2022/2023
Collection 18

Freedom with a Price

1944–1945; Sopiki, Albania; Ioannina, Greece 

In 1944, I was fourteen years old. The Germans were sending the Nazis into Albania. Albania was ruled by Italy at the time, and Italy was friendly with Germany, which was led by Adolph Hitler.(1) There was much talk in Albania about Hitler drastically kidnapping the Jews and putting them in what they called “concentration camps.”(2) My family did not want to go to war, because we would have to kill innocent people.

My father told me that he didn’t want me in Albania with the war going on. He would stay with my sister, mother, and two brothers. “Gus, my son,” my father told me, “if you get free, I will die a happy man.”

When the war got out of hand, my father told me to flee to Greece. “Gus, when you get free, use the name ‘Victoria Mitza’ to write to me.” My mother was crying the most. I knew I had to stay strong.

The next night I left. I had to go through the mountains to get to Greece. I went with my two friends, Louie and Mashos (MAH-SHOHZ), so I wouldn’t be alone. When we took off for Greece, I was scared thinking about my family. I told myself, “I have to be very careful.”

About an hour into our journey we started to hear gunshots. We panicked and decided to hide in a cave for safety. Our first night we slept in the cave. We used our resources and ate anything we could find. We ate dandelions and dirt, and had to conserve our water. I never would have imagined that I would be in that position.

The next morning we began walking again. On our way to Greece we had to go down many treacherous trails and steep paths that had drop-offs of thousands of feet. It took a whole year to walk and fight our way through the mountains.

Near the end of our journey I heard a shot that stunned me. I turned around to see that Mashos had been shot, but Louie was nowhere to be seen. I decided to continue my journey alone, scared for my life after what I had seen.

Two days later I finally made it to Greece — at the age of fifteen. Right when I arrived, I wrote to my father as he had asked: “Hello, Mr. Mares,” I wrote. “I just wanted to let you know that I am okay and that I came to Greece for a visit. I will write to you again very soon. Victoria Mitza.” I had to use a code name, because if the Albanian government had known that I was the one writing the letters, they would have instantly killed my whole family.

We wrote back and forth using my code name — until I didn’t get a reply. I never got to see my family again. Had I not made that incredible journey across those mountains, my life may have ended just as my parents’ lives did.     

Adriana Xenos, great-granddaughter of Gus; Missouri, USA

1. This was during World War II, in which Germany, Italy, and Japan were opposed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union (USSR). Each side included additional countries.

2. A concentration camp is a place where large groups of people are forced to live under harsh conditions because a government sees them as undesirable.

This copyrighted story may be copied and/or printed for limited classroom or personal use. To reprint this story in an article about The Grannie Annie, please contact The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration for permission.

Return to "Collection 18" stories page