FRANCE / COUNTRY OF RETURN FOR THE FIGHTERS
PART 1 / THE ARRIVAL IN FRANCE
no doubt that France will have a clear leading role in the conflict that was fought in Spain from 1936.Además's own policies and geostrategic implications of the English Civil War will be for France its territory was a necessary step the "volunteer of liberty" who came to fight in Spain since neither by sea or across the Portuguese border could access Republican Spain, but France will also be essential part logistics the transit of volunteers a key country in the outcome of the war in Spain more political level, France will a key country for the maintenance of the policy of "nonintervention" and should face embarrassment during the war as the transit of arms shipments to Spain, the situation of refugees who crossed the border from the first moments of war and internal division which led to the conflict English. this regard should be noted that the French Government was erratic, not only with the voluntary passing through its territory but also military equipment destined for Spain, showing a continuing dispute between left-wing organizations that supported the French Popular Front against right-wing organizations, the police, military and a large section of the press from the beginning has been against promoting any support for Spain.
Focusing on the arrival of Cuban volunteers have to indicate that this went through different phases, so that arrivals in the first months of the conflict found a relative permeability in France and reached the Pyrenean border without too contratiempos.Las arrival French ports on board ships with volunteers began in mid January 1937.Se was the first contingent of men from New York and framed in the Lincoln Brigade and with them the "Centuria Guiteras" composed exclusively of Cubans and from come up here more than two dozen ships bordo.Los Cuban contingent kept much to do in terms of group composition and number of members, so from New York and Havana were either left expeditions of eight, fifteen , eighty or more members.
PCC once created the Recruitment Committee, decided to contact a Cuban living in Paris, Felix Pita Rodriguez, a member of the party and out-standing intellectual who settled in Paris in early Pita 1929.Félix showed an attitude of solidarity with English Republic from the time of the uprising and with other partners founded an "American Committee" resident in France within its capabilities helped the Republican cause. Also started a newsletter called "Our Spain" and in general was very committed to the fight against PCC fascismo.El custom was to receive the Cuban volunteers upon their arrival in Paris and assist them in their needs, exerting a major role mate link to the PCF.
The political hierarchy was clearly established in the groups of fighters from the moment you start your journey to España.es each group was appointed a Commissioner that the PCC was responsible for his companions to join militias España.es was often the paradox of being a militant Commissioner young and inexperienced, but confident of the PCC (oral testimony of Gilberto Acosta). All the weight of the operation of receiving the PCF groups that fell on the behalf of Comintern exercised reception work, transportation, accommodation and documentation of the work voluntarios.Esta militants were usually introduced from the PCF and the CGT partners, the Confederation of Workers franceses.Desde the very moment you decide to create the International Brigades in September 1936 will be the PCF on whom it falls all responsibility for volunteers in transit by land, so that created a whole structure services for this tarea.Las instructions led from the PCF Central Committee itself at its Paris headquarters of Lafayette Street while the organization had its "nerve" in the office prepared as a "Coordination Committee" in the local street Châtedea 38.Aqui number is organizing the logistics and political tasks were distributed, but the best known local and frequented by the volunteers was the "Maison des Sindicats" I was in Matuhrin-Moreau Ave # 8, coexisted in the same building organizations on aid to Republican Spain such as the "National Defense Committee of the English People", the French headquarters of the "French Committee the Right of Asylum "and basically the main recruiting office of the International Brigades in Paris but in 1936 played a key role in this task the famous" Petit Lyon "and" Madrid "and from here down to the local level, with recruiting offices in at least fifty French towns, mostly in the central premises of the CGT, with particular importance in those Toulusse, Marsellay Lyon. It organized a network that took care of details such as train tickets, which were generally tulelas accompanied by trade unionists in the railway employees, as well as the alojamiento.La formula was used rooms in modest and discreet hotels as "De Ville" where new arrivals were registered as students or visitors to the "International Exhibition" held in Paris.The meals were usually done in family restaurants run by sympathizers or activists of the CPP or the CGT, the restaurant case "Nouvelle Famille" The move from the Atlantic ports to Paris train was in all cases and once in Paris, groups were usually an average of one week during which they handed over the documentation which should enter Spain. fighters lost their documents in Paris and in return received others that cross the border, except in cases where the border is processed made with real identities but using professional media credentials or other valid excuse to justify this transit control.They fighters are trained in behavior to be observed across the border and are generally made to collect your train tickets in Grange Street aux-Belles-33, which operated an office whose mission was to deliver the tickets to volunteers under the guise of a travel agency.
Most Cubans traveled with supporting documents directly to the Franco-English border by the French department of Pyrenees Orientales, joining the city of Perpignan which normally accessed by train on line number "77" which became popular as the line of volunteers bound for here España.Desde accessed the border crossing at Port Bou.Una ever crossing the border generally contacted with an army officer who took care polular the group and moved to the Castle of Figueras, just five miles from the border and served during the time when fighters arrived at the center of the first reception and organization of groups to their next destination, being the political leader Luigi Longo of this task that was aided by the organizational apparatus of PSUC (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia). Many were instructed to fly directly Barcelona, \u200b\u200bappearing at the Columbus hotel where he had established a command post that, among other issues PCE channeled the transit of Barcelona voluntarios.Desde most were sent directly by rail or road to Albacete although sometimes they did go first by Valencia we forget, was from the first months of the war seat of government and administrative capital. Different
was the fate of those who came to Paris and from there had to wait for the formation of a clandestine group to cross the mountains Pirineos.Esta despite its high peaks and the harshness of winter, historically has had multi-step guides organized by clandestine locales.Pero arrival in the Pyrenees was not made directly from París.Con groups often left for an intermediate station as the case might be in Toulouse or capital Lyón.En these volunteers waited until conditions were produced step , starting again by train to the vicinity of the border, where the guides were contacted, usually locals republicana.A committed to the cause since 1938, with increasing pressure from the French patrol, dispatch were concentrated in border towns such as Carcassonne and Narbonne and that from these operational bases was easier to avoid scrutiny, however the days policial.No passing until it was starting order the volunteers spent taking many precautions to avoid detection by staying in the homes of French supporters of the English Republic and members of organizations izquierdas.Cruzar the Pyrenees on foot with the bad weather that accompanied winter-long civil war was an experience that no fighter has olvidado.Muchos of them had real difficulties in walking, especially Cubans from a tropical climate were in the midst of towering snow, moving in with each forming a total silence and few provisions to further limit the resistencia.Generalmente not be moving at a brisk pace, making stops every hour for no more than ten minutes and continuing the step marcha.Dependiendo chosen this traffic lasted between 24 to 48 hours but sometimes several days were said to circumvent the controls vigilancia.Una fooled French time, which as the war progressed became more strict, had to do the same with the fascist army controls since managed to prevail in the northern sector increasingly pushing border delimiting pressure increasingly pasos.Muchos of the Cuban combatants to recount their experiences on this trance refer to specialized surveillance of German troops, usually of the "Legion Condor" that were specialized patrols with dogs in an attempt to limit the transboundary movement and that they were limiting the border as they fell territories in northern Spain.
