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Digital History Seminar: 20th Century Spain

Evelyn Hutchins

Evelyn Hutchins arrived in Spain on April 12th, 1937. She was told many times that Spain was a bad place for Women to be due to the political climate but she was not afraid of that. She felt it was more important to stand up for what she thought was right. In her interview she describes how she understood that with people like Mussolini dictating what women could wear, freedom for women everywhere was in danger. She also makes it clear that she wanted to protect her rights as a woman and not be described like a man. She wanted power as a woman not as some condition attached to masculinity and she was willing to fight for it. She even had to fight her way over to Spain as the North American Committee restricted her from going on account of her gender. Because the truck were so expensive it was imperative that the those who drove them were well practiced. It was because of her skill and hard work she was able to join as a driver herself. Evelyn drove through bombings and gunfire and was still able to do her job even better than most of the Male drivers.
This is a transcription of an interview that Hutchins gave on why she decided to become a truck driver and why as a woman this was a very important fight for her personally. [1]

I always had to shift for myself and take care of myself and make my own decisions, and sometimes it would be tough on me. If that conditions you, I was conditioned. On the other hand I have always been very incensed at a lot of different injustices I have seen, and at the injustices I have seen against women. I have been frustrated so many times because I was not a man. So I probably see things faster than somebody else who doesn’t care. Some girls might not mind not being allowed to go to the army...I was always told by everybody that I must not do this, or I must not do that because girls don’t do those things. I was told so many times that girls are inferior to men, that men can do things and girls can’t, and I couldn’t take it. I didn’t care how hard it was on me.

So far as the political situation in Europe, I am not like some people who think that all this stuff is just propaganda. I remember when Mussolini issued a decree - I was just a kid at the time - he issued a decree that women were not to wear short skirts, and that they were to keep their proper places. Well, Mussolini was definitely out so far as I was concerned. I was convinced that anybody with that kind of an attitude was absolutely no good for the people generally. I never felt that I was an outstanding genius, but people had to give me a chance to think and develop whatever thinkabilities I had. If a person would not give me a chance I would fight them. Hitler has the system where he sends women to camps to be breeders. That strikes me at my very most innermost desire for freedom, and self-expression, and for culture, and education. Just being an ordinary human-being I couldn’t tolerate a thing like that. It has gotten to mean so much to me that I don’t care what I do in the process of fighting against conditions like that.

Evelyn knew that Fascism was a dangerous idea for women. It would take away many of the rights women had been able to gain by that time. Women would be reduced to serving in the houses of their husbands. Even knowing that it was dangerous and that she might not be best equipped to handle war she did everything she could to get to Spain and fight. She knew that if women did not fight that many of the injustices that would continue on. Because of this she and many other women would go to Spain to aide the Republic.

