On This Day 10th February 1939

General Franco seals the Spanish/French border in the Eastern Pyrenees to stop the escape of Republican soldiers and sympathisers in the aftermath of the fall of Barcelona.

The Spanish Civil War was fought from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939 between the Republicans, who were loyal to the established Spanish republic, and the Nationalists, a rebel group led by General Francisco Franco who had links with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

By late 1938 the Nationalists had the upper hand and they launched an offensive against Republican controlled Catalonia and its capital Barcelona.

Towards the end of January 1939 the Republican forces in Barcelona found themselves out numbered six to one, short of food (according to one estimate the daily ration down to to 100 grams of lentils) and subject to daily bombing raids by the Nationalist air force. The defence of the city was impossible and on 26th January 1939 the troops of General Franco occupied Barcelona.  

Nationalists Troops in Barcelona on 26 January 1939

The fall of Barcelona caused a massive exodus of people away from the encroaching Nationalist army of Franco towards the only safe haven available - France.  They were ill prepared for the wintry conditions and progress was also made hazardous by attacks from Nationalist aircraft. This migration has become known as the Retirada (from the Spanish for 'retreat'.)

Initially the French border remained closed, the French authorities fearing an influx of revolutioary communists. Thousands gathered at border checkpoints - there were no open borders then but armed guards at border crossing points to check papers. 

Refugees Waiting to Enter France at le Perhus

The border was finally opened by the French on 28 January 1939, but only for civilian refugees. Soldiers who had fought with the Republican army had to wait until 5th February to be allowed to enter into France.

It is estimated that from 28th January to 9th February, as many as 500,000 men, woman and children crossed the Pyrenees, eventually passing into France.

Freedom Trails

Some through regular border crossings, like le Perthus, where their entry would have been regulated and recorded, others across high mountain passes where there was no official control of movement. 500,000 leaving behind their homes, the majority of their possessions and their work.

On February 10th, Franco had the border shut reducing the number of refugees fleeing although those determined enough could still pass over the Pyrenees on the harder mountain paths.

Once the refugees had made the difficult journey and crossed the border, things did not immediately improve for the majority. The cold, hunger, uncertainty, fear and death remained. The French government had envisaged an influx of refugees but nothing on such a huge scale and found themselves overwhelmed and unable to cope. The stop gap solution consisted of internment of refugees in 'concentration' camps hastily built on the beaches at places like Argelès and Rivesaltes. Initially mostly barbed-wire enclosures on the sand, without basic shelter, sanitary or cooking facilities. Refugees slept on the sand and had to build the barracks that offered protection from the elements themselves. 

The Camp at Argeles sur Mer

The Camp at Argeles sur Mer

Conditions were very harsh. Lack of shelter, food, sanitation and clean drinking water led to many deaths. Some estimates put the number at 10,000. 

Memorial to Those Refugees Who Died at Argeles sur Mer

Despair and frustration at the conditions and their treatment from the French authorities led some refugees to choose to return to Franco’s New Spain rather than stay in France. For those who remained in exile – some 200,000 – there was the Second World War to deal with. Some  joined the French Resistance to fight the Nazi occupiers.  They hoped to hasten the defeat of Nazi Germany so that the post WWII democracies would overthrow the Franco regime. The Nazis were defeated but Franco remained in power until 1975.

Many foreigners fought in the Spanish Civil War on both the 'left' and 'right'. Laurie Lee, the author ('Cider With Rosie') fought for the Republicans and wrote about his experience in the book 'A Moment of War' (1991). To get to Spain involved crossing the Pyrenees which Lee accomplished in December 1937 during a snowstorm! George Orwell also fought in the war as did Ernest Hemingway.

Laurie Lee 'A Moment of War' (1991)
George Orwell 'Homage to Catalonia'
Museu Memorial de l'Exili, La Junquera. A museum devoted entirely to the Retirada
Robert Capa photographs of the Argelès Internment Camp
Documentary (in French) Many good photographs and footage

On This Day 7th November 1659

On the 7th November 1659 the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed between France and Spain on neutral ground in the Basque Pyrenees. The signing took place on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the countries.

Map Showing The Northern Part of Catalonia Which Became French

The treaty ended the war at the time between France and Spain, with Spain agreeing to give up Northern Catalonia to the French crown. The area in the map above which is dark green became French except for the tiny white area (to the right and below the a in Andora.) This is Llivia and it remains Spanish even though it is in France and surrounded by French territory. The enclave of Llivia exists because in the 1659 Treaty, Spain agreed to give up only villages and at the time Llivia was considered a city due to its stature as capital of Cerdanya!

Map Showing Llivia

Medal Commemorating The Signing of the Treaty

Although part of France since 1659, Northern Catalonia still has strong links with the language, culture and traditions of Catalonia. Catalan is still spoken by many for example and all signs are in Catalan and French. As you would expect, mMany of the names of places on the walking maps are in Catalan.

Here is the sign for the Catalan Pyrenees Regional Nature Park (in French and Catalan) where Pyrenees Mountain Adventure runs guided summer walking and winter snowshoeing holidays. You can see the Little Yellow Train on the logo of the park.

On This Day November 1st 2004

On November 1st 2004, the last female brown bear in the Pyrenees of Pyrenean stock (as apposed to the female brown bears introduced from Slovenia), died. Canelle was shot and killed by one of a  group of hunters hunting for wild boar.  The group of hunters and their dogs were from Urdos and hunting in the Aspe valley in an area where they had been warned the bear was present.

Wild Boar

René Marquèze said he acted in self defence after the bear made charges at one of the dogs, another of the hunters and himself. He said he feared for his life, and that he acted in self defence shooting at the bear twice. Brown bears are normally afraid of humans but can become aggressive if they are cornered, surprised, with young or feel threatened.

René Marquèze went to court for destruction of a protected species where the initial case was dismissed on 19th January 2007. There was an appeal against this decision and after a lengthy battle in the courts he was ordered to pay 10 000 euros in damages to several environmental organistions on 11th September 2009.

The Lifeless Body Transported Away

Cannelle (Cinnamon in English) was with her male cub at the time of her death which was not physically hurt and escaped. The loss of the last female of Pyrenean stock is a huge blow to the survical of the species in the Pyrenees. In 2007 there were only about 15 brown bears present in the whole chain. In France, they are only present in the Pyrenees.

Bear Sculpture, Axat

Since Cannelle's death there have been efforts to support the brown bear population by further introduction of bears from Slovenia. In 2007 5 bears from Slovenia were introduced to the Pyrenees (4 females and 1 male) which followed the 3 released between May 1996 and May 1997.