The Lingering Terror of Enver Hoxha

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Suppose you were time traveling, and your time machine was having some trouble with the controls.

It randomly drops you down in the middle of a public square in the midst of what is obviously a serious event. You don’t understand the language of the hundreds of thousands of people who are lining the streets. You don’t recognize any of the buildings or other landmarks and can't even guess where in the world, or in time, you are.

As you watch the experience using the time-traveling viewer below (okay, it’s actually just a video), collect the following information.

• Where do you think this is taking place? What visual or other cues make you think so?
• When do you think this is taking place? What visual or other cues make you think so?
• Who do you think this person being laid to rest might have been? What makes you think he or she played that role?
• What do you think the people thought of this individual?

Now, watch the video below and try to collect as much information as you can. See if you can figure out what historical event is taking place, as well as the time and location, based on the clues you gathered. (Note: the audio voice-over in this video is not in English.)

You manage to make it back to your own time safe and sound, and you are happy to once again enjoy a speedy internet connection. You discover that this person whose funeral you witnessed was a man named Enver Hoxha (pronounced "Hodja"), the leader of the Balkan nation of Albania through much of the twentieth century.

In the Got It? section, examine the legacy of this leader from two different perspectives, and compare and contrast his ideals versus his accomplishments.