'I will never forgive': Survivors remember the Spanish Civil War, 80 years on

'I will never forgive': Survivors remember the Spanish Civil War, 80 years on
Copyright  Euronews/Aurora Vélez
By Aurora Velez

The last generation of Spanish Civil War survivors spoke to Euronews about their experiences, 80 years on. "I will never forgive them," said 99-year-old Alejandro del Amo Diaz.

This year is 80 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War.

To mark the occasion, Euronews has been talking to some of the last generation of survivors from the northern Basque Country.

You can hear what they said in the video, above.

The conflict, which lasted from 1936 to 1939, was sparked by a military, nationalist uprising against the left-leaning Republican government.

Led by General Francisco Franco, the coup and subsequent civil war saw hundreds of thousands of Spaniards die.

It also resulted in a mass exodus of refugees, many of whom went to France, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union.

In Spain's northern Basque Country, most people were opposed to the uprising.

On January 4, 1937, when bombs fell on Bilbao, the largest city in the region, food and other necessities were scarce.

The Basque government temporarily relocated children located near the conflict zones with the help of the Spanish embassy in France.

In April, that same year, the Nazi Condor Legion with Italian support bombed the Basque town of Guernica.

With the help of the British army and French humanitarian groups, thousands of children were evacuated as part of an exodus called "La Retirada".

According to the University of the Basque Country, the number of Basque exiles throughout 1937 was about 130,000, of which 32,000 were minors.

Additional sources • Lauren Chadwick

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