Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Gervasio "El Rubio" Puerta García remembers going from Burgos to Madrid to work as a grocery store clerk two months before the Civil War began. El Rubio explains that the war marked the destruction of his family. He relates joining the Republican army in the Sierra de Guadarrama at age fifteen and participating in the battles of Aragón, Teruel, and the Ebro. El Rubio details his militancy in the Unión General de Trabajadores (General Union of Workers), Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth, JSU), and Juventudes Comunistas (Communist Youth). He recalls seeking refuge in France and being placed in various camps. El Rubio notes the dreadful conditions of the Argelès-sur-Mer concentration camp and the organization of the detained. He describes the arrival of German troops in France and how he avoided being taken to a German camp. El Rubio recounts working clandestinely for the JSU in the Pyrenees, returning to Spain, and working as a JSU organizer in Madrid. He speaks about living clandestinely and being detained in Andalucía. El Rubio tells of being incarcerated in Sevilla and Burgos, and being detained again and tortured with his wife in 1961. He comments on his work with the Centro de Información y Solidaridad con España (Center for Information and Solidarity with Spain). El Rubio discusses current politics and the importance of condemning the Francoist repression