Josep Eduard Almudéver Mateu (30 July 1919 – 24 May 2021) was a Franco-Spanish volunteer who served during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

in the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

. He was believed to be the last surviving member of same at the time of his death.

Biography

Josep Eduard Almudéver Mateu was born in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

into a Spanish family and grew up in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

and

Alcàsser Alcàsser (, es, Alcácer) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Horta Sud in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the f ...

in Spain. He held both French and Spanish nationality. At the time of the July 1936 coup, he was living with his family in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. Although still a minor, he became a volunteer on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

side. Hiding his age, he joined the Pablo Iglesias Column, which was deployed to the

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...

. Wounded at the Teruel Front, Almudéver was sent to the rear; he re-joined the army as a part of the CXXIX International Brigade. Between early 1939 and late 1942, he was a prisoner of the

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

regime and later served with the

Spanish Maquis The Maquis were Spanish guerrillas who waged an irregular warfare against the Francoist dictatorship within Spain following the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War until the early 1960s, carrying out sabotage, robberies (to help fund g ...

in north-east Spain. Forced into exile in France in 1947, he lived in

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it ...

near

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

and did not return to Spain until 1965. He remained a committed

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

until his death. He died in France on 24 May 2021, at the age of 101. At the time of his death, he was the last known survivor of the International Brigades.

Filmography

* Joseph Almudever,

', interview de Jean-Michel Caralp, , Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, France, 2019. * Joseph Almudever,

interview de Jean-Michel Caralp, , Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, France, 2019.

References

1919 births 2021 deaths Military personnel from Marseille French centenarians International Brigades personnel Men centenarians prisoners and detainees of Spain French people of Spanish descent French communists French expatriates in Spain French expatriates in Morocco French Anti-Francoists {{France-mil-bio-stub