A Flag for the Forgotten

  • Guillem Matallanas
This experiment aims to communicate a serious and shameful fact that happens in Spain and has to do with its recent history. Few people outside of Spain know about the fact that during a short period of time, from 1931 to 1936, Spain was not a kingdom as it it today, but it was a modern and fully democratic republic that was very soon dismantled by the fascist power after a horrible war. The coup directed by part of the Spanish army against the 2nd Republic in July 1936 was the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, that lasted 2 years, 8 months and 15 days and concluded with the fall of the Republic and the establishment of an almost 40 year long dictatorship. During all this time, 113000 republican civilians were murdered and buried like animals in mass graves. Today, more than 75 years after and even though the location of the graves is well known, only 6000 have been exhumed while the great majority remains buried in oblivion.