The Routes to Exile: France and the Spanish Civil War Refugees, 1939
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The routes to exile Edited by Mark Greengrass and Pamela Pilbeam This series is published in collaboration with the UK Society for the Study of French History. It aims to showcase innovative short monographs relating to the history of the French, in France and in the world since c.1750. Each volume speaks to a theme in the history of France with broader resonances to other discourses about the past. Authors demonstrate how the sources and interpretations of modern French history are being opened to historical investigation in new and interesting ways, and how unfamiliar subjects have the capacity to tell us more about the role of France within the European continent. The series is particularly open to interdisciplinary studies that break down the traditional boundaries and conventional disciplinary divisions. Titles already published in this series Catholicism and children’s literature in France: The comtesse de Ségur (1799–1874) Sophie Heywood The routes to exile France and the Spanish Civil War refugees, 1939–2009 SCOTT SOO Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan Copyright © Scott Soo 2013 The right of Scott Soo to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Distributed in Canada exclusively by UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 978 0 7190 86915 hardback First published 2013 The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Typeset by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited Contents Preface vii Abbreviations x Map 1 French départements xii Map 2 South-west France xiii Introduction: Coming to terms with the Spanish republican exile in France 1 Part I The onset of exile 23 1 Unravelling rights and identities: the exodus of 1939 25 2 Reception, internment and repatriation, 1939–40 57 3 Organisations, networks and identities, 1939–40 93 Part II Working in from the margins 123 4 Ambiguities at work: refugees and the French war economy, 1939–40 125 5 Work, surveillance, refusal and revolt in Vichy and German-occupied France, 1940–44 152 Part III Aspirations of return, commemoration and home 191 6 Mobilisation, commemoration and return, 1944–55 193 7 Moving memories, 1970–2009 220 Conclusion: trajectories and legacies 253 Appendix 259 Bibliography 261 Index 279 Preface On a hot day in June 2000, it took me some time to locate the monument to the refugees who were interned on the beach of Argelès-sur-Mer in 1939, and the stele marking the place where some of those refugees were buried. It would not be so difficult to find these today partly because the history of these camps and the internees has become much more widely known. In 2009, the seventieth anniversary of the Spanish republicans’ arrival in France was recalled with an impressive array of commemora- tions across the country. The various events signalled that the Spanish republican exile in France was fast becoming an integral part of French, but also Spanish and European history. Much of our knowledge about the history of the Spanish republican exile has come from the refugees’ memoirs and the work of French and Spanish historians. While there has also been pioneering work in the English language, there are few books and only one general overview by Louis Stein published in 1979 when access to the relevant state archives in France was limited. My aim is to provide an updated account in the English language and to advance knowledge of the subject through a consideration of exile in relation to the refugees’ lived experiences and memory activities. Given the contemporary trend of nation-states in neglecting refugees’ rights, understanding the personal and long-term impact of the French reception of the Spanish republicans is as important now as it has ever been. I am grateful to a number of institutions and individuals for support- ing this project. The Economic and Social Research Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council financed the postgraduate research viii preface from which this book emerged. I would also like to thank the staff at the French, Spanish and British National Archives, as well as those at the numerous Archives Départementales. There are three friends in particular who I would like to mention. Jean-Jacques Réal, Hélène Tallet and Fran- cisco Perez of the former CIRAS archive guided me through the docu- ments of the Spanish Libertarian Movement in exile under very difficult circumstances. Jean-Jacques was steadfastly enthusiastic about this project even though he was enduring the final stages of terminal cancer. Both Jean-Jacques and Hélène (‘Léna’) insisted that I continue working with the archives, even though these were based within their own home, and Francisco was always on hand for any questions. I very much regret that neither Jean-Jacques nor Francisco lived to see the publication of the book. In addition to the archival work, I was very fortunate to listen to so many people about their experiences and memories. I would like to express my deep gratitude to everyone for generously giving up their time and hope they will forgive me for not being able to incorporate all of their stories here. The names of those whose oral histories feature in this book can be found in the bibliography. These oral-history interviews have provided an essential insight into exile as well as inspiring successive cohorts of students to learn more about the subject. In the process, these students have both challenged and advanced my understanding of the Spanish republican exile and I would therefore like to thank the students who have studied FREN 3025 ‘An ambivalent asylum: the history and memories of refugees in early twentieth-century France’, and TRANS 6002 ‘Problematizing the national’. I have benefited from the interdisciplinary context of the University of Southampton and the collegiate ethos of Modern Languages, and very much hope this will be able to survive the incessant market-inspired challenges to British academia. I owe thanks to virtually all of my col- leagues in Modern Languages as well as others in History, Sociology and Geography. But a special mention must go to Jackie Clarke, who kindly took time from her own monograph to provide feedback on various chapters. The same applies to another good friend and historian, Evge- nios Mikhail. For his infectious enthusiasm, inspiration, invaluable advice and gen- erous hospitality, my deep gratitude goes to Rod Kedward. Sharif Gemie also deserves a special mention for his encouragement and critical feed- back during the genesis of this book. I am also grateful to all the staff at Manchester University Press and the Series Editors, Mark Greengrass and Pam Pilbeam, for their advice. preface ix Portions of Chapter 5 appeared in my article ‘Ambiguities at Work: Spanish Republican Exiles and the Organisation Todt in Occupied Bor- deaux’, Modern and Contemporary France, 15:4 (2007) (http://www.tand- fonline.com/toc/cmcf20/current) and in my chapter ‘Returning to the Land: Vichy’s Groupement de Travailleurs Étrangers and Spanish Civil War Refugees’, in S. Ott (ed.), War, Exile, Justice, and Everyday Life, 1936– 1946 (Reno, NV: Center for Basque Studies, 2010). The extracts are reprinted with the kind permission of Taylor & Francis, and the Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada. I am also grateful to University of Wales Press for their permission to reproduce some of the text from ‘Between Borders: The Remembrance Practices of Spanish Exiles in the Southwest of France’, in S. Gemie and H. Altink (eds), At the Border: Margins and Peripheries in Modern France (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2008) in Chapter 7. Friends as well as family have been incredibly supportive. Je remercie les copains de Saint Michel in Bordeaux and especially Fred Labes, who has followed this project from the start. Thanks also to Jean-Bernard and Marylène for allowing me to hijack their salon for some of the writing of this book. I can never thank enough my parents Dave and Charlotte, whose own stories and backgrounds have motivated my interest in social and cultural history. Nobody has followed the evolution of this book as closely as Flora. Flora has been tremendously patient and understanding as well as gracious in allowing her holidays to be (re)routed to places of Spanish republican interest in France: I owe her my heartfelt gratitude. Finally, no acknowledgement would be complete without mentioning Molly and Joe: I apologise for the absences and thank you both for being everything to me. List of abbreviations ADE Alianza Democrática Española AGA Archivo General de la Administración AGE Agrupación de Guerrilleros Españoles AVER Amicale des Volontaires de l’Espagne Républicaine Orphelins, Veuves et Ascendants CDL Comité Départemental de Libération