Hoxha reverted to the subject again in his speech to the Party's Central Committee plenum in June 1969, devoted to reforming the school system, in which he said that one of the aims of the reorganized schools would be to bring up the new generation imbued with scientific and theoretical knowledge; for, according to Hoxha, religious beliefs could be eradicated only through the elimination of old concepts still prevalent in the minds of the people. At the beginning of 1970 Party leaders in their speeches and in the press were continuing to call for an intensification of the struggle against religious ideology and especially for the eradication of every religious influence or belief among students, who were still under the influence of parents. The older generation, according to the leadership, continued to entertain the religious beliefs that everything in nature has been created with a predetermined purpose by God. The press has also reported on several occasions that there was strong resistance to the closing of places of worship and that the clergy resorted to all kinds of subterfuge to continue their religious activities. CHAPTER 6 GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND POLITICAL SYSTEM Political power in 1970 was solely in the hands of the ruling elite, that is, the leadership of the Communist Party (officially the Albanian Workers' Party). No political, economic, or social activity occurred without the sanction of the Party. Although the facade of a people's republic under constitutional rule was established in 1946, the reality of a rigid police state was clearly evident from the beginning, and no true democratic processes had been allowed to develop. The greatly heralded People's Assembly, people's councils, and people's courts were elected from a list of Party candidates; only one candidate was presented for each office, and there was no popular selection or popular choice. In effect, the Party was the government and directed all aspects of the lives of the people--from the cradle to the grave. The governmental structure and political system of the Albanian People's Republic have their roots in the National Liberation Movement, which came into existence during the Italian and German occupations of World War II. Communist Party members dominated the leadership and, while combating Italian and German occupiers, fought against other national resistance groups for postwar control of the country. Enver Hoxha, first secretary of the Albanian Workers' Party in 1970, and Mehmet Shehu, premier and second ranking Party member, were wartime leaders of the Communist resistance forces. Superior organization and the establishment of crude governing bodies called national liberation councils facilitated the Communist takeover of the country after the cessation of hostilities. These councils later became the basis of the postwar governmental structure.