These basically were the conditions of arrival, well organized from France and Spain and generally developed in an orderly manner.
PART 2 / WITHDRAWAL / CONCENTRATION CAMPS
thing different was the return of combatants once lost the war and in particular of the international volunteers from the English government's decision to order its withdrawal in September 1938 marked a new complication of the odyssey of these combatientes.Cuando did this order, American fighters were subjected to different treatment from the PCE because it promoted the idea that those who wanted to continue fighting in Spain could do so framed in the People's Army as language and cultural reasons was relatively easy to dilute their presence in the People's Army, snatching and the obligation to lay down their arms and the country under the President's commitment to the Society Negrin Naciones.Lo truth is that many willingly accepted this and fought in various units, but most were forced to abandon struggle, since it was already evidence that the advance of Franco's army was unstoppable and increasingly more complicated flight to the norte.A end of 1938 there were Cubans on the front of the center of Catalonia and scattered among other units were still in the area levante.La International Brigades headquarters moved from Albacete to Barcelona and from there tried to put some order into the great chaos that marked the withdrawal of troops to the north in an unstoppable march from the battle of the Cuban Ebro.Los had a role in this retreat because most did not travel north without their units if they did fight in an attempt to allow time for the withdrawal of the civilian population and the bulk of the Popular Army, characterizing these days of struggle by fighting to be unequal in withstand the repeated bombing of fascist aviation and artillery fire which were no longer able to respond.
But the great uncertainty at the time was France's role in the removal of refugees and troops to their fronteras.Desde the inception of the English war, the French government was determined not to further complicate international relations at the expense of España.Su president, Leon Blum traveled to London in early August 1936 and left the bases of the "Committee on Non-Intervention" that joined Denmark, Belgium and Holanda.Este twist on the French attitude toward Spain led to the closure of its borders on August 8, is say, just three weeks after the occurrence of sublevación.De anyway it was not a final closure and the border crossings were opened in different exodus that occurred in the north with the fall of the various provincias.El April 26 1937 after the bombing of Guernica, the border was opened for a few hours, the same happened on June 19 with the fall of Bilbao and 22 August with Santander.A early October 1937 had the order of 70,000 refugees in France , which led to concern and political debate for the French newspaper, but still it was an exodus controllable and no major alterations in the normal functioning services in locations such penetrations fronterizas.Tras refugees, France continued to close its border but with the fall of Asturian front was a new flight to the Pyrenees and the border was the subject of partial openings during the months of November and December Negrin president of 1937.El who had traveled to Paris on March 17, 1938 failed to get the French authorities were more flexible in accommodating refugees, however, the war actually was ahead of governments and with the fall of the fronts in Aragon in April 1938 a new exodus was estimated at around 20,000 civilians for the month of June would reach the 45,000 who were allowed entry, But on June 13 steps were closed again.
While all this was happening, the Cuban fighters who were often grouped into units created with the troops available, bore the brunt of the war trying to contain the spread of the fascists out to sea and towards Cataluña worst moment came on 22 September 1938 when he decided to withdraw the International Brigades English soil, a situation largely pondered in regard to its logística.La goal was to reach Barcelona internationalists and from there take the final leap to France, but the army Franco was decided to complicate this operation as seen in the fact Tarragona that had already succumbed on September 14 at the hands of General Yagüe.El November 15 saw the brigade parade through the streets of Barcelona in farewell, from that date to the early days of 1939, managed to cross the order of 4,500 brigade but the order of 6,000 more came to Barcelona by way possible, sometimes grouped in makeshift units, other individuals after having lost contact with their units and at other times they were part of People's Army units in which fought since ordered the departure of the internationalists, in short, a chaos to which he wanted to give the appearance of output controlled by a government that each time was less control of the situation.
In France took the first steps to deal with this avalanche mobilizing large numbers of troops on the border and starting a series of contacts with the contenders in Spain to try to stem this tide humana.La central idea was to create settlements for refugees English side of the border but Franco's refusal was not feasible this proyecto.Se also tried that this merger were to occur in Andorra but was rejected by the government of Burgos.
In early January 1939 most Cuban survivors was already in Barcelona.Allí were volunteers who had agreed earlier in español.Se soil was not only the members of the International Brigades but also of those residing in Spain and had fought in the Army Popular.Aunque no reliable data on the number of Cubans who reached Barcelona in early January the testimonies of many of the stand at around 400 but they were never together and formed as a group organized its traslado.El Cuban Jorge Agostini, who had fought in the Republican Navy and later held various responsibilities in the headquarters of the Brigades in Albacete, was appointed by the PCC in charge of the evacuation, which is quite logical since Ramon Nicolau, who had been the man behind the recruitment of fighters and had kept most of the war on English soil had returned to Cuba in the last days of 1938 and from the hierarchical standpoint, its military training and the confidence of the party, Agostini seemed the right man to ensure the departure of Cuban troops to France, so that by following guidelines of command of the Brigades, now in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bestablished a command post in the town of Ripoll as a prelude to cross the border francesa.Los Cubans were reaching these people in dire conditions, injured or exhausted, no material or food and fearful of being pocketed by the enemy offensive.
