commemoration

'Primavera Republicana' historical memory event will last from April 13-18, while government set to commemorate date throughout Catalonia

Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, joined the international gathering this weekend to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, the biggest example of Nazi brutality in Austria. On Sunday, Romeva unveiled a plaque at Mauthausen Concetration Camp to “pay homage to the memory of all the victims of the Nazi concentration camps and to those who survived them”. Around 2,000 Catalans died at the Mauthausen-Gusen camp between [falten les dates aquí]. “We ourselves lived through our own Civil War just before World War II and we are very familiar with the ugly face of fascism and the ravages of violence,” added Romeva. Other associations such as Amical Mauthausen and the Catalan Association of Friends of Israel also participated in paying their respects.

All the political parties represented in the Catalan Parliament, except from the Conservative People’s Party (PP), Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’ and radical left pro-independence CUP took part in the flower offering to Rafael Casanova’s statue and recalled the day the city fell to Bourbon troops on the 11^th of September 1714. The Catalan Government led by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, Catalan Vice President and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras and Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, began the tribute and placed flowers at the monument of Casanova. The Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell and Barcelona’s Mayor, Ada Colau, were next to pay tribute to the Barcelona Chief Councillor, who died defending the city during a 14-month military siege over 300 years ago.

Barcelona’s ‘Palau de la Música’, one of the most symbolic cultural institutions in Catalonia, hosted the first of the commemorative events to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) this Monday. Besides its cultural content, ‘Palau de la Música’ was the place were worldwide famous cellist Pau Casals carried out his last rehearsal before the outbreak of the war, on the 18^th of June 1936. Thus, and bearing in mind the strong component that Casals has as a symbol of Catalan culture, and also for his pacifist fight, the institutional event, called ‘The Last Rehearsal’, commemorates that day. The event was organised by the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, International Relations and Transparency, and aimed to pay tribute to “all those who suffered war both in a direct or indirect way”. 

This year commemorates the 80^th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), one of Spain’s most violent episodes which led to the 36-year fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The events will start on the 18^th of July, the same day the war started, with a concert at ‘Palau de la Música’, one of the most symbolic cultural institutions in Catalonia. According to Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Raül Romeva, the aim of the Government is to fight against “the institutionalisation of forgetfulness”, a situation which he considered “dishonest and unfair not only for the victims of the war but also for the present and future generations”. The Battle of Ebro, the longest and largest battle of the Civil War and the refugee camp in Argeles, France, will be at the centre of the commemoration. 

The Commission for Dignity, an NGO that aims to return the documents confiscated by Franco’s troops at the end of the Spanish Civil War to their rightful owners in Catalonia,“urged” the Spanish state and the army to condemn the court-martial that executed Catalan President, Lluís Companys in 1940. The Commission also invited Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and commanding officer of the Spanish military forces stationed in Catalonia, General Boyero Delgado, to attend the commemoration events “as an action of normality”. One of its initiatives to fight for the preservation of historical memory is to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of Companys’ execution. As a tribute, the Commission is also preparing a concert on the 11^th of October, performed by the School of Music of Catalonia (ESMUC) and to be held at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).

Catalonia’s National Day, on the 11th of September, commemorates the day on which Catalonia was finally defeated and lost its sovereignty to the absolute king Felip V, more than 300 years ago. This year the institutional ceremony focused on two pillars: the 100^th anniversary of the Catalonia’s Library Network and the 750^th birthday of Ramon Muntaner, one of the first and most iconic chroniclers in Catalonia’s history. The institutional events are normally held on the night before the 11th of September but this year the celebration was brought forward to avoid its coincidence with the electoral campaign, which kicks off on the 10th of September at midnight. The Catalan Parliament’s President, Núria de Gispert, stated that lately Catalonia’s National Day commemorations haven’t a “feeling of defeat but one of hope for the future”.