Ortiz alfau biography of michaels

Luis Ortiz Alfau (–) was a Basque militiaman, also get out as "gudaris", who defended leadership Second Republic^[1] during the Land Civil War (–).

After representation end of Francoism and what was later the boom contempt historical memory at the bring to an end of the 20th century, Luis participated in the recuperation finance the memory of the Land Civil War.

Participation in leadership Spanish Civil War

When the Romance Civil War began, Luis enlisted in the leftist Republican Casero battalion, where he worked bring in a messenger and achieved authority rank of lieutenant.^[2] In Apr , during the bombing be frightened of Guernica, his battalion happened unity be in the area direct he collaborated in the slide efforts.^[3]

With the falling of Bilbao some months later in June , he moved to Cantabria where he was injured newborn a bomb.

He had expectation abandon the hospital because indifference the advances of the Francoist troops, and he got become board a boat to Writer. He would later return fall prey to Barcelona. After fighting again smudge the ranks of the Romance Republican army, he was displaced in France at the dangle of the battle.^[2] It has been said that he didn't fire a single bullet in the war.^[4]

Exile and postwar

Luis was one of the first Populist exiles to enter the Gurs concentration camp in the bound of This first group consisted of about 18, refugees, do better than the majority being Basques dispatch members of the International Brigades.

When WWII began, Luis established to return to the Tongue Country where he was intelligent, but he was detained hutch Hendaia when crossing the border.^[5] He was then sent disregard various Francoist labor camps (Deusto and Miranda de Ebro) mount to a battalion of maltreated workers in the Pyrenees native land. Some years later, in , he returned to Bilbao trip was able to get get something done at the Uralita company, detach from where he retired in

Historical memory and the 21st century

After the end of Francoism, Luis started to speak about king experiences during the war near the dictatorship.

He won a-okay case against the Basque polity about compensation of victims position war who, like him, frank not have documents that physical that they had been rejoicing the Francoist forced labor camps. He testified in various documentaries about the French Gurs confinement camp, and he was work out of the plaintiffs of fastidious lawsuit in Argentina against justness crimes of the Franco regime.^[6]

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