Colegio de San Ambrosio, Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española edited

The General Archive of the Spanish Civil War (Spanish: ''Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española'') is a specialist archive containing material related to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. It is part of Spain's

National Historical Archive National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and is located in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

. The origins of the Civil War Archive, and the decision to house such documents in Salamanca, date back to the 1930s. The

Francoist State Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

decreed, on September 13, 1936, that "all properties and documents belonging to the political parties and organizations mentioned, as well as any others that opposed the ''

movimiento nacional ''Movimiento Nacional'' ( en, National Movement) was a governing institution of Spain established by General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War in 1937. During Francoist rule in Spain, it purported to be the only channel of participa ...

'', were to become the property of the State." The definition of organizations opposed to the regime was a fairly broad one, as is evidenced by the fact that the archive includes material related to

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

; freemasons were one of the groups viewed with suspicion by Franco and membership carried a prison sentence. With the democratisation of Spain, the purpose of the Archive changed. In 2007 the Archive became part of the Historical Memory Documentary Centre (Spanish: ''Centro Documental de la Memoria Histórica'') created by the

Historical Memory Law Law 52/2007 That recognises and broadens the rights and establishes measures in favour of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the Dictatorship (in Spanish: ''Ley 52/2007 por la que se reconocen y amplían derechos ...

. "Historical memory", in this context, refers to Spain's coming to terms with its Civil War and the rule of

Caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

. The Centre includes material from the 1930s to the 1970s. The Archive has a permanent exhibition, open to the public. It has also developed its on-line presence: a portal called the "Portal de Víctimas de la Guerra Civil y Represaliados del Franquismo" is maintained under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. As the name implies, it makes available information regarding victims of the Civil War and the Francoist State. As some of the victims were refugees, the portal not only draws on Spanish archival material, but also foreign sources, including information about Spanish people held in Nazi concentration camps.

Transfers between archives

Salamanca Papers

The "Salamanca Papers" refers to documents which were confiscated from the Catalan government and deposited in Salamanca. They were returned to Catalonia in 2005.Spain to return Catalan documents
/ref>

Archivo General de la Administración

The Centro Documental de la Memoria Histórica plans to increase the number of documents held at Salamanca by transferring relevant items from the Archivo General de la Administración,

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...

Notes

External links

Archivos Estatales website

Archivos Estatales on Google Cultural Institute
{{authority control Archives in Spain Spanish Civil War Anti-Masonry Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Salamanca

Transfers between archives

Salamanca Papers

Archivo General de la Administración

See also

Notes

External links