Bearing Witness: Carlota O'Neill's Una mujer en la Guerra de España

Abstract

Carlota O'Neill's memoir Una mujer en la Guerra de España charts her experiences of the early days of the conflict and her time in prison, and is a valuable narrative both for its eye-witness account of the confusion of the early days of the Nationalist uprising and for its description of the conditions and treatment of women in prison. Carlota's testimony offers a critical alternative to the official version of events, and highlights the voices of other forgotten women, whose stories were not part of official history. Written from exile, it also captures the author's anger at the brutality of the Nationalists and their supporters, the lack of intervention from Western democracies and the injustice of her trial. Her narrative constitutes a denunciation, an appeal to conscience, and a refusal to be silenced. It represents a continued struggle against the regime and its legacy. Although it is a very personal story, it is one that is rooted in the history of the Civil War, its aftermath and its legacy, and it is a valuable addition to a collective memory that is constantly being revised and re-negotiated in order to reach a more complete understanding of Spain's recent traumatic past.