Dolors Martí Domènech (1901–1970) was the only woman to have a public career and to hold a position of political responsibility with the Catalan Republican government in

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

, Spain in the 1930s. She died in exile in France in 1970.

Early life and education

Dolors Martí Domènech was born in Tivissa in the Province de Tarragona,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1901, the daughter of Juliana Domènech Tost and Jaume Martí Jardí, a farmer. She was the youngest of ten siblings, six of whom died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

in childhood. Her father was a member of the Tivissa Republican Committee, led by Marcelino Domingo, a politician from

Tortosa Tortosa (, ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hi ...

. Dolors' father was a great influence on her, and by the age of 13 she was accompanying him to political meetings. She showed an early talent for writing poetry (in both Catalan and Spanish) as well as political speeches and proclamations. At the age of twenty, shortly after her father's death, she began working in a blinds factory near Tivissa, and later moved to

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 ...

. She married teacher Adrià Broseta Merecenciano, of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, and they moved around for his job, living in

Cornellà de Llobregat Cornellà de Llobregat (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat River. It is in the south-western part of ...

, Vila-seca,

Salomó Salomó () is a municipality in the shire of Tarragonès, Catalonia, Spain. Well known for the "Ball del Sant Crist de Salomó" of Salomó, a medieval play declared a "National Traditional Festival of Interest" by the Government of Catalonia. ...

, Renau and Tarragone). The couple had two children, Ferran and Maria Lluïsa Broseta Martí.

The Second Spanish Republic

The proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic 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 Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

took place while the Broseta Martí family was living in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

. Shortly afterwards, they moved to Vila-seca, where Dolors Martí Domènech joined the

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 ...

, successfully taking part as a speaker in the 1933 general election. When her husband was transferred to

, Dolors Martí Domènech set up the Women's Group of the

''(Agrupació Femenina del Partit Socialista Obrer Espanyol'', PSOE) and developed significant trade union activity within the

Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse i ...

(General Workers Union, UGT), which led to conflict and confrontations with the locals. Shortly after the events of 6 October 1934, her husband was transferred to Renau, Tarragona, a village with a population of 82 people, and advised Martí Domènech to stay away from political conflicts and to go to

to train as a

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

instead. Martí Domènech began the preparatory courses for this training, but didn't continue with it as she wanted to fulfil her responsibilities as a mother and wife alongside her political interests. The parliamentary elections of 16 February 1936 resulted in a victory for the left-wing parties and the Spanish Popular Front, which led her to redouble her political passions.

The Spanish Civil War

The

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

broke out in mid July 1936 by which time Martí Domènech had rejoined her husband. In Renau, she intervened when a Republican militia arrived to clear the village of suspected Nationalist faction supporters. Due to her intervention, no one was killed and the church was not burnt down, which did happen elsewhere. On 15 August 1936, her husband decided to take their family to Llíria in

Province of Valencia Valencia ( , ), officially València (), is a provinces of Spain, province of Spain, in the central part of the autonomous Valencian Community. Of the province's 2.7 million people (2024), almost one-third live in the capital, Valencia, whic ...

, but at the end of September, Martí Domènech returned to Tarragona with her children, as she wanted to be more than a spectator to political events. She contacted David Valle Peña and Josep Catalán, leaders of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) and the General Workers Union (UGT), who recruited her as a speaker in the campaigns for the Republic. Her husband soon returned to teach in Tarragona. During the

May Days The May Days (, ), sometimes also called May Events (, ), were a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republican side of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in str ...

protests in 1937, Martí Domènech was secretary of the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC). She protested against the shootings which took place on the La Rambla street in Barcelona, and helped to look after the wounded at the General Workers Union headquarters. On 4 November 1937, Dolors Martí Domènech was nominated as a Delegate to the government's Departament d'Economia de la Regió III de Tarragona, which covered the areas of Alt Camp, Alt Penedès, Baix Penedès, Garraf et Tarragonès, with a population of almost 175,000 inhabitants. During the months she held this post, she had to deal with major problems arising from the bombings of towns and cities which were a regular occurrence during the Spanish Civil War. She grappled with the supply problems caused by the scarcity of raw materials and the destruction of factories due to the bombings. Part of her role involved helping to organise the supply chains within the collectivisation implemented by the Republicans in the early months of the Civil War.

Exile

Two days before the occupation of

by Franco's Nationalist faction army, the Broseta-Martí family went into exile. As soon as they arrived in France, her husband was taken to Argelès-sur-Mer and then to the Bram

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, and Dolors Martí Domènech and her children were transferred to Méry-sur-Seine. They would not see each other again for a year. Once reunited the family managed to get to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, with the aim of embarking for

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, but the planned boat never arrived. They stayed in Bordeaux, where her husband found work at the Mérignac submarine base. During the German occupation of France, Dolors Martí Domènech managed to maintain contact with her Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia comrades. The

French police Law enforcement in France is centralized at the national level. Recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers which are called the ''Municipal Police (France), police municipale''. There are two nation ...

arrested her for taking in a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

who had escaped from a police station.

Post War

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 ...

, she hoped to return to

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

to play a political role in her native country, mistakenly believing that Franco's regime would not be supported by the

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policeme ...

. However, her support of Spanish Communist politician, journalist and writer Joan Comorera, led to accusations of deviationism. She was disqualified from holding party office and finally expelled from the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia on 27 October 1946. She returned to Spain only once, in 1968, on a trip to

to say goodbye to her dying sister. Dolors Martí Domènech lived in Bordeaux until her death in 1970 at the age of 69.

Commemoration

The Historical Memory Law of 2007 finally granted officia recognition to the victims of the Francoist Spanish dictatorship. Years later, Tarragona City Council, committed to remembrance and gender equality, decided to name one of the city's streets after Dolors Martí Domènech and to consider the names of other emblematic women in the future.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martí Domènech, Dolors 1901 births 1970 deaths People from Bordeaux Women in the Spanish Civil War Catalan Anti-Francoists Spanish republicans Spanish feminists Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Government occupations Spanish refugees Spanish women in politics Spanish politicians 20th-century Spanish politicians People from Tarragona