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Farewell letter from Lluís Companys i Jover to his wife Carme Ballester, the eve of the War Council (13/10/1940)

Date
1940
Archive
National Archive of Catalonia
Document type
Textual
Reference code
ANC1-651-T-43
Link to the online document
Description

This document is a striking testimony of Franco’s repression. Written the night before he was shot, Lluís Companys, president of the Generalitat, says goodbye to his wife with a dignity that transcends personal pain. He is the only European president executed by fascism, which makes this letter a symbol of the fight for freedom and democracy. As a textual and institutional document, it reflects the brutality of the regime and the resistance of republican values. It is part of the Barcelona Vegueria and is part of the theme of politics and governance, showing how Catalonia lived and suffered the great ideological conflicts of the 20th century in Europe.