Alicante gets a Civil War museum at last

For so long the Spanish Civil War has been buried away in Alicante despite the Cities extraordinary suffering both during and after the conflict and its strategic significance as the last place to fall to the fascist forces. In this blog I have looked at the memorial to the bombing of Alicante market and the barely visible signage marking the Los Almendros concentration camp. The fight for a memorial to the many thousands who suffered, and the many who died, on the dockside awaiting rescue by ships that, with the exception of the Stanbrook, never came, rages on. So you can imagine how pleased I was to hear that at last a museum was being opened in the old fire station opposite the newly opened air-raid shelter uncovered under the old bus station. The main aim of the museum is to capture the terror of the repeated fascist bombing raids on the City as Hitler and Mussolini tested the tactics that would later be unleashed across Europe. There are interviews on big screens with elderly residents who remember the bombings along with an evocative selection of exhibit pieces and well thought through graphics. One small item that struck me hard was a copy of the decree issued after the fall of the City banning communist, socialist, anarchist and trade union organisations. If you are visiting Alicante don's miss the museum and the neighbouring shelter. I just hope there is more to come as this City at last begins to give up its secrets.

The shelter below the old bus garage in Alicante

I remember the old bus station in Alicante well, struck out from there on numerous journeys and it had a beautiful, timeless Art Deco style and of course a bar where you could hole up waiting for your departure. It was replaced a couple of years back by a new, modern facility down by the port side which is much more functional but a lot less pretty. Thankfully, the lovely old terminal building has survived but when the departure bays were ripped up and demolished it revealed a time capsule beneath - a Civil War era air raid shelter built to hold more than a thousand people untouched and intact from the moment it was sealed up after the War. It is thought to be one of a network of over a hundred shelters across Alicante and nearly eighty years on it has been opened up and you can visit and get a feel for life in this City under the fascist bombing raids. To get in you need to ask at the desk at the new museum just across the street in the old fire station and you will be escorted down. Other than the lighting it is wholly original and the handwritten signage warning of spies and identifying the medical bay are still clearly visible. It was only opened up a few months ago and, along with the museum, is an important development in a City where the reality of the Civil War has lain buried for decades. I hope it is a sign of more recognition of Alicante's brutal bombardment and oppression to come. The shelter sits in a newly designed square with its own bar and cafe and with a visit to the new museum nearby that's a morning in this fantastic and historical City sorted out.

The fight to defend Alicante

As part of the refurb of the positions up at the Santa Pola headland some fantastic signage has been erected explaining the role of the gun batteries amd the network of bunkers. A beautifully produced map shows how the fascist plains would head in from Majorca and swing in from the Med heading along the coast to bomb Alicante and other positions. Other signs have some contemporary pictures of the defences in action that I have never seen before. There is also some excellent technical information on both the fascist planes and the Republican ordnance. Very impressive stuff. However, the one thing missing from the commentary is the obvious one that clearly still sticks in the throat of the right wing council - that these positions were built to defend democracy and the Republic from fascist attacks sponsored by Hitler and Mussolini. Maybe the recent change of the balance of forces at Santa Pola town hall my change that? We will see.

On the Santa Pola headland - an update on the refurbishment of Republican positions

On my last trip over to Spain I made my usual trip up to the Republican defensive positions on the headland at Santa Pola to check on the progress with the refurbishment work. Essentially, the defences are being turned into a bit of a tourist attraction as well as featuring on some great new mountain bike routes. I dont have a problem with that, but what I do have a problem with is the local PP council painting the guardhouse a ridiculous shade of blue and adorning it with hippy grafitti. That is frankly and insult to the republican defenders who fought to stop the fascist planes as they wheeled in from the Med to bomb Alicante. I wandered away cursing and through the pine groves found what was clearly a bomb crater and after taking some snaps I picked up a strange chunky looking pieced of metal, twisted, scored and obviously subjected to extreme heat at some point. Shrapnel - either from a shell casing or an enemy bomb. The Mahou bottle is purely for perspective but its a piece of the Civil War history and sits on the shelf now in pride of place.

The Stanbrook and the fall of Alicante

In April of this year a plaque was unveiled in Cardiff, organised by the International Bridages Memorial Trust, to a hero of the Civil War - Archibald Dixon. On March 29 1939 tens of thousands of Republicans assembled on the dock side at Alicante, the last City to fall to Franco, in the hope of evacuation. The evacuation never came, partly due to a blockade by Italian destroyers and partly due to the connivance of the British Government. One ship made it through. The Stanbrook. Due to collect saffron and oranges, Dixon instead chose to overload his ship with 2,638 refugees from the fascists on a vessel just 230 feet long. It was an incredibly brave thing to do. Despite attacks from fascist planes, and listing badly, the Stanbrook made it to Algeria after 22 hours. The French Colonial authorities refused permission to disembark and Dixon had to negotiate for the women, children, elderly and disabled to leave. The men would reamin for over a month with many ending up in concentration camps. Those left behind in Alicante were either murdered or taken to the concentration camp at Los Almendros and later the labour camp at San Isidro. Dixon himself was killed some months later when his ship was torpedoed by a U boat. Although he now rightly has a plaque in Cardiff thanks to the IBMT there is nothing to mark the events of the 29th March 1939 on the dockside at Alicante. Only luxury yachts. That is a scandal that needs to be rectfied and the local campaigners deserve our support in their campaign for a memorial in Alicante.

