On February 25, 1887, Norbert Jokl was born, an Austrian Albanologist, linguist, and great friend of the Albanians. He was an Austrian Albanologist of Hebrew origin and is known as one of the founders of Albanology. However, before being recognized as a great Albanologist, his contribution was valued as a scholar of Balto-Slavic philology.
Dr. Jokl would complete his education with outstanding achievements (summa cum laude) and would be considered, from his youth, one of the best scholars of his time in the field of linguistics, mainly in the realm of Indo-European languages.
The Albanologist would cast his scholarly gaze on our language, conducting studies of world caliber. In support of Gustav Mayer and Pedersen’s studies, Dr. Jokl would characterize Albanian as a continuation of Illyrian and Thracian.
With the advent of Nazism in Austria, the scholar would be persecuted because of his Hebrew origin. Ideological opposition to his origin would cost him his life.
Jokl’s ordeal began in May 1938, when right-wing nationalist Nazis began persecuting and denying him professional rights. He fervently sought to come to Albania.
The end of his life was tragic. Norbert Jokl was arrested by the Gestapo on March 4, 1942, at his home in Vienna, where two Gestapo employees abducted the professor from his house.
The date of Norbert Jokl’s death is considered to be May 6, 1942.
The General Directorate of Archives possesses a series of correspondences with the Albanologist on various fields of study of Albanian culture.
