Lluís Companys, dalc'homp soñj. In La Baule a Britto-Catalan homage to a great resistant
Beside the sprays of flowers of the Generalitat of Catalogne, of the Comissió of Dignitat and that of the City of La Baule / Ar Baol, the spray of the Cultural Institute of Brittany / Skol Uhel Ar Vro carried the inscription Dalc'homp soñj: “Let us remember”, as a tribute to the Catalan president Lluís Companys, who was loosely assassinated by the Spanish pro-Franco State on October 15th, 1940 in Barcelona. On August 13th, 2010, our Catalan friends' faces were serious but in their eyes shone the pride to belong to a nation which resisted fascistic cruelty, with the image of Lluís Companys who had been a model of dignity and courage vis-a-vis its torturers.
.
Before the official ceremony, chaired by the vice-president of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the mayor of La Baule / Ar Baol, the Catalan delegation had a very cordial conversation with the Bretons who were present, in front of the villa “Ker Imor Vad” where Lluís Companys was arrested by the gestapo. The owner of the president of the Generalitat's last residence very nicely proposed a visit of the ground floor where Companys lived with his wife and nephew. The Catalan television took advantage of it to film some images of the places which had not been modified since the 1930's. A former Spanish republican was also present had travelled from Paris with his daughter to be with his Catalan brothers. Mr Serrano, from Tolède, was 17 years old in 1936 when he took up arms against the pro-Francos. He had written on a cardboard, in Catalan and Spanish: “Cancellation of the judgment against Companys”.
.
At the point of revealing the plate in honor of Lluís Companys, two musicians from the Bagad Ar Poulligwenn played a Breton lament : “Boked Eured” (The Bride's bouquet) to greet the memory of the president of Generalitat. In their speeches, the vice-president of Generalitat, Josep-Shine Carod-Rovira, and the mayor of La Baule / Ar Baol, Yves Métaireau, insisted on the fact that Lluís Companys defended democracy and freedom with determination.
.
In the afternoon, the members of the CREDIB and ICB took their Catalan hosts to the “Villa Caroline” where Lluís Companys was imprisoned by the nazis during 8 days. If it is now a hotel since the 1950's, in 1940 it was the Kommandantur.
The day was rich in exchanges between Catalans and Bretons. The project of the CREDIB and the ICB to organize, in 2012 in La Baule / Ar Baol, a conference about the personality of Lluís Companys seems to be shaping well, all the more so since both the Generalitat of Catalonia and the City of La Baule / Ar Baol expressed their support for this Britto-Catalan cultural event.
.
Ar Baol / La Baule was the first of a series of demonstrations organized until October to pay homage to Lluís Companys. On September 18th, the next homage will take place in Puerta del Sol, at the former General delegation of Safety buildings (1) where Lluís Companys was tortured during 5 weeks. At the moment, the politicians in Madrid do not seem to overflow with enthusiasm for greeting the memory of this great Catalan, who resisted to totalitarian cruelty. Considering this attitude, Toni Strubell of the Comissió of Dignitat, declared to the press: « It is important to let known these facts, as execrable as torture and death of a democratically elected president ».
.
(voir le site) where our Catalan friends of the Commission of Dignity have magnificiently reported the Breton commemoration.
.
Hubert Chémereau, president of CREDIB, Study and Research Center of Breton Identity. Saint-Nazaire / Sant- Nazer. Translation Maryvonne Cadiou.
.
1 – All these buildings belong to the Madrid Autonomous Community - governed by a conservative right which still cannot clearly condemn francoism.
(voir le site) of Credib for the article, dated August 17th, 2010.
■