Meanwhile
Barcelona became a city sitiada.El January 20, the enemy was in Sitges, 40 km from Barcelona, \u200b\u200bthe port was blocked by enemy ships and missing the bread, electricity and medicamentos.En the panicked city, and disputes between different groups of power led to a widespread Republican control of the defense strategy of the city.The January 24 aviation Franco Barcelona made 26 sorties over the city leaving his deadly carga.Así things Alvarez del Vallo, Foreign Minister of the Government pleaded with his Republican counterpart on the reception of 50,000 French civilians but was not taken, but the exodus had already comenzado.Barcelona succumbed on January 26.
The fall of the Catalan capital reacted to the French who were engaged in a remarkable political debate that went beyond the foreground of the view pública.En the French National Assembly's views were polarized on the issue of refugees, a party invoked the high cost of maintenance of the refugees only until December 1938 had assumed the French state of 88 million francos.A as he approached the problem, French newspapers were participants in this polarization, so L'Humanité, organ of the PCF press advocated for solidarity with the defeated while publications identified with the French right also argued the cost of this reception, the risks involved to embrace not only civilians but the military republican and even pointed to vandalism as a likely threat. The maintenance cost of a refugee per day was estimated at 15 francs but if it was a sick this figure reached 70 francs.
Once the Cubans were being reorganized into Ripoll was decided that they approach the border crossing as they could organize their march in grupos.En most cases had to make tremendous detours to reach the English side of border crossing in Port Bou, but to join the road linking this town with Figueras had shared the rigors of the biggest exodus of war civil.El pace of refugee column became more and more tortuous as it was the only way in which civilians had to flee Spain unaided and dispossessed of all soldiers wounded in the best slow in ambulances but everyone who could walk but was in the worst conditions to do the route with the bulk of refugiados.Esta situation worsened when it was decided the way to France the remains of Ejercito Popular carrying their weapons and uniforms, which made that route minimally transitable.A this French attitude has not changed except to further strengthen their lines border with new support units.
group's first foray Cubans to France was made Maydagán
Francisco, a volunteer who had fought on the front of Madrid and took part in decisive battles as Belchite Teruel and in the end of the war occupied the headquarters of a Brigada.Maydagán commissioned by Agostini Ripoll started from a small group of combatientes.Su mission was to try to reach the French city of Perpignan where he worked a consulate in Cuba cubano.Las things were changing and the strong popular mobilization that enabled Cuban diplomatic officials were instructed to attend to his countrymen,
but as we shall see this was carried out at a rate desigual.La point is that after traveling 72 kilometers on foot endless, Maydagán in front of his group not only managed to cross the border, but even went to Perpignan, however, was not scope for their mission and they were all arrested and after spending the night in an arrest of the town, the next day were taken to the beach of Argeles-Sur-Mer which was receiving the first refugees.
Meanwhile, Ripoll things got worse for Cubans seeking to leave the tricks that it was a trap that had only one escape route to France through the passage of Portbou, avoiding enemy troops permeating everyday routes escape.En those days was particularly popular among the Cuban volunteers Miguel Angel Lauzurica "Malay", who had fought throughout the war in front of Madrid and met with most Cubans who were coming to Ripoll as a Ripoll reunión.Durante the days without food or means to leave that place, Malay managed to make continuous treatment, sometimes implausible, it was then that his colleagues also began to nickname and "Gypsy." was also at this location where the Cuban volunteers decided to create the Association of Combatants of the Cuban English Civil War, germ of what the years would be the association of veterans who worked in Cuba until the early twenty-first century.
Barcelona fell on January 26, yet the border remained closed and those who arrived were concentrated at various points on the French border, but in a narrow band in which there was absolutely nothing attitude of the authorities previsto.La French in those early days of avalanche was to try to dissuade newcomers to return to Spain, which in many cases achieved given the harsh conditions of the flight and that many who came from Spain had no defined membership or other signs of having collaborated with the Republic, but the fact of having been given all the war camp was often viewed as a test of loyalty dispar.A punished so that point the exit road from Barcelona and was a total chaos, without any type of organization by the republican authorities, whose leaders fled without order alguno.La accepted figure of this exodus is focused on half a million people, of which at least 80% had to travel into exile between 26 January and 12 February, when it is considered to have left who had not died or been captured in the huida.Reinaba total chaos and as they sensed that the French would be hostile host fired anxiety and wild ideas arose as a group of Cubans who approached the border in a truck in which he painted the words "Cuban consulate" without preventing the French soldiers to give them a derogatory treatment.
At midnight on Jan. 27 opened the French border, the first who agreed only to civilians, especially those wounded in the next day had entered France and 15,000 refugees and thereafter this insight became an unstoppable drip. On February 5 at the evidence, the French government allowed the entry of the remains of the Republican army so that the more than 300,000 refugees had already crossed at that time joined about 220,000 soldiers who had a condition submitting your armas.El February 10 Franco's army reached the last crossing points and had seized no less than 60,000 people.The latest Cuban fighters had been on February 9 after a last attempt to regroup in Casals de la Selva, vine they began a new nightmare.
Meanwhile, France had stepped up military preparations for moving to the area several units of "Senegalese handles" and body "Spahis" a horse to strengthen measures to places that were enabling to concentrate the refugiados.Junto this is refereed to various administrative measures acogida.Se established that many civilian refugees traveling to all departments of the country except Paris, and, since 2 February, 40,000 refugees were taken by train to shelters across the country willing but thousands of them were deceived and taken back to English border at Hendaye to be handed over to Franco's army, which became known as it escapes and suicides caused great número.En these places were fitted for the reception facilities that worked so uneven in both its standards and the quality of the thickness acogida.Pero was anchored at the border for at least ten endless days todo.El missing first step was to move up groups a sorting plant where transit is available to the various fields enabled, although they were defined by the French authorities as places no prison camps functioned as genuine concentración.Los major sorting centers were at Le Perthus and The Tour-de-Carol and Le Boulou.
Improvisation in the provision of the fields was the main absoluta.Los were Argeles-Sur-Mer, Saint Cyprian, Prat Cerdanya and Möller and beside these there were other fields such Gurs, where refugees were concentrated from International Brigades that were in the process of being deported to their countries of origin.
