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.