Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
madrina de guerra
English translation:
war godmother
Added to glossary by
Swatchka
Mar 4, 2007 17:03
17 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term
madrina de guerra
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Military / Defense
person
In the Spanish Civil War, a fascist soldier's "madrina de guerra" sends him sausages, etc, to the front. The context makes relatively clear what the madrinas are - they write to soldiers, animarlos, etc, but I have no idea what to call it in English. Seems almost like a penpal/patron, but I need a good 1930s term. Unfortunately, I keep thinking "correspondent", which obviously has the wrong connotations. Any ideas? Thanks!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +3 | war godmother |
Swatchka
|
| 4 | volunteer "godmothers"/patrons |
patricia scott
|
Proposed translations
+3
9 mins
Selected
war godmother
Present day ones tend the grave of fallen soldiers but they seem to have done what you described during world war I and II. This is from an Orbituary:
She was born in Nancy, France, in 1902. During World War I, her family became refugees, retreating from Lorraine to Paris. The Red Cross gave them clothing donated by Californians.
Sewn into her dress was a note saying, "If you would like to have a godmother in San Francisco write to me." She wrote and was given a "war godmother" from a prominent California family. After many letters and photographs were exchanged, she decided to come to the United States, say family members.
http://www.almanacnews.com/morgue/2001/2001_06_20.obit20.htm...
She was born in Nancy, France, in 1902. During World War I, her family became refugees, retreating from Lorraine to Paris. The Red Cross gave them clothing donated by Californians.
Sewn into her dress was a note saying, "If you would like to have a godmother in San Francisco write to me." She wrote and was given a "war godmother" from a prominent California family. After many letters and photographs were exchanged, she decided to come to the United States, say family members.
http://www.almanacnews.com/morgue/2001/2001_06_20.obit20.htm...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you! Somehow it sounds natural to me in Spanish and terrible in English, but indeed, it seems to be used in the same way. Much obliged."
11 mins
volunteer "godmothers"/patrons
Your option "patrons" is closer, I think, Since they were actually more than pen-pals, sending food and parcels aside from letters to cheer up the soldiers - I am not aware that this figure exists outside the Spanish Civil War. Maybe someone knows if they existed elsewhere.
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