Stillo Papadhima

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Stillo Papadhima was born in 1925 in Nivicë-Bubar, southern Albania. The youngest of five children, he lost his father at five and grew up under the care of his mother and older siblings. During the Second World War, he joined the Albanian National Liberation movement, serving with the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Assault Brigade. He helped supply partisans around Borsh, Kuç and Kurvelesh with food and military material.

Captured by German troops in an ambush near Borsh, Stillo was imprisoned and taken through Ioannina and Thessaloniki before deportation. His captivity included Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria and Stalag VII-A at Moosburg, Bavaria. He endured hunger, harsh conditions and forced labour, including agricultural work and clearing bomb damage.

In his testimony, Stillo described how he and fellow Albanian prisoners helped shelter Jewish prisoners in their barracks. They gave them clothing to conceal their identities from German guards and shared their scarce food, assisted by an Austrian cook. His older brother was also imprisoned alongside him.

On 29 April 1945, the US 14th Armored Division liberated Stalag VII-A. Stillo subsequently travelled through Austria and Yugoslavia, finally reaching his home village in August 1945.

After the war, he trained as a driver and worked for many years in Sarandë, where he later settled. Decades afterwards, he returned to Moosburg with his children. Through his testimony, Stillo has preserved memories of Albanian resistance, captivity and solidarity between prisoners under Nazi rule.