Covering the years 1938 through the present, Flower of Vlora is a funny and tense account of Anna Kohen's Romaniote-Jewish family in Albania and how they were saved from the Nazis by Muslim Albanians. Arriving in picturesque Vlora, Albania, just before WWII, Anna Kohen's family joined a small, Greek-speaking Romaniote Jewish community of merchants. They sold fabrics and had a dye works. During WWII, they sheltered with Muslim families as they hid from the Nazis, taking on Muslim names and pretending to be Muslim. Her family who remained in Greece, including all of her mother's family, were murdered in death camps.

Flower of Vlora then focuses on the Romaniote traditions of Dr. Kohen's family, which they had to celebrate in secret because of the Albanian dictatorship's repression of religion. Rendered stateless since they did not have any documents and would not join the Communist Party, the family had a bold scheme to leave Albania for the West, right under the eyes of the secret police. Kohen eventually became a dentist in Greece and then in New York City, learning the craft of dental implants from their inventor, and establishing her own thriving practice. Her life came full circle as President of the Albanian American Women's Organization, helping refugees, women and children, especially during the Kosovo War. Flower of Vlora is a must-read for Jewish, Albanian, Greek and Israel communities, and anyone interested in the history of the Jews in the Balkans.

Formato	Tapa dura
Número de Páginas	230
Lenguaje	Inglés
Editorial	Amsterdam Publishers
Fecha de Publicación	2022-09-06
Dimensiones	9.0" x 6.0" x 0.69" pulgadas
Serie	Holocaust Survivor True Stories WWII
Letra Grande	No
Con Ilustraciones	No
Temas	Años 1940, Holocausto, Judío, Mediterráneo

Kohen, Anna

Dr. Anna Kohen was born in Vlora, Albania, and left in 1966 with seven of her family members and moved to Greece where she completed Dental School and earned a dental degree. In 1991, and with the help of several Jewish organisations, she brought 37 of her Albanian relatives to the United States. That same year she was invited to Albania to celebrate the founding of the Albanian-Israeli society and was appointed Honorary Member. In 2004, the President of the Albanian Republic awarded her the medal for special Civil Merits for Valuable contributions in helping Albanians during the Kosovar humanitarian crisis. Dr. Kohen has served the Albanian community for over 30 years as President of the Albania American Women's Organization.