First Vice-President of the Government pays tribute to the last Spanish survivor of Mauthausen, "You are an admirable example for the Spanish people"

During the emotional tribute, held at the local council offices in Aÿ-Champagne, a French town where Juan Romero, 101 years old, lives, the First Vice-President of the Government praised the life of the last Spanish survivor of Mauthausen. "Juan, you have been brave enough to find your place in the world", said the First Vice-President of the Government; "this acknowledgement by the government is on behalf of all Spanish democrats that feel honoured that you are one of the finest", she added.

The First Vice-President of the Government thanked Juan Romero "for fighting fascism, for fighting for liberty and in defence of democracy" and conveyed to him that Spanish democracy will always "be in debt" to the men and women who, like him, left our country to defend constitutional order.

"To those who paid with their lives, time ran out, to survivors like Juan, their place, their country - Spain - became lost to them. That is why we must maintain their memory, because democratic memory allows a society not to lose its way", remarked the First Vice-President of the Government.

Carmen Calvo said that it is necessary "to recover the dignity of memory and the justice of gratitude for those who traced out the destiny of what we now represent as a country, in the person of Juan Romero here today, and also the rest of the Spanish exiles and deportees".

In this regard, she stressed "that Spanish democracy owes an historic debt to those exiled that it will settle through the future Historical Memory Act", because "at this time of change and complexity, we must not lose the course that they traced out in defence of values", she added.

The First Vice-President of the Government wished to thank the town of Aÿ-Champagne and its mayor, Dominique Leveque, "for allowing us to come here to rightly acknowledge the exemplary nature of a life such as that of Juan Romero". She also expressed her gratitude to the associations "that maintain the memory of our country alive" and to their families who, "through their efforts, have kept their memory alive through resistance, which has meant that we all live in a democracy today".

Carmen Calvo concluded her speech by addressing Juan Romero, "Thank you Juan for your life, which has not been in vain".

Juan Romero Romero

Juan Romero Romero, (Torrecampo, Cordoba, 1919). He was a member of the Army loyal to the 2nd Republic, and fought on the fronts in Sierra de Guadarrama, Brunete, Guadalajara, Teruel, and in the Battle of Ebro, where he was wounded. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, he was exiled to France and signed up to the Foreign Legion in April 1939 where he took part in the fight against the German occupation. He was subsequently taken prisoner, transferred to Stalag III-A and then deported to Mauthausen concentration camp. Despite suffering all sorts of hardships, he managed to survive until the end of World War Two, and then remained in exile in France.

In 2016, he was decorated with the French Legion of Honour. He is presently 101 years old.

The declaration of personal redress and recognition, handed over to the Government of Spain, accredits that he suffered the consequences of the Civil War and the dictatorship, suffering persecution and exile at the end of the Spanish Civil War on ideological and political grounds.

Non official translation