Josefina Guerendiain Caro

Pamplona, 19th September 1918 - Pamplona, 4th June 2011

Josefina was a socialist militant woman who when she was only 16 years old she joined UGT (a socialist trade union). She wrote a book called “Nacida en Navarrería” (Born in Navarrería) in 1996. In that book she explained how from a very young age she used to go to Casa del Pueblo (local branch office of PSOE) and there she was taught to read and write. Also, Josefina helped dubbing the newspaper that was published there, that reason was the cause for which she had relationship with some important orators of those times, like Julia Alvarez, Ricardo Zabalza or Tiburcio Osácar.

She always tried to help socialist prisoners and sick workers and their families by collecting money together with other members of Casa del Pueblo. In her book, Josefina explained that people around her were really solidary and even though some people judged her for what they were doing she didn’t care at all. 

After the Asturian miners' major strike of 1934, many of the supporters of the uprising were imprisoned by the republican conservative government in Ezkaba. Josefina, together with other members of Casa del Pueblo of Pamplona , collected money and started visiting the prisoners every time they had a chance. Although she was only sixteen years old, she helped the prisoners by giving them tobacco and food. Josefina and other women went three days a week to give the prisoners clean clothes, tobacco and food.

On 25th July of 1936, Josefina was arrested after a complaint to the requetés (carlist militia) and they accused her of being the girlfriend of the responsible of the “Casa del Pueblo”, Clemente Ruiz. She was only 17 years old when they arrested her. The same day that they incarcerated her, they sent some requetés after her. The requetés didn’t know that she was prisoned, but, after realizing that she wasn’t there they took her sister and for being a woman they shaved her hair as a punishment and humilitation. They sent Josefina to prison and she spent 7 monthsthere. She was one of the youngest recluses. Inside that place, she shared a cell with María Camino Oscoz who was a republican school teacher. When she was there, they humiliated them by calling them reds, they killed many women such as Guerendiain’s cellmate.

Josefina Guerendiain always helped people and she didn’t care about other people’s opinion. She lived awful things that no one should even see but she continued with a smile on her face. She was not the only one who suffered the consequences of the war and many people that surrounded her died because of their political ideas and for helping people as she did.

SOURCES:

Kowasch Velasco, A.: “Tejiendo redes / Sareak Ehotzen. Mujeres solidarias con los presos del Fuerte de San Cristóbal (1934-1945) / San Kristobal Fuerteko presoekin elkartasuna izan zuten emakumeak (1934-1945)” .  Publicaciones Gobierno de Navarra. Navarra 2017.