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2. Asistencia social: pro inválidos
3. Tragedy of Civil War (1937)
4. Ajut als mutilats de guerra
5. Messerschmitt BF 109B1
6. Bombardement Guernica - Cinémathèque de Bretagne
7. Madge Addy March 2nd, 1939 Letters In another one of her letters from March 1939 she would describe their need for certain donations from the Spanish Medical Aid Committee. In one she specifically talks about how they had received 600 men that were wounded and most needed clothing. Because of the supplies sent by the Committee they were not in such a dire need for supplies that they would have been in previously had they not received the supplies. In another section of her letter from March 2nd, 1939 she describes a surgery for a man who was suffering from hemorrhages in his stomach. The doctor had to perform a three hour long surgery due to the fact that this was one of the first times that the doctor had attempted this kind of surgery and lack of better materials. The only had three needles available for the operation. The problem occured when three quarters of the way through the surgery the spinal anesthetic wore off because it was “rotten.” The result of this was that the doctor had to finish the surgery while he was awake. Later on she mentions that she hopes he will recover and that the odd tins of milk and soups they received would help his exhaustion and shock sustained after the surgery. Addy speaks very fondly of those that she was able to help during her time in Spain. She feels better knowing that the people whose lives she impacted will never forget their English nurse.
9. Obrero! Trabaja Y Venceremos
10. Repatriation of Basque Children
11. ¡MUJER...! Tu felicidad conyugal está en tus manos.
12. Bolchevismo, injusticia social, politicastros, masones, separatismo, F.A.I.
13. Bombing of Ares del Maestrat
15. Que Tu Familia No Viva el Drama de la Guerra: Evacuar Madrid es Ayudar a la Victoria Final
16. Revista Vientos del Pozo: número extraordinario homenaje al Padre Llanos
20. Ruins of Belchite The ruins of the town of Belchite mark the location of a brutal battle in which Nationalist forces were defeated by the Republic in 1937. Franco declared the site to be memorialized, while also allowing a new Belchite to be built by Republican prisoner labor. Allowing the town to stand in ruins as a memorial where his forces had been defeated could have been a tactic to compare a Republican victory with scenes of destruction and loss.
22. Congreso nacional de la solidaridad, 1938- Ana Pauker
23. Monument in Tortosa
26. Guernica The bombing of Guernica (26 April 1937) was an aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out, at the behest of Francisco Franco's nationalist government, by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion and the Fascist Italian Aviazione Legionaria, under the code name Operation Rügen. The town was being used as a communications center behind the frontline. The operation opened the way to Franco's capture of Bilbao and his victory in northern Spain.
27. Pro-conferencia nacional de la dona jove
28. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen
29. Repatriation Committee pt 1
30. Letter from Juan F. de Cardenas
32. Battle of Brunete
33. Bombing of Benassai
34. One Hundred Years of Solitude
35. February 1939 - Spain - Barcelona - Associated Press of Great Britain Ltd
36. Hermann Göring
37. Spanish Republican News
40. Felicia Browne's Anti-Fascism poster for Italy.
41. Battle of Jarama The Battle of Jarama (February 6–27, 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moroccan Regulares from the Army of Africa forced back the Republican Army of the Centre, including the International Brigades, but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Republican counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides.
43. Madrid Food Line
44. Albocàsser
45. Battle of Madrid The Siege of Madrid was a two and a half year siege of the Spanish capital city of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. The city, besieged from October 1936, eventually fell to the Francoist armies on 28 March 1939. Madrid was held by various forces loyal to the Spanish Republic and was besieged and subject to aerial bombardment by the rebel faction under General Francisco Franco. The Battle of Madrid in November 1936 saw the most intense fighting in and around the city when the Nationalists made their most determined attempt to take the Republican capital.
46. Bombing of La Garriga
50. Battle of Santander
51. Episode 16- Food Scarcity and Women's Daily Lives in the Early Franco Years Audio Podcast by Historias on SoundCloud discussing the Franco Dictatorship. Immediately following the Spanish Civil War, Spain faced a terrible food crisis. Suzanne Dunai examines how the policies of the early Franco dictatorship brought on this crisis and how ordinary Spaniards, particularly women, dealt with it on a day-to-day basis. From ration cards to bartering, from canning to buying on the black market, Spanish women showed a remarkable resilience as they sought to feed their families in this time of devastating scarcity.
