Transfusión sanguínea y movilización popular en la retaguardia: la Agrupació de Donadors de Sang de Catalunya (1937-1939) / Blood transfusion and popular mobilization in the rear-guard: the Agrupació de Donadors de Sang de Catalunya (1937-1939)

RESUMEN: Durante la Guerra Civil Española las autoridades de ambos bandos fomentaron la donación de sangre entr e la población civil para remitirla desde la retaguardia a los frentes de batalla. El voluntariado se estimuló por dos vías principales: por un lado, apelan-do a la solidaridad de la población con los combatientes y, por otro, ofreciendo a los donantes ciertas recompensas, además de signos distintivos de reconocimiento social y protección personal como brazaletes e insignias.Fundada en Barcelona a lo larg o del ver ano de 1937, la Agrupació de Donadors de Sang de Catalunya llegó a cont ar con cerc a de 30.000 personas inscritas dispuestas a dar su sangre para cubrir primordialmente las necesidades de los servicios quirúrgicos del Ejército de la República. Est a entidad no respondía a un modelo de organización jerárquico y centralizado, sino que estaba conformada por diver-sos colectivos radicados en Barcelona y otras ciudades catalanas. Pese a ser una organización tan numerosa, no se conservan apenas vestigios en la memoria colectiva. Est e artículo pretende analizar los orígenes y la trayectoria de la Agrupació de Donadors de Sang utilizando como fuente principal las noticias aparecidas en la prensa de Barcelona. También se ha analizado el papel de la Cruz Roja en la gestación de dicha entidad

ABSTRACT: During the Spanish Civil War, the authorities on both sides encouraged civilians to donate blood in order to refer it from the rear-guard to the fron tline. Voluntary work was motivated in two main ways: on the one hand, by appealing to the solidarity of the population with the combatants; and, on the other hand, by offering donors certain rewards, as well as distinctive symbols (bracelets and insignia) of social recognition and personal protection. Founded in Barcelona throughout summer in 1937, the Agrupació de Donadors de Sang de Catalunya(Grouping of Blood Donors of Cat alonia) had nearly 30,000 people registered who wer e disposed to donate their blood to cov er primarily the necessities of the surgical services of the Spanish Republican Army. This organisation did not respond to a hierarchical and centralised organisational model, but was formed by various groups based in Barcelona and other Catalan cities. Despite being such a large organization, hardly any traces remain in the collective memory. This article aims to analyse the origins and trajectory of the Agrupació de Donadors de Sang using as the main source the news that appeared in Barcelona’s press. Moreover, the role of the Red Cross on the development of the aforesaid organisation has also been analysed

Medicine, Religion, and the Humanitarian Ethos: Walter B. Cannon, Unitarianism, and the Care of Spanish Republican Refugees in France.

Biographies of Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945) usually present two sides of his life: one, where he was an outstanding man of science in the United States during the so-called "Golden Age of Medicine," and the other, where he was a leading humanitarian activist engaged in myriad causes, notably in the defense of Spanish democracy during the Civil War (1936-1939). However, these biographies fail to take into account that the apparent link between these two sides of his life was his religious conviction. This study summarizes the aims and accomplishments of the American Medical Bureau to Aid the Spanish Democracy (AMBASD) of which Cannon was chair between 1937 and 1939. Then, it examines Cannon's inspirational role on the international relief work with Spanish Republican refugees in France, through the case of the Varsovie Hospital of Toulouse that between 1945 and 1949 was jointly managed by the Unitarian Service Committee (USC) and the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee (JAFRC), and renamed Varsovie Hospital/Walter B. Cannon Memorial in recognition of the Spanish Republicans' debt for his extraordinary contribution during the Spanish Civil War and beyond. Finally, the article investigates the Unitarian roots of Cannon's humanitarian ethos by exploring the historical relations of this religious movement with science and with many major actors at Harvard University as well as the links of Cannon's relatives to Unitarianism. The analysis reveals Unitarianism's influence on Cannon's views about science, democracy, and liberty, as well as on his remarkable involvement in the medical solidarity movement with the Second Spanish Republic and other similar commitments. In sum, it shows how important is to branch out in our studies of medical and scientific practice to include practitioners' broader social and religious communities in order to understand their motivations, achievements, and behavior.

