Neruda’s List

The BBC has an interesting discussion of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and his role in getting refugees out of Franco’s Spain:

In 1938, Neruda was a diplomat, representing Chile in Paris. He chartered a ship, the SS Winnipeg, to convey 2,000 Spanish Republicans to Chile. He was there on the quay, in a white hat, waving them off. And he wrote the poem Let Me Explain a Few Things in which he disowned his previous romantic and lyrical self and committed himself to exposing the world’s injustices. i

But it has been alleged that Neruda was a kind of reverse Schindler, with a list of people who were not going to get on the Winnipeg. As a diplomat, he had access to passports and it is said he made sure these went only to those of his particular left-wing Stalinist beliefs. According to Neruda’s critics, the anarchists and more moderate socialists were rejected and were therefore interned in France. Many were executed soon after when the Nazis moved in.

To listen to the discussion, click here .