New York, NY, January 18, 2007… A Muslim family who saved 26 Jews from the Nazis and led them to safety in the mountains of Central Albania was honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) with its Courage to Care Award.
The award was presented posthumously to Mefail and Njazi Biçaku on International Rescuer's Day, January 17, in New York City. Accepting the award on their behalf were family members Muhamet Biçaku, Elida Hazbiu and Qemal Biçaku, two of whom came from Albania.
Michael Salberg, ADL Director of International Affairs, who presented the award said; "Mefail, his son Njazi and their entire family had the courage to care. Through their compassion and valor without regard for religious or ethnic differences they upheld the honor of the human race and the conscience of the world. In the moral void that engulfed the world in those nightmare days when the cruelty of the Nazis ran rampant, the Biçaku family was among those few shining stars."
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In February 1944, when the Nazis descended upon the mountain hiding place, not a single Jew fell into their hands. During the Holocaust, Albania was the only country in Europe that protected and sheltered its entire Jewish population, both native and foreign.
Through the valiant efforts of Muslims and Christians, all of Albania's Jews survived the Holocaust.more...(emphasis added)
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