Klara’s “Red Christmas” in Madrid, 1936
By the end of December, 1936, Franco’s inroads into the capital had been mostly resisted by the Madrileños, and the efforts of the duplicitous “fifth column” were no match for the valiant population. Franco did claim victory over some areas (Klara’s university!) and, never satisfied, had now resorted to aerial bombings of the civilian population, assisted by forces of Hitler and Mussolini and setting a horrendous trend in warfare. The slogan coined by Dolores Ibárruri (“la Pasionaria”), “¡No pasarán!” (“They shall not get through”) was draped over the street corners of Madrid and the first waves of the International Brigades were welcomed by the populace along the Gran Vía.
https://www.facebook.com/No-Pasaran-Bookings-1868331856732265/photos/1868336896731761
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Klara had been living now for six years in Spain, and was now accustomed to the fact that she was living among a Roman Catholic people. So it was no surprise that when the first wartime Christmas approached, the charitable distribution of baskets was announced. But this year it was the government of the Republic that issued one hundred thousand Aguinaldos del Miliciano, the militia’s basket. This year, the Aguinaldo sponsors included the Socorro Rojo Internacional, International Red Aid, and the ruling Frente Popular party. All Madrid was invited to contribute one peseta toward supplying the package. Fundraisers were held, featuring stellar speakers like Eduardo Ortega y Gasset (elder brother of the philosopher) and Margarita Nelken, representative in the Cortes (Congress). Aguinaldos were sent to the trenches, hospitals, bomb shelters and to those newly homeless bombing victims.
https://www.euskalmemoriadigitala.eus/bitstream/10357/59280/1/Socorro%20Rojo%20Internacional.pdf
In Home So Far Away, Klara receives an Aguinaldo at the Hospital Obrero and brings it home to the family on Donoso Cortés Street whose room she is renting. Contents of the Aguinaldo: turrones (seasonal almond candy), a fresh orange, tinned meat, and a cigar. And accompanying the food was this note, in several languages: “What you are receiving is not a Christmas dinner—we have no reason to celebrate a Catholic holiday—but rather a token of our desire for the union of all who struggle against fascism.”
