Genc Kortsha

The impressive story of Genc Kortsha, who documented his life story in his book, One Man’s  Journey to Freedom: Escape from Behind the Iron Curtain.

Genc Kortsha’s history begins with his father—the most influential figure in his life, and one whose footsteps he closely followed. His father was born in Korça, Albania, but he built a life in Shkodër, where he founded the first public high school in 1923. He had graduated from high school in Selanik, with a diploma in Turkish, and then enrolled at Vienna University in Austria. When the elder Kortsha registered at the University, he needed to translate his diploma to German, and names had to be transcribed to the Latin alphabet. As he had fought against the Turks, he changed the spelling of his last name from Korça to Kortsha to avoid giving the impression of a Turkish title.