El Fondó
The place where the Spanish 2nd Republic, essentially, came to an end.
This place is possibly the most significant place in modern Spanish history as it is where the leaders of the Republican government took their final flight into exile at the end of the Spanish Civil War. The war had raged from 1936 and by early 1939 the Nationalist side had, with the active help of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, prevailed over the legitimate Republican government. The revolt, led (militarily) by General Francisco Franco, is sometimes referred to as the first phase of WW2 in Europe.
The end of the war, and the 2nd Republic, was finally precipitated by a coup by Colonel Segismundo Casado who thought he could negotiate reasonable surrender terms with Franco for the exhausted Republican combatants. He was disasterously wrong. After the surrender of the Republican side Franco became unchallenged dictator until his death in 1975. The years of fascist rule in Spain was one of repression and , particularly in the earlier years after the civil war, a period of brutal reprisals against those who had dared to oppose Franco during or after the conflict.
The leadership on the Republican side were now at risk of being captured by the coup plotters and handed over to the Nationalists.This was particularly so for the Communists. The Spanish Communist Party were allies of the government during the conflict and made an important contribution to the military effort particulary in the latter stages. However, within the Republican movement there was animosity towards the Communists, particularly from factions of the army, including Casado.
In the last 10 days of the war the Government were occupying a “Finca” close to the town of Elda, known as El Poblet, and the Communist leadership were in the nearby town of Petrer, at place known to them as Posición Dakar. Both these places were chosen to be in easy reach of the El Fondó aerodrome. and on the morning of March 6th 1939 the Communist leaders were flown to exile via Oran (Algeria) and found sanctuary in the Soviet Union. The leaders of the Government flew out at 3pm the same day and were flown to France. Prime Minister Nerin never returned to Spain.
The most famous of the Communist leaders, Dolores Ibarruri (known as La Pasionaria) outlived Franco and, with the re-establishment of democracy in Spain, returned to the country and was elected to the legislature. The re-establishment of democracy started a process, which has taken a long time, in which the history of the civil war and its aftermath is opened up, particularly to the younger members of society. El Fondó is a great example of this with imaginatively designed information points and an information centre (only open by appointment at the moment) built into an old school at the El Fondó settlement. In the old school yard is a “cut out” of the, now famous, Dragon Rapide aircraft used to carry the Communist leadership into exile. At El Fondó is also a monolithic memorial to the events and both the main air raid shelter for the troops guarding the aerodrome and another smaller shelter on the periphery. Visits to the main shelter can be arranged.
Although the departure of the government is seen as the end of the 2nd Republic it remained as a government in exile and until 1976 it even maintained an embassy in Mexico. It dissolved itself with the return to democracy in Spain following Franco’s death. Mexico never recognised the Nationalist government in Spain and recognised the Republican government from the end of WW2 to 1976.
For young people this place is an important source of information but for those of a certain age, particularly those with an anti-fascist philosophy, it is a very poignant and emotional place that reminds us of a dark chapter in the history of Europe and a lost opportunity for the democracies of Europe to stand up to fascism before the dictatorships were too embedded in power.
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