Elena Tello Portolés

I am Elena Tello Portolés, a Spanish and French teacher from Lleida, Spain, and currently living and working in Seattle, Washington, USA. My father’s family were exiled Republicans during the Civil War and found refuge in the Refugee Camp in Angouleme, France. From there, the family was deported to Germany in cargo trains, in what is known as the Convoy of the 927.  Once there, the family was separated, and the women and children were sent back to Spain, while my grandfather, Lucas Tello Monterde, and my uncle, Jesús Tello Gómez, were sent to Gusen and Mauthausen concentration camps. My grandfather died in Gusen, while my uncle survived six years in the terror. Jesús worked hard throughout his life to give testimony of the crimes committed there and let the world know what life was like in these camps. 

I was preparing a presentation for the Social Justice Day event that we celebrate each year at the school I work at. I was planning on talking about reclaiming one’s identities, specifically when some of the identities are in conflict (Spanish - Catalan). During my research about my family’s history I found my uncle’s Provisional Identification card as a Mauthausen internee. 

This object is Jesús Tello Gómez’s Provisional Identification card as a Mauthausen internee. It was issued on August 24, 1940, when he was only 16 years old. He spent six years as a prisoner and he saw and lived many horrors. I found the photograph in the Derechos.org site, as part of evidence my uncle and other deportees presented in the Indictment of some of the SS camp leaders of Mauthausen. 

The story of my family has had a great impact in my life, and I have always felt very close to my uncle’s fight for justice and human rights. Seeing this card makes me very sad, as it reminds me of the tragic journey my loved ones lived. Even though my father was sent back to Spain because he was a young boy, the effects of so much anger, violence and fear stayed with him throughout his life. He was a wonderful man, a depressed wonderful man with a very strong sense of justice. My hope is that this recognition gives him and all those that lived this tragic experience some solace, even if they are not here to see it.