Shaban Polluzha

Shaban Mustafë Kastrati (1871 – 21 February 1945), known as Shaban Polluzha, was a Kosovo Albanian military leader active in Drenica during World War II. He was a collaborationist, serving in the Royal Albanian gendarmerie and as a commander of the ''Vulnetari'' militia. He was briefly a member of the Balli Kombëtar. He was killed by the Yugoslav Partisans.

Early life

Shaban was born in GODANC, in the Drenica region (now central Kosovo). He comes from a middle-class family and he was not educated, but as a young man he became involved in political life, which was imposed on him by the circumstances and injustices of the occupying regimes.

World War I and II

He fought against the Bulgarians and Austrians during the First World War, afterwards he fought for the Kaçak movement against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Shaban Polluzha was one of the most famous commanders of the Drenica area during the Second World War. During the Second World War, he was also the commander of a part of the front in Montenegro, Kolašin and Sandžak, where he was distinguished for organization and strategy. He was a member of the Islihat Council (peace court) and on the proposal of Miftar Bajraktari he was appointed chairman of the Islihat in Drenica. Shaban Polluzha also had political tactics. With political strategy he had made some formal and deceptive connections with the communists, but in reality he never accepted this ideology as an ideology that would solve the Albanian issue. For this, the party and the organizing council of the Assembly of Skenderaj nominated him as commander of the Drenica Brigade.

On 30 September 1941, thousands of Vulnetari together with gendarmerie commanded by Bislim Bajgora and Shaban Polluzha attacked Ibarski Kolašin, killing 150 Serb civilians. On October 7 Shaban Polluzha with 60 of his men came to Novi Pazar to aid the forces of the town's collaborationaist mayor Aćif Hadžiahmetović, who had ambitions to incorporate Novi Pazar into Greater Albania. Violence towards the city's Serb community was on the rise during that period, and Polluzha ordered the execution of four Serbs in Arab's grave locality, then mutilated their corpses and raped the wife of one the victims. Polluzha's troops pillaged the village of Lukocrevo near Novi Pazar on October 7, killing two Serbs during this action. On 22 October new action started and Polluzha's forces completely burnt down four villages and partially one, which led to an exodus of the Orthodox population from the area. During Battle of Novi Pazar, Polluzha was blamed by the city's defense committee their failure of counter-offensive on Raška, as his men were 'only interested in plundering'. He left the city on December 19. In February 1944, Polluzha led a military operation in North Kosovo in which troops under his control burnt down 35 villages in the region, leading 8000-9000 Serb refugees to flee towards Raška through the valley of the Ibar river.

After the capitulation of fascist Italy in September 1943, the Supreme Headquarters of the Yugoslav Partisans increased its military activity in Kosovo and other Albanian areas until November 1944. In these areas, the units of many of these Yugoslav Partisans were deployed, including squads, detachments, battalions and brigades. The headquarters of the Drenica Brigade conditioned its departure from Kosovo on the cessation of killings and looting of the civilian population by the Yugoslav army, but after the failure to subdue Shaban Polluzha on January 25, military operations proceeded with the destruction of his brigade.

Legacy

He was posthumously awarded as " Hero of Kosovo" by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi in 2012.

References

Sources

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polluzha, Shaban
1871 births
1945 deaths
Kosovo Albanians
Albanian soldiers
Executed Albanian people
Drenas
Yugoslav Partisans members
Albanian military personnel of World War I
People killed by Yugoslav Partisans
Albanian nationalists
People from Drenas
Albanian collaborators with Nazi Germany
Modern history of Kosovo

sq:Miftar Bajraktari