Carlos Romero Giménez
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Carlos Romero Giménez, sometimes misspelled Jiménez, (7 November 1890 – 11 September 1978) was a Spanish soldier loyal to the
Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
, and one of the most prominent figures in the
Siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Octo ...
during the Spanish Civil War. Subsequently, a member of the French Resistance, he fought the Nazi occupation from Bordeaux as part of the
Maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...
. He was President of the Spanish League for Human Rights.


Biography

He was born in Madrid, at 5 Carrera de San Francisco Street. His father was Colonel Manuel Romero Salas, who was from an Andalusian family from Medina-Sidonia, Cádiz. His mother was María Giménez Nuñez. He joined the Spanish army on 2 December 1908. He participated in the Rif War, and received numerous awards, including the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand. Prior to the Insurrection of Jaca, he was detained as a result of his participation in the uprising of Madrid in favor of the Republic and against the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. He spent two years in military prisons under a request for death penalty. He was released thanks to an amnesty granted by General Dámaso Berenguer, and was later assigned to a Regiment stationed in
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...
, Canary Islands, where he remained until 14 April 1931. As soon as the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed, Romero returned to Madrid to work on policy with the new government.


Second Republic

Romero retired from the Army under the Azaña Law, and served as Commercial Attaché for Spain in Portugal between 1931 and 1932. As attaché, and subsequently back in Spain, he helped Portuguese people persecuted by the '' Estado Novo'' of António de Oliveira Salazar. He was the founder and Director of the ''Hispanic-Lusitan Magazine'', as well as the illustrated military technology magazine called ''Defensa Nacional'', Revista Española de Técnica Militar, (''National Defense, Spanish Technical Journal''). As General Secretary of the National Committee for the Monument to the Martyrs of Jaca, on 20 August 1934, he dismissed Luis Romero Basart (known among the Spanish refugees as "the Evil Romero") from his post as Treasurer of the committee. Later, Romero Basart was dismissed for abandoning his post while acting as a colonel of the
Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
. In his book ''Under the Claws of the Gestapo'' ( see below) Romero Giménez claims that Romero Basart "had offered himself and was admitted to the Gestapo for spying and reporting activities of Spanish political refugees in France", and that Romero Basart eventually turned him over to the Gestapo. For several years, Romero Giménez was vice-president of the Spanish League for Human Rights, an organization founded in 1922 under the presidency of Miguel de Unamuno,. After the death of Josep Puig d'Asprer he assumed the Presidency. Amongst the League's members were Azorin, Dalí, Falla, Azaña,
Ortega y Gasset Ortega is a Spanish surname. A baptismal record in 1570 records a ''de Ortega'' "from the village of Ortega". There were several villages of this name in Spain. The toponym derives from Latin ''urtica'', meaning "nettle". Some of the Ortega spel ...
, Miró, Luis Simarro,
Américo Castro Américo Castro y Quesada (May 4, 1885 – July 25, 1972) was a Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity, raising controversy with his conclusions that Spaniard ...
and García Lorca. Colonel Romero Giménez obtained a patent in 1935 for an elevated railway system that was to be driven by propellers. It was to consist of ultra-light aerodynamic cars suspended from a rolling mechanism, and travel at 300 km/hr. A control and signaling system was to allow frequencies of three minutes between cars.


