Created by Spanish Republicans who took refuge in Toulouse, Ducuing hospital celebrates its 80th anniversary

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The Joseph-Ducuing hospital is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2024. A symbolic anniversary for a health establishment in Toulouse with a rich history.

Warsaw Hospital, a military hospital

The establishment was created in a castle in Saint-Cyprien district in 1944 by doctors and Spanish combatant units of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI).

It then had the name hospital Warsawnamed after the street in which he was located, and treated Spanish Republicans who had taken refuge in Toulouse and the region, but also Spanish resistance fighters who had fought in France against the Nazis.

In particular, it allowed the care of men injured during the invasion of Val d’Aran, during which the Spanish Republicans attempted to resume the war against Franco, in October 1944.

Volunteer doctors, Spaniards, communists

This military hospital operated thanks to volunteer doctors and benefited from financial support from international organizations. It then became a civil hospital, in which many Spanish refugees were treated: at the end of the Second World War, there were 200,000 Toulouse.

The hospital staff is Spanish and openly communist for the most part, anchored around the principles of quality medicine accessible to all, founders of the spirit of Ducuing Hospital.

Two films on the genesis of the hospital

To celebrate its 80th anniversary and tell its genesis to as many people as possible, Ducuing hospital is organizing film screenings on December 18, 19 and 20, 2024. The documentary The Battle of Warsaw and the animated film Bolero Paprika retrace the history of the Spanish Republican exile and that of the birth and the role played by the Joseph Ducuing Hospital during this period.

Practical information:
Ducuing Hospital, 15 rue de Varsovie, reception in the FFI-Guérilleros room. Free screenings but registration required on the dedicated site.

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