Reeducation through work? Mountain roads in the Spanish concentration universe (Western Pyrenees, 1939–1942)

Abstract

This article deals with the forced labor system within the Spanish Concentration Universe, mainly that related to work battalions that were under the control of the Concentration Camps Inspectorate, involved in work consisting of opening roads along the Western Pyrenees after Spanish Civil War. After underlining the importance of road construction works in the contemporary history of forced labor, we analyze the different kinds of propaganda tools that the regulations of these battalions mentioned in order to enforce the reeducation of these prisoners of war. After that, we have contrasted these regulations with some other historical sources related to the everyday life in the battalions, mainly Inspection reports and oral testimonies, both of captives and of guardians, so that we can better understand to what extent these propaganda tools worked, and the attitudes of captives toward them.