Testimony of Matías Esteban Franco, interview with Andrea Davis and Scott Boehm, July 10, 2008
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Boehm, Scott Davis, Andrea Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria University of California, San Diego Esteban Franco, Matías
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Esteban Franco, Matías
Description
Matías Esteban Franco was born in Vicálvaro. Matías recounts that his father, a member of the Unión General de Trabajadores (General Union of Workers), worked as a tiler and his mother worked as a housekeeper. He explains that before the start of the Second Republic, many children in his impoverished town did not attend school and his own parents were illiterate. During the Second Republic, Matías attended a Socialist school at the age of nine. He later joined the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth). Matías relates his participation in the defense of Madrid during the Civil War. He was a sergeant in the Republican Army of Guadalajara, Madrid, and Asturias. Matías recalls that he was detained by the Falange and was physically and psychologically tortured at the local police headquarters in 1940. He spent the next eleven years imprisoned in Madrid and Burgos. Matías discusses being released in 1951 and finding work in a Madrid metallurgical factory. In 1957, as a result of his union activity and participation in the Communist Party of Spain, Matías spent three months in hiding. He then fled to France and remained there until Franco's death. Matías speaks about returning to Spain in 1976 and becoming an activist and a member of the Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos Antifranquistas (Association of Former Political Prisoners and Anti-Francoist Fighters) Matías Esteban Franco nació en Vicálvaro. Matías recuenta que su padre, un miembro de la Unión General de Trabajadores, trabajaba en los tejares y su madre trabajaba como empleada doméstica. Explica que antes de la Segunda República, muchos niños en su pueblo empobrecido no asistían a la escuela y sus propios padres eran analfabetos. Durante la Segunda República, cuando Matías tenía nueve años asistió a una escuela Socialista. Después se unió a las Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas. Matías relata su participación en la defensa de Madrid durante la Guerra Civil. Fue sargento en el Ejército Republicano de Guadalajara, Madrid, y Asturias. Matías recuerda que fue detenido por la Falange y fue torturado física y psicológicamente en el cuartel de la policía local en 1940. Estuvo encarcelado por los próximos once años en Madrid y Burgos. Matías cuenta que fue dejado en libertad en 1951 y encontró trabajo en una fábrica metalúrgica en Madrid. En 1957, como resultado de su activismo sindical y su participación en el Partido Comunista de España, Matías pasó tres meses en la clandestinidad. Entonces huyó a Francia y se quedó allí hasta la muerte de Franco. Matías habla sobre su regreso a España en 1976 y sobre haberse convertido en activista y miembro de la Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos Antifranquistas. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0175 (https://lib.ucsd.edu/sca) Interviews in Spanish Matías Esteban Franco's testimony was recorded in his home in Madrid Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship Esteban Franco, Matías. Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship. University of California, San Diego, 2008 Madrid, Spain, Spanish Civil War Memory Project
Type
moving image
Format
3 video files : digital, sound, color
Identifier
ark:/20775/bb7407252k
Language
Spanish
Subject
Civil War (Spain : 1936-1939) Political prisoners Oral history Communism Nonfiction films Interviews Personal narratives-Spanish History Unión General de Trabajadores de España Asociación de Expresos y Represaliados Políticos Antifranquistas Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas Spain Burgos (Spain) France Madrid (Spain)
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