"Our parents were devout Muslims and, like us, believed that every knock on the door was a blessing from God. We never took money from our Jewish guests. All people are from God. Besa exists in every Albanian soul."

With these words, the brothers Hamid and Xhemal Veseli describe an attitude that was not self-evident at the time of the Shoah. Their family comes from Albania - a small country in which only around 200 Jews lived before 1933. During the German occupation in 1943, the population offered protection to numerous Jewish refugees. Despite the Nazi occupation, Albanian authorities and citizens refused to hand over Jewish names, forged documents and hid persecuted people - regardless of their origin or religion. The basis for this help was Besa, a central Albanian code of honor.

Besa literally means "keeping a promise made" - and stands for the unconditional obligation to assist a person seeking protection, even at the risk of one's life. Almost all Jews who were in Albania during this time survived. 69 Albanians were later honored as "Righteous Among the Nations".

Photographer Norman H. Gershman (1932 - 2019) spent four years taking portraits of Muslim families who rescued Jews during the Shoah. In doing so, he made a little-known chapter of contemporary European history visible. His impressive portraits can now be seen in international collections.