Federico Borrell García
Federico Borrell García (born January 3, 1912 in Benilloba , † September 5, 1936 at Cerro de la Coja near Cerro Muriano ) was a Spanish anarchist and Republican soldier during the Spanish Civil War .
Live and act
Federico Borrell García was born in Benilloba in the province of Alicante and was a mill worker in Alcoy . There he founded the local branch of the anarchist Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Libertarias (FIJL). He joined the local militia Columna Alcoyana to fight against the nationalist- Falangist forces of Francisco Franco .
On the morning of September 5, 1936, Borrell was one of 50 militiamen who were to strengthen the front line against the troops of General José Enrique Varela at Cerro Muriano . In the afternoon, Borrell was defending an artillery battery in the leg when it was taken under fire from the front and rear by infiltrating enemy troops. Borrell was fatally wounded on La Loma de las Malagueñas hill at around 5 p.m.
Robert Capa's photograph Loyalist soldier at the moment of his death
Borrell may be depicted in Robert Capa's famous photograph, Loyalist (i.e., Republican ) Soldier at the moment of his death .
The picture was first published on September 23, 1936, along with similar photos, in the French magazine Vu . The day after, Regards magazine also published footage from this series. The American magazine Life published the photo on July 12, 1937 (although not as often claimed on the front page).
In 1995, the Spanish civil war veteran Mario Brotóns Jordá published the book Retazos de una época de inquietudes . Due to the special cartridge pouch, he was able to identify the man as a member of an Alcoy militia unit. A lengthy search in the Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española ( General Archive of the Spanish Civil War ) in Salamanca revealed only one fallen Columna on September 5, the day Robert Capa had given as the date of his picture Alcoyana in the fights at Cerro Muriano, namely Federico Borrell.
Borell's younger brother Everisto confirmed to Brotóns Jordá that the man in the photos was his brother. However, the investigations of Brotón Jordá were questioned, especially with regard to the identification in the Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española. Borrell's body and grave were never identified in the Cerro Muriano area.
literature
- Phillip Knightley : The First Casualty: From the Crimea to Vietnam; The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth Maker . New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1975.
- Mario Brotóns Jordá: Retazos de una época de inquietudes . Alcoy: self-published 1995.
- Robert Capa: Heart of Spain. Robert Capa's Photographs of the Spanish Civil War , Aperture 1999.
Web links
- Scan the photo
- Welt online, July 21, 2009
- Daily Mail, July 21, 2009 Shows that the photo was taken in Espejo.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Borrell García, Federico |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Spanish mill worker and militiaman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 3, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Benilloba |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 5, 1936 |
| Place of death | at Cerro Muriano |