Jesús Larrañaga
| Jesus Larrañaga Churruca | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
17 April 1901 Urretxu, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain |
| Died | 21 January 1942 (aged 40) Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Metalworker, Trade Union leader |
| Known for | Civil War army commissioner |
Jesus Larrañaga Churruca (17 April 1901 – 21 January 1942) was a Basque communist union leader who became one of the military leaders during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). He went into exile after the fall of the Republic to the Francoist forces, but later returned to Portugal. He was arrested, handed over to the Spanish and executed by firing squad.
Jesus Larrañaga Churruca was born on 17 April 1901 in Urretxu, Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country. His father was a building contractor and his mother took in ironing. Two of his brothers were Jesuits at the seminary of Javier, near to Pamplona. He studied at the seminary for several years and was an excellent student, but was expelled for rebelling against discipline.
Larrañaga started work as a metalworker at the wagon-making factory at Beasain, Gipuzkoa, which had 2,000 workers. He joined the Juventud Nacionalista (Nationalist Youth) and the Solidaridad de Trabajadores Vascos (Basque Workers' Solidarity) trade union. He organized a strike at his factory, for which he was dismissed. He moved to San Sebastián, and in 1926 had to emigrate to France due to his hostility to the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. Larrañaga settled in Boucau, where he became acquainted with communist ideas. He returned to the Basque Country in 1927, joined the local Metallurgical Union of the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), and joined the Spanish Communist Party (Partido Comunista Español, PCE). He was placed in leadership roles in the union, and was elected to the Gipuzkoa Provincial Committee of the PCE.
Larrañaga was taken into in custody just before the mutiny of the garrison at Jaca in December 1930, and was released from prison in February 1931. When the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed he was elected secretary of the local CGT federation, and played a central role in the many strikes that took place in Gipuzkoa. In the 1932 party congress in Seville he was elected a member of the Central Committee. That year he was sent to Moscow by the party to get advice on a question of procedure. In 1933 he founded the Euskadi Roja (Red Basque Country), which he wrote, printed and sold on the streets. In 1935 Larrañaga participated in the illegal congress at which the Communist Party of Basque Country (Partido Comunista de Euzkadi) was formed. He was elected to the Central Committee and Bureau of the party. Larrañaga was one of the candidates of the Popular Front (Frente Popular) in the elections of February 1936, in which a Republican and a socialist were elected.
...
Wikipedia