WWII Andorran Freedom Smugglers Inspire New Cultural Wave

A surge in cultural works is spotlighting Andorran freedom smugglers from World War II, following the blockbuster success of Laia Perearnau's *La passadora*. Recent highlights include Judith Colell's film *Frontera*, which premiered last Friday but lacks a scheduled showing at Illa Carlemany, and Núria Cadenas's Proa Prize-winning novel *Qui salva una vida*, presented Thursday evening at La Trenca bookstore by the author alongside Albert Villaró.

Barcelona native Cadenas, born in 1970 and a Valencia resident for over 25 years, bases the book on her family story. It follows her great-uncle Joan Domènech, Puigcerdà's priest during the 1940s, who helped build an evasion network across Cerdanya. This effort linked civilians on both sides of the invisible border, including Dorres priest Jean Ginoux, communist militant Melitó Sala from Ix who died in Neuengamme, Austrian nurse Freidel who rescued dozens of children from Rivesaltes camp, and Rosita, Puigcerdà's cinema ticket seller known for her chocolate scent. The narrative also features figures like Urgell's bishop and the Co-Prince, plus documented events such as Domènech's beating by an ex-Gestapo member in Organyà church.

Cadenas portrays these individuals as "ordinary people without special heroic qualities who, at the critical moment, chose humanity." She blends fact and fiction as a "vampire" of reality—imagining dialogues while staying true to historical essence and avoiding one-dimensional heroes or villains. The story underscores everyday courage amid widespread indifference, including atrocities like German and Vichy militia destroying Balmanya village, auctioning looted goods publicly, and communities shunning arrested families' relatives. Yet glimmers persisted, such as anonymous food left at detainees' homes.

In interviews, Cadenas tied the tale to today: "We cannot afford to disdain the common good." Ordinary people risked everything for strangers, fostering hope against individualism—echoed in solidarity during catastrophes like the DANA floods. Resistors emerge as flawed yet dignified, their actions a reminder that "people like you and me" can step up in dark times.

This wave builds on earlier works like Norbert Orobitg's *Pau dins la guerra* (1970), Francesc Viadiu's *Entre el torb i la Gestapo* (1974, adapted for TV), Hughes Lafontaine's *La princesse de Sant Julià*, Jordi Arbonès's *Boira negra a Barcelona*, Roser Caminals's *Els aliats de la nit*, and Pep Coll's *La llarga migdiada de Deu*. Recent hits such as *El andorrano*, *La passadora*, and Agustí Franch's *El fred que crema* (now filmed) have fueled the momentum. Cadenas noted Cerdanya's porous border, where locals ignored lines until war enforced them—once even misleading Germans toward Andorra's Les Escaldes to protect a sanatorium contact.