3 P’s Politicians, police and journalists. These three groups took the cake during the most difficult period of the Franco regime. persecutions, arrests and trials. There was a special resentment towards them, but while the situation of politicians and police has been more investigated and documented throughout history, this has not been the case with the journalists’ union. It also included pencillers, photographers and illustrators..
Juan Antonio Ríos Carratalá, a professor at the University of Alicante who had already become an expert in researching judicial summaries and processes, was responsible for drawing this issue. did it with him War councils of Miguel Hernándezabout the trials of the Oriolano poet, and now he has done so by delving into thousands of the poet’s summaries. General and Historical Defense Archive.
Conclusion: Weapons against letters, Co-edited by Renacimiento and the University of Alicante, this volume, to be published next December, includes: 25 of these cases occurred between 1939 and 1945 “which he researched, documented and recovered until”give them minimal importance in the story», says the author who is currently working on the second volume of the trilogy.
If there’s a common pattern it’s this one They were never subjected to judicial process because they are cartoonists, writers or photographers, “but because they cooperate with the Republican press.” And also They were processed three times, which was completely abnormal because a person cannot be tried twice, or even three times, for the same crime. “They put them through a process They were tried by a military court and, after conviction, tried under the Political Responsibilities Code approved in ’39. “This allowed them to fine them and take away all their possessions.” But there was still a third transaction; he also went through the following phase: Special Tribunal for the Suppression of Freemasonry and Communism.
In conclusion, Ríos Carratalá assures that there are such paradoxical cases as: Many of those shot were summoned to attend a new trial and when they did not appear, they declared them to be rebellions, as was evident. “These are cases that seem like black humor, the decree for them to be brought to trial was even published in the press.”
Some special cases
Despite women were starting to appear in the press, The rate of those tried and convicted does not reach 10 percent. But there it was Regina Garcia, It’s a very special situation. this was sSecond editor of La Voz, a newspaper in Spain, And his specialty is that he is a double agent. «He worked with the Republicans and also for the Fifth Column. “They put him in jail and there he started snitching on people, but that didn’t keep him out of jail.”
The researcher also collected the following case: journalist Matilde ZapataHe was found guilty along with his partner journalist Francisco Malumbres will pay a fine of 20,000 pesetas After being shot in 1938 and killed in 1936.
Fernando Perdiguero worked at La Codorniz and although he was convicted, they allowed him to continue collaborating on the magazine when he was released from prison. It also includes: Andrés Martínez de LeónSeville cartoonist, creator of the then popular character Oselito stands out with its anti-fascism.
Or that of the extremist poet Ramon Goy de SilvaWho was the person we would now call the President’s press chief? Niceto Alcalá Zamora. Even Franco’s appearance at the hearing with an impassioned sonnet he wrote in his honor did not save him from the trial.
They also appear Antonio MontoroHe is a theater critic living in Monovar who was also convicted and whose legacy lies in UA. Or sports reporter Ricardo Ruiz Ferry, The member of the International Olympic Committee was tried by a military court.
More doomed than being shot
Many of the collaborators with the Republican press were sentenced to death, but a few were shot. One of the most notable cases was this: Julian ZugazagoitiaNovelist and Minister of Internal Affairs Francisco Cruz Salido. They managed to go into exile in France, but were arrested there by the Gestapo, who cooperated with the Spanish police. “They were actually kidnapped and then shot in Madrid because the extradition process had not been completed,” says the professor. The interesting thing was that the person who managed to prevent them from being taken to the mass grave without being buried in a grave with a headstone was a woman named Emilia Marroquín.
They were also shot Easter VirgilFrom ABC; Manuel Navarro BallesterosManager of Mundo Obrero; Javier BuenoWell known at the time and Augusto ViveroDirector of ABC.
There was a paradox that one of the judges was Martínez Gargallo, who was a comedian at 27 and a judge at 31. A lawsuit was filed against Miguel Hernández to many journalists and writers, and even to the person who drew the humorous stories he published in the magazines of the period.
The work has been challenging and complex since . Summary files are not organized by categories or occupations. “I had to research the names of people who worked in the Republican press during the Civil War and then go through them one by one to see if they were on the list of those prosecuted.”
then there was More than twenty permanent courts in Madrid and then those who specialize in professional sectors. And the city to house all the accused 23 prisons. However, until 15-20 years ago, “You could not access these documents, think about how they were protected,” he says.
The process continues and Ríos Carratalá has already clarified the procedural fate of the other twenty people retaliated against. But that will be for the second volume.