The Spanish Civil War: Spanish Refugees in France during World War II (1940-44)

Spanish Civil War refugees
Figure 1.--

We have only limited information on the Spanish refugees in France during the German occupation. While many refugees had returned to Spain, at the time of the German victory, there were still large numbers of Spanish refugees in the French concentration camps. Many of the camps were in the Vichy zone. After the fall of France there were intense negotiations between the Germans and Spanish. Hitler wanted Franco to join his anti-Bolshevick crusade in the East. The Germans were also considering an attack on Gibraltar which would have required passage through Spanish territory. I have not been able to find out if these German-Spanish discussions included the status of the Spanish refugees in France. The Vichy Government wanted to use the Spanish refugees still in the in camps. Vichy authorities set up the Travailleurs Etrangers (TE). This were forced labor units of 2,000-5,000 men. Vichy inducted more than 220,000 Spaniards into the TE. They were made to work for French and German companies in France. From the beginning, the right-wing Vichy authorities were concerned about the political orientation of the TE workers which of course foirced labor only hightened. These workers secretly organized. Vichy police did their best to identify and arrest Communists, Anarchists and other "anti-nationals". These TE workers became interested in working for the Resistance. The Allied Normany D-Day landings (June 1944) followed by the Allied landings in southern France (August 1944) finalled liberated the camps.

Fall of France (June 1940)


The Camps (June 1940)

We have only limited information on the Spanish refugees in France during the German occupation. While many refugees had returned to Spain, at the time of the German victory, there were still large numbers of Spanish refugees in the French concentration camps. Many of the camps were in the Vichy zone.

German-Spanish Negotiations (July-August 1940)

After the fall of France there were intense negotiations between the Germans and Spanish. Hitler wanted Franco to join his anti-Bolshevick crusade in the East. The Germans were also considering an attack on Gibraltar which would have required passage through Spanish territory. I have not been able to find out if these German-Spanish discussions included the status of the Spanish refugees in France.

Travailleurs Etrangers: Forced Labor

The Vichy Government wanted to use the Spanish refugees still in the in camps. Vichy authorities set up the Travailleurs Etrangers (TE). This were forced labor units of 2,000-5,000 men. Vichy inducted more than 220,000 Spaniards into the TE. They were made to work for French and German companies in France. From the beginning, the right-wing Vichy authorities were concerned about the political orientation of the TE workers which of course foirced labor only hightened. These workers secretly organized. Vichy police did their best to identify and arrest Communists, Anarchists and other "anti-nationals". These TE workers became interested in working for the Resistance.

The Resistance

The French shocked with defeat were at first willing to follow Prtain and seek an accomodation with the Germans. The Spanish refugees were a different matter. Maby were not civilians, but veterans of an extended, but ultimately failed struggle with Fascism. Their vision was not clouded by loyalty to Petain--aWorld War I hero. For them the Resistance in France was the logical continuation of the Spanoish Civil war. The struggle began with the the barricades in Barcelona. And during the Spanish Civil War they had already confronted the Germans and Italians who supported Franco's Nationalists. The Spanish already had military experience that the French Resistnce initially lacked. Here the British through the Special Operations Executive attempted to provide needed training. In southern France, it was the Spanish refugees that played a major role in training the French resistance in bomb making, staging ambushes, and other guerilla tactics. The Spanish were noted during the occupation for both their bravery and devotion to the cause. The French Resistance faced a problem with traitors recruited by the Grestapo and Miice. There was no danger of this with the Spanish or a problem with desertion.

Early Sabatoge

Before the Resistance began to stahe armed attacks, programs of sabotage developed. At first it was individual acts, but gradually became more organized. At one vehicle repair shop, the perators fired 50 French mechanics because of preceived sabatoge. They brought in Spanish TE workers who preyended to know nothing about mechanics. As a result, vehicke problems only increased.

Resistance Actions

Resistance actions escalated with actual attacks. These took a variety of forms. Industrial plants and rail lines were dynamited. Attacks were staged on German military personnel. Fenchmen cooperating with the Germans were assasinated. Here the Spanish played an important role. In Massif Central a Resistance cell organised from a TE assigned to the Barage de l'Aigle (a massive dam) sabotaged roads and tunnels around the dam and eventually organized an armed resistance battalion (150-200 men) named after the dam where they they were assigned to work.

French Resistance Matures (1942)

The French Resistance gradually matured. The turning point was 1942. There were several reeasons for this. The brutality of the Germans was becoming increasingly apparent. Vichy officials and German occupation authorities rounded Jews. The Germans began deporting Jews to the death camps (June 1942). There were French anti-semites, but manu French people were deeply offened by German and Vichy brutality. German military reverses made the idea of resistuing the Germans seem possible. This was especially the case after the Torch Landings in North Africa (November 1942) and the Soviet Offensive at Stalingrad (November 1942). The Germans reacted to the Totch lsndings by occupying the Vichy unoccupied zone. But perhaps more than anything was the NAZI demands for forced labor in the reich to support the German ear effort. Vichy officals were forced to comply (June 1942). Young French men to escape deportation fled unto the countryside, many joining the Resistance. This significantly expanded the strength of the Resistance.

Spanish Resistance Groups (1942-44)

The Spanish were motly active in the south and south east. This was the where the French had set up the concentration camps at the end of the spnish Civil War and the unoccupied area under Vichy control (1940-42). Some joined French Resistajnce units. Many others organized their own separate Resistance units, but within the structure of the French Resistance CNR. There were different Spanish groups involved reflecying the different groups which had fought for the Republic. The main group was the Communist led Union Nacional Espanola (UNE) (November 1942). They renamed themselves the Agrupacion Guerrillera Espanola (1944). Another group was the Alianza Democratica Espanola (CNT/FAI) which was an Anarchist group. Other groups included the Socialists (UGT/PSOE), Left and Independent republicans, as well as Basque and Catalan nationalists.

Liberation (August 1944)

The Allied Normany D-Day landings (June 1944) followed by the Allied landings in southern France (August 1944) finalled liberated the camps.






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Created: 9:02 PM 7/11/2008
Last updated: 9:03 PM 7/11/2008