Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Marina Vega de la Iglesia was born in Torrelavega, Cantabria. Marina recounts being sent to Paris with family friends in 1937 to avoid the Civil War. During the war, her mother worked for the Republican government and moved with it to Valencia. Her father, who was governor of the province, was imprisoned for being a Republican and a Freemason. Marina returned to Madrid in 1939. Through the help of distant family, she reconnected with her mother who was living in hiding. Marina began caring for her mother during this time. Marina discusses making contacts with the clandestine French embassy in Madrid in 1942, which led to her work with Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces. She recalls making two trips a week to the French border between 1942 and 1944 to fulfill her various tasks for the Free French Forces. She describes her use of false travel documents on these trips and explains the documentation needed to make even the shortest of trips. Marina notes that from 1945 and 1950, she continued her work with the Free French Forces in France. Her father was released from prison in 1950 and she returned to Spain to care for him, as he was physically broken. Marina relates participating in demonstrations and strikes against Franco in the 1970s, as well as in the re-formation of the Socialist Party