The Federation, Jewish Communities of Western Connecticut, is playing host to the exhibit, called “BESA-A Code of Honor-Muslim Albanians Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust.” Cynthia Burger, the federation’s Jewish Community Center program director, said the Albanians acted according to their code of honor, known as “Besa,” which means “to keep the promise.”

The exhibit, by American photographer Norman H. Gershman, came from the United Nations to Southbury on April 22 and will be at the Walzer Family Jewish Community Campus, 444 Main St. North, until May 2. On Monday at 7 p.m., the role Albania played will be featured in this year’s annual Yom HaShoah — or Holocaust Remembrance — sponsored by the federation. Burger said about 300 Muslim Albanians from the area will attend. “This is our Jewish community’s opportunity to recognize the unique role the Albanian community played in rescuing Jews during the Holocaust,” Burger said. One speaker will be Mordecai Paldiel, who spent about 25 years as head of the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem, which honors non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. At the beginning of World War II there were 200 Jews living in northern Albania, Burger said. At the end of the war, there were 2,200. “They were sheltered at the peril of the Muslim Albanians,” he said. “Not one person gave up a Jewish person. What we try to do here at the federation is bring the lessons of the Holocaust forward.” Robert Zwang, the federation’s executive director, said the federation is “thrilled to now have these photos on exhibit for our local community to see.” “This exhibit has traveled from Yad Vashem, in Jerusalem, Israel, to the United Nations to mark the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Holocaust,” Zwang said. n Reservations are necessary for the Yom HaShoah program; call (203) 267-3177, ext. 106. Contact Karen Ali at [email protected] or at (203) 731-3341. WHAT — A photo exhibit featuring Albanian Muslims who helped Jews during the Holocaust. WHERE — Walzer Family Jewish Community Campus, 444 Main St. North., Southbury. WHEN — Through May 2.

ALSO — On Monday at 7 p.m., the role Albania played during the Holocaust will be featured in this year’s annual Yom HaShoah — or Holocaust Remembrance — program sponsored by The Federation, Jewish Communities of Western Connecticut, at the Walzer campus. Reservations are necessary to attend; call (203) 267-3177, ext. 106.

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