Benita Uribarrena Bollaín (

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, 16 March 1922 – Le Soler, 12 October 2011) was a member of the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain (; PCE) is a communist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is currently part of Sumar. Two of its politicians are Spanish government ministers: Yolanda Díaz (Minister of L ...

and the Antifascist Women Union. She took part in the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and Civil War

Her mother, Benita Bollaín Bilbao, was a communist and owned a press kiosk in the Ezkurdi place in

, Spain, which earned her the nickname of "Benita the Journalist". She was the first to announce the near proclamation of the II Republic in the town and was detained in a kennel for it. Her father, Santiago Uribarrena Munitxa, a socialist activist, was a railway worker. After the strikes of October 1934, the Civil Guard arrested him and forced him to get into a river to turn in weapons, getting sick and dying a few days later. His funeral was celebrated on 30 December 1934, which was the first civil funeral in Durango. Benita was the youngest of four siblings. After the bombing of Durango on 31 March 1937, she was evacuated together with one of her sisters and her mother. They arrived in France in June 1937 with the Habana ship.

Exile

In France, she worked at a hotel and started her political activity in the

(PCE). She participated as a clandestine courier and guided people who fled Spain through the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

border. In 1944, she joined the

. She was arrested and imprisoned for one month until the liberation of France. Uribarrena lived most of her life in Le Soler. Among other jobs, she was employed by

Pau Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), known in English as Pablo Casals,Communist members of the French Resistance 1922 births 2011 deaths Female resistance members of World War II People from Durango, Biscay Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Spanish Communist Party politicians