Film Review- Uncertain Glory (Incerta glòria) (2017)

Uncertain Glory (Incerta glòria)
Initial release: March 14, 2017
Director: Agustí Villaronga
Based on Joan Sales Catalan language novel of the same name from September 1956.

There are those movies that are about a place, time, and/or an event. Then there are those movies that can be set in any place, time, and/or during an event. I think Uncertain Glory does an excellent job of walking the line with a foot in each-a beautiful film set in 1937 in the Aragon Theater. The move is in Catalan not Spanish! I have a soft spot for the Catalans and Aragonese as my mother’s family is Sicilian and her maiden name is Italianized Spanish and my DNA says I am over 3% Iberian.

I digress; the move is set in a small village where when the film opens the first scenes are the execution of the local minor nobility by radical left-wingers. Fast forward to 1937 when a Republican officer Lluís and his best friend Soleràs whom are from Barcelona are stationed to man the lines that run by the village.

 Lluís meets the “widow” of the executed nobleman and falls for her, but not her for him.

However, the widow is a tough woman with a tragic and traumatic history and she is more interested in self-preservation than a fling. We find out the Lluís has a “wife” and son in Barcelona.

Lluís, his wife, and Soleràs are all urban anarchists and Lluís, and his wife isn’t actually married. I assume anarchists don’t marry in general?

So now we get to the meat of the matter- Lluís doesn’t know if he is in love with his wife, but we do learn that Soleràs is. This creates tension as Lluís’ commanding officer invites the officer’s wives for Christmas. This sets Soleràs of the deep end and he defects to some Nationalist Moroccan soldiers. Soleràs is the friend you have that is a little off kilter-free spirit that you love but at the same time dislike. Here he is in Barcelona with some fantastic propaganda posters.

I am not going to give you a spoiler this time, but the widow manipulates Lluís’ in doing something terrible in order to safe his son. At the close of the movie we see that there begins shelling and shooting in what had been a very chill place.

I really thought this was a well done film-beautiful, engaging, and an excellent look at “petty” politics in small villages, and the lengths that people will go for self-preservation, and the complexities of love and friendships. I loved the uniforms but when we saw Nationalist troops there uniforms looked so much like the Republicans except they wore a steel helmet. Here is Soleràs after he defected.

Postal history- Lluís in one scene sits at a desk trying to write a letter to his wife but he isn’t able to. On his desk is a stack of letters with postage (can’t see what the frankings are). In another scene Soleràs burns letters where you can see clearly that one envelope has a 2 cts a Catalan Ajut All Mutilats de Guerra Conselleria de Treble and a Republican  10 cent regular issue.

Servicio Social de la Mujer Rosa Lama Galolte

This is a post-war proof of service card for the Feminine Section of the Servicio Social, which was founded July 12, 1934. The founder of the Falange party José Antonio Primo de Rivera placed his sister Pilar as the head of the organization. Rosa Lama Galolte received professional training through the organization. Reason I thought it would be an interesting addition to the collection is the 1 Peseta Servicio Social revenue stamp. Though this falls out of the war period I believe it can be included because of the subject and the franking.

The above, I believe are for the same person as the record-I.D numbers are the same. This is work history-franked with Servicio Social 50 cent and 2 Pesetas revenues as well as 50 cent José Antonio Primo de Rivera propaganda label-revenue 50 cent stamp.

F.E.T. y de las J.O.N.S

DELEGACION PROVINCIAL

DE

SECCION FEMINA

Que Rosa Lama Galolte natural de Sevilla j de 20 anos de edad, ha cumplido el deber nacional del servicio social, establecido por S.E. el jefe del según Decreto   de 7 de octobre de 1937.

Para que conste lo firmo en Sevilla a 27 de Febrero de 1943

F.E.T. y de las J.O.N.S

PROVINCIAL DELEGATION

FROM

FEMALE SECTION

That Rosa Lama Galolte, a native of Seville, 20 years old, has fulfilled the national duty of social service, established by S.E. the head of the Decree of 7 October 1937.

For the record, I sign it in Seville on February 27, 1943

The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS) 

Traditionalist Spanish Phalanx and of the Councils of the National Syndicalist Offensive.

This was only legal political party in Francoist Spain. The Carlist Party and the Falange Española de las JONS merged in 1937.  With the rebirth of democracy following the death of Franco in 1977 the party was dissolved 

Isabella the Catholic and Santa Teresa de Jesus were the models of behavior for the members. The Women’s Section had complete control of how women were expected to behave and act as good Christians, and good wives and patriots. During the war these women provided support to the Nationalist troops as well as those families of party members being held as prisoners. 

Following the war the Women’s Section was reorganized and Social Assistance became their responsibility, as was the previous Winter Help campaign.

