Zog I of Albania for such modernization was high, though. Although nominally a constitutional monarch, in practice Zog retained the dictatorial powers he had enjoyed as president. Thus, in effect, Albania remained a military dictatorship. In 1938, Zog opened the borders of Albania to Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Nazi Germany. Although born as an aristocrat and hereditary Bey, King Zog was somewhat ignored by other monarchs in Europe because he was a self-proclaimed monarch who had no links to any other European royal families. Nonetheless, he did have strong connections with Muslim royal families in the Arab World, particularly Egypt, whose ruling dynasty
Zog nit keyn mol the sun appears, Then let this song go like a signal through the years. This song was written with our blood and not with lead; It’s not a song that birds sing overhead, It was a people, among toppling barricades, That sang this song of ours with pistols and grenades. So never say that there is only death for you. Leaden skies may be concealing days of blue - Because the hour we have hungered for is near; Beneath our tread the earth shall tremble: We are here! </poem> Zog nit keyn mol "Zog nit keyn mol" ("Never Say"; )