A curious memorial, hidden at the rear of the German embassy compound on Rruga Xhezmi Delli, commemorates a decisive moment in Albania’s path to democracy. 

In the summer of 1990, when millions of Albanians still found themselves trapped in Europe’s most repressive state, and with rumours of the fall of the Berlin Wall and dramatic political change across the region trickling through, the first cracks appeared when people demanded freedom during a violently suppressed demonstration in the town of Kavaja. 

The West German ambassador at the time, Werner Daum, heard that some brave Albanians had requested asylum at other embassies in Tirana, but not at his own. Acting against the instructions of his government, he lit up the embassy at night and left the main gate open, to welcome any Albanians looking for asylum - and soon enough, the first people entered. At the same time, a truck driver named Ylli Bodinaku decided to take drastic action. On July 2, 1990, together with his wife and children, he drove his Skoda LIAZ truck at high speed straight at the massive rear wall of the West German embassy compound. Despite being wounded and bleeding after the impact, he managed to pull his family through the breach in the wall, and into diplomatic safety. 

Eventually, some 3200 Albanians managed to enter the embassy compound, and a tense stand-off with the authorities started. They kept the media quiet about the events and cut off the embassy’s electricity and water, later allowing news reports to state that the escapees were vandals and criminals. After 10 days, the government finally gave in and allowed all embassy refugees to leave Albania safely, but continued their crackdown on dissidence until the student protests of December 1990 put an end to the miserable regime. Bodinaku and his family were invited to Germany, where he worked at a car factory, later returning to a free Albania. The worn-out German embassy, though officially closed, continued to serve asylum seekers. Ambassador Daum, content that changes had been set in motion, stayed on as caretaker for an additional month before he was recalled. Daum, who sadly passed away while back on holiday in Albania in 2025, is remembered as the “ambassador of freedom”. Bodinaku’s wild truck ride had set off a chain of events, helping to end of the brutal Communist dictatorship in Albania.

A memorial consisting of the front of a Skoda LIAZ truck, made by Bodinaku himself, was revealed at the rear of the German embassy compound to commemorate the actions of these brave Albanians. The memorial is easiest reached down the narrow alley beside the Teg Zgara e Tirones restaurant on Rruga e Kavajës. Another memorial commemorating those who risked their freedom on that day, a symbolically broken wall reading the date by sculptor Agim Rada, stands on Rr. Skënderbeg opposite the German embassy.