José María "Pepín" Ruiz García was born in 1936 in Toledo. Pepín recounts that his family traveled to Alicante to board a French boat and flee the Civil War. The boat was not allowed to dock in Spain and the majority of those who intended to escape, including his uncles, were sent to concentration camps. Pepín tells that his grandfather was prosecuted in Córdoba, was imprisoned in Burgos until 1945 , and died in 1953 due to severe psychological trauma and complications from torture during his incarceration. His family moved to Sevilla and struggled to survive. Although they were forced to practice Catholicism, Pepín's family was very anticlerical and he continues to uphold those convictions. He relates becoming a train operator for Renfe (the Spanish national railway network) in 1956 and joining the Communist Party of Spain. In 1963 Pepín was arrested, convicted, sentenced to two years in prison, and fined 23,000 pesetas. He recalls being released provisionally with the agreement to finish serving his sentence later. Pepín was denied his previous employment and sought work outside of Sevilla. In 1977, he was forced to complete his sentence in Sevilla while his wife was pregnant. Pepín discusses being a founding member of Andalucía's Comisiones Obreras (Labor Commissions) and, with other former political prisoners, of the association Memoria, Libertad y Cultura Democrática (Democratic Memory , Liberty, and Culture)

José María “Pepín” Ruiz García nació en 1936 en Toledo. Pepín recuenta que su familia viajó a Alicante para abordar un barco francés y huir de la Guerra Civil. Al barco no se le permitió atracar en España y la mayoría de los que intentaban escapar, incluyendo sus tíos, fueron enviados a campos de concentración. Pepín explica que su abuelo fue enjuiciado en Córdoba, estuvo encarcelado en Burgos hasta 1945, y murió en 1953 a resultado del grave trauma psicológico y complicaciones causados por la tortura durante su encarcelamiento. Su familia se trasladó para Sevilla y sufrieron para sobrevivir. Aunque fueron forzados a practicar el Catolicismo, su familia era bastante anticlerical y Pepín continúa sosteniendo esas convicciones. Relata que en 1956 empezó a trabajar para Renfe (Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles) como operador de trenes y se unió al Partido Comunista de España. En 1963 Pepín fue arrestado, condenado, sentenciado a dos años de cárcel, y recibió una multa de 23,000 pesetas. Pepín cuenta que fue dejado en libertad provisional bajo el acuerdo de terminar de cumplir su sentencia después. Se le negó su empleo anterior y tuvo que buscar trabajo fuera de Sevilla. En 1977, fue forzado a completar su sentencia en Sevilla mientras su esposa estaba embarazada. Pepín destaca ser miembro fundador del sindicato Comisiones Obreras de Andalucía y, con otros ex-presos políticos, de la asociación Memoria, Libertad y Cultura Democrática.

• July 11, 2008

• Ruiz García, José María

• Eisenberg, Jodi
• MacManus, Viviana

• 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

5 video files : digital, sound, color

Interviews in Spanish

José María "Pepín" Ruiz García's testimony was recorded in Sevilla, Andalucía

Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship

• Burgos (Spain)
• Seville (Spain)
• Spain

• Comisiones Obreras de Andalucía

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

• video

• Spanish; Castilian

Mms: 991002820939706535

Online exhibit

• Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Sevilla, Spain, Spanish Civil War Memory Project, 2008

• Ruiz García, José María

Ruiz García, José María. Testimony of the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist Dictatorship. University of California, San Diego, 2008

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2023-10-26