Browse Topics
Tools
Editor's choice

Photos by Wim Wenders and partner in Madrid

The exhibition includes scenes from many of the famous director's movies and his wife's work as his photography director.

How restaurant service in Spain has evolved

Gwendolyn Alston wonders if good and personalised service in Spanish restaurants is a thing of the past.

Spain starts exhuming grave of poet Garcia Lorca

Any bones found in the mass grave in Alfaca will be sent for analysis to enable families to identify their ancestors.

Visiting a Spanish dentist

Blogger Chris Showers experienced a cultural shock upon his first visit to an outspoken and talkative Spanish dentist.

Internaxx Stock Market
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.3 0.50
DAX 5252.45 1.50
IBEX 30 10726.8 0.59
CAC 40 3377.59 1.40
FTSE 100 4564.5 0.79
AEX 276.85 0.95
DJIA 9096.72 -0.13
Nasdaq 1975.51 0.39
FTSE MIB 20341.67 1.65
TSX Composite 10570.54 -1.74
ASX 4148.9 -0.60
Hang seng 20135.5 -2.37
Straits Times 0.00
ISEQ 20 442.48 0.27
You are here: Home Life in Lifestyle The forgotten exiles: Spain's 'War kids'

14/11/2005The forgotten exiles: Spain's 'War kids'

As children they were forced to leave Spain after the Civil War because their parents were Republicans. We report on how the so-called 'War kids' want their struggle to be remembered.

Two 'war kids' who were evacuated from Spain during Civil War

Though their childhood is far in the past, the elderly "war kids" who fled Spain for Britain, Russia, Cuba and other Latin American nations in the 1930s when their country was embroiled in civil war are taking steps to ensure that their story is not forgotten.

There's a saying that only the things that are forgotten truly die, and the war kids know that.

Although they are now old and scattered all over the world, they want their story of exile and civil war to endure.

The Spanish government this year said they can claim pensions which were previously denied them.

For some, this cash – however overdue –has been more than welcome, particularly those who ended up in Cuba.

Although fewer of the exiled children came to Cuba than to other countries, now more than 100 have requested the benefits approved by Madrid, which amount to about EUR 6,136 (USD 7,200) a year.

Their search for documents to back up their requests has caused them to relive their story.

Each of their lives in exile from their native Spain has been different, but there is one group among them - those called the "Hispano-Soviets" by the Cuban government - who have shared a large part of their collective life on the Communist island.

Most of the Hispano-Soviets were evacuated from Spanish ports in 1937, in the middle of the 1936-39 Civil War, destined to be housed in orphanages in the Soviet Union.

The defeat of the Republicans in Spain ended the children's hopes of returning to their families, and World War Two destroyed many of their remaining illusions about the former Soviet Union.

The wars cut their childhoods and adolescences short, but the bloody and devastating conflicts could not take their futures from them, futures which arose out of the alliance between the Cuban Revolution and the Soviet regime.

0 reactions to this article

participate in the forums
ask your question
find the business you need
Discussion Forums

Discuss Spanish Culture

Are Spanish people Tactless and arrogant or just forthright?, by john4efc66

Jobs

cvExpres, work in Spain as a teacher in a private school or academie, by santi21

Soapbox

Madrid Revisited, by honantong

Jobs

Help Needed - Entertainment Industry, by stewartw

Travel & Transport

WINE & MOUNTAINS, by kathyinhuesca

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Checklist for expats moving to Spain

Checklist for expats moving to Spain

Before you head out to explore the new city, make sure your paperwork's all done by referring to our guide.

Job hunting in Spain

Job hunting in Spain

Looking for a job just got harder with the global recession. Here’s a guide to make things a tad easier.

How to open a bank account in Spain

How to open a bank account in Spain

Expatica's guide to opening a bank account in Spain.

Spain country factbook

Spain country factbook

This in-depth profile of Spain includes geography, people, government, economy and transnational issues.