F04_P03: Aftermath of the Civil War in Spain Refugees in France, Camp de Gurs
1942 July 1, Front side - Post card from Barcelona to Oradour-sur-Glane internment camp.
Tan post card with three 40-céntimos stamps at the bottom left in black-and-white depicting General Francisco Franco. At the center is a blue marking presenting a plus sign from top to bottom and left to right. Scattered is cursive and printed handwriting in blue and red ink and penciling. At the right edge is a brown sticker with "Barcelona" printed overtop.
Name/Title
F04_P03: Aftermath of the Civil War in Spain Refugees in France, Camp de GursEntry/Object ID
2007.4.3.aScope and Content
1942 July 1, post card from Barcelona to Oradour-sur-Glane internment camp.Context
The largest contingent of International Brigades fighters comprised German anti-fascists, many of whom were disillusioned former Nazi storm troopers. Volunteers from most countries eventually returned to their home countries after the Republican defeat in Spain, but German and Italian anti-fascists would have been executed by their governments if captured, so they remained in French internment camps along with the exiled Spaniards. After northern France fell to Germany in 1940, those refugee inmates became slave laborers for the Vichy regime that governed southern France. Camp de Gurs was the largest of the refugee camps in southern France. The January 14, 1941, registered cover was sent by a German (probably Jewish) internee to a relative in Memphis, Tennessee. Above: A July 1, 1942, censored registered letter from Barcelona, Spain, to a Spanish refugee interned at a Oradour-sur-Glane, who had been transferred to a military slave labor detail, denoted by the “Groupe de Travailleurs Espagnols” (Spanish Labor Group) and “XXIe Division Militaire, 405e Groupe” (12th Military Division, 405th Group) cachets. Bisected 50-centime French stamp paid the forwarding fee on the cover from Spain.Collection
Nazi Scourge I: Primary ExhibitionCategory
Cover
Philatelic Material