The last surviving member of the International Brigades, which enlisted foreign nationals to fight against fascism for the Republicans during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War, has died at the age of 101 in France.
JOSEP ALMUDEVER MATEU, the last surviving International Brigader who fought General Francisco Franco’s forces in Spain, died today at the age of 101.
He was born to Spanish parents in Marseille but returned to Spain, where he taught adult classes and read newspapers to the illiterate in his local village in Alcazar.
Soon after the fascist coup in 1936 he enlisted to join the fight to defend the Republic. Initially deemed too young, he eventually saw combat on the Aragon front, where he was wounded.
Once recovered, he used his French passport to join the International Brigades and stayed with them until they were demobilised as the war slipped away from the Republicans.
Last survivor of Spain s International Brigades dies at 101 by Reuters
Tuesday, 25 May 2021 16:20 GMT
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MADRID, May 25 (Reuters) - The last surviving member of the International Brigades, which enlisted foreign nationals to fight against fascism for the Republicans during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War, has died at the age of 101 in France.
Born in Marseille and holding dual Spanish and French nationality, Josep Almudever Mateu joined the Republican army in 1936 at the age of 17 and fought in Teruel before getting injured.
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