Remembering the Civil War: training spaces turned to museums

The small town of Pujalt in central Catalonia is now a tranquil respite from city living. But exactly eighty years ago, the village played a different role. This was the tail end of the Spanish Civil War, May 1938, and Pujalt hosted a military training center for the Republican Army. And just in time for the anniversary, the memorial to the center opens its renovated mess hall to the public.

An eating space – especially in a somewhat improvised setting like what the Republicans employed – can often give a window into the personal lives of those who dined there, and this mess hall adds a unique element to the memorial. And the museum, according to Pere Tardà, head of company dedicated to restoration and historical memory in Catalonia CatPatrimoni, is “only 20% restored.” The objective, Tardà explained, is to achieve funds to restore even more.

Republican forces came to Pujalt in May 1938: their training base came to be known as the Muntada. The encampment lasted until January 15 1939, four days before Francoist forces took the area. “Soldiers were ordered to evacuate” and “take everything they could with them,” related Tardà. It’s not known how many soldiers used the installations, but it’s thought to be between 8,000 and 10,000.

The Spanish Civil War raged from 1936 to 1939, fought between the Republicans (loyal to the Second Spanish Republic) against the Nationalists, led by the general Francisco Franco (who had led a coup against the short-lived democratic government). Franco then took control of Spain and established a dictatorship, which would last until the autocrat’s death in 1975.