Prison of women: testimonies of war and resistance in Spain, 1939-1975

475 Pages·1998·1.96 MB·English

by  Tomasa Cuevas

Prison of Women : Testimonies of War and
title:
Resistance in Spain, 1939-1975
author: Cuevas, Tomasa.; Giles, Mary E.
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 0791438589
print isbn13: 9780791438589
ebook isbn13: 9780585060507
language: English
Cuevas, Tomasa,--1917- , Women political
prisoners--Spain--Biography, Francoism,
Reformatories for women--Spain, Women
subject communists--Spain--Biography, Guerrillas--
Spain--History--20th century, Government,
Resistance to--Spain--History--20th century,
Spain--
publication date: 1998
lcc: HV9742.5.C84A313 1998eb
ddc: 365/.45/0820946
Cuevas, Tomasa,--1917- , Women political
prisoners--Spain--Biography, Francoism,
Reformatories for women--Spain, Women
subject: communists--Spain--Biography, Guerrillas--
Spain--History--20th century, Government,
Resistance to--Spain--History--20th century,
Spain--
Page iii
Prison Of Women
Testimonies of War and Resistance in Spain, 19391975
Tomasa Cuevas
Translated and Edited by
Mary E. Giles
State University of New York Press
Page iv
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1998 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Production by Susan Geraghty
Marketing by Anne Valentine
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in
writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press, State
University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Cover art by Antoni Tàpies
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cuevas, Tomasa, 1917
[Cárcel de mujeres, 19391945. English]
Prison of women: testimonies of war and resistance in Spain,
19391975 / by Tomasa Cuevas; translated and edited by Mary E.
Giles.
p. cm.
Translation of Cárcel de mujeres and Mujeres de la resistencia.
ISBN 0-7914-3857-0 (hc: alk. paper).ISBN 0-7914-3858-9 (pb:
alk. paper)
1. Cuevas, Tomasa, 1917. 2. Women political prisonersSpain
Biography. 3. Francoism. 4. Reformatories for womenSpain.
5. Women communistsSpainBiography. 6. GuerrillasSpain
History20th century. 7. Government, Resistance toSpain
History20th century. 8. SpainPolitics and
government19391975. I. Giles, Mary E. II. Cuevas, Tomasa,
1917 Mujeres de la resistencia. English. III. Title.
HV9742.5.C84A313 1998
365'.45'0820946dc21 97-33352
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Page v
CONTENTS
Introduction vii
by Mary E. Giles
PART 1 War and Prison
Chapter 1 Growing Up in Prewar Spain 3
Chapter 2 Coming of Age in Politics and War 11
Chapter 3 Prison Life Begins: Guadalajara 1939 25
Chapter 4 Sisters Condemned to Death: Blasa Rojo at 39
Guadalajara
Chapter 5 Childbirth in Prison: Nieves Waldemer 45
Santisteban at Guadalajara
Chapter 6 My Prison Odyssey: Durango 19391940 51
Chapter 7 The Dynamiter: Rosario Sánchez Mora at 57
Durango
Chapter 8 Into the Storm: Santander 19401942 67
Chapter 9 A Minor in Prison: María del Carmen Cuesta at 75
Santander
Chapter 10 The Cemetery of the Living: Amorebieta 85
19421943
Chapter 11 The Socialist: Pilar Pascual Martínez at 93
Amorebieta
Chapter 12 Solidarity and Compassion: Ventas and Segovia 99
19431944

Page vi
Chapter 13 Reflections on Prison Life for Women: Josefina109
Amalia Villa at Ventas and Segovia
Chapter 14 The Costs of Sacrifice: Antonia García at 117
Ventas and Segovia
PART 2 Resistance and Prison
Chapter 15 A Stranger in a Strange City 19441945 141
Chapter 16 The Exile of Prison: Les Corts 19451946 151
Chapter 17 From Prison to Clandestine Life Again 1946 167
Chapter 18 Escape: Victoria Pujolar at Les Corts 173
Chapter 19 Through the Gate to Freedom: Adelaida Abarca181
at Les Corts
Chapter 20 Crossing the Border: Angelita Ramis at Les 189
Corts
Chapter 21 The Guerrilla: Esperanza Martínez 197
Chapter 22 The Burden and Strength of Clandestinity 207
19461948
Chapter 23 The Long Years 19481976 219
Afterword 235
by Mary E. Giles
Glossary 237
Notes 243

Page vii
INTRODUCTION
Mary E. Giles
Something about the book on the top shelf caught my eye. Standing
on tip-toe, I turned my head awkwardly to read the title sideways:
Cárcel de mujeres. 19391945 (Prison of Women, 19391945). I
managed to pry the volume loose from the books squeezed tightly on
each side. Leaning against the shelves, I read on the back cover how a
certain Tomasa Cuevas had gathered oral testimonies from women
who had been incarcerated in the months and years following the end
of the Civil War in Spain in 1939. Leafing through the pages, I paused
to read a paragraph here and there.
I left the Madrid bookstore with the volume tucked in my purse and
walked back to my pension a block off the Castellana avenue. Later
that afternoon I settled near a window in the parlor of the pension and
began to read. An hour or two passed. I let the book rest open on my
lap and looked pensively out the window on the busy street below,
reflecting this hot July evening in 1989 on a strange coincidence of
events.
I'd come to Madrid three weeks before to read documents of the
Inquisition in the National Historical Archives. Each morning I would
leave the pension with notebooks under my arm and walk the three
miles or so to the archives, savoring the artful displays of elegant
clothing in the boutiques that lined the avenue. From nine-thirty to
two-thirty each day I undid cardboard boxes tied with strings and
searched through the documents for evidence on how women had
fared in the courts of the Holy Office.
Here was a letter from the daughter of an old woman exiled to a
neighboring village as punishment for suspected judaizing; now, the