Finca El Poblet

For the  10 days prior  to 6th March 1939, this country house, hidden in a pine grove near Elda in the Alicante  province  of Spain  was the  final seat of the Government of the 2nd Republic,  which had been elected in 1936. However, the new government was almost immediately  challenged by a military  coup led by General  Francisco  Franco, who had help from Hitler to fly in Colonial troops and members of the Spanish Legión from Africa. With the help of Italy and Germany and under an arms embargo from Britain, France  and other countries (via the so-called "Non-Intervention Committee") the days of the 2nd Republic were limited. They did, however, hold out through two and a half years of brutal fighting. In the way of civil wars, families became split, as members chose sides either because  of their principles or of a desire  to be on the side they thought  would win.

During  the war, poor treatment  of captured combatants  was the rule rather than the exception (to be fair, atrocities  were committed  by both sides) and, at the end, the only hope for many republicans was to hold out long enough to force Franco to agree to reasonable surrender terms that precluded reprisals. In the end this never came and post-war reprisals and repression are well documented.

Whilst the government  was ensconced in this finca, an internal military coup  by troops led by Colonel Segismundo Casado  and backed by many exhausted members of both the army and the navy. This followed  two previous hammer blows,  the shameful  recognition  of the Nationalists as the legitimate government of Spain by both Britain and France and the resignation of President Azaña, who was in exile in France. This left Prime Minister Negrin and the members of his cabinet at risk of capture by Casado's mutineering troops for eventual handover to the Franco side  (possibly  as a bargaining  chip), to face inevitable execution  and likely, prior to that, torture.

They escaped to France by flying from the nearby El Fondó aerodrome  at 3pm on 6th March 1939, effectively  bringing the 2nd Republic  to an end.

Until Franco died in 1975, few people in Spain would openly talk about Finca El Poblet for fear of arrest and reprisals  but, since the re-establishment of a democracy in Spain, it has become something of a place of pilgrimage for left-leaning people, both Spanish and overseas.

Finca El Poblet was named as an official  cultural asset in 2019 but when the owner died at the age of 103, the family  appealed the designation (and the status is now unclear). There has been talk of turning the finca into a museum but these talks have been ongoing for some time. In May 2024 no access was permitted  beyond the boundary and it was clear that building works were underway (but seemingly with little urgency). Although  not perfect, one can get a reasonable view of two sides of the property. Amazingly there is not even a single information  board or even a sign to identify the name of the place.