“The Ukraine thing is a little war”

10/31/2022 at 14:57

CET


The also writer publishes the book on World War II, ‘The two consuls’, and points out that “Putin is similar to Hitler because he wants to occupy a country although World War II was much more serious”

Journalist diego carcedo delves into the heroic adventures of the Spanish diplomat Eduardo Propper de Callejón and the Portuguese Aristides de Sousa Mendes, both consuls in Bordeaux during World War II, in their latest novel ‘The Two Consuls’ (Espasa), in a context with parallels to the current situation in Europe and the war in Ukraine. “what of Ukraine It is a little war but in the end lives are lost in all of them“, regrets the author in an interview with Europa Press.

“We could say that Putin is similar to Hitler because he wants to occupy a country even though World War II was much more serious. The Ukraine thing is a little war but in the end all that is lost is life and that is the most dramatic. There is nothing worse than a war, nothing that denigrates the human being more”, she continues.

In his opinion, although the conflict in Ukraine “is a terrible situation that seemed very local, in practice it is not since many difficulties are being experienced as a result of the war“, denounces Carcedo, who predicts that the conflict will end “thanks to the negotiations, but before that many people will die along the way.”

For this reason, he considers thatthere are no longer trench wars, now they are office wars“. Regarding the media coverage of the conflict, he states that “barely any information is provided, so there are chronicles of human situations, injuries and catastrophic effects.”

Regarding the role of war correspondents, he assures that “not all of them are worth being a war journalist” since he affirms that “you must have psychic capacity”. “Journalism is everywhere, the merit is to tell it“, ditch.

historical disclosure

About ‘The two consuls’, it is a novel that combines historical disclosure and journalistic investigationfrom the hand of an anonymous Spanish journalist, whom his Madrid newspaper sends as a correspondent to Bordeaux (France) in the early summer of 1940, a story that immerses the reader in a city taken over by thousands of people fleeing from the Nazi advance.

In this context, Jews found two unexpected allies in the consuls of Spain and Portugal who, putting their principles before the dictates of their respective governments – that of Franco in Madrid and that of Salazar in Lisbon – dedicated themselves to facilitating the flight of more than 30,000 people, an action that brought harsh personal consequences.

In the case of Aristides de Sousa, he was forced to return to Lisbon, dismissed from his position, his profession and his corresponding pension, leading a life of hardship until his death in 1954. On the contrary, Eduardo Propper was luckier when to be able to rejoin diplomatic activity and continue to climb positions of responsibility in various important countries. After completing his career in the US, he passed away in London in 1972.

“It is a historical novel adjusted to reality,” explains Carcedo, which recalls how the Portuguese consul “began to issue visas against his government but they needed another one to transit through Spain and then he got in touch with the Spanish”. “A friendship developed between the two because their circumstances were similar,” he says.

Carcedo has added that he already knew the story of its protagonists and found “a lot of data” that ultimately does not appear in the novel because, as he acknowledges, he wanted it to be read “easily.” “There were few direct testimonies but I have tried to make the data very faithful, not load them with names, so that the book is easy to read“, he has reiterated.

Currently, Aristides de Sousa and Eduardo Propper de Callejón have official recognition as Righteous Among the Nations, the highest concession made by the State of Israel and the Jewish people to those people who, without being of Jewish confession or descent, helped altruistic to the victims, due to their Jewish condition, of the persecution undertaken by the regime of the German Third Reich and others related to it in Europe before and during the Second World War.

It is not the first time that Carcedo resorts to this theme and novels the life of the so-called ‘Spanish Schindlers’, with five books behind him on this subject. Precisely, with ‘Between Beasts and Heroes’ (the story of some Spaniards who altruistically and humanely helped the Jews escape from the Nazi extermination plan in the middle of the last century) he earned the Espasa Prize for Essay.

“Journalism hasn’t changed at all”

On the role of the journalist in his novel and, again, making parallels with the current situation, Carcedo considers that the profession “has not changed at all.” “It is a profession that consists of finding out the truth and the facts and events of any kind and telling them in writing, radio, television or online, always adjusted to the truth,” he ditches.

In any case, Carcedo recognizes the role that technologies play in journalism, allowing “to reach viewers and readers faster and with greater precision.” “In addition, journalists can travel around the world more easily thanks to the Internet with speed and punctuality and instant information is now given,” he continues.

For all this, you can know “any event on all continents” and “it makes less sense to tell things” as he told them when he was a correspondent. “It took 4 or 5 days to arrive and this is over today. But the facts remain the same,” he adds.

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