SS ''Winnipeg'' was a French steamer notable for arriving at Valparaíso, Chile, on 3 September 1939, with 2,200 Spanish immigrants aboard. The refugees were fleeing Spain after

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

's victory in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The Chilean President

Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. A member of the Radical Party since 1906, ...

had named the poet

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

Special Consul in Paris for Immigration, and he was charged with what he called "the noblest mission I have ever undertaken": shipping the Spanish refugees, who had been housed by the French government in internment camps, to Chile.

History

After the end of the Spanish Civil War,

noticed that many

Spanish Republicans Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

had fled in exile to France where they were detained in squalid camps in miserable conditions. The poet, who was then living in Chile, decided to organize their travel to Chile. He first worked as Chilean consul in Spain, before being named consul in Paris. The ship was an old French

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

which ordinarily could not take more than 250 persons, but it was adapted so it could carry the 2,200 refugees. Neruda actively worked in this endeavour, reuniting families separated by the war. Beside the assistance of his friends artists and writers, he was helped by his wife . On the night when ''Winnipeg'' set sail, on 4 August 1939, in the port of Trompeloup - Pauillac, Pablo Neruda wrote: ''Winnipeg'' arrived at the port of Valparaíso on 3 September 1939. On the following day, the Spanish Republicans were officially received by the Chilean authorities. Some of them had already landed, a few days before, in the port of Arica, in northern Chile. In a gesture of gratitude, the refugees attached to the ship's mast a large canvas with the face of the Chilean president painted on it. Most of the immigrants who landed in Chile stayed there. Among them were the historian Leopoldo Castedo, the typographer

Mauricio Amster Mauricio Amster Cats (1907–1980) was born in Lemburg and died in Santiago, Chile. He was a typographer, calligrapher, illustrator, graphic artist and designer, educator, writer, translator, and book collector who designed more than 500 books ...

and the painters Roser Bru and José Balmes.

Victor Pey The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, who boarded the ship after being a prisoner of war in France, became one of the closest advisors to Salvador Allende. SS ''Winnipeg'' remained under French flag after the

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

in 1940 and sailed under orders of the Vichy government. She was captured on 26 May 1941 by the Dutch

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

in the Caribbean Sea and confiscated by the British government. She was eventually purchased by a Canadian company, Canadian Pacific Steamships, some months later and renamed ''Winnipeg II''. She was torpedoed and sunk by the on 22 October 1942 while en route from Liverpool to Saint John, New Brunswick. All people on board were rescued by the Canadian

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

.Winnipeg II: British Steam passenger ship
Uboat.net

References

External links

''Neruda habla sobre el Winnipeg''

''Los andaluces, Neruda y el Winnipeg''

SS Winnipeg II (+1942)

A partial list of passengers aboard the Winnipeg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winnipeg, SS Spanish Civil War History of Chile 1939 in Chile 1939 in Spain 1918 ships Ships built in France Ships of France Steamships of Canada Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in May 1941 Maritime incidents in October 1942 Ships of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Spanish emigrants to Chile Chile–Spain relations

History

See also

References

External links