Family Of Ali & Ragip Kraja

Solomon Adixhes, his wife and son Isak escaped certain death in Skopie, Macedonia, by bribing a guard and crossing at night over to Albania after the entire Jewish community in Skopie had been rounded up for transport to a death camp. A courier brought them to our fathers who were twins, shoemakers.The times were difficult and dangerous for any family to harbor Jews, but we sheltered the Jewish family in our village near Shkoder from 1943 until the end of the war. All three families lived under one roof. We often dressed Solomon in peasant women's clothing to hide his identity. Sometimes he worked in a garment factory owned by a friend of our fathers. Once Solomon cured a peasant of an infection, and the villagers then revered him as a healer. Isak was always peering out the window in fear of a Nazi patrol.

After the war the Adixhes family settled in Israel. In 1994 Solomon and Isak came from Israel to visit our families. What a joyous occasion! A film was made of that trip: One Wants To Remember - One Wants To Forget. Last year Isak again visited us from Los Angeles. We have many pictures from his trip.

We are gathered near the sign that we erected: "The Jewish Refugees of Solomon Adixhes and family drank from this nearby well while being sheltered by Ali and Ragip Kraja when being chased by the Nazis." We sheltered the Adixhes family out of the goodness of our hearts. We are all brothers and proud of our heritage. If need be we would do it again.