The Seats of the German Diplomatic Missions in Tirana 1923–1944

Abstract

In spring 1923 the final decision was made in Berlin to establish diplomatic relations between Germany and Albania and to open a diplomatic mission in Albania. On May 28, 1923, the legation councilor Radolf von Kardorff was appointed the German Empire’s business manager in Albania. In the 21 years of its representation in Tirana, it was headed by six diplomats. The last diplomatic representative of the German Empire in Albania, Dr. Martin Schliep, left Albania in October 1944.
1923–1944 the German Reich had no special political and economic relations with Albania. A sign of this was the repeated re-designation of the diplomatic mission in Tirana into a consulate, then a legation, then a consulate general, etc. The attempts by King Edward to approach Germany – especially in the mid-1930s in order to keep Italian-Albanian relations in balance – were unsuccessful. Albanian historians often refer to the National Socialist regime’s support of the Italian expansionist policy toward Albania. However, this picture does not quite correspond to reality. As early as 1922, when the decision was made in Berlin to establish diplomatic relations with Albania, care was taken to ensure that this did not damage Italian interests. German politics de facto saw Albania as part of the Italian sphere of interests long before Hitler came to power. It was not until 1943 that the German Foreign Office had to deal seriously with Albania, since the German Wehrmacht was forced to occupy Albania for reasons important to the war.