Historical Memory Flashcards
what are vehicles of memory?
the way in which the past moves from one generation to another
eg - oral histories, school, books, history books, propaganda, old memorials/signs of the past, tv/radio, myths spread by the gov./other parties, church, community myths
what were the amnesty laws?
laws passed in 1977
nobody could be prosecuted for any crimes committed in defense of franco regime or those who fought against it.
example of queipo de llano burial
in basilica de la macarena, seville
lauded by regime as hero, called saviour of seville
boasted about killing/raping people
site where basilica built was club for local left parties and near where queipo carried out his executions
what are the buildings exempt from law of memory?
churches
if structurally unsound to remove
why were more questions starting to be asked in 1990s?
1990 generation didnt live through dictatorship, not afraid to ask questions
new generation of politicans and academics
1990s spain more secure in democracy
the world in 1990s
fall of berlin wall 1989
end of cold war and soviet union 1991
1900-94 rwandan civil war
1991-2001 yugoslavian civil war and break up
1990-1994 end of south african apartheid
latin american dictatorships coming to an end eg Pinochet in Chile - 1990
emilio silva case
grandfather killed in civil war by francoists, wanted to find his grave and rebury him, obstruction at every level
attracted a lot of media attention
took case to UN
created ‘association of recovery for national memory’
how do psoe present themselves?
as legitimate heirs to spanish democracy
try to associate PP with francoism
how do PP present themselves?
get rid of Fraga who is too closely associated with francoism
hard line on eta, want to be seen as tough gov who can deal with terrorists
hard line to basque nationalism
praised figures like cánovas - they are the natural heirs to spanish democracy
santos julia publication
1999 victimas de la guerra civil
first major publication that tried to admit the scale of violence, esp francoist violence
who is pio moa
author of a series of books regurgitation and reworking francoist myths and historical truths
‘myths of the civil war’ - 150,000 copies sold
not academically positioned
1970s supposedly belonged to a left terrorist group
becomes a celebrity from these books
catholic press promote it
pact of forgetfulness based on silence of right
2004 elections
11th march - terrorist attacks on madrid metro
pp wanted to blame eta, even when evidence that it was islamic terrorist emerged
backfires as public see it as political manipulation of a tragedy
so psoe win election
what laws do psoe pass after 2004 (5)
give spanish nationality to international brigaders
give nationality to those born in exile
mandates local authorities to remove anything in public space which glorified franco regime
commits national gov to providing financial support for families of victims looking for bodies
illegal to have demonstrations at valley of fallen
case study of Baltasar Garzón
internationally famous judge
in 1990s attempted to use international human rights law to prosecute Pinochet, applied to british gov to extradite him to spain.
people questioned why a spanish judge could go after a chilean dictator but no one can get justice for francoist crimes
what is the ‘right to honour’ law
libel law in spain, family members of the deceased can make a case against things they find offensive - stain on family honour, financially or morally disadvantage them.
judge interested in whether honour has been stained, not historically accurate evidence.
