On February 25, 1877, the Austrian albanologist, linguist and great friend of Albanians, Norbert Jokl was born. He was an Austrian albanologist of Jewish descent. He is known as one of the founders of Albanology. Before being known as a great Albanologist, his contribution was valuable as a researcher of Balto-Slavic philology.

Dr. Jokl completed his education with commendable excellence and was considered from his youth as one of the best researchers of the time in the field of linguistics, mainly in the field of Indo-European languages. The Jokl would cast his scholarly gaze on Albanian language, conducting world-class studies. In support of the studies of Gustav Meyer and Pedersen, Dr. Jokl would describe Albanian as a continuation of Illyrian and Thracian.

With the rise of Nazism in Austria, the researcher would be persecuted because of his origins. The ideological opposition against his background would cost him his life too.

Jokl’s ordeal began in May 1938, when the far-right Nazi nationalists began to persecute him and deny him professional rights. He persistently asked to come to Albania.

The end of his life was tragic. Norbert Jokl was arrested by the Gestapo on March 4, 1942 in his apartment in Vienna, where two Gestapo officers kidnapped the professor from the house.

Jokl passed away on May 6, 1942.

The Albanian General Directorate of Archives possesses a series of correspondence with the albanologist on various fields of study of Albanian culture.

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