Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Carmen Arrojo Maroto was born in 1918 in Madrid. Carmen discusses Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, the 1934 Asturias Revolution, and the bienio negro (1934-36). She comments on women's suffrage and Clara Campoamor's anniversary. Carmen speaks about Dolores Ibárruri "La pasionaria", the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth), Unión de Estudiantes Antifascistas (Anti-Fascist Student Union), Alianza Juvenil Antifascista (Anti-Fascist Youth Alliance), and Negrín's Thirteen Points. She recalls that between 1939-48 , her father was detained, imprisoned a second time in the Porlier prison with her brother, and taken to Pamplona. Carmen notes that her brother was transferred from Porlier to the Valle de los Caídos, where he remained for seven years until 1947. She tells of meeting Jesús de Galíndez and Manuel Tuñón de Lara. Carmen recounts attempting to go into exile with her boyfriend, being captured by the Nationalists in Alicante, and being detained in a concentration camp. She narrates that upon being released, she traveled to Galicia using a friend's identification documents. Carmen relates not having identification documents between 1939-52, obtaining a passport with the help of a cousin who worked for RENFE, and becoming a teacher in 1969. She explains that in 2005, she discovered that her boyfriend was executed in 1940 and buried in a mass grave in the Paterna cemetery like many other Republicans. Carmen reiterates the importance of recuperating historical memory