The powers of masculinization in humanitarian storytelling: the case of the surgeon María Gómez Álvarez in the Varsovia Hospital (Toulouse, 1944-1950).

This contribution is focused on analysing the power of 'masculinization' through which traditional humanitarian storytelling has been shaped. Strongly marked by a patriarchal vision, humanitarian accounts have traditionally hidden the work of women while stressing that performed by men, who appeared represented as true protagonists and, even, as heroes. In particular, this article analyses the professional career of a Spanish female surgeon named María Gómez (1914-1975) between 1944 and 1950, when she worked in a small charitable hospital based in Toulouse (France) for improving the health-care conditions of Spanish Republican refugees. Known as Hospital Varsovia or as Walter B. Cannon Memorial Hospital in the United States, it was supported by several humanitarian agencies, such as the Unitarian Service Committee (USC) and the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee (JAFRC). In order to get funds, both entities filmed a propaganda documentary in 1946, Spain in Exile, which deliberately ignored Gómez's work as a surgeon in this hospital. By examining this visual record, this article attempts to reconstruct the life and the professional career of this female physician, which was at the crossroads of the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War and the ideological polarization emerging in the Cold War period.

Entre los campos y los hospitales ayuda médica humanitaria a los refugiados republicanos españoles en Francia (1939-1950) / No disponible

No disponible

Las secuelas patológicas de los campos de concentración entre los refugiados españoles en Francia retos diagnósticos y terapéuticos en el Hospital Varsovia de Toulouse (1944-1950) / No disponible

A partir de la primavera de 1945, el Hospital Varsovia de Toulouse dispensó asistencia médica a miles de refugiados republicanos españoles que permanecían exiliados en el sur de Francia. Este hospital había sido fundado en el otoño de 1944 en las afueras de Toulouse tras la invasión del Valle de Arán en el marco de la llamada Operación Reconquista de España. Revisando los numerosos casos clínicos que aparecen en las páginas de la revista Anales del Hospital Varsovia (1948-1950), se advierte que muchos pacientes presentaban enfermedades contraídas en los campos de concentración a causa de las pésimas condiciones de vida en un régimen de confinamiento. En su práctica asistencial, los médicos observaban cuadros clínicos insidiosos, de difícil diagnóstico, que tras sucesivas pruebas clínicas y de laboratorio revelaban enfermedades carenciales larvadas (debidas a la malnutrición), infecciones crónicas ocultas (tuberculosis y parasitosis intestinales) y enfermedades de transmisión sexual

No disponible

Public health, urban space and social exclusion in postwar Spain: the exanthematic typhus epidemic in the city of Valencia, 1941-1943. / Salud pública, espacio urbano y exclusión social en la España de posguerra: la epidemia de tifus exantemático en la ciudad de Valencia, 1941-1943.

After the Spanish Civil War, poor hygiene and nutritional deficiencies among a large part of Spain's population contributed to the rise of epidemic diseases. Exanthematic typhus posed a challenge to the health authorities, especially during the spring of 1941, when the epidemiological cycle of the disease and the lack of infrastructures combined to create a serious health crisis. The Franco regime, aware that this situation posed a threat to its legitimacy, promptly used social exclusion as part of its health policy against the epidemic. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the case of Valencia, a city that was behind Republican lines during the war, and therefore received successive waves of refugees as Franco's troops advanced.

Tras la Guerra Civil, las deficientes condiciones higiénico-dietéticas de gran parte de la población española favorecieron la aparición de enfermedades epidémicas. El tifus exantemático puso en jaque a las autoridades sanitarias, especialmente durante la primavera de 1941, cuando el ciclo epidemiológico de la enfermedad y la falta de infraestructuras se aliaron para provocar una grave crisis sanitaria. El régimen franquista, consciente de que esta situación dificultaba su legitimación, no dudó en utilizar la exclusión social como parte de su política sanitaria contra esta epidemia. El artículo analiza en profundidad el caso de Valencia, una ciudad que durante la guerra, por hallarse en la retaguardia republicana, había acogido sucesivas oleadas de refugiados a medida que avanzaban las tropas franquistas.

