Liberation Day (Albanian: Dita e Çlirimit) is an annual public holiday in Albania and is always held on November 29th.
The holiday marks the date in 1944 when the occupation by the Axis powers during the second world war ended.
This is the second day of a two day holiday period, as Liberation Day is always preceded by Independence Day on November 28th.
History of Liberation Day
On April 7th 1939, the Kingdom of Italy under the leadership of Benito Mussolini invaded the Kingdom of Albania. With no organised resistance, the invasion was completed in only five days.
Italy had a long-standing influence over Albania and the invasion was seen as a way to avoid being the less dominant partner in its relationship with Nazi Germany.
In September 1943, following the defeat of Italy in the second world war, Albania was invaded by Nazi Germany, with paratroopers landing in the capital Tirana before the Albanian resistance had a chance to form any sort of resistance.
The National Liberation Front was set up in 1942 to organise the resistance against the Italian occupation and by the end of 1944, over 70,000 partisans consisting of nationalists and communists had gained the upper hand against the invaders. On November 29th, the remaining German forces were pushed out of Albania.
