Testimony of Carmen Borrell Pérez, Interview with Scott Boehm and Daniel Rojo; February 17, 2009
Contributor
Boehm, Scott Rojo, Daniel Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria Borrell Pérez, Carmen University of California, San Diego
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Borrell Pérez, Carmen
Description
Carmen Borrell Pérez was born in 1921 in Madrid. Carmen relates joining the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth) at an early age during the Republic. She narrates that during the Civil War, she was detained at age sixteen for her militancy and imprisoned in the Las Ventas women's prison for one year and fifteen days. Carmen remembers arriving in Ventas six days after the Trece Rosas (Thirteen Roses) were executed. She details life in Ventas, emphasizing the hunger and overcrowding. Carmen explains that the wardens were Falangists who treated the prisoners with cruelty. She describes the fear she experienced daily when the wardens read aloud the names of the prisoners who would be executed every night. Carmen notes the abuse women suffered when they were interrogated in the Dirección General de Seguridad (General Security Directorate), recalling a woman whose infant child was killed and a very old woman who was horribly beaten. She retells being released on provisional liberty. Carmen sings songs of the Resistance that she learned in prison. She recounts working for the Auxilio Social (a Francoist welfare institution), where all of the keepers were Falangists and the children were sons and daughters of political prisoners. Carmen tells of helping the children clandestinely by taking them to see their parents in jail. She discusses Franco's death and the importance of historical memory Carmen Borrell Pérez nació en 1921 en Madrid. Carmen relata que ingresó en las Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas a temprana edad durante la República. Narra que durante la Guerra Civil, fue detenida a los dieciséis años por su militancia y fue encarcelada en la prisión de mujeres Las Ventas por un año y quince días. Carmen señala que llegó a Ventas seis días después de que fusilaron a las Trece Rosas. Detalla la vida en Ventas, destacando el hambre y el hacinamiento. Carmen explica que las funcionarias eran Falangistas y trataban a las reclusas con crueldad. Describe el miedo que sentía cada noche cuando las funcionarias leían los nombres de las detenidas que serían fusiladas. Carmen nota el abuso que recibían las mujeres durante los interrogatorios en la Dirección General de Seguridad, recordando que a una mujer le mataron su bebé y a otra mujer muy mayor le dieron una paliza horrible. Cuenta que salió en libertad provisional. Carmen canta las canciones de la Resistencia que aprendió en la cárcel. Recuenta su trabajó en el Auxilio Social, donde todas las guardadoras eran Falangistas y los niños eran hijos de presos políticos. Carmen comenta que ayudaba a los niños clandestinamente, llevándolos a ver a sus padres en la cárcel. Carmen habla sobre la muerte de Franco y la importancia de la memoria histórica. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0175 (https://lib.ucsd.edu/sca) Carmen Borrell Pérez's testimony was recorded in Madrid Interviews in Spanish Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship Borrell Pérez, Carmen. Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship. University of California, San Diego, 2009 Madrid, Spain : Spanish Civil War Memory Project 2009
Type
moving image
Format
1 video files : digital, sound, color
Identifier
ark:/20775/bb4301481n
Language
Spanish
Subject
Personal narratives-Spanish Interviews Civil War (Spain : 1936-1939) Political prisoners Oral history Nonfiction films History Auxilio Social (Spain) Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas Madrid (Spain) Spain
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