HISTAGRA launches the Four-Year Plan for Democratic Memory in Galicia 2023

HISTAGRA launches the Four-Year Plan for Democratic Memory in Galicia 2023

 

In August 2023, the Xunta de Galicia, through the First Vice-Presidency and Regional Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Tourism, and the Regional Ministry of Culture, Education and University and the University of Santiago de Compostela, signed a collaboration agreement to implement the Four-Year Democratic Memory Plan in 2023, under the auspices of the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory.

 

The team formed by historians, forensic anthropologists, archaeologists and geneticists continues to find out about the past of violence in Galicia, already with the experience of 2021 and 2022, through the study and exhumation of three new graves from 1936-1939 in the municipalities of Narón, Oza-Cesuras and Viana do Bolo.

In addition, we continue to update the map of graves in Galicia, in order to carry out in the coming years as many exhumations of the burials of those murdered by Franco's violence as possible. You can consult the list of graves at:

 

www.nomesevoces.net/lugares/cartografia 

 

Between 2021 and 2022, the work of investigation and exhumation of the graves of Vilagarcía de Arousa and Crecente (2021), Celanova, Lousame and A Capela (2022) was carried out, as well as starting the investigations of the Serantes grave (Ferrol) and the updating of the map of graves where we currently have 91 graves located, of which 12 were transferred to Cuelgamuros in different years.

 

The four-year Plan integrates three fundamental strategic lines of public policies of Democratic Memory that are intended to be developed throughout the period (2021-2024), although its objectives can be reviewed annually. These strategic lines are:

 

- Location, exhumation of graves and identification of victims.

 

- Dissemination of work carried out and results achieved.

 

- Dignification of burial sites and promotion of places of memory.

 

On the part of the USC, through the Histagra Group, the Professor of Contemporary History Lourenzo Fernández Prieto and the Doctor in History and professor Antonio Miguez Macho, coordinate a research team formed by archaeologists directed by the professor of the USC Jose Carlos Sánchez Pardo, the forensic anthropologist of the IMELGA Fernando Serrulla Rech and the team of genetics of the Institute of Forensic Sciences 'Luis Concheiro' directed by Ángel Carracedo that will develop the works in four phases, defined by the following actions:

 

- Update of data on graves, documentation and location.

- Preliminary investigations and final report: documentation, knowledge, interviews, archives and archaeological intervention.

- Forensic investigation of IMELGA human remains.

- Genetic analysis

 

 

The tasks to be carried out in 2023 will be the following:

 

1. Localisation, exhumation, identification of victims:

                           Grave of Santa María de Pradocabalos (Viana do Bolo).

                           Grave of the cemetery of San Salvador de Trasanquelos (Oza-Cesuras)

                           Grave of Santa María del Valle (Narón)

 

2. Dignification of burial places and promotion of places of memory. Works of recognition of the space of the mass grave in the cemetery of Celanova, Vilagarcía de Arousa, Crecente, Lousame.

 

3. Dissemination of work carried out and results obtained.

 

Once again, the help and presence of Galician civil society, through democratic memory associations, local researchers and relatives of asasindos/as, becomes a fundamental pillar of the investigation, just as it was for the smooth running of nomesevoces.net.

 

Contact with social agents, is essential, and we call on all those who wish to exhume or investigate graves related to Francoist violence, as well as to provide data relating to them.

 

Contact us:

 

histagra@usc.es

 

881812734 / 881971010 Ext. 101