Nursing in the exodus of Spanish Republicans to France in 1939: a research approach

Abstract

Between January and February 1939, nearly half a million Span­ish Republican refugees passed through the Pyrenean border –a population movement called La Retirada. Nurses were the largest group of health care pro­fessionals among the Spanish exiles, but almost nothing is known about their work during the first few months of this exodus. The aim of this paper was to identify the care provided by Spanish and French nurses between January and September 1939. We also analyze the invisibility of their actions and the gen­der inequality in their work. To this end, we consulted documentation from 11 French archives and contemporary press and health publications and reviewed testimony from nurses and refugees. We examine the care provided by the nurs­es of the French Red Cross, which was disparaged by the conservative French press, and that of the Spanish nurses, who remained in the background due to their subordinate status and sex. Finally, we identify the main difficulties and op­portunities for future research on Spanish nursing during the Republican exodus to France in 1939.