Paterna exhumation removes victims from Francoist ‘map of horror’

Family members of victims of the Franco regime in the Fossa 113 mass grave in the cemetery of Paterna, in Valencia, are about to take a huge step forward in their struggle. The largest exhumation of a mass grave in the Valencian Community is about to end, with the discovery of 49 bodies showing signs of violent deaths. The family members are now looking forward to the remains being identified so that they can finally have a dignified burial and be removed from the “map of horror”, as the head of the association representing the families, Santi Vallès, told ACN.

Three months after the ArqueoAntro archaeological team began exhuming Fossa 113, on Monday the final body was removed. Although 49 bodies were found in the grave, the team was looking for 62 people shot near the cemetery between January 1940 and September 1941.

The Association represents relatives of victims from Burgos, Granada and Madrid. Most of the victims were mayors, councilors, union members and republican workers. According to historian, Vicent Gabarda, 2,237 people were shot near the cemetery between 1939 and 1950.