"Las Trece Rosas" (the ''Thirteen Roses'') is the name given in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to a group of thirteen young women who were executed by a

Francoist 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 ...

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

on 5 August 1939, just after the conclusion of 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, link ...

. Their execution was part of a massive execution campaign known as the ''"saca de agosto"'', which included 43 young men (among them a fourteen-year-old). The thirteen victims were: *Carmen Barrero Aguado (age 24), *Martina Barroso García (age 22), *Blanca Brissac Vázquez (age 29), *Pilar Bueno Ibáñez (age 27), *Julia Conesa Conesa (age 19), *Adelina García Casillas (age 19), *Elena Gil Olaya (age 20), *Virtudes González García (age 18), *Ana López Gallego (age 21), *Joaquina López Laffite (age 23), *Dionisia Manzanero Salas (age 20), *Victoria Muñoz García (age 19), *Luisa Rodríguez de la Fuente (age 18). Seven of the women were under age – in Francoist Spain the age of majority was 21. Following the capitulation of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

to Franco's troops and the end of the Civil War, the Madrid Provincial Committee of the Unified Socialist Youth (JSU) (an organisation resulting from the merger of the Socialist Youth and the Communist Youth even though most pro-

Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gove ...

(PSOE) members had abandoned the organisation) tried to reorganise under the leadership of 21-year-old José Peña Brea. He was betrayed, arrested, and tortured; under torture he revealed the names of his collaborators, which led to a wave of arrests of JSU members in Madrid. The Thirteen Roses were among the many JSU members captured and imprisoned by the police. During their detention in the Ventas prison they were repeatedly tortured and humiliated, and conditions in the prison were considered inhumane and overcrowded. They were ultimately executed by firing squad against the wall of the East Cemetery (now la Almudena) on 5 August 1939. Many of their comrades at the prison recall that while they were being driven away by lorry to their deaths, they sang the "Youthful Guardsmen" (JSU's anthem) so as to be heard by their comrades who remained in jail. The victims were accused of aiding a military rebellion and of assassinating a high-ranking

political police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...

officer, his 16-year-old daughter, and driver;Julía. Santos; Casanova, Julián; Solé i sabaté, Josep Maria; Villarroya, Joan; Moreno, Francisco. ''Víctimas de la guerra civil.'' Editorial Temas de Hoy. Madrid. 2006. p. 329 however, they were already in prison when the assassination occurred. In 2005, a foundation (''Fundación Trece Rosas'') was created in Spain to keep their memory alive.

References

* Jesús Ferrero, ''Las Trece Rosas'', Madrid, Siruela, 2003 * Carlos Fonseca, ''Trece Rosas Rojas'', Madrid, Temas De Hoy, 2004

Notes

External links

Foundation Trece Rosas (archived)

Tribute to Las Trece Rosas (archived)

with part of the original verdict. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trece Rosas, Las Spanish women of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Spanish socialists Spanish communists Executed activists People executed by Francoist Spain Executed Spanish women People executed by Spain by firing squad Femicide in Spain