Observing Memories Issue 8 December 2024 | Page 79

gendered distribution of tasks within the Resistance , while underlining the importance of all the activities that enabled the structural functioning . That is why “ we were not only auxiliaries , we were active fighters ”, but “ As women , we were generally used as liaison officers of the vast information network , crossing mountains and borders , meeting points , supplies , solidarity with prisoners and in prisons , where we were in charge of emergency care ”.
But , as mentioned above , these resistance activities had to be balanced with the concerns and challenges of everyday life . Several women carried out espionage or sabotage work in their workplaces for the occupying forces , while others disguised their courier or liaison activities with prams or baskets containing handicrafts and other items . For example , Soledad Alcón , Celia Llaneza or Rosa Laviña carried out espionage or sabotage work at their workplaces for the occupation forces . Others disguised their actions as messengers or liaison officers with prams or baskets containing handicrafts and sewing tools , such as Anita Díaz , as well as by cycling , such as Teresa Gebelli . Regina Arrieta , who had to leave her son with her sister to devote herself entirely to the Resistance , was worried : “ I had to work , to raise my son , to be part of the Resistance ”. Her account , one of the most vindictive in the collection of testimonies collected by Neus Català , ended as follows : “ At the end of the day , we are auxiliaries . For them , honours ; for us , oblivion ”.
The anti-fascist struggle of these women did not stop there . The duty of memory of those who had lived through the horrors of the war - including deportation - led them to continue on the front line of transmitting it to the new generations . Conchita Grangé , who came from an emigrant family in France , had joined the Resistance at the age of 17 and was deported to Ravensbrück in 1944 . On her return , she became involved in the Resistance and Deportation memorial movements in the city of Toulouse . Regina Arrieta , Nieves Castro and Neus Català combined their political militancy in the anti-Franco movement in France with the work of transmission and , in the case of the latter , the collection of testimonies .
4 . Conchita Grangé . Prison Saint Michel | Picture by Rocío Negrete . Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International . overview
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