Antonio Arrúe Zarauz (1903–1976) was a Spanish politician and a Basque cultural activist. Politically he was a Carlist militant throughout all of his life; in the 1950s and 1960s Arrue informally led the Gipuzkoan branch of the party, and from 1957 to 1959 he held the official Traditionalist jefatura in the province. From 1967 to 1971 he served in the Cortes elected from the so-called tercio familiar. He contributed to Basque culture mostly as organizer and administrator, during the Francoist era engaged especially in Euskaltzaindia. His input as linguist or ethnographer is moderate, though he excelled as one of the best Basque-language orators of his time.
Family and youth
Antonio Arrúe ZarauzNot to be confused with Antonio Arrué Peiró, a contemporary Spanish martyr (1908–1936) beatified by the Catholic Church (see here) and also a controversial figure related to the Spanish Civil War. was born in the Elizmendi quarter of Asteasu,Manuel Martorell Pérez, Antonio Arrue, el carlista que colaboró en el relanzamiento de Euskaltzaindia, [in:] Euskera 56 (2011), p. 849 a small town near Tolosa in the Gipuzkoa province, in the region then known as Vascongadas. None of the sources consulted offers any information on his parents, except that his father, Juan Arrúe, was the first organist in the local San Pedro church;winning the competition of 1888, aiurri.com service available here ; see also Ángel Sagardia Sagardia, Ángel Cabanas Erausquin entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia available here and aramburu blog available here he also served in a number of nearby villages and towns giving lessons.Antonio Zavala, Presentación, [in:] Antonio Arrue. Idaztiak eta hitzaldiak, Bilbo 2008, , p. XII Correct spelling of Antonio's mother's surname is disputed.Arrúe’s segundo apellido is usually spelled as “Zarauz”, compare the official Cortes service available here, though some authors prefer the “Zarautz” version, see Joxemiel Bidador, Antonio Arrue Zarautz, a 2000 entry [in:] zubitega service available here; It is not clear whether the family was in any way related to a number of known contemporary Basques bearing the same name, esp. the Arrúe Valle brothersJose, Ramiro and Ricardo, see their personal entries at Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia available here, here and here and the Franciscan musician, José Arrúe.see Arrue, José de (1884-1960) entry at eresbil.com service available here Antonio and his two sisters, Eleuteria and Dolores,Zavala 2008, p. XII were raised in a profoundly Catholic ambience.though somatimes his relations with the clergy remained thorny, see Luis Villasante Kortabitarte, Antonio Arrue jauna hil zaigu [in:] argia.eus service available here
The young Antonio obtained his bachillerato in the Lecároz college, run by the Capuchin friars in Elizondo, in the Navarrese region of Valle de Baztán, few miles from the French frontier.Zavala 2008, p. XII, also Bernardo Estornés Lasa, Antonio Arrúe Zarauz entry at Auñamendi Eusko Entzikopedia, available here In the early 1920s he studied in Oviedo, enrolled at the Faculty of Law in the local university.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 855, Estornés Lasa, Antonio Arrúe Zarauz None of the sources consulted gives exact dates of his academic period. Following graduation he returned to Gipuzkoa and started the career as a lawyer. It is not clear when and where he opened the office; he is first reported by the newspapers as “a young lawyer from Asteasu” in the early 1930s.
In 1941 Arrúe married María Teresa Salazar, a native of Tolosa.during their engagement period Arrúe travelled on bike from his home to Villabona, half-way between Asteasu and Tolosa, to meet his fiancée on "neutral ground", see Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 849, see also ABC 11.10.05, available here The couple settled in San Sebastián; Antonio continued with his law practice, opening the business in the very centre of the city;first at calle Legazpi, later move to calle de Garibay, Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 855 gradually he specialized in rural rent and heritage issues, working with a number of local companies, associations and institutions.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 855, Bernardo Estornés Lasa, Antonio Arrúe Zarauz María initially served as a secretary in his law office, later on to work as a seamstress in the garment shop, run by her mother.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 855 They had 3 daughters, Maite, María Ignacia and María Carmen. Their only son, Juan María Arrúe Salazar, became a well known donostian lawyer and is referred to as a specialist in urbanismo.see laboratoriodefilosofia service available here , also infoempresa service availavle here; like his grandfather, Juan Arrúe Salazar also used to plays organs in Asteasu, see Diario Vasco 29.06.11, available here
Early career
It is not clear whether Arrúe has inherited Traditionalist outlook from his ancestors – like most Carlists in Basque-Navarrese area have – or whether he embraced it during the schooling and academic years. None of the sources consulted offers also any clue as to which branch of the movement he joined in the 1920s, the Jaimistas, the Mellistas or the Integristas, though it is the latter group which seems most probable. Asteasu was in the very centre of the Integrist national stronghold, composed of Tolosa and Azpeitia districts;see Javier Real Cuesta, El Carlismo Vasco 1876-1900, Madrid 1985, , 9788432305108, pp. 113-127, 254-269; in the Azpeitia district the Integrists won 13 out of 22 Cortes mandes conquered during the Restoration age an Anastasio Arrúe was jefe of the local Tolosan Integrist junta, and a Pedro Arrúe was its treasurer;El Siglo Futuro 22.05.06, available here; there were also other members of the Arrue family active as Integrist supporters in the district, see El Siglo Futuro 07.08.95, available here Antonio's father as an organist was closely related to the parochial clergy; finally, in the early 1930s Antonio commenced collaboration with La Constancia,Juan San Martin, Antonio Arrue, [in:] Egan 1/6 (1976), p. 16, available here the local Gipuzkoan Integrist daily, later editing its newly introduced section in Basque.some authors claim it was as early as in 1932, see San Martin 1976, Bidador 2000; bibliographical entry of La Constancia at the San Sebastián digital press archive claims the Basque section was introduced in 1934, see here