Argeles-Sur-Mer was the field where it was decided to intern international fighters but these were a fraction of its population averaged around the 80,000 occupants while the first days of the Exodus and other fields to be enabled, Argelés came to house up to internos.Los 180,000 Cubans were taken to the so-called "Sector 10" in the field, shared with German and italianos.Este internationalist camp was established on February 1, 1939 following an order ministerial.El field stood on the beach in a town same name as those years sought to boost its image turística.Aunque some Cubans were interned in camps and Gurs Saint Cyprian, the vast Most spent their captivity after the barbed wire of Argeles.
Technically, the field was nothing but an immense beach surrounded by barbed wire, inside which were divided from one hectare rectangles provided to 1,500 refugees each but that varied in their occupation according to the circunstancias.No was not a single building, or water and no foreign letrinas.El consisted of a double ring of surveillance, with two companies of "handles Senegalese" behind the fences of several sites available ametralladoras.Un second ring consisted of several companies " Spahis "cavalry colonial army North African field. patrolled the perimeter of the interior, seven platoons of colonial guard "Senegalese Shooters" were responsible for field control.
Cubans were among the first to be conducted within Argelés and therefore, in addition withstand the elements of the early days, kept a certain hierarchy in the organization interna.Esas first few days were scary, with a climate that bordered on the glacial accompanied by heavy rains that caused a continuing quagmire and the permanent presence of "north wind" unbearable local wind efectos.En those first days were experienced dramatic scenes at the lack of water, which was attempted offset digging wells in the sand, but the salinity was high and hardly managed to extract water safe to drink unsanitary humano.La was constant as the stools were made in the beachside to withdraw tides As the food excrementos.En in the early days there were dramatic scenes as they were handed throwing pieces of bread from trucks, which led to violent scenes and even death in an attempt to gain a remedy ración.Para Minimally Refugees weather the rigors improvised shelters dug in the sand pits were covered with blankets, cardboard or anything that would serve to make a carrier for poor fuese.Argelés that this was a mess.
The average stay of Cubans who passed through the French camps would be about 100 days since the last crossed the French border on 9 February and the bulk of what was repatriated to Cuba in mid-May . The first thing I did after the first moments of chaos was built on sand habitats in which they took refuge from ten to fifteen people and they gave the name to each of them: "The Cannon Shot," "The Kennel", "Member of Palace "," Catholics, "" Gypsies "," Tiscornia, "The Camouflaged", "the most boisterous" and finally "The School". The activity of the Cubans had much to do with the character of this village, with impressive resilience, which allowed their living conditions would improve sensiblemente.Ante the lack of almost everything, barter became a solution and "Malay" became its chief architect making operations unlikely as was the exchange with Senegalese soldiers of a bag of shoes of the same foot for food, once discovered what caused the anger of a little food guardianes.Poco improved significantly since the beginning pieces of bread rations were added vegetables and exceptionally
carne.Una of the main concerns was the health of refugees and the lack of latrines led to epidemics diversas.Como solution, the Cuban medical brigade created a composite of a dozen men who collected the droppings with cans and poured the mar.La country life became extremely monotonous and uncertainty about the fate in store for refugees led to major crises ansiedad.Para fight this organized recreational activities in the case of Cubans musical.En character used to be one of those, Julio Cueva guaracha name composed a "Allé Allé Kicks" which implied a strong criticism of conditions life in the countryside and degrading treatment inflicted guard them Senegalese
eventually becoming an unofficial anthem of the combatants cubanos.Cuando was crossing the border, troops used a large number of mules as pack animals, and these were seized property as most of the fighters, but managed to retain a copy which was added to famine Argelés.Debido , the Cubans decided to sacrifice the animal to alleviate their apetito.Esta mule who had been named as Susan became little more than the mascot of the group but became ill with scabies and had a shabby but still the event became ingirieron.Este a party to the Cuban combatants in which some sought cans to make beats and "Catch the guards as the guards Senegalese Senegalese were infected relaxed rhythm monitoring conditions were encouraged to try the fuga.Juan Magraner succeeded.
In any popular pressure from Cuba was insistent and the Cuban government accepted to mediate in the fate of the Cuban volunteers interned in French camps, instructions were given to the Cuban diplomatic authorities in France to begin the claims process and repatriation of aquellos.Antes to unlock this issue, the Cuban diplomat Flora Díaz Parrado traveled from Paris to the fields twice, announcing the efforts being made and discussing other aspects of confinement that although this did not mean too privileges in respect of foreign aid anterior.Ciertamente situation inside the camps was very small and only carried out by the International Red Cross and the "Quaker." Both organizations were responsible for health and nutritional aspects as well as important issues correspondencia.Una as the major claims of refugees was the treatment of "Senegalese sharpshooters" who became a ruthless and cruel, causing many deaths among the inmates.
From the first days of April 1939 many of the Cubans who were in Argeles-Sur-Mer were taken to Gurs, located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Pyrenees occidentales.Este field had the advantage that barracones.Se built the buildings was only a hundred square meters, within which there was no furniture, but after this hell and Argeles logro.Tambien there was a great food improved markedly, however despite came from an area of \u200b\u200bFrance with a very severe climate in Gurs accompanied them rain, hail and moisture through the spring of 1939.
With the intervention of the Cuban government ordered the gradual withdrawal of Cuban troops back to their country.The release occurred after being named the group the speakers of the field, after which they were assigned a traffic and transport documentation rail to Paris and from there to the ports of departure on the west coast as francesa.Una time there and upon arrival they were greeted by fellow PCF to the extent of its ability gave them packages of clothes and some comida.Solían be packages containing a suit, shirt, tie, shoes and clothing interior.Eso was in the best since some of those who departed just received a pledge of fighters abrigo.Otros narrated as it passes through various railway stations and union committees made them get food packages containing a piece of cheese, a boiled egg and some pan.De not for the solidarity of these workers would not have eaten anything until the boat that would transport to Cuba since it was clear that the Cuban authorities in France were acting under compulsion of Havana without margins and will make it easier for the return of their countrymen.
The testimonies of the Cuban combatants who returned to Cuba stressed that although the war had been a hard trance, his time in the field also meant an indescribable suffering, an unforgettable humiliation.