By 1941, 282,224 women received mandatory training through the Social Services. Women were required, whether members or not, to receive training as professionals through the Feminine Section, while others were required through the Social Service organization, and worked in hospitals, schools, orphanages etc.

It is Over When it is Over

When did the war end? This seems like it would be an easy answer to what may  appear a simple question. Alas, it is not. On April 1st, 1937 Generalissimo Franco announced from Burgos via broadcast “Today, after having disarmed and captured the Red Army, the Nationalist troops have secured their final military objective. The war is ended. Burgos, April 1, 1939. Year of Victory.”

Done deal right? Not so quick, some scholars believe the war didn’t end until the death of Franco at the age of 82 on November 20th, 1975.  Or did it end when Franco issued an amnesty in 1969 to those on the Republican side for their "actions" after the 1936 rising? Or did it end when on October 30, 1975 Franco gave full power to Juan Carlos? Or was it on November 22, 1975 when the Cortes Generales proclaimed Juan Carlos King of Spain. Or was it when the Spanish people voted on December 6, 1978 with 91.81% of the voters voting for a new constitution?

It is more and more apparent to me the war is not not over as the battle of memory is still being waged-here we may see the losing side win the war of memory. As the battle over whom owns the history of the war, the Republican side or the Nationalist continues. Unfortunately I believe this war as it is currently being fought is rife with the possibility of not healing old wounds but instead opening them as one side as voraciously attempted to wipe the memory of the other side out as it attempts to paint absolute evil or purity to the two sides.

Only the future will tell when and if the war has ended as there are calls from the U.N and Amnesty International to prosecute those who committed crimes during the Francoist period. I am not opposed to such a thing but these two organizations have a poor track record of holding left-wing, communist country's feet to the flame-so their motives are always in doubt.

I am not really sure-I will go with the April 1, 1939 day as the day of the end of the war. Because technically, with some armed resistance, it ended hostilities between the Nationalists and the Republicans. I think the scope of the blog should really cover the Second Republic and the 1940s. Otherwise, accepting the 1975 date as the end doesn’t I believe reflect the actual end and would force me to expand the collection. Alas, no!

This brings me to the subject of this posting-the Mexico-Spain reestablishment of diplomatic relations on March 28, 1977! Yep 1977! When Franco declared the end of hostilities on April 1, 1939 Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with Spain. It never recognized the rebellion and the Nationalists. In fact, not many people know about the significant support provided the Republic by Mexico whom after the U.S.S.R supplied the most money and material to the Republic. I admire the Mexican government for saying heck no.

Mexico issued three airmail stamps (SC #C537-539) in 1977 to commemorate the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Spain.  Simple in their design with one having portraits of Mexican President De La Mora and King Juan Carlos, another with the two countries and another with their official seals.

Kind of blah-however, Mexico would make up for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of this reestablishment of relations in 2002.

The aid provided by Mexico included; $2,000,000 in aid and material assistance, 20,000 Rifles, 28,000,000 cartridges, and Aircraft.

More importantly, Mexico provided a safe place for Republican Spanish refugees to migrate to once the war ended. I actually know someone, a friend, whose grandfather came to Mexico from Spain as a refugee.

Help the Basque Children

As I posted earlier there was a fairly extensive aid network. Another of these organizations was the Basque Children's Committee (BCS) which was a part of the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief (NJCSR).

The BCS took the lead in taking care of the initial wave of child refugees from the Basque lands. A little less than 4, 000 (3,886) children arrived aboard the steamship Habana (above) in Southamptom Docks off May 23, 1937.  These children were under the care of the BCS which were tasked with finding accommodations for them and the teachers (96), assistants (118), and Priests (16). These refuges were  housed in a camp in North Stoneham, expecting only 2,000 people the camp was to say the least overcrowded, which as one would expect became very unhealthy very quickly.

It was decided to place the children and their chaperones in various "Colonies" across Great Britain including one at 4 Great Smith Street, London SW1. Currently an office of the Department of Education.

By September of 1937 all of the children had been placed in these colonies. Other organizations pitched in and over a third of the children where supported by the Salvation Army and the Catholic Church.  When the war began to wind down the children that could be were repatriated to those areas that where it was safe for them to return. When the Second World War broke out in September of 1939 there were still about 400 refugee children in the U.K and by 1948 only 280 Basque children remained.

To help support the refugees the BCS issued a total of three fundraising stamps beginning in 1938. We were able to add two of them-these are the "Help the Basque Children" stamps. In total there were three stamps, two showing a young girl, and one a young boy. The one with the boy were issued first and have a different address on it-I will post more on this if I am able to grab a copy. The second stamps featuring the young girl were issued in green and red and was issued in December of 1938.

