Jon Bilbao Correspondence - Translation

During his exile after the Francoist troops conquered the Basque Country in 1937, José Antonio Agirre, the first lehendakari or president of the Basque Government, maintained correspondence with a variety of individuals in exile. First, in connections to his government role while the Basque Government continued to operate in exile, from Paris, New York, and other locations. Then, due to his interest as a researcher in Basque culture and history. The letters between Agirre and Jon Bilbao fall in both fields. Bilbao's political activity brought him to fight with the Basque Army during the war and to represent the Basque Government in the American West after that. Simultaneously, his close connection with the Basque exile in the Americas made him a hub on the communications between Agirre and other political figures. Jon Bilbao served as well as a bibliographer to fill Agirre's needs for lehendakari's research.

Jon Bilbao carried on correspondence in Spanish with Jose Antonio Aguirre and many others while he was living and traveling in the United States, Cuba, and Europe. His extensive collection of this correspondence is now located in the Jon Bilbao Basque Library. If you would like to help make this important part of Basque history more accessible by translating one or more of his letters, please contact Iñaki Arrieta Baro.