PART 1 / THE ARRIVAL IN FRANCE
no doubt that France will have a clear leading role in the conflict that was fought in Spain from 1936.Además's own policies and geostrategic implications of the English Civil War will be for France its territory was a necessary step the "volunteer of liberty" who came to fight in Spain since neither by sea or across the Portuguese border could access Republican Spain, but France will also be essential part logistics the transit of volunteers a key country in the outcome of the war in Spain more political level, France will a key country for the maintenance of the policy of "nonintervention" and should face embarrassment during the war as the transit of arms shipments to Spain, the situation of refugees who crossed the border from the first moments of war and internal division which led to the conflict English. this regard should be noted that the French Government was erratic, not only with the voluntary passing through its territory but also military equipment destined for Spain, showing a continuing dispute between left-wing organizations that supported the French Popular Front against right-wing organizations, the police, military and a large section of the press from the beginning has been against promoting any support for Spain.
Focusing on the arrival of Cuban volunteers have to indicate that this went through different phases, so that arrivals in the first months of the conflict found a relative permeability in France and reached the Pyrenean border without too contratiempos.Las arrival French ports on board ships with volunteers began in mid January 1937.Se was the first contingent of men from New York and framed in the Lincoln Brigade and with them the "Centuria Guiteras" composed exclusively of Cubans and from come up here more than two dozen ships bordo.Los Cuban contingent kept much to do in terms of group composition and number of members, so from New York and Havana were either left expeditions of eight, fifteen , eighty or more members.
PCC once created the Recruitment Committee, decided to contact a Cuban living in Paris, Felix Pita Rodriguez, a member of the party and out-standing intellectual who settled in Paris in early Pita 1929.Félix showed an attitude of solidarity with English Republic from the time of the uprising and with other partners founded an "American Committee" resident in France within its capabilities helped the Republican cause. Also started a newsletter called "Our Spain" and in general was very committed to the fight against PCC fascismo.El custom was to receive the Cuban volunteers upon their arrival in Paris and assist them in their needs, exerting a major role mate link to the PCF.
The political hierarchy was clearly established in the groups of fighters from the moment you start your journey to España.es each group was appointed a Commissioner that the PCC was responsible for his companions to join militias España.es was often the paradox of being a militant Commissioner young and inexperienced, but confident of the PCC (oral testimony of Gilberto Acosta). All the weight of the operation of receiving the PCF groups that fell on the behalf of Comintern exercised reception work, transportation, accommodation and documentation of the work voluntarios.Esta militants were usually introduced from the PCF and the CGT partners, the Confederation of Workers franceses.Desde the very moment you decide to create the International Brigades in September 1936 will be the PCF on whom it falls all responsibility for volunteers in transit by land, so that created a whole structure services for this tarea.Las instructions led from the PCF Central Committee itself at its Paris headquarters of Lafayette Street while the organization had its "nerve" in the office prepared as a "Coordination Committee" in the local street Châtedea 38.Aqui number is organizing the logistics and political tasks were distributed, but the best known local and frequented by the volunteers was the "Maison des Sindicats" I was in Matuhrin-Moreau Ave # 8, coexisted in the same building organizations on aid to Republican Spain such as the "National Defense Committee of the English People", the French headquarters of the "French Committee the Right of Asylum "and basically the main recruiting office of the International Brigades in Paris but in 1936 played a key role in this task the famous" Petit Lyon "and" Madrid "and from here down to the local level, with recruiting offices in at least fifty French towns, mostly in the central premises of the CGT, with particular importance in those Toulusse, Marsellay Lyon. It organized a network that took care of details such as train tickets, which were generally tulelas accompanied by trade unionists in the railway employees, as well as the alojamiento.La formula was used rooms in modest and discreet hotels as "De Ville" where new arrivals were registered as students or visitors to the "International Exhibition" held in Paris.The meals were usually done in family restaurants run by sympathizers or activists of the CPP or the CGT, the restaurant case "Nouvelle Famille" The move from the Atlantic ports to Paris train was in all cases and once in Paris, groups were usually an average of one week during which they handed over the documentation which should enter Spain. fighters lost their documents in Paris and in return received others that cross the border, except in cases where the border is processed made with real identities but using professional media credentials or other valid excuse to justify this transit control.They fighters are trained in behavior to be observed across the border and are generally made to collect your train tickets in Grange Street aux-Belles-33, which operated an office whose mission was to deliver the tickets to volunteers under the guise of a travel agency.
Most Cubans traveled with supporting documents directly to the Franco-English border by the French department of Pyrenees Orientales, joining the city of Perpignan which normally accessed by train on line number "77" which became popular as the line of volunteers bound for here España.Desde accessed the border crossing at Port Bou.Una ever crossing the border generally contacted with an army officer who took care polular the group and moved to the Castle of Figueras, just five miles from the border and served during the time when fighters arrived at the center of the first reception and organization of groups to their next destination, being the political leader Luigi Longo of this task that was aided by the organizational apparatus of PSUC (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia). Many were instructed to fly directly Barcelona, \u200b\u200bappearing at the Columbus hotel where he had established a command post that, among other issues PCE channeled the transit of Barcelona voluntarios.Desde most were sent directly by rail or road to Albacete although sometimes they did go first by Valencia we forget, was from the first months of the war seat of government and administrative capital. Different
was the fate of those who came to Paris and from there had to wait for the formation of a clandestine group to cross the mountains Pirineos.Esta despite its high peaks and the harshness of winter, historically has had multi-step guides organized by clandestine locales.Pero arrival in the Pyrenees was not made directly from París.Con groups often left for an intermediate station as the case might be in Toulouse or capital Lyón.En these volunteers waited until conditions were produced step , starting again by train to the vicinity of the border, where the guides were contacted, usually locals republicana.A committed to the cause since 1938, with increasing pressure from the French patrol, dispatch were concentrated in border towns such as Carcassonne and Narbonne and that from these operational bases was easier to avoid scrutiny, however the days policial.No passing until it was starting order the volunteers spent taking many precautions to avoid detection by staying in the homes of French supporters of the English Republic and members of organizations izquierdas.Cruzar the Pyrenees on foot with the bad weather that accompanied winter-long civil war was an experience that no fighter has olvidado.Muchos of them had real difficulties in walking, especially Cubans from a tropical climate were in the midst of towering snow, moving in with each forming a total silence and few provisions to further limit the resistencia.Generalmente not be moving at a brisk pace, making stops every hour for no more than ten minutes and continuing the step marcha.Dependiendo chosen this traffic lasted between 24 to 48 hours but sometimes several days were said to circumvent the controls vigilancia.Una fooled French time, which as the war progressed became more strict, had to do the same with the fascist army controls since managed to prevail in the northern sector increasingly pushing border delimiting pressure increasingly pasos.Muchos of the Cuban combatants to recount their experiences on this trance refer to specialized surveillance of German troops, usually of the "Legion Condor" that were specialized patrols with dogs in an attempt to limit the transboundary movement and that they were limiting the border as they fell territories in northern Spain.