La ayuda humanitaria de los British Quakers durante la Guerra Civil española (1936-1939): el caso del Hospital Infantil de Polop de la Marina (Alicante) / Humanitarian aid from the British Quakers during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939): the case of the Children's Hospital of Polop de la Marina (Alicante)

Debido a su condición geoestratégica de retaguardia durante la Guerra Civil española, el País Valenciano se convirtió en una de las zonas republicanas que acogieron mayor número de refugiados, entre ellos muchos niños. El Estado republicano se mostró del todo incapaz de afrontar los retos derivados de esta crisis demográfica y sanitaria e hizo un llamamiento en busca de ayuda. Una de las primeras agencias humanitarias transnacionales en responder fue la Religious Society of Friends del Reino Unido, más conocidos como el Friends Service Committee o simplemente los Quakers, una comunidad religiosa disidente fundada en Inglaterra en el siglo XVII. Durante la Guerra Civil, los cuáqueros impulsaron numerosas iniciativas de carácter humanitario en los dos bandos enfrentados, habilitando colonias agrícolas, talleres, cantinas y hospitales. Este trabajo analiza en profundidad el hospital infantil que los Quakers habilitaron en Alicante en septiembre de 1937 y que posteriormente fue trasladado al municipio de Polop de la Marina. Nos centraremos en aspectos tales como la ubicación y administración del centro sanitario, el tipo de pacientes que allí se atendieron, el personal sanitario que allí trabajó, la evolución del hospital a lo largo de la guerra y su recorrido tras la victoria franquista, así como la motivación que impulsó a los voluntarios británicos a promover ese proyecto y a llevarlo a cabo. Asimismo, reconstruiremos la figura y la trayectoria de Manuel Blanc Rodríguez (1899-1971), un pediatra desconocido por la historiografía, que asumió la dirección de ese hospital británico

During the Spanish Civil War, the Valencian Country became one of the republican zones receiving greater number of refugees, due to its rearguard geostrategic condition. Among them there were many children. The Republican State was totally unable to face the challenges of this demographic and health crisis and appealed for help. The British Religious Society of Friends (also known as the Friends Service Committee or Quakers) was one of the first transnational humanitarian agencies to respond. They are a dissident religious community founded in England in the 17th century. During the Spanish Civil War, the Quakers encouraged many humanitarian initiatives on both sides in conflict, as agricultural colonies, workshops, canteens and hospitals. This paper analyzes in depth the children's hospital that the Quakers enabled in Alicante in September 1937, later transferred to the village of Polop de la Marina. We will focus on aspects such as the location and administration of the health center, the type of patients that were attended, the health personnel who worked, the evolution of the hospital throughout the war and what happened to it after the Francoist victory. We will also stress the motivation of the British volunteers to promote and carry out this project. Finally, we will reconstruct the career of Manuel Blanc Rodríguez (1899-1971), the pediatrician who assumed the management of that British hospital. His figure remains unknown by the historiographys

Salud pública, espacio urbano y exclusión social en la España de posguerra: la epidemia de tifus exantemático en la ciudad de Valencia, 1941-1943 / Public health, urban space and social exclusion in postwar Spain: the exanthematic typhus epidemic in the city of Valencia, 1941-1943

Resumen Tras la Guerra Civil, las deficientes condiciones higiénico-dietéticas de gran parte de la población española favorecieron la aparición de enfermedades epidémicas. El tifus exantemático puso en jaque a las autoridades sanitarias, especialmente durante la primavera de 1941, cuando el ciclo epidemiológico de la enfermedad y la falta de infraestructuras se aliaron para provocar una grave crisis sanitaria. El régimen franquista, consciente de que esta situación dificultaba su legitimación, no dudó en utilizar la exclusión social como parte de su política sanitaria contra esta epidemia. El artículo analiza en profundidad el caso de Valencia, una ciudad que durante la guerra, por hallarse en la retaguardia republicana, había acogido sucesivas oleadas de refugiados a medida que avanzaban las tropas franquistas.

