Rescued person:
|
Frances, Mois, Moshe; Frances, Danon, Vinka ; Frances, Marcel, Frances,
Esther ; Altarac, Frances, Eni, Esther
|
Zyrha Kasapi, a widow,
lived with her five young children and Hamdi, a grown-up son, in Tirana. Their
financial situation was difficult and Hamdi was the only family member who was
earning an income, working for a local radio station. In 1942 and early 1943,
many Jews arrived in Albania from Yugoslavia. Albania was under Italian control
at the time and the authorities tolerated Jews. In Albania, the Jewish refugees
looked for lodging and work. Kasapi decided to rent out one room in her
apartment to some Jews from Skopje, Macedonia – Mois (Moshe) Frances, his wife,
their two children and a grandmother. From the day in April
1943 that they arrived at the Kasapis, the Frances family felt at home. The two
families ran the household together, ate together, the children played
together, and the two families became close friends. The presence of the Jewish
family in the Kasapis’ apartment was known to the neighbors and to the
authorities. After the surrender of Italy to the Allies in September 1943, the
Germans arrived in Tirana and began to search for Jews. They posted notices everywhere
stating that Jews had to report to the police and that it was absolutely
forbidden for local families to hide Jewish refugees in their homes. Mois
Frances soon decided that the members of his family had to disperse. A friend
of Kasapi’s agreed to take in Mois’s wife, Vinka, and daughter, Eni (Esther),
to help with her housework. Eight-year-old Marcel was afforded shelter by
another Albanian family, and Hamdi took Mois and Grandmother Esther, to his
friends in the nearby village of Babrru
where he hid them and provided for
them. For a time, young Marcel was the intermediary between all the family
members. The prohibitions against Jews and the threats against local residents
increased. The woman that had welcomed Mois’s wife and daughter into her home soon
asked them to leave because she did not want to risk her own life. Also, Marcel
did not want to remain hidden on his own and returned to the Kasapis. Hamdi
suggested that the three of them join Mois and the grandmother. Before moving
the mother and her two children to the village, the Kasapis arranged a farewell
meal for the three members of the Frances family. While they were eating, they
heard loud knocking at the door accompanied by people yelling: The children ran
into a bedroom and hid underneath a bed; the mother hid herself in the yard. At
the door stood a German soldier with two local accomplices who asked for Mois
Frances. When Hamdi responded that he did not live there, the soldiers began to
brutally interrogate him, but Hamdi repeated over and over again that Frances
was not there and the soldiers beat him to unconsciousness. Under the duress of
the ordeal, Zyrha shouted out that Frances was not in their home, but his wife
and children were. Hamdi was released, the Jewish woman came out of her hiding
place, and the intruders asked her where her husband was. She replied that he
had abandoned them and they had no idea where he was. The intruders then asked
the children a few questions and left. Only then did Zyrha burst into tears
because she could not forgive herself for uncovering the identity of Vinka
during a moment of weakness. No one blamed her and Vinka herself tried to calm
Zyrha down. The three Jews stayed with the Kasapis for another few days and
then Hamdi escorted them to Mois’s hiding place in the nearby village.They
remained there until September 1944, when they returned to the Kasapis. In
November 1944, they returned to a
liberated Skopje. The Frances and Kasapi
families remained in touch until the former immigrated to Israel in 1948 and
the ties were severed. The connection between the families was renewed in the
1990s.
On February 14, 1995, Yad Vashem recognized Zyrha Kasapi
and Hamdi Kasapi as Righteous Among the Nations.
