SS ''Winnipeg'' was a French steamer notable for arriving at

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, on 3 September 1939, with 2,200

Spanish 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, Can ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

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 ref ...

's victory in 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, link ...

(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 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 Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

, to Chile.

History

After the end of the

, Pablo Neruda 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 Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The ship was an old French cargo ship 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

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 typography, typographer Mauricio Amster Cats, Mauricio Amster and the painters Roser Bru and José Balmes. Victor Pey, 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 Battle of France, fall of France in 1940 and sailed under orders of the Vichy France, Vichy government. She was captured on 26 May 1941 by the Netherlands, Dutch sloop-of-war, sloop in the Caribbean Sea and confiscated by the British government. She was eventually purchased by a Canada, 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 Flower-class corvette, corvette .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