Abstract After the Spanish Civil War, poor hygiene and nutritional deficiencies among a large part of Spain's population contributed to the rise of epidemic diseases. Exanthematic typhus posed a challenge to the health authorities, especially during the spring of 1941, when the epidemiological cycle of the disease and the lack of infrastructures combined to create a serious health crisis. The Franco regime, aware that this situation posed a threat to its legitimacy, promptly used social exclusion as part of its health policy against the epidemic. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the case of Valencia, a city that was behind Republican lines during the war, and therefore received successive waves of refugees as Franco's troops advanced.

Límites de la asistencia médica y social durante la Guerra Civil Española en una ciudad de retaguardia: la Inclusa del Hospital Provincial de Valencia / Limits in medical care and social relief during the Spanish Civil War in a rear-guard city: the Inclusa of the Provincial Hospital of Valencia

Debido a su condición geoestratégica durante la Guerra Civil Española, Valencia se convirtió en una de las ciudades republicanas que acogieron mayor número de refugiados, entre ellos muchos niños. En este escenario de crisis demográfica y sanitaria, la ciudad tuvo que reestructurar la red de asistencia con el fin de acoger miles de niños desplazados que, a menudo, tenían a sus familiares en lugares muy lejanos. El artículo analiza la readaptación progresiva que acometió la Inclusa del Hospital Provincial de Valencia. Esta sufrió profundos cambios tanto en su funcionamiento como en su demografía sanitaria, sobre todo como consecuencia del traslado a Valencia de la Inclusa de Madrid. El consiguiente hacinamiento favoreció la degradación de la asistencia sanitaria que allí se dispensaba y la propagación de enfermedades infecciosas entre los niños acogidos (AU)

Due to its geostrategic condition during the Spanish Civil War, Valencia became one of the Republican cities welcoming more refugees, including many children. In this scenario of demographic and health crisis, the town had to restructure the assistance network in order to accommodate thousands of displaced children, who often had their relatives in faraway places. The paper focuses in the progressive rehabilitation undertaken by the Inclusa of Valencia, which was the provincial foundling hospital. This included deep changes both in its operation and in the admission criteria, particularly following the transfer of the Inclusa of Madrid to Valencia. The resulting overcrowding encouraged the degradation of healthcare and the spread of infectious diseases among the welcomed children (AU)

Presencias y silencios. Biografías de médicos en el antiguo régimen / No disponible

El artículo presenta las experiencias y reflexiones suscitadas durante y después de la elaboración de una serie de biografías -tanto colectivas como individuales- de médicos cortesanos españoles en los siglos XVII y XVIII. Se trata de un proyecto de investigación desarrollado en los últimos doce años que culmina ahora, en parte, con la publicación del libro El médico en la palestra

The article presents the experiences and reflexions arisen from the elaboration of physicians´ biographies -individual as well as collective- in the Spanish Court during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth-centuries. They are part of a twelve years research project, which culminates with the publication of the book El médico en la palestra

[Consultations and "juntas" of physicians as an arena for doctrinal discussions in the Novator Movement (1687-1725)]. / Las consultas y juntas de médicos como escenarios de controversia científica y práctica médica en la época de los novatores (1687-1725).

The consultations (consultas) and meetings (juntas) of physicians represented an area of prime importance for both medical practice and doctrinal discussions. The analysis of manuscript sources -- the private correspondence of a doctor -- rarely used in this period, reveals the reality of medical practice more accurately than do doctrinal or normative texts. The difference between "consulas" and "juntas" depended on the person who took the initiative. "Consulas" arose from the practical difficulty of the physician confronted with a case which he decided to submit to the judgement of other colleagues, whose experience and prestige were greater. On the other hand the "juntas" were the initiative of the patient. In this latter case there were many different factors: institutional conflicts, professional expectations and rivalries. Nevertheless, the opinions of the patients and their circle of acquaintances were also represented. Finally, this was the arena for doctrinal discussions about the human body and disease.