Jorge Semprún [SEP] educated at
and then to The Hague where his father was a diplomat, representing the Republic of Spain in the Netherlands. After the Netherlands officially recognized the Franco government in the beginning of 1939, the family returned to France as refugees. Jorge Semprún enrolled there at the Lycée Henri IV and later the Sorbonne.
During the Nazi occupation of France, the young Semprún joined the "Francs-Tireurs et Partisans – Main-d'Œuvre Immigrée" (FTP-MOI), a Resistance organization made up mostly of immigrants. After joining the
which bore a rather close resemblance to her character in her previous success, "Marty"). For Suárez, this was his most dramatically profound role, and it shot him momentarily to fame all across Europe.
The name of the role played by Yves Massard (an educated and honest friend of Juan, come from Madrid to pay a visit) was Bardem's homage to "Federico Sánchez", a pseudonym under which Jorge Semprún managed the clandestine activities of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). Bardem was