Bunuel_Luis_My_Last_Breath

The Civil War (1936-1939)lution we'd felt gathering force for so many years, and which Ipersonally had so ardently desired, was now going on before my eyes.All I felt was shock.Two weeks later, Elie Faure, the famous art historian and anardent supporter of the Republican cause, came to Madrid for a fewdays. I went to visit him one morning at his hotel and can still seehim standing at his window in his long underwear, watching thedemonstrations in the street below and weeping at the sight of thepeople in arms. One day, we watched a hundred peasants marchingby, four abreast, some armed with hunting rifles and revolvers, somewith sickles and pitchforks. In an obvious effort at discipline, theywere trying very hard to march in step. Faure and I both wept.It seemed as if nothing could defeat such a deep-seated popularforce, but the joy and enthusiasm that colored those early days soongave way to arguments, disorganization, and uncertainty~all ofwhich lasted until November 1936, when an efficient and disciplinedRepublican organization began to emerge. I make no claims to writinga serious account of the deep gash that ripped through my countryin 1936. I'm not a historian, and I'm certainly not impartial. I canonly try to describe what I saw and what I remember. At the sametime, I do see those first months in Madrid very clearly. Theoretically,the city was still in the hands of the Republicans, but Francohad already reached Toledo, after occupying other cities like Salamancaand Burgos. Inside Madrid, there was constant sniping byFascist sympathizers. The priests and the rich landowners-in otherwords, those with conservative leanings, whom we assumed wouldsupport the Falange~were in constant danger of being executed bythe Republicans. The moment the fighting began, the anarchistsliberated all political prisoners and immediately incorporated theminto the ranks of the Confederacion Nacional de Trabajo, which wasunder the direct control of the anarchist federation. Certain membersof this federation were such extremists that the mere presence of areligious icon in someone's room led automatically to Casa Campo,the public park on the outskirts of the city where the executions took