Arrúe became a public figure after the three Traditionalist streams merged into a united Carlist organization, Comunión Tradicionalista, in 1932. In 1933 he was already reported as an active speaker at local Carlist meetings, mostly in minor Gipuzkoan localities like Isasondo.El Siglo Futuro, 28.08.33, available here, also El Siglo Futuro 07.10.33, available here In the summer of 1934 his activity became indeed hectic and was recorded also in major cities like San Sebastian.in May he spoke in San Sebastian (see El Siglo Futuro 05.05.34 available here), in June in Ganza (El Siglo Futuro 09.06.34, available here) and Goyaz (El Siglo Futuro 15.06.34, available here), in July in Bedayo (El Siglo Futuro 12.07.34, available here) and Zarauz (El Siglo Futuro 14.07.34, available here), in August in Renteria (El Siglo Futuro 18.08.34, available here) Soon gaining recognition as “notable orador”,El Siglo Futuro 18.08.34, available here Arrúe delivered vibrant harangues in Basque that sparked the enthusiasm of the audience.see e.g. El Siglo Futuro 28.08.34, available here His speeches covered key Carlist topics: siding with the Church against Republican secularization, hailing Gipuzkoan caserios as bulwarks of loyalty, defending traditionalist monarchy as a warrant of regional fueros and confronting Basque nationalism as illusory and deceptive; there were also some social threads present.compare El Siglo Futuro 09.08.34, available here, La Epoca 23.12.35, available here, and especially El Siglo Futuro 23.12.35, available here He spoke firmly against the autonomy draft, denouncing it as "antivasco, antiforal y exótico".El Siglo Futuro 09.08.35, available here Nominated secretary of the Carlist Junta Provincial of Gipuzkoa,El Siglo Futuro 16.07.34, available here he continued with public appearances – already dubbed “infatigable secretario” – throughout 1935El Siglo Futuro 14.08.35, available here, El Siglo Futuro 20.08.35, available here, El Siglo Futuro 16.10.35, available here, El Siglo Futuro 01.11.35, available here, El Siglo Futuro 02.11.35, available here, El Siglo Futuro 04.11.35, available here, El Siglo Futuro 10.12.35, available here and early 1936.El Siglo Futuro 13.02.36, available here
Civil War
It is not clear whether Arrúe contributed either to Carlist military buildup or political preparations to the July 1936 coup, as neither himself nor any of the sources consulted provides any related information.Manuel Martorell Pérez, Carlos Hugo frente a Juan Carlos: La solución federal para España que Franco rechazó, Madrid 2014, , 9788477682653, p. 229 states vaguely that Arrúe contributed to insurgency preparations, though he gives neither a source nor any details Once it became clear the insurgency failed in Gipuzkoa he went into hidingMartorell Pérez 2011, p. 850, Zavala 2008, p. XIII and resurfaced when the Carlist troops conquered the province. As the Junta Provincial was transformed into the wartime Traditionalist provincial body, Junta Carlista de Guerra of Gipuzkoa, Arrúe resumed his duties of its secretary.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 850 Some time late 1936 or early 1937 he became acting president of this body, as its February 1937 documents are already signed by him as "presidente en funciones".Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 852
Arrúe soon became disillusioned by military rule in the Nationalist zone, growing particularly anxious about preponderance of Falange in Gipuzkoa and about centralizing designs of the regime, perceived as a threat to Traditionalism, Basque culture and provincial identity.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 851 Already in October 1936 the Gipuzkoan Junta Carlista de Guerra, animated by Arrúe, voiced publicly against composition of the provincial comision gestora,the Junta published its statement in La Voz de España, declaring that “con relación a la nota de la F .E. de las JONS aparecida en Unidad, la Junta Carlista de Guerra de Guipúzcoa desea hacer público que lamenta no poder adoptar actitud análoga a la que se expresa en dicha nota, por no haber recibido invitación alguna del Excmo. Sr. Gobernador Civil para participar en la nueva Gestora Provincial . Por consiguiente esta Junta no ha facilitado ningún nombre para la provisión de puestos en el referido organismo”, quoted after Félix Luengo Teixedor, La formación del poder franquista en Guipúzcoa (1937-1945), [in:] Geronimo de Uztariz 4 (1990), p. 86 bluntly stating that there are two wars: one in the trenches, and one in the corridors of power.“Hay dos guerras, la de las trincheras, donde se expone la vida y se juega con la muerte, y la de las ciudades, donde se exponen cargos y se juega con los nombres (. . .) En la retaguardia hay una guerra sórdida y miserable, en la que empuja y se trabaja arteramente por medrar y subir, por colocarse y brillar”, quoted after Teixedor 1990, p. 86 Early 1937 he tried to co-ordinate a joint effort of Navarrese, Gipuzkoan and Biscay juntas, aimed at countering falangism and ensuring that provincial fueros do not suffer.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 851, further details in Teixidor 1990, pp. 84-86 Faced with growing threat of amalgamating Carlism within a monopolist state party, just a week between the Unification Decree he signed a circular, urging every Gipuzkoan Carlist to maintain loyalty to the Comunión.Martorell Pérez 2011, p. 852