Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Manuel Gambín Sepúlveda was born in 1933 in the province of Murcia. Manuel recounts that his father worked in agriculture and his mother was a factory worker. During the Civil War, his father served as a guard in the Republican Army. Manuel recalls that at the end of the war, he was ten years old and his father was imprisoned for a brief period. He tells of moving to Barcelona in his late teens and later to Madrid to work for Renfe (the Spanish national railway network). Manuel explains that he did not belong to any political organization, but he was detained at age twenty. He details that in 1963, he was taken forcibly from his home to the local police headquarters where he was tortured and held without due process. He spent the next five years in the Carabanchel and Burgos prisons. Manuel notes that upon being released from prison in 1968, he married his long-term partner and returned to work for Renfe. He describes his experiences during the transition to democracy and discusses the importance of historical memory. Manuel relates that in recent years, he has worked with the Unión General de Trabajadores (General Union of Workers) and is a member of the Asociación de Ex- presos y Represaliados Políticos Antifranquistas (Association of Former Political Prisoners and Anti- Francoist Fighters)