52. Madge Addy March 14th, 1939 Page 1 On March 14th, 1939 Addy talks about how she almost had to leave due to an order from England to return. Addy describes how depressed the idea of leaving would have made her. She had worked very hard and would have felt terrible to leave at that time. She had to pack her things and gave most of what she could away to those who still needed it. Fortunately she was able to stay and explain through rare telecommunication that she would feel much better in Ucles. Her duty to the hospital and to Ucles kept her from wanting to be anywhere else. Many people were overjoyed that she could remain with them. At the end of the letter she describes how Juan, the man who had to undergo the horrible surgery mentioned previously, was doing much better.
53. Battle of Badajoz
55. Hugo Sperrle
56. Arroyo del Abroñigal
57. Walter Warlimont Photo of Walter Warilmont. Between August and November 1936, following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Warlimont served as the Reich War Minister Wehrmacht Plenipotentiary Delegate to the government of Spanish General Francisco Franco in Spain. Reich War Minister Werner von Blomberg directed Warlimont to coordinate German aid in support of Franco's battle against the Spanish government forces.
58. Evacuación
59. Troops loading aircraft for Spain
62. Pro monumento Pablo Iglesias
63. C.N.T. Comité Nacional A.I.T., Oficina de Información y Propaganda
64. Homecoming of the Legion Condor
65. Women! Keep War From Britain: Support Spanish Democrats
67. El Generalisimo Francisco Franco Todavía esta Muerto
68. Memorial in Rues
73. Evacuad Madrid
75. Battle of Ebro The Battle of the Ebro (Spanish: Batalla del Ebro, Catalan: Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly concentrated in two areas on the lower course of the Ebro River, the Terra Alta comarca of Catalonia, and the Auts area close to Fayón (Faió) in the lower Matarranya, Eastern Lower Aragon. These sparsely populated areas saw the largest array of armies in the war. The results of the battle were disastrous for the Second Spanish Republic, with tens of thousands of dead and wounded and little effect on the advance of the Nationalists.
76. Bombing of Durango The Bombing of Durango took place on 31 March 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. On 31 March 1937 the Nationalists started their offensive against the Republican held province of Biscay. As part of the offensive the Aviazione Legionaria and the Legion Condor bombed Durango, a town of 10,000 inhabitants that was also a key road and railway junction behind the frontline. Around 250 people are believed to have died in the bombing.
77. The Ultraleftist / El Izquierdista
78. Experimento Stuka- Trailer Oficial
79. Hacia El Ejercito Popular
81. Franco Statue Removal
82. Felicia Browne holding a child
83. Vilar de Canes
86. Women, Work for Comrades!
87. Bombing of Jaén
88. Children's Drawing of Bombing
89. Monument in Gandesa
92. Book Jacket created by Felicia Browne for Anatole France's "The Revolt of the Angels."
93. Madge Addy Featured in the Daily Worker
95. ¡Esto es el fascismo! miseria... destrucción... persecución... y muerte
96. January 1937 - Spain - Madrid - Associated Press of Great Britain Ltd.
97. Francisco Franco's Funeral
98. Franco (1930-1939)
99. Mujeres Antifacistas Espanioles
101. Sketch of Men's faces from 1936.
102. Monument in Portbou
103. Madge Addy March 14th, 1939 Page 2 These are the last paragraphs of Addy’s letter from March 14th, 1939. She talks again about how she hopes the people she has helped will never forget their English nurse. When thinking about her time in Spain she feels she has accomplished so much and saved many lives. She has made her doctor’s actions effective with her hard work. Even the villagers who she describes as a bad lot now respect her and talk to her sometimes.
106. María Pilar Landa
107. Frederica Montseny speaking at CNT in 1977
109. Repatriation of Basque Children
110. Photo of Four People in Front of Supplies or Medical Van Including Felicia Browne
111. Battle of Teruel
113. Letter from Felicia Browne
114. Heart of Humanity Camp
117. Ruins of Belchite
119. Poema 17
120. The Habana arrives at Southampton
121. Evelyn Hutchins leaning against her truck.
122. Hermann Goering
123. Federació de Cooperatives de Producció Treball de Catalunya
124. Battle of Bilbao Bilbao was the capital of the autonomous Basque area established by the Republic after the war began. The Battle of Bilbao was part of the War in the North, during the Spanish Civil War where the Nationalist Army captured the city of Bilbao and the remaining parts of the Basque Country still held by the Republic. By 11 June 1937 the Basque forces had fallen back to the city of Bilbao, which was defended by a series of rushed fortifications called the "Bilbao's Iron Ring." The Iron Ring was poorly designed for defense.
