Conrado Miret. Missing. Spanish Civil War, French Resistance and mystery.

Hi all:

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll remember that I’ve posted on a few occasions about my mother’s uncles, Josep and Conrado Miret, and the research that one of my cousins, Juan Molet, is pursuing trying to find all the information possible about their fates and stories.

Both brothers were involved in politics (PSUC, Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya) in Catalonia (Barcelona) and Josep was in the government of the Generalitat at the time of the Spanish Civil War. When this was lost to Franco’s troops both brothers exiled to France where they continued their political task and got involved in the French resistance, reorganising the party abroad.

Josep was captured, sent to Mathausen and died in Florindorf.

Members of the French resistance group Maquis in La Tresorerie, 14 September 1944, Boulogne (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Conrado’s (the one on the right) fate is a bit more mysterious. With his brother he got involved in the French Resistance against the Nazis, and it seems that he had a role protecting some important members of the militia and also intimidating the traitors. (I know he was a rugby player, so I suspect he must have been quite a strong man). He was in charge of the OS-MOI (armed groups of various nationalities fighting with French resistance). Amongst other actions they were involved in destroying two German military convoys, setting fire to a German garage, and attacking the factory SOGA with Molotov cocktails.

He was arrested in February 1942 during a fight and he disappeared without a trace. He was not present at the trial of all his colleagues, and it is suspected that he died tortured at the hands of the Gestapo. My cousin received a letter from the French Ministry of Defence where they could only confirm that he had been arrested and imprisoned in Fresnes ‘for terrorist activity’ on the 27th February 1942. The prison had not death certificate or other documentation about him.

Thanks so much for reading and if you have any information or know of somebody who studies the field and might have access to sources we’d be very grateful.

Related articles

• Family Stories: Josep and Conrado Miret. Spanish Civil War, French Resistance, Mauthausen Concentration Camp (olganm.wordpress.com)