TIRANA, Albania —  Israeli historians are visiting Albania to study how the country rescued its tiny Jewish population from the Holocaust.

The Israeli experts are attending a conference in Albania's capital Tirana, and are being joined by historians from Germany, Italy and Albania.

Some 1,200 Jewish residents and refugees from other Balkan countries were hidden by Albanian families during World War II, according to official records.

The two-day conference was opened Tuesday by Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha.