for themselves, for their autonomy and independence. We, ourselves, will send whatever help we can to any state that undergoes a voluntary change of government, be it a revolution or a simple shake of the yoke of imperialism, both of these expressions of a major discontent by the opressed Africans. Weapons or resources, advisors or diplomats, we wish to assist a free Africa.
Thank you, comrades".
Yes, small nations suffering the opression of the workers, of their people. What has Albania faced throughout the years if not the struggle many nations were suffering at that very moment, like Cuba. Castro was an ideal leader to build a relationship with, both were examples of a growing movement that rose from the ashes of opression, achieving socialism in the small nations in order to bring down the empires. The united small nations could bring down the hegemony held by said empires, if they cooperated. But ensuring the revolution would last in the Caribbean and its surroundings would take a massive amount of effort, that Albania could not assist with in any manner. Hoxha walked among the many bunkers built on the cities and had an idea.
To: Fidel Castro
From: Enver Hoxha
Comrade, I hope this letter finds you well. There's a threat on your neighboring coasts, a threat that cannot avoided, as you very well know. Our nation is small and cannot do much in order to help you with resources but we do wish to assist you in your struggle to achieve socialism in any way we can, and as such, we offer to send advisors, veterans that were once part of the Albanian guerrillas that fought bravely against the Nazi threat, to help you with the construction of bunkers in each and every street, of a line of defense that can not be broken through. We are sorry we can't send more, comrade Castro, but know that you have the full support of the Albanian people.
A problem remained in the Adriatic nation. The industrialization plans had not been achieved succesfully and time passed, time that could be spent growing. Yet the Soviet Union was understandably occupied with the expansion of socialism in the great Asian nations. But who to seek support from, which socialist state would assist Albania on its struggle? Hoxha looked to Europe and its most advanced socialist state aside from the Soviets. The GDR.
To: Wilhelm Pieck
From: Enver Hoxha
A warm greeting from the Albanian people, comrade. We wish to establish a lasting cooperation between our two states, which find themselves in constant revolutions to achieve socialism in an effective manner. But we haven't the knowledge in our technicians to achieve a fully fledged industrialization of Albania, which would develop resources to assist world-wide socialism. And in order to achieve a benefit for both of our nations, I present you a trade agreement: If you send advisors that assist with the building of factories and the extraction of resources, we will make a percent of the production of these factories go to you, be it weaponry or ammunition, or machine parts, whatever your people need, comrade.
Enver Hoxha, First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania
Summary
Hoxha basically says that he will assist African revolutions, and asks for assistance.
Bunkers for Cuba!
Hoxha proposes a trade deal with the GDR.