Berry, David. "French Anarchist Volunteers in Spain, 1936-39: Contribution to a Collective Biography of the French Anarchist Movement" - Appendix 6 -

Victims of political repression? French libertarians imprisoned in Spain during the civil war

Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)France.- 3rd Republic (1871-1940)FrenchBERRY, David

Alary, Lucien
Alary was imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo. He was released at the same time as P. Vaucher.


Cardeur, Alexis

In April or May 1937, Cardeur, a professional soldier who had been military leader of the ‘International Company’ of the Durruti Column since March, was appointed commander of the ‘Batallion IAA’, which is what the International Company was changed into after it was almost wiped out in battles for Ermita Santa Quiteria in April. The Batallion went back to the Aragon front on 7 June, but was disbanded on 22 July after refusing to attack with insufficient armaments. At some point later, Cardeur was arrested on charges of having squandered his batallion’s funds, and imprisoned. He seems still to have been in prison in October 1938.

Colin
According to an undated letter from Danon to Fortin, Colin was an inmate of the Carcel Modelo.

Crespin, Charles
In a letter to Souchy, Crespin described himself as a long-time anarchist and syndicalist. He was one of the founders of the Syndicat des mécaniciens dentistes in France. In Spain he was a member of the Syndicat de Sanitat CNT. He was a friend of André Robert of the FAF and of Guérault of l’Espagne Antifasciste. He had served four months at the front with the IG of the Durruti Column, but left - after what he describes as a disagreement between the Quartier Général de Pina and the International Column - intending to join a CNT or FAI unit. He was recruited in February to track down French fascists in Barcelona. He was arrested without explanation on 7 April and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo on the 8th. He protested his innocence of anything improper.

Danon, Félix
Danon was a member of the UA and had been a member of the anarchist group of the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris since the 1920s. In Barcelona, he was a member of the FAI group, ‘Mimosa’, and assistant secretary of the French group of the CNT. A musician, he was also a member of the Syndicat des Profesiones Liberales, Seccion Maestros (CNT).
Danon was arrested on 13 June 1937 and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo; released “by mistake” on the 16th, he was rearrested the same day. He was charged - though never tried - with having taken part in the illegal occupation by French anarchists of the Casa del Metge in Barcelona. He was also accused of theft. Although technically in charge of the militiamen who allegedly occupied and ransacked the Casa del Metge (opposite the CNT Regional Committee building), Danon protested his innocence, arguing that it was a political conspiracy: there was no evidence against him, there had been no trial, he had all the necessary official papers, his imprisonment was unjustifiable. While in prison, Danon was the delegate of the French group. In the spring of 1938, he suffered from typhus and recovered only thanks to the Mujeres libres. He was eventually released on 9 June 1938.

Espigulet, Michel
Espigulet was arrested by the NKVD for possession of arms, according to le Libertaire (11 November 1937). According to Danon writing on 7 July 1937, Espigulet had just been admitted to the Carcel Modelo along with ‘Marseille’ (Lacrosille) with what Danon thought a “somewhat suspicious story”.

Farah, Georges
Farah, a member of the Italian Battalion of the Ascaso Division, was arrested on 27 April 1937 and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo “for the Gambrinus bomb affair” (?). He was released on 5 July 1937. He left 50 pesetas for the subscription that had been opened in favour of prisoners in the Carcel Modelo.


François, Roger

François was arrested by NKVD agents during or soon after the May Days of 1937.

Froment, André
The Sección Francesa de Propaganda CNT-FAI notes simply that Froment, a worker in the armaments industries, was or had been in prison.


Germain, Georges

Germain was in the Carcel Modelo in May 1938. Having fought with the Iron Column from March to July 1937, he was “Detenido cuando regresaba a Francia, despues de haber curado su herida y haberse dado de baja de su columna.”

Gomez, Henri
Gomez was a prisoner in the Carcel Modelo, according to a letter of Danon’s dated 24 September 1937. He had been arrested by the Tcheka for attempting to smuggle capital out of the country.


Gorloff, Léonide

Gorloff was arrested on 7 May 1937. He was still in the Carcel Modelo in September.

Gotcheff
In August 1937, Gotcheff was in the Carcel Modelo infirmary with TB. He had been about to enter a sanatorium when arrested.

Guilbert, Marcel
According to Saïda’s article on ‘La répression stalino-bourgeoise en Espagne’ in le Libertaire (11 November 1937), Guilbert was one of those arrested by the NKVD in 1937.

Kasentcheff, Cristo
Kasentcheff was in the Carcel Modelo in September 1937. He claimed to have been arrested because there was a stamp missing in his passport.

Lacroisille, Henri
This 29 year-old, Parisian CGTSR activist, known in the French movement as ‘Marseille’, was in Spain from September 1936 to February 1939, and fought with the Durruti Column and with the 124th Brigada Mixta. He was also a member of the CNT. He was arrested by the NKVD early in July 1937, accused of possession of firearms, and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo. According to my sources, he arrived in gaol with Espigulet; according to the DBMOF, he was arrested in the company of Guilbert, Ladmiral and Lhébert (see all these names). He gave his name to the Commission juridique as Lacroisille-Pécond, Henri. Danon was so suspicious of Lacroisille and Espigulet that he wrote to Fortin comparing them with G. Weil and asking him to check their stories. They were both members, according to Danon, of the “notorious accounts commission of a section which was dissolved because the three or four freeloaders who formed it disappeared like smoke when the first shots were fired in May.”

