Spanish Obituaries Express Civil War Grief

[Strengthandhonour]

Spanish Obituaries express Civil war grief

Spain is living a new Civil War. This time the front line is in the obituary pages of the main newspapers where both relatives of Franco supporters and his left-wing detractors exchange feisty language for the first time in the 70 years since the bloody battles that killed at least 500,000 people.
In the summer of 1936 an army revolt led by General Francisco Franco in Spanish Morocco fought to restore what they saw as Spain's traditional values. The defenders of the left-wing Popular Front government, which had acquired power in democratic elections, resisted the rebellion for three years until they fell into the hands of a brutal dictatorship that lasted nearly four decades.

Under the dictatorship, anti-fascist Spain was severely repressed and unable to pay tribute to those tortured and killed during the 1936-39 Civil War. This frustration to pay homage to the victims and tell an another version of history motivated the daughter of pilot commander Virgilio Leret, the first army officer to die at the beginning of the war on July 18 at dawn, to publish a half-page obituary of her late father in the edition of El Pais newspaper.

The $9,520-message that triggered the confrontation from both sides reads: "Commander Virgilio Leret Ruiz was a victim of Francoist terrorism. He was shot at dawn on July 18, 1936 after surrendering. As a result of a pact of silence unacceptable in any democratic society, Spain is still in debt with its justice, the truth and the memory of the victims."

"The relatives of those who were killed on the Franco side have published plenty of obituaries and I feel that we (the enemies of the dictator) also have the right to remember our loved ones. The obituary of my father signifies a scream of pain," Carlota, Leret's daughter told Ohmynews in her flat in Madrid.

Commander Leret was Franco's first victim, according to British historian Paul Preston.

But not only the families of victims of the Franco regime have published the obituaries, the families of those murdered by the Republic's sympathizers have also paid tribute to their loved ones.

Some of the phrases from the Franco side include: "Vilely assassinated by the red hordes;" "He gave his life because he was reluctant to compromise his faith;" "They gave their life in the name of God and Spain."

The relatives of those who died defending the Republic remember their
victims with phrases like "attacked for defending the legitimacy of the Republic;" "Killed by the Franco occupying forces;" "Shattered by the killing bullets of the Franco repression."

The Spanish Congress has named 2006 the "Year of the Historic Memory" in honor of the victims.

Emilio Silva, president of the Commission for the Recovery of the Historic Memory, says this new phenomenon of "the Civil War obituaries" is necessary. "Many myths have been created around this issue and it is now time that we know what really happened at that time."

Spanish historian Julio Arostegui sees the publication of the obituaries from the defeated side as "an opportunity to present their version of the story. For 40 years after the dictatorship fell, only the Franco side was able to openly pay tribute to their victims. This is only a symptom that shows that there are wounds still waiting to be healed."

The publication of obituaries from the victims of the Civil War did not take place on the 50th anniversary in 1986 or on the 60th anniversary in 1996.

"Spain is waking up after a long lethargy. In part, thanks to the massive amount of publications on the Civil War on TV, films and literature that tell 'the other side of the story.' Besides, people are beginning to read and question the history they took for granted during the 40 years of dictatorship," says Nuria Teson, national reporter for the newspaper El Pais.

"And the generations of the grandsons and granddaughters of the Civil War generation want the truth and justice. In a way, they use the obituaries to get just that," she adds.

source: http://english.ohmynews.com/articlev...at_code=374211