Jose Luis Rasero

I am Jose Luis Rasero, 68 years old, grandson of Ramón Rasero Buitrago, who was born in Almagro (Ciudad Real) in 1890 and fought on the Republican side during the Civil War. With this text, I want to honour his memory and that of my father, Emilio Rasero Tarazona, who was born in Guadalajara on 15 December 1920 and who enlisted in 1938.

My grandfather Ramón had eight children. He was a cabinet maker who was in charge of the bodywork section of the Hispano-Suiza Factory in Guadalajara. My grandmother had a dressmaking workshop. The oldest son was going to study architecture and my father was going to study draughtsmanship when the Civil War broke out.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, my grandfather, who had been a member of the [Socialist unión fderation] UGT since 1910, along with his brothers José and Arquelao and his oldest son Enrique volunteered for the Republican army. (This photograph, which shows Ramón and Enrique, is part of my father's archives, which is in my house). He was posted to the 38th Brigade of the Perea Column as a sergeant. In August 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant and in 1937 to captain of the Quartermaster Corps of the 175th Brigade.

After the war ended, the 19 April 1939 edition of the newspaper ABC published the “arrest of people accused of murder and robbery”. My grandfather appeared for having been a “red captain”. He was 49. On 11 May 1939, following a summary trial, he was sentenced to death for supporting the rebellion, but the sentence was commuted to 30 years in prison. In February 1944 he was sentenced to death again, this time following a false denunciation. This too was commuted to 30 years in prison. He then endured great hardship in a number of prisons in Burgos and Madrid until he was granted provisional release on 19 March 1946. He died of cancer a few months later.

My uncle Enrique, who was a lieutenant and fought at the Battle of the Ebro, went into exile in France where he made a new life. My father was forced to do military service until 1945. The Civil War was a taboo subject in my family as my father suffered greatly during the penury of the postwar: his father was in prison; his mother had eight children and was not given a ration card. Also, some members of my mother’s family had been on the Nationalist side, which was common at that time, and was the reason people kept their opinions to themselves. My maternal grandfather Eustasio Morillas, a sargent in the Madrid police, was neutral during the Civil War and thought very differently from my grandfather Ramón Rasero, wisely moved his family to a village in Cuenca.

For all these reasons, I want to offer this homage to the memory of my grandfather Ramón Rasero and all his family who, renounced a good social position to fight to defend democratic ideals during a very difficult time for Spanish society.