One of the iconic images of the Retirada, this photo shows refugees crossing into France. The man on the left is named Garcia. He holds the hand of his daughter, whose leg was amputated. She seems to symbolize the difficulty and suffering of the war from which the defeated Republicans fled. In the background, Garcia’s two sons, the younger leaning on a crutch, walk with Thomas Coll, a resident of Prats-de-Mollo and veteran of World War One. There is a larger-than-life statue of these figures in the town of La Vajo in Catalonia, as a memorial to the Spanish exiles.
(Marin, Exil 95)
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