The fascist detention and torture centres at San Fernando, Santa Barbara and the bullring

The fall of Alicante in March 1939 marked the end of the Civil War as the last stronghold of the Republic surrendered to Italian fascist troops. Many of the thousands rounded up on the dockside were transported to the temporary concentration camp at Los Alemdros, those that survived the starvation and brutality were shipped to the permanent camp at San Isidro. I've covered those sites in earlier posts. However, others after the fall, and specifically those sought out by the Falange and Franco's special forces were held in other parts of the City, notably the castles at San Fernando and Santa Barbara and the bull ring. These were torture and death centres. San Fernando is just at the edge of the main city and reached via some impressive steps. The castle is a cold and oppressive place even on a warm September day and as you look down from the walls into the deserted keep it sent a shiver down my spine. This is where many anti-fascists were held, tortured and executed and the stillness, and the fact that even though it is on the edge of this bustling metropolis it was completely deserted, added to the heavy atmosphere. Unlike Santa Barbara this place is not sold as a tourist attraction. On a walk back into town I stopped off at the bull ring, the musuem says nothing of its role in the civil war and I couldn't get inside the main arena and you can only guess at the terror of those hauled off there when Alicante fell. No memorials, no recognition, no nothing.

The Bombing of Alicante Market #2

An earlier post covered the bombing of Alicante Market in May 1938 and the fantastic steel memorial that the Historical Memory comrades at last got permission to erect after years of fighting the authorities. The market is a fantastic and vibrant place full of sights, sounds, smells and architecture that take you back for generations. It is a natural place to gravitate to if you are in that part of the City. On a recent visit I noticed high up on a wall outside the back of the market another, earlier memorial to the more than 300 victims of the fascist bombing. It was put up only a few years before the steel memorial and from the wording and placement looks like a grudging effort by the PP council to placate the campaigners. It didn't work and now those who died that day have a memorial that cannot be ignored.