Historyline 16

The Nurse and the Midwife

Today we want to tell you the story of Pilar and Sender Cabratos, wife and daughter of Joan.

Sender, was a nurse and midwife with Aragonese roots. She married Joan Cabratos in 1931, after the establishment of the Second Republic, and settled in Girona. Shortly afterward, Pilar came into the world.

After the war, the whole family went into exile. Pilar and Sender were moved from Portbou to Brittany, to Quiberon-Kerhostin and Belle-île-en-Mer, while Joan was interned in the Argelès concentration camp. In September 1939 they were reunited in Perpignan after Joan was released from the Argelès camp.

Joan Cabratosa died on 30 December 1941, shortly after being arrested by the Gestapo on 19 April 1941. His wife and daughter returned to Spain on 12 February 1943 via Irún to find Joan. After settling in Torroella de Montgrí, they learned of Joanna’s death in 1945 through the International Red Cross.

Our protagonist Pilar Cabratosa, a nurse and midwife by profession, now lives in Torroella de Montgrí and is active in various organizations and institutions in the town and region, such as the Red Cross, the Torroella City Council, the political group Unió de Progrés Municipal and the association for the recovery of historical memory El Triangle Blau de Figueres.

In 2010 Jordi Bellapart made a documentary based on the family history entitled “Pilarín, memòries d’un exili.”

From so far to so close.

* These materials are licenced under a CC BY-NC License for free access.