BARCELONA ATROCITIES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19884, 10 March 1939, Page 2

BARCELONA ATROCITIES

ACCOUNT BY SPANIARD EARLY. DAYS OF WAR VERSION CHALLENGED An eye-witness account of happenings in Barcelona under the Republican Spanish regime, given by Senor J. S. Machado, a Spaniard now working as a steward in the liner Rangitiki, was followed with keen interest by the audience in St. Francis Hall, Wellington, on Wednesday night. One person in particular disagreed sharply with the views of the speaker and a number of sharp exchanges occurred. The chairman, Mr. M. Ryan, said that there was no organisation behind the meeting. The collection taken during the evening would be devoted to providing a gymnasium for the Apostleship of the Sea mission in Vivian street. Senor Machado spent three months in Barcelona at the outbreak of the civil war. "I saw arson, crime, murder and quite a number of atrocities,” he said. "1 saw churches burned, a convent sacked and two priests murdered. I had an insight into courts martial and witnessed the hunger and discontent of the people.” Two Priests Murdered

One of the priests, he said, a man over 70 who had never done any harm to anybody, was stoned to death in one of the main streets. The other priest, merely because he did not wish to wear civilian garb, had been clubbed to death.

“I also witnessed the sacking and burning of a convent, out of the vaults of which the bodies of some 30 nuns were dragged and burned in the street,” Sanor Machado said. “The militia stood by in evident amusement. The prisons were choked full, and anyone who had a grudge against a neighbour only had to go out and shoot him and give the excuse that the victim was a nationalist to escape punishment.” The speaker said that he had witnessed as many as 14 ships flying the Russian flag in the port of Barcelona in one day. They were bringing food and munitions. Republican recruiting posters stated that Russia and other foreign volunteers in Catalonia numbered 80,000. There had been considerable intervention. Italy had sent troops and war materials to the Nationalists, and Germany had supplied munitions and technicians.

“General Franco has also been accused of having the Moors in Spain," Senor Machado said. “What of it? The Moors are Spaniards. They come from Spanish Morocco.” “Democratic People” When- question time came, « member of the audience rose and challenged the speaker's statements, adding: “1 have been in Barcelona a good many times, and the good democratic people of Barcelona would not tolerate people like that. Ho belongs to some Fascist organisation ”

The chairman: Will you put a question?

At this stage a policeman spoke to the interjcctor, who continued; “1 am surprised at the police coming to this meeting. They do not do that in Great Britain. As a Catholic 1 am surprised to see the Church allowing the platform to be used for political propaganda.” The interjcctor was requested by the chairman to resume his scut, and did so. Subsequently he took a fur' ther part in the proceedings, and was again spoken to by a constable.