This story - that of the government-in-exile of Lehendakari Jose Antonio Agirre and the multitudes of other Basques who were forced by war and oppression to flee their homeland - has not been written in English before and is rather unknown to the Basque, Spanish, and French historiography. Drawing on primary sources; archival documentation; and interviews with many Basque political exiles, resistance members, and former prisoners of labor camps Professor Xabier Irujo tells a gripping story of the Basque autonomous government, conceived during the beginnings of a bloody civil war, forced to organize a mass exile and then overtaken by necessity to feed and clothe its exiled population. Following this initial period, the exiled Basques were then confronted by World War and forced again into flight, this time mainly to the Americas. Never giving up their opposition to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, the government continued its struggle during forty long years of existence, through wars hot and cold as well as countless political developments. While tracing the history of Lehendakari Agirre, this book is more the story of all of the Basques who were forced into exile, and it serves as a testimony to their unwavering determination to return to their homeland. In addition, the book contains an extensive biographical index of many of the heretofore unknown exile activists: writers, politicians, soldiers, intellectuals, but even more so, Basque patriots.
