Reuters
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
Forensic archaeologists have unearthed 53 bodies from shallow graves in the Basque town of Orduña in northern Spain. The graves date back to 1941 and date back to the time when dictator Francisco Franco was in power. Authorities believe there are at least 170 other bodies at the scene.
Recently, Spain wants to settle the bill with the open wound of Franco’s past. That is why, among other things, mass graves are cleaned up and the glorification of the military regime is prohibited. For example, signs with soldiers’ street names are also replaced.
The researchers will try to identify the 53 remains and then return them to relatives. This way they can be officially buried. During identification, the DNA material from the remains is compared to that of a possible next of kin.
A forensic investigator and surviving relative explain why the dig matters:
“They weren’t killed, but all their rights were violated”
According to the Basque government, the bodies are from prisoners. At the time of the civil war, Orduña was a concentration camp and then a prison. Political opponents from all over Spain were detained for longer periods in the region.
The prisoners lived in appalling conditions and probably died of hunger, cold or diseases such as tuberculosis.
More than 500,000 people died during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. Even after this period, the settlements of political opponents continued. Dictator Franco died in 1975.
Historians estimate that more than 100,000 Spaniards are still missing. They probably lie in unknown mass graves.