These basically were the conditions of arrival, well organized from France and Spain and generally developed in an orderly manner.
PART 2 / WITHDRAWAL / CONCENTRATION CAMPS
thing different was the return of combatants once lost the war and in particular of the international volunteers from the English government's decision to order its withdrawal in September 1938 marked a new complication of the odyssey of these combatientes.Cuando did this order, American fighters were subjected to different treatment from the PCE because it promoted the idea that those who wanted to continue fighting in Spain could do so framed in the People's Army as language and cultural reasons was relatively easy to dilute their presence in the People's Army, snatching and the obligation to lay down their arms and the country under the President's commitment to the Society Negrin Naciones.Lo truth is that many willingly accepted this and fought in various units, but most were forced to abandon struggle, since it was already evidence that the advance of Franco's army was unstoppable and increasingly more complicated flight to the norte.A end of 1938 there were Cubans on the front of the center of Catalonia and scattered among other units were still in the area levante.La International Brigades headquarters moved from Albacete to Barcelona and from there tried to put some order into the great chaos that marked the withdrawal of troops to the north in an unstoppable march from the battle of the Cuban Ebro.Los had a role in this retreat because most did not travel north without their units if they did fight in an attempt to allow time for the withdrawal of the civilian population and the bulk of the Popular Army, characterizing these days of struggle by fighting to be unequal in withstand the repeated bombing of fascist aviation and artillery fire which were no longer able to respond.
But the great uncertainty at the time was France's role in the removal of refugees and troops to their fronteras.Desde the inception of the English war, the French government was determined not to further complicate international relations at the expense of España.Su president, Leon Blum traveled to London in early August 1936 and left the bases of the "Committee on Non-Intervention" that joined Denmark, Belgium and Holanda.Este twist on the French attitude toward Spain led to the closure of its borders on August 8, is say, just three weeks after the occurrence of sublevación.De anyway it was not a final closure and the border crossings were opened in different exodus that occurred in the north with the fall of the various provincias.El April 26 1937 after the bombing of Guernica, the border was opened for a few hours, the same happened on June 19 with the fall of Bilbao and 22 August with Santander.A early October 1937 had the order of 70,000 refugees in France , which led to concern and political debate for the French newspaper, but still it was an exodus controllable and no major alterations in the normal functioning services in locations such penetrations fronterizas.Tras refugees, France continued to close its border but with the fall of Asturian front was a new flight to the Pyrenees and the border was the subject of partial openings during the months of November and December Negrin president of 1937.El who had traveled to Paris on March 17, 1938 failed to get the French authorities were more flexible in accommodating refugees, however, the war actually was ahead of governments and with the fall of the fronts in Aragon in April 1938 a new exodus was estimated at around 20,000 civilians for the month of June would reach the 45,000 who were allowed entry, But on June 13 steps were closed again.
While all this was happening, the Cuban fighters who were often grouped into units created with the troops available, bore the brunt of the war trying to contain the spread of the fascists out to sea and towards Cataluña worst moment came on 22 September 1938 when he decided to withdraw the International Brigades English soil, a situation largely pondered in regard to its logística.La goal was to reach Barcelona internationalists and from there take the final leap to France, but the army Franco was decided to complicate this operation as seen in the fact Tarragona that had already succumbed on September 14 at the hands of General Yagüe.El November 15 saw the brigade parade through the streets of Barcelona in farewell, from that date to the early days of 1939, managed to cross the order of 4,500 brigade but the order of 6,000 more came to Barcelona by way possible, sometimes grouped in makeshift units, other individuals after having lost contact with their units and at other times they were part of People's Army units in which fought since ordered the departure of the internationalists, in short, a chaos to which he wanted to give the appearance of output controlled by a government that each time was less control of the situation.
In France took the first steps to deal with this avalanche mobilizing large numbers of troops on the border and starting a series of contacts with the contenders in Spain to try to stem this tide humana.La central idea was to create settlements for refugees English side of the border but Franco's refusal was not feasible this proyecto.Se also tried that this merger were to occur in Andorra but was rejected by the government of Burgos.
In early January 1939 most Cuban survivors was already in Barcelona.Allí were volunteers who had agreed earlier in español.Se soil was not only the members of the International Brigades but also of those residing in Spain and had fought in the Army Popular.Aunque no reliable data on the number of Cubans who reached Barcelona in early January the testimonies of many of the stand at around 400 but they were never together and formed as a group organized its traslado.El Cuban Jorge Agostini, who had fought in the Republican Navy and later held various responsibilities in the headquarters of the Brigades in Albacete, was appointed by the PCC in charge of the evacuation, which is quite logical since Ramon Nicolau, who had been the man behind the recruitment of fighters and had kept most of the war on English soil had returned to Cuba in the last days of 1938 and from the hierarchical standpoint, its military training and the confidence of the party, Agostini seemed the right man to ensure the departure of Cuban troops to France, so that by following guidelines of command of the Brigades, now in Barcelona, \u200b\u200bestablished a command post in the town of Ripoll as a prelude to cross the border francesa.Los Cubans were reaching these people in dire conditions, injured or exhausted, no material or food and fearful of being pocketed by the enemy offensive.