Civil War

At the onset of the uprising that led to the Spanish Civil War, Romero Giménez voluntarily re-joined the
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
of the Republican forces - with the rank of captain - to fight the Nationalists. He was promoted to commander on 19 July 1936, two days after the beginning of the conflict. During war, as the former Republican Army reorganized after Arellano's death, he was assigned to head the 4th Mixed Brigade. He was one of the commanders of the columns that defended Madrid (during the
Siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Octo ...
) from attacks led by General Varela. Starting in November 1936, following orders from Colonel Aureliano Álvarez-Coque, Romero commanded a battalion from the Bridge of the French, which was of crucial importance because of its strategic location on the Manzanares River. He effectively repelled attempted crossings and denied access to Madrid's city center. For his heroic performance he was promoted by
General Miaja A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...
to Lieutenant Colonel, and was officially congratulated on the November 18 Agenda. The Government of the Republic later officially confirmed General Miaja's orders, and officially granted him such rank in April 1938. Because of disagreements with anarchists, Colonel Romero Giménez requested the dismissal of Ricardo Sanz, a Catalan anarcho-syndicalist, whom he accused of mistreating the soldiers and of bringing prostitutes to the trenches. He suggested to Miaja to Sanz's column (the former
Durruti Column The Durruti Column (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Columna Durruti''), with about 6,000 people, was the largest anarchist column (or military unit) formed during the Spanish Civil War. During the first months of the war, it became the most recogniz ...
) be disbanded, and that its personnel be distributed amongst the remaining units fighting in the front. According to historian
Ramón Salas Larrazábal Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest * ...
, Romero Giménez was the "''greatest hero of the defense of Madrid''". Romero Giménez headed of the 6th Division of the Republican Armed Forces From 1 May 1937, when Alzugaray left its command vacant. On July 1, he was placed in command of the Second Army Corps, which defended the outskirts of Madrid. He participated in the Battle of Brunete, although the performance of his unit was poor in the district of Usera. As commander of the Second Army Corps, he said, regarding forced recruitments that morale in his troops remained good amongst experienced militants but poor amongst recruits, due to their "''complete ignorance of the reasons why we fight and a lack of citizen preparedness and desire for freedom''". In July 1938, when
General Rojo A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
requested that Miaja name commanders with energy and capacity for the Campaign of Levante, Romero Giménez was appointed commander of the newly created XIII Corps of the Army. (Added to the Levant Army, it was previously known as the "B" Army Corps) He fought on several fronts against German forces of the Condor Legion fighting alongside the rebels. For his performance fighting motorized divisions of the "Blackshirts" Italian
CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
he was awarded his second "Medal of Courage". As Commander of the 4th Mixed Brigade, and with General Miaja's effective support, he founded and directed a war material factory called "Romero Mechanical Factories", which was dedicated to the production of mortars and ammunition, mines and hand grenades, bombs with aerodynamic design, thermoses, tripods, shields for trenches, spare parts for rifles, machine guns and antitank and antiaircraft guns as well as engine repairs. Work began with the machinery that could be rescued from the Madrid workshop "Mobile Park". During the
Siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Octo ...
, between 800 and 1,200 people worked around the clock, under constant enemy fire. Romero Giménez is credited with the invention of the mine that bears his name " Mina Romero", an anti-tank system first used during the Siege of Madrid. It consisted of a large cast iron metal box designed to fragment and produce shrapnel, after the explosion of 15, 35 or 60 kg. of dynamite. The devices were hidden in the floor to burst enemy tanks from below. They detonated by means of copper wires and glass tanks, either manually or automatically. This is a technical innovation which was subsequently applied during World War II. In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Romero Giménez was tried ''in absentia'' and sentenced twice to death by
Garrote A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...
for fighting against the uprising, and for being a
Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
.


Exile in France and Resistance

After the Civil War, Colonel Romero was exiled in France, initially in Clermont-Ferrand, later in Paris. He left Paris on 12 June 1940, just hours before the
German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
with the intention of embarking the ship SS ''Champlain'' was not able: this ship was attacked and sunk off the port. He settled in Bordeaux, a city also soon to be occupied by the Nazis., There, Romero played a leading role for two years in the
Maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...
French Resistance, coordinating actions such as disabling the detonators of bombs waiting to be dropped during The Blitz of London and other cities. As a result, many bombs failed to explode once hitting their targets. Also, he led the disablement of materials intended for the construction of a submarine base and the piercing of undetectable holes at the bottom of large cans of food ready to be sent for the German troops at the Russian front in order for the food to be rotten by the time the cans reached their destination. Romero was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned in the fearsome medieval prison " Fort du Hâ" in Bordeaux. He was subjected to severe tortures and interrogation and forced to witness the strangulation deaths of other fellow Resistance prisoners. Romero would escape death as a result of a ruse arranged by the Resistance and the Mayor of Bordeaux. The Mayor issued an official request for Romero to be transferred from the German to the French section of the prison, stating that he had to be processed by a French court, for a (non-existent) civil crime. Once in the French section of prison, the organization rescued Romero. It took nearly a month to physically recover from his torture injuries (in a hospital located very close to the prison, while using the identity of a dead man). Romero, his wife and daughter were then helped by the Resistance to cross the demarcation line into the 'free' Vichy France. They were all detained the next morning and imprisoned again by the collaborating gendarmerie. Romero was taken to the
Gurs concentration camp Gurs internment camp was an internment camp and prisoner of war camp constructed in 1939 in Gurs, a site in southwestern France, not far from Pau. The camp was originally set up by the French government after the fall of Catalonia at the en ...
, where along with Spanish refugees (including his friend, Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Buzón Llanes) Jews were concentrated awaiting to be deported for extermination. He, his wife and daughter were saved due to the humanitarian proceedings of
Gilberto Bosques Gilberto is the Iberian and Italian version of the originally Norman-French given name ''Gilbert (given name), Gilbert'', used in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish languages. In Galician langu ...
, Consul of Mexico, distinguished for his outstanding work in helping Spanish refugees, Jews and other people being persecuted, providing them shelter in that country. Mexico was wide open to receive refugees, especially under the presidency of Lazaro Cardenas del Rio. Overcoming many difficulties they were able to travel to Marseille, where they managed to embark for
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
. Thence the Trans-Saharan train would take them to
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 ...
to wait for a ship to take Romero, wife and daughter across the Atlantic.


