The Civil War in Galiza, the Uncovering of the Common Graves, and Civil War Novels as Counter-Discourses of Imposed Oblivion

Abstract

This article examines three inter-related phenomena of the Spanish Civil War with an emphasis on the Autonomous Community of Galiza. The first part explains the nature of the fascist takeover of Galiza in July 1936, and points out the crucial role of this community in helping Franco win the war. The scars left by fascism in Galiza manifest themselves today through, for example, the popularity of the PP government of Manuel Fraga, one of the last living fascists to govern in Europe. The second part of the article analyzes the effects that the current exhuming of common graves throughout the State is having on Spain’s collective memory. This uncovering of suppressed historical facts and memory is polarizing the two Spains, which the Pact of Oblivion (imposed during the Transition to democracy) attempted to unite. The last section of the article explores the beneficial function of narrative fiction written about the Civil War in transmitting the facts and memory of this traumatic event. Many novels offer praxis-oriented frameworks that can help Galiza and the rest of Spain overcome and marginalize pro-Franco ideology, which still remains a part of society’s mainstream.