Joe Duggan (Reporter)
HE’S the Spanish war hero known as the liberator of Paris.
But Lieutenant Amado Granell was airbrushed from history after leading the first column of liberating tanks, manned by exiled Spanish Republicans, into the French capital in 1944.
Now 72 years on, France is publishing his first biography, Amado Granell, the Liberator of Paris by historian Cyril Garcia.
“We are proud to have fought for France. We want to be dignified soldiers of France, but without renouncing our Spanish nationality,” Granell famously declared.
Despite this, his name was erased from the photograph caption on the front page of Liberacion, the French newspaper, the day after he led his soldiers into Paris.
In one famous speech, Garcia details how Granell stood on the beach at Normandy and vowed to stay in the war until he had washed his hands in the Rhine.
He was to win France’s Legion of Honour and play an important role in Spain’s transition to democracy.
“Granell is a central man in the history of contemporary Europe,” writes Garcia.
It is hard to find a Google entry about Granell, which is not written in Spanish. I detected this one from France: “http://www.24-aout-1944.org/Granell-Amado” I don’t understand why Joe Duggan reports that ‘his name was erased from the photograph caption on the front page of Liberacion’? The French article shows Granell on Page 1 of the French newspaper ‘Liberation’ dated August 25 1944. On the photo Granell is wearing a hat which he had captured from a German general.
I also don’t understand why Joe Duggan says ” In one famous speech, Garcia details how Granell stood on the beach at Normandy”. The French article reports about Granells heroic deeds but does not mention ‘Normandy’.
If feel it’s an exaggeration how Granell is treated as a hero in Spain. One should not forget that much more Spanish soldiers were fighting with the ‘Division Azul’ at the side of Hitler Germany in the battle of Stalingrad.
Strange irrational logic there Wolfgang, which says a lot about you. That’s like saying that as 95% of Austrians and Germans were very happy to destroy and mass murder people all over Europe there were no Austrians and Germans who were real heroes both in the underground and who fought with both the Soviets and western allies.
And come to that what units of the Wermacht did the men or women in your family serve in. I never hear of Austrians or Germans admitting to having family serving in SS special units or the geheimstaatspolizei/ Gestapo. Or in the units raised from ordinary German citizens – dentists/postmen/office workers who mass murdered lots of Jews in the Baltic States.
It’s no exaggeration that these Spanish and Jews who fought on the frontline faced a really nasty end at the hands of you Germans/Austrians if caught alive – you deliberately forgot to mention that did’nt you.
He and the other republican Spanish soldiers were heroes and the Fascists who fought for you Nazis should have all been executed when found.
Thanks you Joe for this article in english on my work !
Cyril Garcia
Author of “Amado Granell libérateur de Paris.
Garciacyril5@gmail.com