100 years since the birth of Conxita Grangé i Beleta
This year 2025 marks the centenary of the birth of Conxita Grangé i Beleta (Espui, 6 August 1925), also known as Conchita Ramos, a key figure in the Franco-Catalan anti-fascist resistance. The Democratic Memorial, created by the Department of Justice and Democratic Quality of the Generalitat (Catalan Government), leads a commemoration that connects Pallars Jussà and the Alt Pirineu with Occitania and Bavaria, the scenes of a life marked by courage, escape and the fight for freedom.
Childhood in the Pyrenees and growing up between two republics
Born in the small town of Espui, Conxita was the fifth of eight siblings. When she was less than two years old, her mother's illness took her to Toulouse, where she grew up with her uncles Jaume Beleta and Elvira Ibarz, and her cousin Maria Castelló.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936, the family, led by Jaume, returned to Catalonia to support the Republic; Jaume took charge of military airfields. After the war, Conxita's return to France placed her at a crucial crossroads.
At just 17 years old, Conxita and her family joined the Maquis, the French resistance. They worked as couriers, messengers, logistical support workers, and facilitated cross-border travel. Her arrest on May 24, 1944, ended with torture by the Vichy militia and the Gestapo's intervention in Foix and Toulouse.
Ghost train and the road to Ravensbrück
In July 1944, Conxita, her aunt and her cousin boarded the infamous “ghost train” with some 700 prisoners, on a journey from the south of France to the north under Allied bombing and Maquis traps.
After a two-month journey, they finally arrived at the Ravensbrück concentration camp, a women-only camp, where they were subjected to forced labor, humiliation, and internal resistance.
Survival, escape and return
Conxita survived inhumane labor: sabotage of military production, forced marches, and a decisive escape during a "death march" that led her to Allied troops. Liberation came in April 1945, but her will to fight remained. Repatriated to France, she settled permanently in Toulouse.
In 1946 she married Josep Ramos Bosch, also a veteran of the Catalan resistance, becoming the Conchita Ramos who has remained alive in the collective memory.
Awards with symbolic and combative value
The French Republic recognized her with important awards: the Legion of Honor (official), the Resistance Medal, Commander of the National Order of Merit, and the War Cross 1939–1945. After Neus Català's death in 2019, she became the last Catalan survivor of the Nazi camps, bearing the last living testimony of the horror at Ravensbrück.
Living memory: transmission to young people and public tribute
Conxita dedicated her later years to speaking to middle and high school students, revitalizing the memory of deported women. Her stories are moving due to the contrasts that combine horror and hope, courage and moral resilience.
On July 26, 2019, the Democratic Memorial and the Town Hall of Torre de Capdella dedicated a tribute to him shortly before his death on August 27, 2019, at the age of 94. In Tolosa, the funeral on September 4 was attended by the Minister of Justice Ester Capella, and a square was later inaugurated in his name.
