Luis Berlinches nació en 1927. Luis recuenta que era un niño durante la Guerra Civil y describe los bombardeos de Madrid, la falta de alimentos, y las dificultades que su familia sufrió. Recuerda que su familia pasó mucha hambre durante la posguerra. Luis comenta que su madre venía de una familia Republicana. Señala el ver cómo los Fascistas se llevaban al hermano de su madre que había estado escondido en su casa, como el primer contacto que tuvo con el poder dictatorial. Luis destaca que en 1944 empezó a trabajar en un taller de orfebrería. Narra que se incorporó a las Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas y junto con otros jóvenes del barrio empezó a llevar a cabo una serie de actuaciones para luchar contra Franco. Luis relata que a resultado de esas actuaciones fue detenido en la comisaría de Cuatro Caminos, interrogado en la Dirección General de Seguridad, encarcelado en Alcalá de Henares por nueve meses, enjuiciado en Carabanchel, y encarcelado en Burgos en 1946. Detalla la vida en Burgos, notando la solidaridad entre los presos y la educación política y cultural que desarrollaron. Luis cuenta que salió en libertad condicional en 1952 y regresó a Madrid. Explica que encontró empleo pero le echaron cuando se supo que había estado en la cárcel. Luis habla sobre la Transición, la Ley de Memoria Histórica, y el nuevo gobierno.

Luis Berlinches was born in 1927. Luis recounts being a child during the Civil War and describes the bombardments of Madrid, the food shortages, and the difficulties his family endured. He remembers that his family experienced considerable hunger during the postwar. Luis comments that his mother belonged to a Republican family. He identifies seeing how the Fascists captured his mother's brother who had been hiding in their home, as his first contact with the dictatorial power. Luis recalls that he began working in a goldsmith shop in 1944. He narrates joining the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas (Unified Socialist Youth) and carrying out a series of acts of resistance against Franco with other youth from his neighborhood. Luis relates that as a result of those acts he was detained in the Cuatro Caminos police station, interrogated in the Dirección General de Seguridad (General Security Directorate), jailed in Alcalá de Henares for nine months, tried in Carabanchel, and jailed in Burgos in 1946. He details life in Burgos, noting the solidarity amongst the prisoners and the political and cultural education they developed. Luis tells of being released on provisional liberty in 1952 and returning to Madrid. He explains that he found employment but was fired after it became known that he had been in jail. Luis discusses the Transition, the Law of Historical Memory, and the new government

• January 20, 2009

• Berlinches, Luis

• Bohem, Scott
• Plautz, Jessica

• Asociación de Ex-presos y Represaliados Políticos
• Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica
• Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria

• University of California, San Diego

3 video files : digital, sound, color

Interviews in Spanish

Luis Berlinches' testimony was recorded in Madrid

Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship

• Burgos (Spain)
• Madrid (Spain)
• Spain

• Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas

• Civil War (Spain : 1936-1939)
• History
• Interviews
• Nonfiction films
• Oral history
• Personal narratives-Spanish
• Political prisoners

• video

• Spanish; Castilian

Mms: 991005709009706535

Online exhibit

• Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Madrid, Spain : Spanish Civil War Memory Project 2009

• Berlinches, Luis

Berlinches, Luis. Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship. University of California, San Diego, 2009

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2023-10-26