About this episode

Felisa Umbon San Vicente recounts her childhood experiences growing up in Franco's Spain during the Civil War.

During the Spanish Civil War, the fascist dictator Francisco Franco rose to power. Around half a million people fled the fighting, but some chose to return even as the conflict continued. One of them was eight-year-old Felisa Umbon San Vicente. In 1937, her mother brought the family back from France to their village near Bilbao, in Spain’s northern Basque Country, close to the French border. Felisa tells Ivana Davidovic about starting school and growing up during the war, as her region fell to Franco’s forces. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev…

People in this episode

Host: Ivana Davidovic

Guest: Felisa Umbon San Vicente

Topics covered

• Spanish Civil War
• personal history
• childhood experiences
• dictatorship
• Basque Country
• war impact

Keywords

• Franco
• Spanish Civil War
• childhood
• Basque Country
• Ivana Davidovic
• Felisa Umbon San Vicente
• war experiences
• dictatorship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC World Service

Places: Spain, France, Bilbao, Basque Country

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