martin de arrezubieta's two lives
The history of humanity is full of special, peculiar personalities. Few of the people baptised at Santa Marina de Aguas Santas Church, in Cordoba, know about the interesting life of the man who was priest there between 1953 and 1988. I
Martin de Arrezubieta was born at Mundaka in 1909. He studied at a seminary and then went to Germany to complete his studies in theology and philosophy. This Jesuit fought in the Basque Army during the Spanish Civil War. During his exile in France, according to his own writing, he was sent to various concentration camps during the Second World War. After the War, he returned to Spain and was condemned to death. The sentence was commuted and he was sent to Cordoba, exiled once again. He arrived there in 1947. During the 50's and 60's he was involved with anti-Franco organizations. During the 70's he joined the Basque nationalist movement and returned to the Basque Country in 1983. But he did find his place in the political landscape and returned to Cordoba. That is summary of the autobiography that Martin de Arrezubieta left.
II
Recently, however, professor Nuñez Seixas has published a study which gives a new, very different version of events. According to this professor at the university of Santiago de Compostela, Arrezubieta was the editor and manager of the Nazi propaganda magazine Enlace, published in Spanish during the last years of Nazi power (1944-45). In the magazine, which was published in Berlin, Arrezubieta asked the Nazi government to invade Spain, remove Franco from power and impose a German-type regime in a free Basque Country. When the Third Reich was toppled, he fled to Rome. He went to the Vatican to try to obtain a permit to emigrate to Mexico, but he did not manage to get it and returned to Spain instead. It seems he was a person with a strong temperament and personality. He considered himself completely Basque. And he never denied that he felt exiled in Andalusia. Even so, he was a good friend to the people of Andalusia and his sermons about political and social subjects were famous.
Martin de Arrezubieta was born at Mundaka in 1909. He studied at a seminary and then went to Germany to complete his studies in theology and philosophy. This Jesuit fought in the Basque Army during the Spanish Civil War. During his exile in France, according to his own writing, he was sent to various concentration camps during the Second World War. After the War, he returned to Spain and was condemned to death. The sentence was commuted and he was sent to Cordoba, exiled once again. He arrived there in 1947. During the 50's and 60's he was involved with anti-Franco organizations. During the 70's he joined the Basque nationalist movement and returned to the Basque Country in 1983. But he did find his place in the political landscape and returned to Cordoba. That is summary of the autobiography that Martin de Arrezubieta left.
II
Recently, however, professor Nuñez Seixas has published a study which gives a new, very different version of events. According to this professor at the university of Santiago de Compostela, Arrezubieta was the editor and manager of the Nazi propaganda magazine Enlace, published in Spanish during the last years of Nazi power (1944-45). In the magazine, which was published in Berlin, Arrezubieta asked the Nazi government to invade Spain, remove Franco from power and impose a German-type regime in a free Basque Country. When the Third Reich was toppled, he fled to Rome. He went to the Vatican to try to obtain a permit to emigrate to Mexico, but he did not manage to get it and returned to Spain instead. It seems he was a person with a strong temperament and personality. He considered himself completely Basque. And he never denied that he felt exiled in Andalusia. Even so, he was a good friend to the people of Andalusia and his sermons about political and social subjects were famous.
