El Burgo Ranero - Memorial Cross - what's the story?

[Philip Gooding]

We passed this cross (see pic) at the entrance to the village of El Burgo Ranero. I wonder can anyone add any more to the story behind this cross? Here is what I have been able to find out so far from the internet:

Rufino Banos Lozano joined the Spanish Republican Army in 1937 aged 20. He was captured and eventually passed on to a German concentration camp where he remained and, remarkably, survived till he was released at the end of WW2. Part of the reason for his survival was his love of football - he played on the Spanish team in the concentration camp and this meant he found some favour with the guards. Nevertheless he had several narrow escapes after being caught with stolen food. He returned to Spain after WW2 and died in France in 1969.

As background to Rufino's story there is a dark part of Spanish history in that many of the captured Republicans were put into Nazi style concentration camps with 250,000 dying there.

It seems the Jose Maria Banos Lozano (name inscribed on the cross) is the son of Rufino? Who is M Monserraty? Why is the inscription "to the children" on the cross. What is the significance of 2002 on the cross?

It would be great if anyone can help to complete this story!

 

[Olivares]

Philip-- for what I know and/or can read from the monument itself it appears that it was dedicated in 2002 (thus the year 2002 inscription) "to the memory of the children" by Jose Maria Baños Lozano and his wife Maria Monserrate (the "y" after Monserrate is a separate letter meaning "and"). May be/may not be related to the fact that his father, Rufino Baños Lozano, natural from El Burgo Ranero and soccer star in Leon, as you well mentioned, spent time in a Nazi concentration camp (Mauthausen-Gusen). By the way, he was not a Republican soldier when he was captured by the Nazis. He had escaped to France after the Spanish Civil War ended where he joined the French Army during World War II. His entire batallion was captured by the Nazi army. As you also mentioned, his soccer skills helped him gained some "favor" among the guards in Mauthausen and helped entertained the children, even if on such dire conditions. He did survived it and was liberated by the Allies in May 1945. He died an old man in 1980 in France.

Among the things known about the Mauthausen- Gusen concentration camp is that the adult prisioners were the only ones left responsible for feeding and caring for the children in the camp. When the camp was liberated in May 1945, it was noted in documents that while the adult prisioners looked emanciated and skeleton-like, the surviving children appeared in significantly better condition. An amazing testament of humanity by the prisioners in such horrendous circumstances. The stolen food incidents were probably to feed him and others, specially children under their care. If you remember the name of the boy who hid in the annex with Anne Frank (Peter Van Pels), he was moved from Auschwitz to Mauthausen only to die the day (THE DAY) the camp was liberated. Heartbreaking.

I would not be surprised if the story of this monument goes back to a Nazi Germany concentration camp....

 

[Philip Gooding]

Olivares - thank you for your thoughtful and interesting reply. It seems to be a feature of the Camino that it can take you off to so many unexpected places - not one journey but a million different ones! Regards, Philip

Philip-- for what I know and/or can read from the monument itself it appears that it was dedicated in 2002 (thus the year 2002 inscription) "to the memory of the children" by Jose Maria Baños Lozano and his wife Maria Monserrate (the "y" after Monserrate is a separate letter meaning "and"). May be/may not be related to the fact that his father, Rufino Baños Lozano, natural from El Burgo Ranero and soccer star in Leon, as you well mentioned, spent time in a Nazi concentration camp (Mauthausen-Gusen). By the way, he was not a Republican soldier when he was captured by the Nazis. He had escaped to France after the Spanish Civil War ended where he joined the French Army during World War II. His entire batallion was captured by the Nazi army. As you also mentioned, his soccer skills helped him gained some "favor" among the guards in Mauthausen and helped entertained the children, even if on such dire conditions. He did survived it and was liberated by the Allies in May 1945. He died an old man in 1980 in France.

Among the things known about the Mauthausen- Gusen concentration camp is that the adult prisioners were the only ones left responsible for feeding and caring for the children in the camp. When the camp was liberated in May 1945, it was noted in documents that while the adult prisioners looked emanciated and skeleton-like, the surviving children appeared in significantly better condition. An amazing testament of humanity by the prisioners in such horrendous circumstances. The stolen food incidents were probably to feed him and others, specially children under their care. If you remember the name of the boy who hid in the annex with Anne Frank (Peter Van Pels), he was moved from Auschwitz to Mauthausen only to die the day (THE DAY) the camp was liberated. Heartbreaking.

I would not be surprised if the story of this monument goes back to a Nazi Germany concentration camp....

s

 

[Olivares]

Yes indeed! Thank you for an interesting and thoughtful inquiry.

 

[Felipe]

I can only add that this kind of monument is called a “crucero” (or “cruceiro”, in Galice). It is a very old tradition, apparently late medieval. They are almost always placed in a “crossroad” (note the etymology, it is the same in Spanish). They were intended to sanctify a place, express the piety of the founders, and sometimes point out the limit of villages. Travelers used to pray at cruceiros, to beg for a safe journey or give thanks for an uneventful return (there were wolves, bad weather, robbers....) Some similar monuments in squares or church atria are also called “cruceros”, I guess by extension.
I remember many of them, especially beautiful, in the Camino. It is interesting that modern pilgrims tend to stop when they reach a crucero, even if the old praying tradition have disappeared, or the meaning is culturally foreign to them.

 

[Bert45]

They are almost always placed in a “crossroad” (note the etymology, it is the same in Spanish). A bit late, but I have always thought that the name crucero (cruceiro) comes from the fact that there is a cross on top of the pillar.