Spanish Civil War Memory Project

Summary

Emilio "El Platero" Fernández Seisdedo was in his twenties when the Civil War began. El Platero recounts being a Republican Army sergeant. He narrates the conditions of war and his multiple encounters with Francoist forces in the battlefield. El Platero describes being detained in the Puerto Pesquero concentration camp in Huelva when the war ended. He details the camp's horrible conditions, including the food scarcity, lice problems, and deaths of many detainees due to starvation and dehydration. Throughout his three-year internment, El Platero was moved from Puerto Pesquero to concentration camps in Rota, Cádiz , and Almería. He was detained again five years later and was sentenced to prison in Sevilla for two years. El Platero recalls that the Falange repeatedly terrorized his family during his incarceration. His mother was jailed for three years. Two of his brothers were imprisoned, one was executed and the other suffered such severe trauma that he was sent to a mental institution where he died. One of his sisters was arrested while pregnant and gave birth in prison. El Platero relates the violence of the Francoist repression and the Civil Guard's cruel and humiliating treatment of women and children. Although he is not currently involved in any social or political movements, El Platero has always identified with the Socialist Party and has passed down those beliefs to his children