According to the Basque Children of '37 Association these were issued with a leaflet (see below):

“1,000 Basque children refugees are still enjoying the quiet peace and security that Great Britain has afforded them.They want to go on living here till the Spanish War is over and they can once more be united with their mothers and fathers, nearly all of whom are at present either political prisoners or refugees themselves. But it costs money to keep them and so they are asking you to help by buying some of these stamps to stick on your correspondence. A sheet of 24 stamps costs only 6d. It is very little, but if 100,000 people join together to help in this way, just think of what it will mean.”

The association indicates that in the Spanish Relief bulletin #15 of the National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief :"The Basque Children’s Stamp continues to enjoy a steady sale. To date it has brought us in a profit of more than a hundred pounds.”

Let us take a look at the stamps themselves. both are identical except for the colors. The feature a front profile of a young unnamed girl (the boy on the stamp is identified). The legend says "HELP THE BASQUE CHILDREN" DONATIONS TO 4 Great Smith St. London, SW1 and are Perf 11 1/4.

Film Review- 30 Years of Darkness ( 30 años de oscuridad ) (2012)

30 Years of Darkness ( 30 años de oscuridad )
Director: Manuel H. Martín 2012

Rarely do you find a documentary that is as engaging as 30 Years of Darkness which examines those men, I think all men, whom after the end of the war on April 1, 1939 some of these 'Moles" went in hiding for up to 32 years! The film uses a mixture of interviews with historians, family interviews, and illustrations in the style of graphic novels-which really works for this.

The main focus of the documentary is Manuel Cortes the former socialist Mayor of Mijas in Malaga Provence. After fleeing Mijas as Nationalist forces neared he joined the Republican Army.

After the war he was put in a camp with the other prisoners who were eventually released.

Manuel went home but there had been killings of other ex-mayors and it was decided that he would hide until it was safe to come out. First, he lived behind the wall in his father’s house, then for the first time in years he left the house dressed as an old women to walk to a new house his wife purchased were he lived under the stairs. Apart from the many sad aspects of this Manuel could only watch as his daughter grew up. Eventually she was let in the secret. Manuel and his wife and other "Moles" and their families were able to have children. Fabricated an extensive web of deceit to make it work. Finally there is one more move to a larger house-but he was still unable to attend his father’s funeral, daughter’s wedding, and grand daughter’s funeral.

In 1969, the Spanish dictatorship announced a general amnesty for all “crimes” and actions before April 1st, 1939.  After some hard conversations with his wife it was decided that it was time to leave-after 30 years in hiding he walked out of the house without a chance he would be arrested or worse. The film has some wonderful family film of the time that shows Manuel and his wife Juliana ad their children and grand children. Very remarkable and moving to watch. Manuel lived until 1991!

Other ”Moles” are covered though not in such depth-Juan Hidalgo who went almost totally blind because of the decades he spent in hiding. Manuel Piosa who hid in the floor of a barn under straw and dung for three decades! In Segovia Santurnino de Lucas hid for 34 years! No one will ever know how many Moles there were. Many may have been shot the instant they were found, or died in their hiding places, killed themselves, escaped to another country, or who did survive.

The film is remarkable as it does an excellent job of showing how the people who lived through the war turned on each other, proved how much a dedicated Francoista they were by acting as informants, and the desperation of those who knew if caught they at the least be in prison for a long time-of more likely shot on the spot or in prison as a number of them were when they were discovered.

Rush to watch this film.

Spying, a Family Business-or Nazis in the Family

I picked up a cover that caught my eye because of the bisect Huelva local. As I normally do when I receive a letter/post card I researched the sender and receiver. I looked up L. Clauss of Huelva and found this was a firm that was an agricultural product processor. Another source says that the company made a fortune supplying industrial supplies to the Rio Tinto mines in the province of Huelva. Ludwig is in the center of the photo and the man to his left looks like his son Adolf.

L. Clauss was founded by German immigrant to Spain Franz Ludwig Clauss Röder ( Leipzig , February 12, 1862 - Huelva , April 15, 1954). Good old Mr. Clauss was the honorary consul for Germany in Huelva 1915-1945. Yep, consul. He moved to Huelva in the 1890s, met and fell in love with a María Kindt Merino a Mexican in Spain. They would have four children-two boys Ludwig and Adolf, and two girls-Rafaela and Araceli. With another German he founded the L. Clauss company. Son Adolf below.

Ok, to say they were sympathetic to Germany-Nazis is an understatement. Franz and María’s two sons Ludwig and Adolf were German intelligence agents in Spain during the war.

In 1947 the Allies requested Ludwig along with 104 other Nazi agents be turned over to them because of his activities. Of course good old Franco refused to do so.

