The Spanish communist joined the resistance against the German occupation during his exile in France. From 1943 to 1945 he was interned in Buchenwald concentration camp. After the war he became a writer, fought Franco´s dictatorship, and became the Culture Minister of Spain in 1988.

• Born 1923 in Madrid into a pro-Republican noble family with many children
• 1932: Death of his mother. He learns German from his German nanny.
• 1939: Fall of the Spanish Republic and Franco’s takeover; during this time his family was living in the Netherlands (his father was a diplomat)
• Exile in Paris, enrolled to study philosophy
• 1941: Joins the French resistance
• September 1943: Arrested by the Gestapo and deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp
• With his knowledge of languages he is assigned to work in the camp administration; meets Spanish Civil War fighters
• After the liberation in 1945, he returns to Paris
• 1953-1963: Lives in Franco’s Spain under a false name and works for the outlawed Communist Party
• 1965: Expelled from the Communist Party
• 1988-1991: Culture Minister of Spain
• died June 7, 2011

Interview Data:

• Interview za414 »
• Audio interview in Spanish
• Recorded in Paris on December 15th, 2005 by Mercedes Vilanova
• Interview duration: ca. 1 hour
• Transcript by Lluis Ubeda
• Subset: "Spain – AHFO Barcelona"

Reference: Jorge Semprún, What a Beautiful Sunday!, Paris, 1980, (English edition, 1982)