THE FORGOTTEN PAST OF SPANISH SOCIETY
Spain
is a country, a society, with a history, with its history. But is
this history real?
When we go around the world, we Spaniards are often known for our cuisine, our culture, our customs, etc. But what about our history? Does the Spanish society know what happened in the period from 1939 to 1975? Do the people who visit our country know the history of Spain?
Not at present, not even the majority of Spanish society knows what happened during Franco's rule: the almost 15,000 or 20,000 people who suffered in Franco's concentration camps; the 1,500-3,000 prisoners who were shot; his almost 300 concentration camps scattered throughout the Spanish territory; the thousands of people who tried to take refuge in France but perished in their attempt or were forced to return to Spain, etc.
Many times, I hear that it was a Civil War, in which a large number of people died on both sides; and it is true, but the dictatorship comes when Franco assumes power by force and all the people who are against the Regime or suspected of being so are persecuted, tortured, imprisoned.
The Spain that lives today is a Spain that has tried to erase and continues to try to erase the crimes that happened during those years, so that the Spaniards themselves and the foreigners believe in a new history. All this, thanks to the fact that the Spanish State itself refuses to investigate the crimes that occurred during Franco’s regime and hinders some investigations that have been attempted and carried out from other countries, such as Argentina, for example. This is an issue that certain Spanish politicians have tried to ignore. For its part, the Spanish education system does not contribute to the study of the true history of Spain under Franco's rule either. All of this causes a deficit in Spanish society as a whole, it has created a sick country whose memory has been stolen, with a total lack of knowledge, information and sensitivity.
We have to take into account, above all, the generation that suffered the most in their own flesh, mainly because they were on the frontlines of the War, the Generation of the Civil War; therefore, that of our grandfathers and grandmothers, people who in 1936 were young, with a professional and student career ahead of them that was truncated, snatched and broken; that generation is dying, disappearing because of their age. Therefore, those who can tell it in first person will no longer be among us in a few years, and a very valuable source of part of our history to be preserved will be lost.
Unlike Germany, where Nazism is condemned, where the country and society as a whole have done a job of repenting and asking the victims for forgiveness for the events that took place during the Holocaust, Spain continues to deny its past time and time again, a country that, to this day, is still governed by the Monarchy and the Church, with an outdated system that allows the worship of Francoism through organisations and foundations, through monuments, through certain media channels, through certain social gatherings and through certain political parties. The consequences are obvious: a country that does not work well with its history, that only looks at the problems of nationalism in some territories, that promotes a misunderstood Spanish patriotism, as well as an unreasonable independence fervor in some territories; a society that is moved rather by their heart, and that leaves reason aside, and from which the political parties take infinite advantage without paying attention to reason. The political class that this country has is the reflection of its society.
Spain is a country with its history; and until it assumes its past and confronts it, it will continue to be a society that prefers to live with its back to reality. It will certainly not mature until it changes its attitude.
When we go around the world, we Spaniards are often known for our cuisine, our culture, our customs, etc. But what about our history? Does the Spanish society know what happened in the period from 1939 to 1975? Do the people who visit our country know the history of Spain?
Not at present, not even the majority of Spanish society knows what happened during Franco's rule: the almost 15,000 or 20,000 people who suffered in Franco's concentration camps; the 1,500-3,000 prisoners who were shot; his almost 300 concentration camps scattered throughout the Spanish territory; the thousands of people who tried to take refuge in France but perished in their attempt or were forced to return to Spain, etc.
Many times, I hear that it was a Civil War, in which a large number of people died on both sides; and it is true, but the dictatorship comes when Franco assumes power by force and all the people who are against the Regime or suspected of being so are persecuted, tortured, imprisoned.
The Spain that lives today is a Spain that has tried to erase and continues to try to erase the crimes that happened during those years, so that the Spaniards themselves and the foreigners believe in a new history. All this, thanks to the fact that the Spanish State itself refuses to investigate the crimes that occurred during Franco’s regime and hinders some investigations that have been attempted and carried out from other countries, such as Argentina, for example. This is an issue that certain Spanish politicians have tried to ignore. For its part, the Spanish education system does not contribute to the study of the true history of Spain under Franco's rule either. All of this causes a deficit in Spanish society as a whole, it has created a sick country whose memory has been stolen, with a total lack of knowledge, information and sensitivity.
We have to take into account, above all, the generation that suffered the most in their own flesh, mainly because they were on the frontlines of the War, the Generation of the Civil War; therefore, that of our grandfathers and grandmothers, people who in 1936 were young, with a professional and student career ahead of them that was truncated, snatched and broken; that generation is dying, disappearing because of their age. Therefore, those who can tell it in first person will no longer be among us in a few years, and a very valuable source of part of our history to be preserved will be lost.
Unlike Germany, where Nazism is condemned, where the country and society as a whole have done a job of repenting and asking the victims for forgiveness for the events that took place during the Holocaust, Spain continues to deny its past time and time again, a country that, to this day, is still governed by the Monarchy and the Church, with an outdated system that allows the worship of Francoism through organisations and foundations, through monuments, through certain media channels, through certain social gatherings and through certain political parties. The consequences are obvious: a country that does not work well with its history, that only looks at the problems of nationalism in some territories, that promotes a misunderstood Spanish patriotism, as well as an unreasonable independence fervor in some territories; a society that is moved rather by their heart, and that leaves reason aside, and from which the political parties take infinite advantage without paying attention to reason. The political class that this country has is the reflection of its society.
Spain is a country with its history; and until it assumes its past and confronts it, it will continue to be a society that prefers to live with its back to reality. It will certainly not mature until it changes its attitude.
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