In favor and against historical memory
The repercussions of the exhumation in Priarza del Bierzo were immense: ARMH began to receive hundreds of letters, telephone calls and emails on extrajudicial executions and disappearances throughout the country.
ARMH considers the opening of a common grave as an educational task because the Spaniards are not yet taught the truth of their own history in schools. Victims and their families have not yet received the recognition they deserve. Therefore, ARMH wants to repair 76 years of abandonment, forgetfulness and official denial.
Undoubtedly, the return of the remains in the presence of family members, residents, volunteers and public members is an essential act of recognition. Spain has a debt to victims and their relatives.
The archaeological team helps people to know the nature and purpose of recovery of historical memory. I am in favor of public exhumations because it provides clarity to families.
ARMH has received numerous international awards thanks to its work. In 2015, he won the Alba / Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism. Endowed with $ 100,000, the Alba / Puffin Award is one of the largest human rights awards worldwide.
However, there are still many people in Spain who are against historical memory because they are too scared or want to forget the past. Others think there is no sense to seek information. However, most think that Spain should do more to remember the people who died during the war. For example, they believe there should be debates and museums dedicated to war should be opened, such as what was done in Germany.
According to dr. Pelai Pagès, professor of contemporary history at the University of Barcelona, and one of the main historians of the conflict in Spain, a museum dedicated to war can help to safeguard its future: ‘The civil war was the most important event in the history of20th century Spain. It was the prologue of World War II;generated a dictatorship that lasted almost 40 years and its effects continue in our times. Creating a museum is a means to preserve the historical memory of an event that should never be repeated ‘.
Many famous historians, like Paul Preston, are surprised that there are still no museums dedicated to the history of the civil war. Around the Battle Sites of Aragon, where George Orwell fought with the Marxist revolutionary militia of the POUM, there are small museums that tell the history of the hard fight on that crucial front. In the southern port of Cartagena, there is an old anti -aircraft that has a series of galleries that portray the local experiences of the conflict. In Guernica, there is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the theme of peace. But there is no museum that tries to tell the history of war and the suffering of Spain between 1936 and 1939.
Without a doubt, I agree with the opinions of historians. Although people can visit sites that were used by Franco’s army during the war, I think that museums are necessary to give people more information about what really happened. This helps provide clarity and helps people to accept what happened.
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