Ladmiral, Gaston
A militiaman, Ladmiral was one of five French volunteers held in the Hotel Falcon by the NKVD after the May Days of 1937. He was later imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo. Depending on the source, Ladmiral was an anarchist or a member of the Jeunesses socialistes révolutionnaires and PSOP or “difficult to define” politically.

Legrand, Gaston
Legrand, a CGT member, seems to have been a militiaman in Spain, but in May 1938 was in the Carcel Modelo accused of having squandered his batallion’s funds - which he denied.

Lévysse
Lévysse was one of five French anarchist volunteers held in the Hotel Falcon by the NKVD after the May days of 1937.

Métant, Fernand
A member of the Durruti Column IG (since at least October 1936) and of the CNT-FAI, Métant returned from the front in February 1937. He was working legally in Barcelona when arrested by the NKVD and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo. It is not known when he was released, but he was married in Barcelona on 29 March 1938.

Millon, Jean
Millon, who fought with the Los Aguiluchos Column, was shot as a spy. We have no further information.

Pantais, Raymond
After the May Days of 1937, Pantais was arrested in Puigcerdá, along with some Spanish comrades, by communists or by government carabiniers, depending on the source. After the intervention of a French woman (possibly Mme Prince) with the French authorities in Bourg Madame, Pantais was expelled after a few days in prison; his Spanish comrades were executed.

Parot, Gaston
A member of the ‘Patrullas de control’ in Barcelona, Parot was imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo after the May Days. The French Section protested publicly against his arrest. He was still in prison in mid-August.

Prince, René & Mme
Prince and his partner were arrested at some time between May and July 1937.

Ruiz, Amador
According to the Barcelona French Section, Ruiz was French. A militiaman, he had spent several months at the front. He was arrested in Barcelona in 1937.

Schwab, Julien
On 26 May 1937, Schwab was arrested by the Delegación Orden Public and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo. According to Danon, Schwab claimed to be the correspondent of L’Indomptable (a French-language CNT paper in Valencia) and delegate of “a certain number of more or less well known groups in the Midi”. He seems to have been a supporter of the CGTSR. He was also well-known for his frequent travels. He wrote several letters to the French Consul asking him to intervene. He appears to have been released on 22 September 1937.

Schwarz
Schwarz was one of five French anarchist volunteers held in the Hotel Falcon by the NKVD after the May days of 1937.

Staés, Maurice
Staés was a militia fighter. He was being held in the Carcel Modelo in May 1938.

Thourault
Thourault fought with one of the CNT-FAI militias on the Aragon front. On the way home to France on leave with fellow anarchist and militiaman Tissier, he was stopped by a political commissar with the International Brigades (allegedly brother of the communist José Diaz) who was on border control. Booklets by Kropotkin, Malatesta and Leval were confiscated on the grounds that they were ‘Fascist literature’. They were told to go through the Cerbère tunnel into France and assured that their money and personal possessions would be sent through to them after being examined. When this did not happen, Tissier returned to the Spanish side and was then arrested.

Tissier, Charles
See Thourault.

Tricheux, Alphonse
A veteran of the Toulouse UA group, Tricheux and his wife Pauline had been founder members of the Puigcerdá French Section in July 1936. In June 1937, he was arrested and held for two weeks, accused of having stolen 200,000 pesetas.


Tricheux, Eugène

One of the sons of Alphonse and Pauline, Tricheux was a prisoner in the Carcel Modelo, according to a letter of Danon’s dated 24 September 1937. He had been arrested by the Tcheka, along with his friend Henri Gomez, for involvement in an escape attempt. Gomez - about whom we know nothing else - was arrested for attempting to smuggle capital out of the country.

Tricheux, Marius
According to an article on ‘La répression stalino-bourgeoise en Espagne’ in le Libertaire, Tricheux was one of the those arrested by the NKVD in 1937. He was released some weeks later.

Tricheux, Noëla
The daughter of Alphonse and Pauline, Tricheux was being held in gaol in Puigcerdá in June/July 1937, along with her mother.

Tricheux, Pauline
See under Tricheux, Alphonse & Noëla.

Urvoas, Yvan Noël
Urvoas was of Russian origin, according to Danon, but had been brought up in France. He was arrested on 17 February 1937, apparently for not having any papers. He was still in the Carcel Modelo in August.


Vaucher, Pierre

Vaucher was a militiaman with the Italian Battalion of the Ascaso Division. He was arrested on 7 May 1937 and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo until at least August. He was released at the same time as Alary, according to an undated letter from Danon.


Weil, Gaston

Weil, a militiaman, was imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo on suspicion of being responsible for the squandering of his battalion’s funds. Danon seems to have believed him guilty.