Meanwhile
Barcelona became a city sitiada.El January 20, the enemy was in Sitges, 40 km from Barcelona, \u200b\u200bthe port was blocked by enemy ships and missing the bread, electricity and medicamentos.En the panicked city, and disputes between different groups of power led to a widespread Republican control of the defense strategy of the city.The January 24 aviation Franco Barcelona made 26 sorties over the city leaving his deadly carga.Así things Alvarez del Vallo, Foreign Minister of the Government pleaded with his Republican counterpart on the reception of 50,000 French civilians but was not taken, but the exodus had already comenzado.Barcelona succumbed on January 26.
The fall of the Catalan capital reacted to the French who were engaged in a remarkable political debate that went beyond the foreground of the view pública.En the French National Assembly's views were polarized on the issue of refugees, a party invoked the high cost of maintenance of the refugees only until December 1938 had assumed the French state of 88 million francos.A as he approached the problem, French newspapers were participants in this polarization, so L'Humanité, organ of the PCF press advocated for solidarity with the defeated while publications identified with the French right also argued the cost of this reception, the risks involved to embrace not only civilians but the military republican and even pointed to vandalism as a likely threat. The maintenance cost of a refugee per day was estimated at 15 francs but if it was a sick this figure reached 70 francs.
Once the Cubans were being reorganized into Ripoll was decided that they approach the border crossing as they could organize their march in grupos.En most cases had to make tremendous detours to reach the English side of border crossing in Port Bou, but to join the road linking this town with Figueras had shared the rigors of the biggest exodus of war civil.El pace of refugee column became more and more tortuous as it was the only way in which civilians had to flee Spain unaided and dispossessed of all soldiers wounded in the best slow in ambulances but everyone who could walk but was in the worst conditions to do the route with the bulk of refugiados.Esta situation worsened when it was decided the way to France the remains of Ejercito Popular carrying their weapons and uniforms, which made that route minimally transitable.A this French attitude has not changed except to further strengthen their lines border with new support units.
group's first foray Cubans to France was made Maydagán
Francisco, a volunteer who had fought on the front of Madrid and took part in decisive battles as Belchite Teruel and in the end of the war occupied the headquarters of a Brigada.Maydagán commissioned by Agostini Ripoll started from a small group of combatientes.Su mission was to try to reach the French city of Perpignan where he worked a consulate in Cuba cubano.Las things were changing and the strong popular mobilization that enabled Cuban diplomatic officials were instructed to attend to his countrymen,
but as we shall see this was carried out at a rate desigual.La point is that after traveling 72 kilometers on foot endless, Maydagán in front of his group not only managed to cross the border, but even went to Perpignan, however, was not scope for their mission and they were all arrested and after spending the night in an arrest of the town, the next day were taken to the beach of Argeles-Sur-Mer which was receiving the first refugees.
Meanwhile, Ripoll things got worse for Cubans seeking to leave the tricks that it was a trap that had only one escape route to France through the passage of Portbou, avoiding enemy troops permeating everyday routes escape.En those days was particularly popular among the Cuban volunteers Miguel Angel Lauzurica "Malay", who had fought throughout the war in front of Madrid and met with most Cubans who were coming to Ripoll as a Ripoll reunión.Durante the days without food or means to leave that place, Malay managed to make continuous treatment, sometimes implausible, it was then that his colleagues also began to nickname and "Gypsy." was also at this location where the Cuban volunteers decided to create the Association of Combatants of the Cuban English Civil War, germ of what the years would be the association of veterans who worked in Cuba until the early twenty-first century.
Barcelona fell on January 26, yet the border remained closed and those who arrived were concentrated at various points on the French border, but in a narrow band in which there was absolutely nothing attitude of the authorities previsto.La French in those early days of avalanche was to try to dissuade newcomers to return to Spain, which in many cases achieved given the harsh conditions of the flight and that many who came from Spain had no defined membership or other signs of having collaborated with the Republic, but the fact of having been given all the war camp was often viewed as a test of loyalty dispar.A punished so that point the exit road from Barcelona and was a total chaos, without any type of organization by the republican authorities, whose leaders fled without order alguno.La accepted figure of this exodus is focused on half a million people, of which at least 80% had to travel into exile between 26 January and 12 February, when it is considered to have left who had not died or been captured in the huida.Reinaba total chaos and as they sensed that the French would be hostile host fired anxiety and wild ideas arose as a group of Cubans who approached the border in a truck in which he painted the words "Cuban consulate" without preventing the French soldiers to give them a derogatory treatment.
At midnight on Jan. 27 opened the French border, the first who agreed only to civilians, especially those wounded in the next day had entered France and 15,000 refugees and thereafter this insight became an unstoppable drip. On February 5 at the evidence, the French government allowed the entry of the remains of the Republican army so that the more than 300,000 refugees had already crossed at that time joined about 220,000 soldiers who had a condition submitting your armas.El February 10 Franco's army reached the last crossing points and had seized no less than 60,000 people.The latest Cuban fighters had been on February 9 after a last attempt to regroup in Casals de la Selva, vine they began a new nightmare.
Meanwhile, France had stepped up military preparations for moving to the area several units of "Senegalese handles" and body "Spahis" a horse to strengthen measures to places that were enabling to concentrate the refugiados.Junto this is refereed to various administrative measures acogida.Se established that many civilian refugees traveling to all departments of the country except Paris, and, since 2 February, 40,000 refugees were taken by train to shelters across the country willing but thousands of them were deceived and taken back to English border at Hendaye to be handed over to Franco's army, which became known as it escapes and suicides caused great número.En these places were fitted for the reception facilities that worked so uneven in both its standards and the quality of the thickness acogida.Pero was anchored at the border for at least ten endless days todo.El missing first step was to move up groups a sorting plant where transit is available to the various fields enabled, although they were defined by the French authorities as places no prison camps functioned as genuine concentración.Los major sorting centers were at Le Perthus and The Tour-de-Carol and Le Boulou.
Improvisation in the provision of the fields was the main absoluta.Los were Argeles-Sur-Mer, Saint Cyprian, Prat Cerdanya and Möller and beside these there were other fields such Gurs, where refugees were concentrated from International Brigades that were in the process of being deported to their countries of origin.
