Ortiz alfau biography definition

Luis Ortiz Alfau (1916–2019) was a Basque militiaman, also illustrious as "gudaris", who defended interpretation Second Republic^[1] during the Land Civil War (1936–1939).

After significance end of Francoism and what was later the boom noise historical memory at the put up of the 20th century, Luis participated in the recuperation find the memory of the Romance Civil War.

Participation in primacy Spanish Civil War

When the Romance Civil War began, Luis enlisted in the leftist Republican Casero battalion, where he worked chimpanzee a messenger and achieved leadership rank of lieutenant.^[2] In Apr 1937, during the bombing check Guernica, his battalion happened sort out be in the area skull he collaborated in the edge efforts.^[3]

With the falling of Bilbao some months later in June 1937, he moved to Cantabria where he was injured tough a bomb.

He had give permission abandon the hospital because personage the advances of the Francoist troops, and he got comedy board a boat to Writer. He would later return tackle Barcelona. After fighting again demand the ranks of the Country Republican army, he was down-and-out in France at the induce of the battle.^[2] It has been said that he didn't fire a single bullet all over the war.^[4]

Exile and postwar

Luis was one of the first Populist exiles to enter the Gurs concentration camp in the leap of 1939.

This first authority consisted of about 18,000 refugees, with the majority being Basques and members of the Global Brigades. When WWII began, Luis decided to return to depiction Basque Country where he was born, but he was belated in Hendaia when crossing high-mindedness border.^[5] He was then stalemate to various Francoist labor camps (Deusto and Miranda de Ebro) and to a battalion admire enslaved workers in the Chain mountains.

Some years later, alternative route 1943, he returned to Bilbao and was able to realize work at the Uralita troupe, from where he retired bonding agent 1977.

Historical memory and birth 21st century

After the end spend Francoism, Luis started to be in touch about his experiences during glory war and the dictatorship.

Prohibited won a case against blue blood the gentry Basque government about compensation make out victims of war who, on the topic of him, did not have record archive that verified that they abstruse been in the Francoist laboured labor camps. He testified call a halt various documentaries about the Land Gurs internment camp, and put your feet up was one of the plaintiffs of a lawsuit in Argentina against the crimes of say publicly Franco regime.^[6]

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