Ludwig wasn’t the star of the German intelligence service (the Abwehr), no the star in the family was brother Adolf who was the head of German intelligence in all of Andalusia at first then Madrid after the war. During the Guerra Civil he was a member of Adolf Hitler's "volunteer" Condor Legion. During the Second Word War he organized sabotage and spying operations against Allied shipping in the straits of Gibraltar. by often pretending to watch butterflies off the coast of the "Rock". He also bought off various Spaniards. I haven't been able to find out what happened to the company or to Adolf after the war, but you can see him above in old age.

Ah, but Adolf was the patsy of one of the most important intelligence operations in history, Operation Mincemeat. Operation Mincemeat was designed by the British to cover the Allies intention of invading Sicily. Instead, the operation led the Germans to think that the Allies were going to invade Sardinia and Greece. OK, pretty standard right? Well, the big part of the deception was the depositing of a real cadaver in the ocean to make it appear to be a British officer. In real life the cadaver was Glyndwr Michael, a “tramp” who died by eating rat poison who had no family. Below is the fake I.D card planted on Mr. Michael.

The “officer” then had papers placed on him to trick the Germans. Which of course it did. Poor Mr. Michael’s body washed up on the Spanish coast and the papers, at least copies taken by German sympathizers, were delivered to guess whom in Madrid-yes, Adolf.

The account of the operation was detailed in the non-fiction book The Man Who Never Was (1953) by Ewen Montagu. Of which a movie was later based-having watched the movie and read the book when I was much younger-I found it to be fascinating. Father Clauss' tombstone is below.

So there ya have it, you never know what you are going to find.

The Pre-War War-or When Irony Ruled

There had been rumblings of revolt and upheaval in Spain since the turn of the 20th Century-as the twin forces of modernization and worker/farmer/miner’s desire and demands for fairer and much improved pay and working conditions that the intransient old guard of industrialist/latifundia/mine owners pushed back on. All of which came to a head in 1934 when the miners of Asturias went on strike.

Located in the far north of Spain and adjacent to the Basques, Asturias had a history of labor “agitation”, anarchism, and action. Just two years before full-fledged civil war broke out there were similarities between 1934 and 1936. The miners went on strike against the entry of the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA) into the Spanish government in October.
On October 4th the miners went on strike and begun to occupy several towns while attacking Civil and Assault Guards. On October 6th the miners occupied the provincial capital Oviedo. In the towns and in Oviedo the strikers formed revolutionary committees to govern the occupied areas.
In spite of efforts by the leaders of the strike/revolt-moderate socialists such as Ramón González Peña and Balamino Tomas violence did occur when priests, businessmen and civil guards were executed and churches and convents in Oviedo were destroyed.

The irony of all of this is the same miners would become staunch and steadfast in their support of the Republic and democracy. Even more irony is the forces used to squash the revolt were colonial Moroccan AKA “Moors” from the Army of Africa and Spanish Legionaries led by Generals Franco and Goded both would later led these same troops against the same Republic. During the war the miners would become legends for their ability to utilize dynamite as an anti-personal weapon. Even more irony is that Moorish troops helped to reconquer Asturias, the one part of Spain that was never conquered by the Moors.

No shock here, but the Spanish military crushed the revolution by the 19th of October. With the ending of the revolution, the reprisals came hard and fast-about 3,000 miners died and about 30,000 to 40,000 were taken prisoner. Some 200 were executed after the end of the conflict. Many, many others lost their jobs and their constitutional guarantees. On the government side-about 260 military personal lost their lives as did about 33 priests. In what prove to be a disturbing taste of what was to come in two years’ time-colonial troops raped, pillaged, and looted their way across Asturias.

For an overall and very well-done and comprehensive look at the lead up to the Civil War I think you can’t find a more accessible book in English than Paul Preston’s Coming of the Spanish Civil War
In keeping with the purpose of this blog-what does this have to do with Asturias and postal history? A seller I have bought from before offered three postcards that pictured the aftermath of the uprising. When I received them I determined I don't believe they are post cards as the reverse doesn't have the usual address lines, place for a stamp and for writing. So perhaps they are souvenir photo cards? What I do know is there are at least three series because the same seller has listed a few from Series II and Series III. I picked up three from Series I. The title of the first series is "Oviedo-City of Martyrs October 5-14, 1934."The one below is #5 of Series I and shows the aftermath of the damage from the fighting at the entrance to Calle de Fruela in Oviedo.

The card (#7) below shows the damage to the Audencia in Oviedo. 

The final card of the lot is #13-that shows the destruction of the Secondary Teaching School in Oviedo.

Since there are at least three series and I am not certain as to their postal purpose I probably will refrain from picking them up unless they are for a song.