125. Bombing of Barcelona
127. Monument in Vegueria de Girona
128. Repatriation Committee pt 1
129. Monument in Valls This monument was commissioned to pay tribute to those nationalists who had given their lives during the war. As with the monument in Cambrils, it was announced as a holiday event. Balconies were to be adorned with the national flag with black ribbons tied to them and service members were to be in uniform. Such shows of force served the double role of projecting unity among the victors and reminding Loyalists of the new status quo.
130. Political Prisors Freed After Amnesty
133. Criminales!
134. In England Still
136. Monument in Banyoles
138. Franco Equestrian Statue
139. Monument in Cambrils
140. Basque Children pt 1
141. Monument in Tarragona
142. Help the Children of Spain
143. Monument in Terrassa This monument was erected to mark the five year anniversary since the take over of the town of Terrassa by the Nationalists. Like many others, it is in memory to those who died for that cause. However, this monument also feature two soldiers. One of them is a common soldier as would have been present in Franco's army. The other is a knight from the era in which Spain was involved in the Reconquista. The intent of the monument is to equate the two types of warrior while also equating the Spanish Civil War as a "holy" conflict against a corrupting force, as was the case among crusading knights some centuries earlier when they fought the Moors.
149. Monument in Viladecans
151. Basque Children pt 2
152. Monument at Prat de Comte This is yet another monument commemorating the losses and actions of the 4th Division of Navarra. The division had been instrumental in the fighting leading up to the Battle of the Ebro, in which they suffered heavy casualties while fighting for the Nationalist army. The amount of monuments to this unit paints them as heroes to the cause, while also ignoring the losses of those they fought against.
154. Carteles Murales
155. Spanish Civil War - 1936 (1936)
157. La marina de guerra inglesa y francesa protegen la evacuación de la población no combatiente.
161. North Stoneham Camp in Eastleigh
162. Ochandiano
163. ITALIAN INVASION OF ETHIOPIA 1935
164. The Pyrenees Mountain Range in France The Pyrenees (Les Pyrénées) is one of the seven great mountain ranges of France. They mark the division between France and Spain and stretch from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coasts in the south of France, with tiny Andorra lying in the middle of the mountains. The range is 430 km (270 miles) long with its widest point of 129 km (80 miles). The highest point is Aneto Peak at 3,404 meters (11,169 ft) in the Maladeta (‘Accursed’) central Pyrenees massif, while there are many other peaks over 3,000 meters (8,842 ft).
165. Aid for Spain
166. Speakers' notes. No. 29 : International Women's Day, March 8
170. Monument in Fatarella
171. January 1940 - England - Middlesex
172. Repatriation Committee pt 2
173. Traces of the bombing of Durango
174. Hogar Español newsletter, 1944
178. Spanish Republican News
179. Repatriation Committee pt 3
183. Fighting Our Battle This is a news article that was written by a Spanish author in 1938. Throughout this article it is talking about how the Spanish people had been fighting for their own freedoms for the last few years. Not only did it talk about the Spanish people fighting for their freedoms it also talked about how they were receiving no support from the allies. However, Franko's rebellion was receiving support from Germany and Italy to aid overthrow the democracy government of the Spanish people.
187. Por la conquista de Euskadi y sus riquezas, el invasor siembra el terror haciendo qur sus pacíficos habitants abandonen sus hogares.
188. Sisters of Mercy Arrive to Help Feed Hungry Residents of Madrid
189. Monument in Arenys de Mar
190. Repatriation Committee pt 4
192. Kion vi feras por eviti tion? Geesperantistoj el la tuta mondo agu energie kontrau la internacia fasismo!
193. Escaping to France
196. Children's Drawing, Spanish Civil War
197. Fascist Salute
198. Monument in Girona
199. North Stoneham Camp
200. Siege of the Alcázar The Siege of the Alcázar was a highly symbolic Nationalist victory in Toledo in the opening stages of the Spanish Civil War. The Alcázar of Toledo was held by a variety of military forces in favor of the Nationalist uprising. Militias of the parties in the Popular Front began their siege on July 21, 1936. The siege ended on September 27 with the arrival of the Army of Africa under Francisco Franco.
204. The Republican Left Thank the Russian People for Help (1937)

This page references:

Interview with Evelyn Hutchins