To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Civil War, José Ángel Mañas recreates in Zenda, day by day in this section, what happened in 1936, perhaps the most pivotal year in the entire recent history of Spain.
Thursday, November 12, 1936: Address by Santiago Carrillo
Carrillo, before the microphone, weighed every word. He wanted his message to sink in with his listeners. It was essential that everyone understood him. He said:
—The days that the Defense Junta has been working have shown that we are not here to commit abuses. Even the skeptical people verify that the Junta is a natural extension of the Government, and a delegation that works with responsibility. Our task, no matter how long the defense of Madrid lasts, will be to buy time so that the legitimate government, which has moved to Valencia to direct the operations more effectively, can confront the enemy. We must contain him at the gates of the capital, while the ministers of the Republic, from Valencia, prepare the great offensive operation that will drive fascism away forever…
Carrillo took a breath. On the other side of the border, in a small hotel in Pau where he had settled after his journey along the Norwegian coasts, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, the deposed president of the Republic, listened to the Spanish radio broadcasts that could be picked up. Don Niceto recognized Carrillo’s voice. He turned up the volume. “Wait,” he told his wife. “They’re talking about the siege of Madrid.”
‘—Our task will be to regulate the supply for the war and to maintain the essential revolutionary public order so that the city can resist. It is time to say that we all have our assigned posts. The Defense Junta continues to receive numerous and invaluable assistance. The main one: the people of Madrid, who have known how to respond with discipline, serenity and heroism. The people of Madrid have become a true army, with no resident excluded, something admirable and unprecedented in recent history…’.
From Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Gil-Robles, leader of the dissolved CEDA, exiled since the beginning of the war in Estoril, after his unfortunate stop in Burgos, where he was poorly received, pressed his ear to the radio to hear news of the battle about to begin. And the same was done by the Nationalists in Salamanca. And Franco in Cáceres. And Mola in Ávila. And Azaña in Barcelona. And Pla in Marseille. And Baroja and Azorín in Paris.
‘—It is worth stating that the sole function of the Defense Junta at present is to offer the greatest possible resistance to Varela’s troops and to the fascist fighters who attack us. It is the only violence that will take place in Madrid, since any resistance that could be offered from within is guaranteed not to occur. I repeat that all measures are in place to prevent any disturbance of the order that could in any way aid the enemy’s plan. The fifth column is on its way to being crushed, comrades and antifascist colleagues…’.
—Did you say that you’ve crushed the fifth column? —asked Alejandro Lerroux.
Bringing his hand to his ear, the Old Lion listened to his radio from the Portuguese hotel where he had been staying since the uprising began, after leaving his residence in San Rafael. Like him, all Spaniards in exile with a radio at hand were following what was happening in Madrid, where the fiercest battle of the war was about to unfold.
Todas las entradas de 1936 día a día
Entrevista con José Ángel Mañas sobre 1936 día a día