Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

María Salvo was born in Sabadell in 1920 to a humble family. María recounts studying in Catholic school until she began working at age fourteen. She recalls the Second Republic as a happy time, commenting on her work in a collective and the importance of culture. María speaks about the Civil War in Catalonia, her work in the war industry, and her participation in the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth, JSU) and the Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia). María details her ideological formation, her militancy and its effects on her family, and women's work during the war. She describes her exile to France, provides a thorough account of life in the refugee camps, and explains how she and her female companions organized to improve their conditions. María relates being released following the outbreak of World War II and returning to Bilbao to be near her brother who was imprisoned there. She tells of receiving news of her mother's suicide and traveling to Barcelona to bury her. María narrates her participation in the reorganization of the JSU in 1941, her sixteen-year imprisonment, the brutal torture she experienced, and the difficulties of reintegrating into civilian life. María discusses her marriage to Domenech Serra and their continued political commitment to Comisiones Obreras (Labor Commissions), neighborhood associations, and the rights of political prisoners