Braulia Cánovas Mulero (8 January 1920 – 23 December 1993) was a

Spanish Republican The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissolv ...

who fought against the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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 ...

, under the codename "Monique". She survived the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

and was liberated from

Bergen-Belsen Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

on 15 April 1945. In 2018, she was honoured by her local town council along with four other Alhameños who were victims of the Nazi concentration camps.

Biography

Braulia Cánovas was born in

Alhama de Murcia Alhama de Murcia is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. It is located in the north of the southern half of the region. The municipality shares borders with Librilla in its north, Murcia in its northeast, F ...

on 8 January 1920, the daughter of María Mulero Melgarejo and Francisco Cánovas Rubio. Her father died in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War at the hands of the

Nationalist faction The Nationalist faction (), also Rebel faction () and Francoist faction () was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 ...

. The family migrated to Barcelona around 1930. After the defeat of the Republic, the family crossed the Pyrenees and went into exile in France from the dictatorship. Cánovas fought against the Nazis in the French Resistance and was known by the codename "Monique". On 9 May 1943, she was arrested by the Nazi army in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

and transferred on 16 May to the military prison in Fresnes. She was then transferred to the

Royallieu-Compiègne internment camp The Royallieu-Compiègne was an internment and deportation camp located in the north of France in the city of Compiègne, open from June 1941 to August 1944. French resistance fighters and Jews were among some of the prisoners held in this camp. ...

and on 3 February 1944 she was deported to the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

for women. She travelled there in a convoy with 27,000 other women. In Ravensbrück, Cánovas was issued the number No. 27,697 and, after some time, she became part of a forced labour group with 1,000 other women, set up by the Continental Gummi-Werke company for the manufacture of

gas masks A gas mask is a piece of personal protective equipment used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft ...

in Hannover-Limmer. At the end of April 1944, she was transferred under the number 5520 to the

concentration camp as Allied troops approached Ravensbrück. A year later, on 15 April 1945, she was liberated by British troops; she weighed only 35 kg (c. 5.5 stone) at the time.

Postwar

Cánovas married and had a family after the war. Braulia Cánovas Mulero died in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

on 23 December 1993.

Recognition

Shortly after the end of 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 ...

, the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

awarded Cánovas a military Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, as a sign of gratitude for her fight for freedom against fascism. Subsequently, in 1984, again by the French Government, she was awarded the cross of

Officier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

in a military capacity, a recognition that was only given to a few Spaniards. By contrast, she was never officially recognised by the Spanish State during her lifetime.

Commemoration

In 2012, Cánovas' name appeared on the official list of people who helped France during the Nazi occupation, proposed for recognition by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

. On 30 January 2018, all the groups with municipal representation in Alhama de Murcia (

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

, the

People's Party (Spain) The People's Party ( ; known mostly by its acronym, PP ) is a Conservatism, conservative and Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in Spain, political party in Spain. The People's Party was a 1989 re-foundation o ...

, United Left–Greens of the Region of Murcia and

Citizens (Spanish political party) Citizens ( Spanish: ; ; shortened as Cs—C's until January 2017), officially Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (''Ciudadanos–Partido de la Ciudadanía'', CS), is a liberal political party in Spain. The party has been located in the centre t ...

), agreed to recognise the Alhameños imprisoned and murdered in Nazi concentration camps. In May 2018, the City Council of Alhama de Murcia unveiled a monument in honour of five local residents: Braulia Cánovas Mulero, Antonio Martínez Baños, Francisco Aledo Martínez, José María Martínez Costa and José Cerón García, with a monument located in the Jardín de los Mártires (Martyrs' Garden). It is inscribed: A los alhameños prisioneros en campos de concentración nazi por su compromiso con la libertad'''. (''To the Alhameños imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps for their commitment to freedom'')'. This commemoration was the result of several years of work by historian Víctor Peñalver, persuaded several councils in the region of Murcia to recognise those deported by the

Franco regime Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. At the end of 2018, her daughter and other family members went to Germany to retrieve the ring and watch that had been taken from her by the Nazis during her captivity. These belongings were handed over by the Arolsen Archives - International Center on Nazi Persecution, based in the German town of

Bad Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and then un ...

, which is dedicated to returning stolen objects to Nazi victims with the help of the

German Government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals o ...

. The family received no support from the Spanish government in these efforts.

Bibliography

* 2012 – ''Memorial de las españolas deportadas a Ravensbrück''. Teresa del Hoyo Calduch. Editorial: Amics de Ravensbrück, Barcelona. * 2017 – ''Els catalans als camps nazis''.

Montserrat Roig Montserrat Roig i Fransitorra (; Barcelona, 13 June 1946 – 10 November 1991) was a Catalan writer of novels, short stories and articles.

. Grupo Planeta. ISBN 9788499426327.

References

External links

Base de datos con 8700 españoles deportados a los campos nazis
Spanish Archives Portal (PARES) of the Ministry of Culture of Spain {{DEFAULTSORT:Canovas, Braulia 1920 births 1993 deaths Nazi concentration camp survivors Spanish republicans Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Legion of Honour Murcian military personnel Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Female resistance members of World War II Spanish women