Camp de concentration d'Argelès-sur-Mer
Encyclopedia
The Camp de concentration d'Argelès-sur-Mer was a concentration camp established in February 1939 on the territory of the French commune of Argelès-sur-Mer
for members of the retirada. The retirada was the retreat of the remains of the Spanish Republican Popular Army (Ejército Popular Republicano) after their defeat in the Spanish Civil War
. The commune and the camp were on the Mediterranean coast
at the east end of the Pyrenees
, 25 km north of Cap de Creus
. The camp at Argelès received more than 100,000 Spanish refugees. Many of these refugees were Communists, or had supported the Communist elements in the Spanish Republic.
These men and women were forced to leave the country they had brutally fought for, defeated by dictator Franco and his new oppressive regime. The conditions were sub-par in this concentration camp, and the prisoners faced many diseases. The guards would bring around petroleum baths to combat the plagues of fleas and lice. Efforts to encourage the refugees to return to Spain were common. The concentration camps were very large and unkept. It was easy to see dead bodies piled in areas throughout the camp that were left in the open. These were bodies that had fought for freedoms within Spain, losing both to the Fascists, and to hypothermia, disease, or despair.
Argelès-sur-Mer
Argelès-sur-Mer is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It lies near Perpignan.-Geography:...
for members of the retirada. The retirada was the retreat of the remains of the Spanish Republican Popular Army (Ejército Popular Republicano) after their defeat in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. The commune and the camp were on the Mediterranean coast
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
at the east end of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, 25 km north of Cap de Creus
Cap de Creus
Cap de Creus is a peninsula and a headland located at the far NE of Catalonia, some 25 km south from the French border. The nearest town is Figueres, capital of the Alt Empordà and birthplace of Salvador Dalí...
. The camp at Argelès received more than 100,000 Spanish refugees. Many of these refugees were Communists, or had supported the Communist elements in the Spanish Republic.
These men and women were forced to leave the country they had brutally fought for, defeated by dictator Franco and his new oppressive regime. The conditions were sub-par in this concentration camp, and the prisoners faced many diseases. The guards would bring around petroleum baths to combat the plagues of fleas and lice. Efforts to encourage the refugees to return to Spain were common. The concentration camps were very large and unkept. It was easy to see dead bodies piled in areas throughout the camp that were left in the open. These were bodies that had fought for freedoms within Spain, losing both to the Fascists, and to hypothermia, disease, or despair.
Notable prisoners
- Marcel Langer, a member of the international brigadesInternational BrigadesThe International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
, and in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a hero of the French ResistanceFrench ResistanceThe French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
in ToulouseToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he was guillotined on 23 July 1943 - Diego Camacho (pen name Abel Paz)Abel PazAbel Paz was a Spanish anarchist, former combatant and historian.Abel Paz was the pen name of Diego Camacho. He was born in Almería in 1921, and moved with his family to Barcelona in 1929...
, Spanish writer and novelist - Rubén Ruiz IbárruriRubén Ruiz IbárruriRubén Ruíz Ibárruri was the son of Spanish communist leader Dolores Ibárruri and a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union.-Early life:...
, the son of Spanish communist leader Dolores IbárruriDolores IbárruriIsidora Dolores Ibárruri Gómez , known more famously as "La Pasionaria" was a Spanish Republican leader of the Spanish Civil War and communist politician of Basque origin...
, La Pasionaria.
Hommages
Inscription on the commemorative monument on the northern beach of Argelès-sur-Mer:| A la mémoire des 100.000 Républicains Espagnols, internés dans le camp d'Argelès, lors de la RETIRADA de Février 1939. Leur malheur: avoir lutté pour défendre la Démocratie et la République contre le fascisme en Espagne de 1936 à 1939. Homme libre, souviens toi. In memory of the 100.000 Spanish republicans, interned in the Camp of Argelès, during the RETIRADA in February 1939. Their disgrace: having fought for defending democracy and the republic against fascism in Spain from 1936 to 1939. Free Men, remember them. (A la memoria de los 100.000 republicanos españoles, internados en el campo de Argelès, tras la RETIRADA de febrero de 1939. Su desgracia: haber luchado para defender la Democracia y la República contra el fascismo en España de 1936 a 1939. Hombre libre, acuérdate.)NODO 50: Actos en Argelés-sur-Mer |
Further reading
- Espinar, Jaime (1940) "Argelés-sur-mer": Campo de Concentración para Españoles Editorial "Elite", Caracas, Venezuela, OCLC 39325331; available on microfiche OCLC 156061478, in Spanish
- Ferrer Rodriguez, Eulalio (1987) Entre Alambradas: Diario de los campos de concentracion Pangea, Mexico City, ISBN 968-6177-14-0, in Spanish
- Garcia, John Andres (2008) "The International Brigades and the Refugee Camps of the south of France" Manning Clark House Inc., Forrest, Australia, http://www.manningclark.org.au/html/Paper-Garcia_John_Andres-International_Brigades_and_Refugee_Camps_of_southern_France.htm
- MacMaster, Neil and Granda, David (1990) Spanish Fighters: An oral history of civil war and exile St. Martin's Press, New York, ISBN 0-333-51021-6
- Stephen, Walter M. (2001) La Retirada: Sixty Years on at Argeles Hills of Home, Edinburgh, Scotland, OCLC 47272024
External links
- Argelès-sur-Mer Internment Camp Photographs Capa, RobertRobert CapaRobert Capa was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War...
(1939) International Center of Photography. Retrieved 2010-09-23.