Book launches that rescues the history of Spanish refugees 85 years after the arrival of the Winnipeg – 2024-09-11 22:11:35 – 2024-09-11 22:14:38 – 2024-09-11 22:16:19 – 2024-09-11 22:17:28 – 2024-09-11 22:19:17 – 2024-09-11 22:20:31

On August 4, 1939, the cargo ship Winnipeg set sail from the French coast. On board, more than 2,000 Spanish refugees were fleeing the barbarity unleashed during the Spanish Civil War under the command of Francisco Franco. Bound for the port of Valparaíso, the expedition lasted 30 days. What happened during those long days is narrated in the book “2000 del Winnipeg. Diario de a bordo” (2000 on the Winnipeg. Ship’s logbook), which will be presented by Josu Chueca this Thursday, September 12, in the Eloísa Díaz room of the Casa Central of the University of Chile.

During the government of then President Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Pablo Neruda was appointed as special consul for Spanish immigration. His mission was important: to coordinate the humanitarian support that Chile provided to more than 2,000 Spaniards who suffered the ravages of exile in their homeland. The first and most important action consisted of coordinating the efforts necessary to transport this group by sea from Pauillac, France, to Chile.

For 30 days the boat mobilized children, adults and the elderly. A diverse generation where the variety of origins brought together peers of nationality. It is estimated that two hundred and fifty were of Basque origin.

26 days. 26 newspapers

With the aim of rescuing memory in Euskadi, researcher Josu Chueca – in collaboration with the institution Intxorta 1937 Kultur Elkartea – found in the Archive of France copies of a newspaper that was developed during 26 days of the 30 that the expedition lasted.

Organized in three-page bulletin boards, with six copies a day and available for the crew each day, the information in these journals ranged from individual stories to news from the international context marked by the press on the advent of the Second World War. Thanks to radio communication, it was possible to disseminate the main news from Spain and Europe.

The writings also gave an account of meetings to relax tensions that took place on the ship, such as chess tournaments or choral performances. Also included was the “gallery” section, where descriptions of the consequences and scars that Spanish fascism left on its refugees were presented “like a film parade.”

According to the author, this new edition compiles important background information on almost 2,000 passengers, including almost 500 photographs and, in some cases, providing detailed information such as full name, place of origin, age, occupation, political affiliation, and other historical data.

The story of this newspaper, printed on onionskin paper, is told by researcher and professor at the University of the Basque Country, Josu Chueca Intxusta, who will present the updated edition of “2000 of the Winnipeg. Logbook” this Thursday, September 12 at 11:30 a.m. in the Eloísa Díaz room at the Casa Central of the University of Chile.

In this regard, the professor of Contemporary History highlights the historical value contained in this written piece, which in this new edition has managed to expand its reception spaces in Chile, both in Santiago and Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. “Having this opportunity granted to us by the University of Chile, together with other entities, is something very interesting and important, because a historical work of great value is of little use if it is not then disseminated and if it is not made available to those who were the protagonists of this history,” he explains.

“Diario de aboard”: Artistic exhibition

The day will continue with the exhibition “Diario de a bordo” (Ship Diary) in the same heritage building – in the Salón de Imaginarios (Imaginary Hall). Its author, Cecilia Zabaleta, and its curator, Roberto Fuertes, will participate in this space dedicated to memory, history and reflection on the life, exile and journey experienced by the crew of the freighter.

For the Vice-Rector for Outreach and Communications, Pilar Barba, the University of Chile is using its Salón de Imaginarios at Casa Central on this occasion to highlight the memory of the exiles who arrived on the Winnipeg to the country. “Bringing this story through art and research helps us to situate and value different intersections such as the role of Pablo Neruda in this mission, the contribution and legacy of those who came on this trip 85 years ago – many of them teachers in their disciplines who passed through our classrooms – and the reminiscences of their lives.”

Based on archival documentation, Zabaleta’s exhibition is made up of 26 works that trace each of the 26 days of the ship’s logbook, with the information provided by the document and its content, in conjunction with biographical documentation of the passengers. For the visual artist, this exhibition “attempts to approach the passengers’ inner collective imagination and is a search for the most intimate feelings of the exiles who came on the Winnipeg.”

The granddaughter of a war survivor and crew member of the Winnipeg, Zabaleta suggests that this work also speaks of the meaning of living and surviving, as part of the resistance that her grandfather experienced. “There was a wound in them, which another generation has had to uncover, as a kind of transgenerational healing, or as Juan Ramón Garai says, at least through memory, to make a gesture of reparation.”

For Zabaleta, this work is also a necessary reflection on forced displacement and political violence. “All forms of violence are facts that we cannot ignore, so we must as a society move towards a culture that actively defends and promotes peace and human rights.”

Likewise, the curator of the work, Roberto Fuertes, reviews the artistic and memory relevance that this work entails. “We are presented with an artistic proposal of great compositional value, both in the use of elements, as well as in the discursive elaboration of the works and their content.” Meanwhile, Fuertes highlights that this work places the triad of art, memory and archive in dialogue, “in a narrative proposal that underlines the value of the arts to address themes of memory and to put the traces of exile into circulation in the present.”