Trudy Gold
The Jews of Albania and Saving During the Holocaust
Summary
Albania was the one country in occupied Europe where there were more Jews at the end of the war than the beginning. What were the extraordinary circumstances that allowed that to happen?
Trudy Gold
Trudy Gold was the CEO of the London Jewish Cultural Centre and a founding member of the British delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Throughout her career she taught modern Jewish history at schools, universities, and to adult groups and ran seminars on Holocaust education in the UK, Eastern Europe, and China. She also led Jewish educational tours all over the world. Trudy was the educational director of the student resources “Understanding the Holocaust” and “Holocaust Explained” and the author of The Timechart History of Jewish Civilization.
I think a lot of it’s got to do with poverty, frankly. And I also think, and I’m going to say this, I think that we are in, without getting into the refugee problem any more than William was prepared to talk about it, I do think we do demonise people. We demonize the other. Look, all the ingredients are there. Social, political, and economic unrest, so we look for scapegoats. Yes, there is a criminal element, no doubt about it. But on the other hand, there are a lot of people escaping economic misery.
Yes, there is a small Jewish population in Albania.