Exile in Mexico

Colonel Romero finally exiled in Mexico. He, his wife and daughter arrived to the port of Veracruz on 22 May 1942, after nearly a month's cruise aboard the second of three voyages made from
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 ...
by the Portuguese ship '' Nyassa'' carrying to Mexico large contingents of refugees. In this country Romero re-founded the technical magazine ''Defensa Nacional'' (''National Defense'') with the participation of Spanish military refugees in cooperation with the
Mexican Armed Forces The Mexican Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de México) are the military forces of the United Mexican States. The Spanish crown established a standing military in colonial Mexico in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, ...
. With his children Carmen and Carlos Romero Ortega created a publishing company named 'Sociedad Mexicana de Publicaciones' (Carlos Jr., fighting at a young age for the defense of Madrid was separated by the war from his parents. He obtained political asylum in the Dominican Republic and later in Mexico). Colonel Romero established and directed ''Maderas Industrializadas y Reconstituidas'', a company that pioneered industrialized wood. After the death of
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
in 1975, despite having fulfilled all the formalities, Romero was never granted the state pension as a Spanish military Veteran. On 11 September 1978, Romero peacefully passed away surrounded by his family at age 87 in the ''Sanatorio Español'' hospital in Mexico City. In fulfillment of his will his body was cremated and the ashes divided into two equal parts to be spread to air, water and land, one half in Mexico and the other in Spain. The Spanish scattering took place during a public ceremony at the Bridge of the French.


Masonry

With a late ingress to Masonry in 1932 -being 42 years old- Romero entered Mare Nostrum, Lodge 11, of Madrid, Gran Oriente Español (GOE), ''(Spanish Grand Orient)''. He subsequently moved into the Grand Spanish Lodge (GLE, ''Gran Logia Española'') of which Romero became ''Grand Chief'' in 1937, and the Governing Council's ''Great Expert'' by 1938. In 1939, as ''Counselor of the Masonic Family'', Romero was responsible in France for coordinating support for exiled Masons and Republicans, altogether with the Relief Committee (Comité de Socorros). Spain brutally repressed Masonry, including -as in Romero's case- sentencing members to death by use of medieval torture instruments. Lodge files were used by TREMEC Court (Spanish Tribunal for the Repression of Freemasonry and Communism) as 'criminal' evidence, so the fraternity's records that could have been saved from confiscation were hidden or destroyed to save lives.See
Suppression of Freemasonry Anti-Masonry (alternatively called anti-Freemasonry) is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry",''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1979 ed.), p. 369. which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, violent persecution, and suppression in so ...
, Spain.


Bibliography

* Alpert, Michael; ''El Ejército Republicano en la Guerra Civil'' (Spanish Republican Army during the Civil War), Siglo XXI de España, Madrid, 1989 * Engel, Carlos (1999). ''Historia de las Brigadas Mixtas del Ejército Popular de la República''. (History of Mixed Brigades in the Spanish Popular Army) . * Salas Larrazábal, Ramón. ''Historia del Ejército Popular de la República'' (History of the Spanish Republic Popular Army). La Esfera de los Libros S.L. . Editora Nacional, Madrid (España) * THOMAS, Hugh, ''Historia de la Guerra Civil Española'' (History of the Sapanish Civil War). Círculo de Lectores, Barcelona, 1976. .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero Gimenez, Carlos 1890 births 1978 deaths Military personnel from Madrid Spanish republicans Spanish Freemasons Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish army officers Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France French Resistance members Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico