At midnight on July 17, 1977, near Librazhd, two poets were executed: Vilson Blloshmi, 29 years old, and Genc Leka, 36 years old, sentenced for imaginary crimes. They were declared guilty on June 13, 1977, and sentenced to death by firing squad, along with the confiscation of their property, charged with "sabotage of the village agricultural economy, agitation, and propaganda."
The decision of the District Court was upheld both by the Supreme Court and by the Presidium of the People's Assembly.
Blloshmi, as a poet and translator of the most well-known Western poets, thanks to his good knowledge of English and French, was initially accused because of the content of his poem “Saharaja,” which was considered a symbol of Albania without dreams — barren, friendless, and without companions.
He was born in Bërzeshtë, in the Librazhd district. After finishing school, he returned to his native village, where he worked in agriculture and mining. His passion drove him to translate and write poetry, but the press and publishing houses of the time closed their doors to him due to his “bad biography.” The regime had branded him as a kulak.
Four months before he was imprisoned, Vilson Blloshmi’s correspondence, diaries, poems, and translations were seized by the police. The state, which had forbidden him from engaging in literature, suddenly showed special interest in this literary work, written in secret and locked away in chests.
Genc Leka was also born in Bërzeshtë. From his school days, he was pursued by spies and agents of the Sigurimi (secret police). At night, when he couldn’t sleep, he would gather in the annex where there was a chest of books and immerse himself in his writings. He listened to Mozart and Schubert. He enjoyed the lyrical prose of Paustovsky, with its slightly rebellious characters, marginalized by society. In stacks of poems, he poured out his thoughts, which often included reflections on death—both near and distant to the poet at the same time.
After 1991, it was proven with documents that Vilson Blloshmi and Genc Leka had committed no crimes, sabotage, or propaganda; therefore, they were officially declared martyrs.
The following verses reveal a premonition of a tragic end:
The last poem
O moon, why did you rise so sorrowful,
Could it be that you are mourning for me?
Why do you hide from me like that with tearful eyes,
*Could it be that my life is ending, and I don’t know it?*
*Even if I die, life does not end.*
*And yet today I write my final poem.*
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