Argeles-Sur-Mer was the field where it was decided to intern international fighters but these were a fraction of its population averaged around the 80,000 occupants while the first days of the Exodus and other fields to be enabled, Argelés came to house up to internos.Los 180,000 Cubans were taken to the so-called "Sector 10" in the field, shared with German and italianos.Este internationalist camp was established on February 1, 1939 following an order ministerial.El field stood on the beach in a town same name as those years sought to boost its image turística.Aunque some Cubans were interned in camps and Gurs Saint Cyprian, the vast Most spent their captivity after the barbed wire of Argeles.
Technically, the field was nothing but an immense beach surrounded by barbed wire, inside which were divided from one hectare rectangles provided to 1,500 refugees each but that varied in their occupation according to the circunstancias.No was not a single building, or water and no foreign letrinas.El consisted of a double ring of surveillance, with two companies of "handles Senegalese" behind the fences of several sites available ametralladoras.Un second ring consisted of several companies " Spahis "cavalry colonial army North African field. patrolled the perimeter of the interior, seven platoons of colonial guard "Senegalese Shooters" were responsible for field control.
Cubans were among the first to be conducted within Argelés and therefore, in addition withstand the elements of the early days, kept a certain hierarchy in the organization interna.Esas first few days were scary, with a climate that bordered on the glacial accompanied by heavy rains that caused a continuing quagmire and the permanent presence of "north wind" unbearable local wind efectos.En those first days were experienced dramatic scenes at the lack of water, which was attempted offset digging wells in the sand, but the salinity was high and hardly managed to extract water safe to drink unsanitary humano.La was constant as the stools were made in the beachside to withdraw tides As the food excrementos.En in the early days there were dramatic scenes as they were handed throwing pieces of bread from trucks, which led to violent scenes and even death in an attempt to gain a remedy ración.Para Minimally Refugees weather the rigors improvised shelters dug in the sand pits were covered with blankets, cardboard or anything that would serve to make a carrier for poor fuese.Argelés that this was a mess.
The average stay of Cubans who passed through the French camps would be about 100 days since the last crossed the French border on 9 February and the bulk of what was repatriated to Cuba in mid-May . The first thing I did after the first moments of chaos was built on sand habitats in which they took refuge from ten to fifteen people and they gave the name to each of them: "The Cannon Shot," "The Kennel", "Member of Palace "," Catholics, "" Gypsies "," Tiscornia, "The Camouflaged", "the most boisterous" and finally "The School". The activity of the Cubans had much to do with the character of this village, with impressive resilience, which allowed their living conditions would improve sensiblemente.Ante the lack of almost everything, barter became a solution and "Malay" became its chief architect making operations unlikely as was the exchange with Senegalese soldiers of a bag of shoes of the same foot for food, once discovered what caused the anger of a little food guardianes.Poco improved significantly since the beginning pieces of bread rations were added vegetables and exceptionally
carne.Una of the main concerns was the health of refugees and the lack of latrines led to epidemics diversas.Como solution, the Cuban medical brigade created a composite of a dozen men who collected the droppings with cans and poured the mar.La country life became extremely monotonous and uncertainty about the fate in store for refugees led to major crises ansiedad.Para fight this organized recreational activities in the case of Cubans musical.En character used to be one of those, Julio Cueva guaracha name composed a "Allé Allé Kicks" which implied a strong criticism of conditions life in the countryside and degrading treatment inflicted guard them Senegalese
eventually becoming an unofficial anthem of the combatants cubanos.Cuando was crossing the border, troops used a large number of mules as pack animals, and these were seized property as most of the fighters, but managed to retain a copy which was added to famine Argelés.Debido , the Cubans decided to sacrifice the animal to alleviate their apetito.Esta mule who had been named as Susan became little more than the mascot of the group but became ill with scabies and had a shabby but still the event became ingirieron.Este a party to the Cuban combatants in which some sought cans to make beats and "Catch the guards as the guards Senegalese Senegalese were infected relaxed rhythm monitoring conditions were encouraged to try the fuga.Juan Magraner succeeded.
In any popular pressure from Cuba was insistent and the Cuban government accepted to mediate in the fate of the Cuban volunteers interned in French camps, instructions were given to the Cuban diplomatic authorities in France to begin the claims process and repatriation of aquellos.Antes to unlock this issue, the Cuban diplomat Flora Díaz Parrado traveled from Paris to the fields twice, announcing the efforts being made and discussing other aspects of confinement that although this did not mean too privileges in respect of foreign aid anterior.Ciertamente situation inside the camps was very small and only carried out by the International Red Cross and the "Quaker." Both organizations were responsible for health and nutritional aspects as well as important issues correspondencia.Una as the major claims of refugees was the treatment of "Senegalese sharpshooters" who became a ruthless and cruel, causing many deaths among the inmates.
From the first days of April 1939 many of the Cubans who were in Argeles-Sur-Mer were taken to Gurs, located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Pyrenees occidentales.Este field had the advantage that barracones.Se built the buildings was only a hundred square meters, within which there was no furniture, but after this hell and Argeles logro.Tambien there was a great food improved markedly, however despite came from an area of \u200b\u200bFrance with a very severe climate in Gurs accompanied them rain, hail and moisture through the spring of 1939.
With the intervention of the Cuban government ordered the gradual withdrawal of Cuban troops back to their country.The release occurred after being named the group the speakers of the field, after which they were assigned a traffic and transport documentation rail to Paris and from there to the ports of departure on the west coast as francesa.Una time there and upon arrival they were greeted by fellow PCF to the extent of its ability gave them packages of clothes and some comida.Solían be packages containing a suit, shirt, tie, shoes and clothing interior.Eso was in the best since some of those who departed just received a pledge of fighters abrigo.Otros narrated as it passes through various railway stations and union committees made them get food packages containing a piece of cheese, a boiled egg and some pan.De not for the solidarity of these workers would not have eaten anything until the boat that would transport to Cuba since it was clear that the Cuban authorities in France were acting under compulsion of Havana without margins and will make it easier for the return of their countrymen.
The testimonies of the Cuban combatants who returned to Cuba stressed that although the war had been a hard trance, his time in the field also meant an indescribable suffering, an unforgettable humiliation.
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