Digital History Seminar: 20th Century Spain

Spanish Refugees who remained in France

In the aftermath of the occupation of France over 220,000 Spanish Refugees were forced into labor by the Germans. Those that survived were unable to return to Spain, and had no end in sight to there suffering. In post World War Two France, around 140,000 Spaniards remained in France, unable to return to Spain. The world seemed to turn a blind eye to these refugees in the wake of the death and destruction of World War Two and the Holocaust. It took the work of private individuals and charities to bring light to the Spaniards plight and the awful conditions they were still living in. The charities involved was Unitarian Service Committee, Spanish Refugee Aid, National Joint Committee for Spanish Relief, and most importantly, the contributions made via photography by Walter Rosenblum [7]

Walter Rosenblum 

Walter Rosenblum was an American photographer, who had already documented many awful things during WW2 including the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. Working for the American Unitarian Service Committee, Rosenblum traveled to refugee camps in Europe after the Spanish Civil War had ended. The photograph featuring the three Spanish children were taken by Rosenblum in Spanish refugee camp in Toulouse in 1946 after WW2 had ended. The dozens of photographs taken by Rosenblum would serve to help the Spanish refugees who were in dire need of help due there living conditions, and not being able to return back to Spain due to Franco’s victory. Rosenblum would go on to publish his photos and use them to help raise funds for the Spanish refugees. Rosenblum’s campaign served to bring light the trial of the Spanish refugees, and one of his photos even made its way on the cover of the New York Times Magazine. Rosenblum’s campaign was crucial due to the rest of the world being so numb to the war that they had overlooked nearly half a million displaced Spaniards. The most important instance of fundraising brought about by the Rosenblum photos was the money raised for the The Spanish Refugee Appeal, which served to help relocate Spanish refugees while also providing them with food, medical care, and education. Walter Rosenblum would pass away in 2006 but his work and subsequent fundraising with the Spanish Refugees served has one of the single greatest impact towards helping the Spaniards who had lost their own homeland.[8][9]




 

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