Basque historiography has not paid much attention to the Gurs camp. For what reason? Does this book fill that gap in any way?

There has been a huge imbalance in Basque historiography so far. There are many factors: the laws on archives and their disastrous situation; the fact that historians have focused their research on other fields... That is why we have a vital research that must be carried out for many years by a strong working group.

How can we understand the attitude of the French (and the Basques in the North) towards refugees?

France had Front Populaire governments since 1936. But relations with Spain were not good, because the French socialist Leon Blum was inclined to the behavior of Britain. It is not surprising that France turns its back on the Spanish Popular Front. Even worse, the attitude towards the “reds” in Spain was hardened. And if this happened between the leftists, think of the rightists. The deputies of the north and the majority of the inhabitants belonged to this, although they were Basque; those who crossed the border were “red” for them, that is, they were despicable. However, a minority maintained their solidarity, even in the Northern Basque Country.

Gurs’ predecessor was “Gernika Berri” in Argeles (Perpignan Beach). They were quickly organized there. Driven by what? Did personality proclamation have anything to do with this accelerated organization?

He was driven by necessity, without a doubt. Although there were political differences among them, they had to deal with the living conditions that led to the exile. The Basque Government was more accustomed to exile than the Spanish or Catalan governments and that is why they moved so quickly in the Perpignan area. In this sense, the proclamation of the Basque identity helped in the dialogues to get closer to the Basque Country.

The Basques arrived in Gurs, where they found a pseudo-prison rather than a “reception area”. But what the Jews suffered there in the years that followed has no name.

Yeah, we should differentiate between two Gurs. The worst was in 1942. Gurs joined the Nazi initiative of the “definitive solution” and the French authorities joined this genocide. They took 14,000 Gurstar to Auschwitz and Mauthausen.

In the introduction to the book, you mention the binomial knowledge-acceptance, are we still far from that binomial?

I am sure that it will be a great surprise for many people to unveil an event like Gurs. When the adoption initiatives have been launched recently, it has become very clear that the institutions also have huge gaps in the level of knowledge. To accept it, to honor it, the first step is to clarify what happened. In the meantime, institutional tycoons will fall by the wayside.