Apolônio de Carvalho (9 February 1912 – 23 September 2005) was a Brazilian socialist important in the history of the Workers’ Party (Brazil). Due to his communist ideals, Carvalho was expelled from the Brazilian Army and left for Spain to fight alongside the republicans in the Spanish civil war and afterwards against the nazis in occupied France, reaching the rank of colonel in the French Army. Considered a hero in France, he was awarded the Legion of Honour among other decorations for bravery.
Apolonio de Carvalho, the hero of the three homelands, died at the age of 93
The Brazilian left is in mourning. Apolonio de Carvalho died at 6:30 p.m. on Friday (23), in Rio de Janeiro, a victim of respiratory failure caused by a respiratory infection. One of the most important left-wing activists in Brazil, Apollonius had been hospitalized since the afternoon of the 21st at the Semi-Intensive Treatment Unit of the Casa de Portugal Hospital in Rio Comprido. According to information from the hospital, he remained lucid almost to the end, after having a new respiratory crisis around 17 hours. He was accompanied by his family: his wife Renée and the children René-Louis and Raul.
Trying to summarize the political life of Apollonius in a few lines is simply impossible. The most you can get is an index on it. Communist, Apollonius de Carvalho fought in the Spanish Civil War and the French Resistance against Nazi occupation. In Brazil, he fought against the dictatorships of Getúlio Vargas (1937-1945) and the military (1964-1984). Arrested and sent into exile in 1970, in exchange for the release of the German ambassador, who had been kidnapped by guerrillas, he returned with Amnesty and helped found the Workers’ Party (PT).
“The picture of him sitting in front, it seems to me that it was published in newspapers and magazines of the time,” Carvalho said Renee, Apollonius’s widow.
A life in struggle
Apollonius went through the twentieth century fighting for ideas he believed.And he was an example of a militant internationalist. In 1935, he was arrested as a member of the National Liberation Alliance (ANL), living with hundreds of other political prisoners, the drama portrayed by Graciliano Ramos, in the book “Memories of the Cárcere”. Expelled from the Army by the Vargas dictatorship, he volunteered for the International Brigades that fought alongside the Republicans against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Then he went to fight in the French Resistance. In December 1946, when he returned to Brazil, he participated actively in the political life of the country.
Arrested and tortured by the Military Regime of 1970, he was banned in June of the same year, along with other political prisoners, as a result of the kidnapping of the German ambassador. In October of 1979 returned to Brazil, under the protection of the Amnesty Law of that year. In February of 1980 participated in the foundation of the PT.
Fifty years ago, his bravery was recognized by France, where he is considered a national hero. Apollonius was called by the writer Jorge Amado of “a hero of three homelands”. He was married for more than 50 years with the French Reneè France and had two children, René Louis and Raul, who stayed with him until his last breath.
Apolonio de Carvalho’s eldest son René de Carvalho said his father will be cremated at the Caju Crematorium on Sunday. He also said that the funeral should be held in the City Council of Rio de Janeiro.
An “incorrigible optimist”
In a note released by the Planalto Palace, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says that he received with “enormous sadness the news of the death of” dear friend and companion Apolônio de Carvalho. “ Lula says that the life of Apollonius showed that it is worth fighting the battle for equality and social justice “in any time and anywhere in the world.”
The president adds that Apollonius was an “irreversible optimist” and taught him that “perseverance and honesty of purpose will always be rewarded.” In the note, Lula classifies Apollonius as one of the greatest examples of bravery, courage and coherence in Brazilian history.
From the Carta Maior Agency