The archaeology of internment in Francoist Spain (1936-1952)

摘要

Between 1936 and 1952 Spain was transformed into an immense prison. Hundreds of internment camps were established by General Franco all over the country: some of them were purpose bui others reused older buildings and spaces. No less than half a million people passed through the camps and many thousands died in them due to ill-treatment, hunger, disease, and executions. The Franco regime produced a complex typology of camps, articulated with other spaces of punishment, which was fundamental in disciplining its subjects and reconstructing the nation along totalitarian lines. In recent years, historical research on the camps has grown exponentially, but the materiality of the sites themselves has rarely been taken into consideration. Here, the Spanish camps will be studied archaeologically as a technology of repression. Toward understanding the Spanish camps in their wider context, the similarities and dissimilarities with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy will be pointed out. Finally, I will scrutinize the contentious place of the camps in the collective memory of Spaniards today.