When the body of the executed Che Guevara was put on public display, the peasants, who considered the revolutionary an almost fantastic creature, tried to tear off pieces from his clothes and cut off the locks of hair for talismans. And to the executioners, the figure of the murdered Che reminded the crucified Christ. This plunged them into indescribable horror.
Today, the image of Che Guevara - a staunch Cuban Marxist - remains the same bright and attractive for many people around the world. What is the mystery of the great commandant?
He will be the winner
Ernesto Che Guevara was born on June 14, 1928 in the Argentine city of Rosario. His father, an architect, belonged to the local old family, and his mother was at the origins of the feminist movement in Argentina.
Since childhood, Ernesto has firmly learned that every man should have his own war. The first battle he declared was the asthma that tormented him. Ignoring the warnings of doctors, the boy actively went in for sports, firmly deciding: he will be the winner - everywhere and under any circumstances.
Strength of character was surprisingly combined in him with the ability to compassion and a heightened sense of justice. Ernesto insisted that the doors of their home be open to all those in need. Their house was called "the people's house", and everyone could find help, food and shelter there.
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Rising Star of Medicine
Parents were not surprised when their son chose one of the most humane professions - the profession of a doctor. Studying was easy for him, he was spoken of as a rising star in medicine. But for Ernesto, the most important thing was serving people, not climbing the career ladder. As a young doctor, he lived for a long time in the barracks of the leper colony and not only treated patients with leprosy there, but also tried to restore them the joy of life: he taught to play football and dance.
During his student years, Che made a trip that drastically changed his life. Riding a moped, he set off on a journey through Latin America. The young man was shocked to see the suffering of ordinary people and the local authorities trying to curry favor with Washington.
In his youth, Che Guevara was a supporter of the non-violent ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, an admirer of the humanistic views of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Later he joined the "explosive" works of Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky and Mao Zedong. Then Ernesto clearly saw the goal: it is necessary to fight against American imperialism, which oppresses the underdeveloped countries.
After traveling to the United States, he finally came to the conclusion: Americans are well-fed ordinary people, who do not want to know anything about the rest of the world. Their state, supporting the well-being of its citizens, squeezes out the juices from developing countries. Che decided that he had to protect the "humiliated and insulted." “It is better to die while standing than to live on your knees” - these are the words of the Spanish communist Dolores Ibarruri, which became Ernesto's motto. This is how his revolutionary path began.
Revolutionary knight
He was nicknamed Don Quixote of the Revolution. But, unlike the Knight of the sad image, the fiery Che was a joyful and sunny person. You need to “feel like a blow inflicted on yourself, any aggression, any insult, any action directed against the dignity and happiness of a person in any corner of the world,” wrote Ernesto.
After graduating from the institute, Che Guevara went to Mexico, where he met with Fidel Castro, which determined his future: Che joined the revolutionary detachment. In 1956, together with Fidel and 80 enthusiasts, they went on a yacht to Cuba to make a revolution - to overthrow the dictator Batista.
The sea voyage was not easy for Ernesto: he struggled with the most severe asthma attacks and, in order to withstand the attack of the disease and distract himself, composed poems.
Having reached the shores of Cuba, Castro's detachment suffered serious losses: some died in the swamps, others under air bombs, and still others died from tropical fever. Only 20 people broke into the Sierra Maestra mountains. Hundreds of Cuban peasants supported the revolutionaries. The victory was difficult, but after 738 days the revolutionaries entered jubilant Havana.
Fidel Castro appointed Che Guevara Minister of Industry. Later, Ernesto visited the Soviet Union and came to the conclusion: socialism in Europe is developing along the wrong path. His relationship with the Kremlin did not work out: the Soviet party bosses were not at all like fighters for the people's happiness. He was tormented by an ominous question: why does a revolution entail the victory of a totalitarian regime? “After the revolution, the work is not done by revolutionaries. Technocrats and bureaucrats do it,”he wrote.
The ministerial chair became cramped for Che. He, who dreamed of kindling the world fire of revolution and radically changing the course of history, could not be an official. Ernesto said: "I was not born to run a ministry or die a grandfather."
Che Guevara goes to Bolivia to raise a rebellion and overthrow the dictator Rene Barientos. However, the illiterate Bolivian peasants did not understand well his lofty ideas and fervent calls for freedom.
In his last letter to his elderly parents, Ernesto wrote: “I again feel Rocinante's ribs with my heels. Again, donning my armor, I set off. Many people call me an adventurer, and that's right. But I am the only adventurer of a special kind, one of those who risk their hide in order to prove their case. Maybe I'm trying to do it one last time. The premonition did not deceive him.
On October 8, 1967, Che's detachment was captured in the Bolivian Andes. But even bound and humiliated, Ernesto was terrifying to his executioners. The next day, two rangers, pumping up whiskey for courage, fired nine bullets at Che Guevara with shaking hands. He accepted death with a smile on his face. He was 39 years old.
Thought as action
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said about Che Guevara: "Ernesto was not only an intellectual, but also the most perfect man of our era." Indeed, Che possessed a unique ability - to think in concrete action, to be a practical philosopher. Without getting bogged down in fruitless dreams, he managed to realize the unity of thought and deed.
Throughout his life, Ernesto kept a diary in which he constantly analyzed what was happening to him. Obviously, this introspection was for him a kind of psychotherapy, helping to overcome the contradictions between reason and will, to build a bridge from desire to action. “What is conceivable is realizable,” Che liked to repeat.
He proved that will and strength of mind can become a fulcrum for the implementation of the most ambitious projects. “My dreams will have no boundaries. At least until the bullets say the last word."
Che Guevara dreamed of creating a new free person. "A just order of society," he argued, "is impossible without a radical change in human essence - his habits, consciousness and values." And he created himself.
Che's curse
In superstitious Latin America, Che Guevara is considered a sorcerer who showed his enemies. This is not without reason: after all, almost everyone who participated in his capture and murder suffered a cruel punishment. Someone died under mysterious circumstances, others took their own lives, went mad or fell ill with an incurable disease.
One of the victims of revenge on the commandant was the CIA agent Felix Rodriguez, who controlled the capture of Che by the American special services. Immediately after returning from Bolivia, Rodriguez, who had excellent health, unexpectedly fell ill with a severe form of asthma. Doctors only shrugged their shoulders, unable to find the cause of the disease.
Former captain Gary Prado, the commander of the special forces unit who captured and shot the wounded Che Guevara, was even less fortunate. In 1981, during the suppression of the uprising, he was seriously wounded in the spine and partially paralyzed.
Revenge overtook Antonio Arguedas, who was Bolivia's interior minister and gave orders for punitive anti-partisan operations. 35 years after the death of Che, an explosion occurred in the central square of the Bolivian city of La Paz. A bomb exploded in the hands of an elderly man. When the police identified the remains of the terrorist, it turned out that it was Antonio Arguedas. What unknown force put a deadly device in his hands remains a mystery to this day.
It would seem that two rangers who personally shot Che Guevara deserved a terrible punishment. However, they were only blind executors of the will of their superiors. The unfortunate were so shaken with fear that, as mentioned above, they had to pump up alcohol to carry out the order. This must have softened their guilt - the killers survived, but finally got drunk. They say they deeply repented of their deeds and constantly repeated that the commandante's gaze continued to haunt them even in their sleep …
The memory of him has not disappeared. Today his personality is more popular than ever. The views and beliefs of Che Guevara inspire people, and his life story charges every new generation with rebellious energy.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №40. Author: Evgeniya Monastyrskaya