The air raid shelter musuem inland at Alcoi

Alcoi. I headed inland on the bus from Alicante having heard that there was a museum set into the old Civil War air raid shelter underneath the Art School. As the weather turned thunderous and the bus headed in through the mountains I had a feeling that this trip might well prove to be something special. The museum in Alcoi has very little coverage on the web and it took the assistance of a local cab driver to find it. I was soon glad I had made the trip. Alcoi was a major industrial centre as well as being a rock-solid Republican stonghold. It was battered by the Italians and their SM79 bombers and only had the most limited of anti-aircraft defences. The museum is extraordinary. It looks like much of the structure has survived the last eighty years intact and has been sympathetically converted into a fine museum which is a tribute to the resilience of the people of the town who took shelter here. From the brilliantly recreated medical bay to the striking exhibitions detailing the assault from the air this is truly a moving place to visit if you get the chance. Towards the end of the Civil War Alcoi was hammered by a ruthless coalition of fascist forces testing out the carpet bombing strategy that would soon be hitting London, Paris and other European cities. Scores of innocent people were killed. The very least that the musuem does is ensure that they will never be forgotten.

Gran Bar Pomares Altet - a trip back in time

In Altet, right under the flight path into Alicante Airport, you will find a bar that has survived pretty much intact since the days of the Civil War. In fact, Gran Bar Pomares dates back to the late 1920's and is a really atmospheric reminder of those days. The dark interior is cool and quiet on a hot sunny day and a great place to escape the heat. With a few dishes of tapas and a large glass of tinto there are few places I know that are more relaxing whilst conjuring up a timeless feel of the days gone by. I like to think that this would have been a meeting place in the days of the Republic when this whole area was loyal to the Government right to the end and remained staunch in its opposition to Franco and his coup. One warning, the opening hours, particularly during the winter months, can be a bit eratic but if you turn up and its closed, as I have, there are plenty of other fine bars and restaraunts in the small town of Altet.

More from El Faro

Back up on the hills overlooking the Bay of Alicante on the edge of Santa Pola, an area that I always try and spend some time in. I found on this visit that the guard house/bunker protecting the heavy anti-fascist gun emplacements had been sprung open so I was able to get in. You get a real feel in the cramped space the working conditions of the republican forces billeted up here. I also stumbled across what looked like a massive crater close to the network of gun emplacements, barracks and bunkers. It was certainly not a natural shape. Looked like a near miss from the fascist planes as they motored overhead.

Denia - the transit point for the Nazi rat lines

As well as being home to the extraordinary air raid tunnel, Denia played a pivotal point after the Spanish Civil War as a drop off point for Nazis escaping the collapse of Hitlers Reich. With the connivance of Francos regime Denia became a transit port for leading war criminals on their route down to South America. But some are thought to have stayed. I could find little on this dark side of the towns history and I need to do some more work on it. It is rumoured that some people still know where the safe houses are. I will be back to explore more when I have cracked on with the research.

The Denia Air Raid Shelter

It's a long haul north up the Costa from Alicante to Denia involving two trams and a change at Benidorm but I never tire of that journey that clings to the rocky coast and offers some fantastic views across the Med - make sure you sit on the right side though. Denia is at the end of the line, as you bowl out of the station head straight across and towards the Castle/municiple centre and you will find one of the finest monuments to those trying to protect their communities from the Fascist bombing raids. A tunnel is carved out of the rocks that the Castle sits on and has been converted into a stunning memorial. Hewn from the solid rock you can walk the full length and it is used as a thoroughfare by the locals as they get around town. Incredibly atmospheric you can get a feel for what it must have been like for the people of the town as they sought respite from the Condor Legion. It is one of the most carefully and well thought out Civil War memorials that I have seen on my travels. Take it in and after you have spent some time there head into town to one of the many pavement cafes and grab some tapas and soak up some sun before the long tram journey back south. You will not be disappointed.

The secrets of Santa Barbara Castle

In an earlier post I looked at the fascist detention and torture centres at San Fernando Castle and the Bullring in Alicante. Standing guard over the port city is the magnificent Santa Barbara Castle which hides its own Civil War secrets. Torture cells, buried deep beneath the castle and utilised down the centuries, were pressred into service. I was unable to get in and could only snap a picture of their entrance gates. Although the castle is a major tourist attraction, with its history well mapped out for visitors, its Civil War role is carefully glossed over. Again though, I can strongly recommend a trip up from street level in the lift to the top the castle. The views and the sheer scale of the structure itself will take your breath away.

The mass air raid shelters in Elche

Elche, just an easy ride on the bus inland from Alicante, a city which boasts some extraordinary palm gardens and which is well worth a visit if you are ever out on the Costa Blanca. I can promise you won't be disappointed. But it was also a city which took a fearful pounding from the combined fascist air squadrons during the Civil War. In response, the Republican authorities built air raid shelters which are thought to have held tens of thousands of citizens, bigger even than the massive bunkers at Cartegena. Located adjacent to the magnificent Art Deco central market, last year the shelters, and even older historic remains above them, were partly uncovered. The pictures show what would have been an entrance way. The local council are exploring the possibility of opening the shelters up, possibly as a museum similar to Cartagena, but at the moment they are fenced off. I tried to scope what might have been the extent of their boundaries and a retaining wall appears to have been built into the banks of the dried river bed that carves its way through Elche, I've included that in the pictures. I will be watching the developments on this one carefully and will report again in the future.