country's 1913 borders.
By the end of the 19th century, Albanian nationalism was inspiring many to attempt to remove the elements of Turkish music from Albanian culture, a desire that was intensified following independence in 1912; music bands that formed during this era like the Korçë-based Lira Chorus established 1922, played a variety of European styles, including marches, waltzes, nationalist, and love songs like serenades.
During the inter-war period, the city became a hotbed of Communist agitation. Albania's future dictator, Enver Hoxha, lived there and was both a pupil and a teacher at the town's French school. Korçë's underground Communist movement became the nucleus of Hoxha's Albanian Party of Labor. During the 1930s, the Bank of Athens had a branch in the city.
World War II
Italian forces occupied Korçë in 1939, along with the rest of the country. After the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War, the Greek Army entered the city in November 1940, which remained under Greek sovereignty until the German attack in April 1941. After Italy's withdrawal from the war in 1943, the Germans occupied the town until October 24, 1944.
During the occupation, the city became a major center of Communist-inspired resistance to the Axis occupation of Albania. The establishment of the Albanian Party of Labor – the Communist Party – was formally proclaimed in Korçë in 1941. Albanian rule was restored in 1944 following the withdrawal of German forces.
Socialist era
The area suffered from Hoxha's dictatorial regime like the rest of Albania, although it is arguable whether it was to as great an extent. Hoxha mainly fought against the rich, despite the fact that they had often fought against the Nazi and Fascist occupations. Right after World War II many people fled to Boston, USA, joining a community of the Albanian-Americans, who had
