Through three exhibitions, this exhibition comprises a heterogeneous set of plastic work, everyday objects, photographs, sound files, posters and publications that embody the faithful testimony of a vanguard of intellectuals, scientists, writers and artists of all kinds who in 1939 left for exile. Beyond the mere collection of artistic objects, it aims to offer the collective story of those who lived in exile and tried to keep their language, culture, memory and ideals alive over the years.

Hundreds of photographers portrayed the tragedy of the refugees and their work can be seen in this exhibition. This is the case of David Seymour, Robert Capa or Agustí Centelles, and the photojournalist Francesc Boix, recognized by the images taken during his imprisonment in Mauthausen. Josep Bartolí also gave testimony through his drawings of his tragic experience in the French concentration camps. Or Ramón Gaya, who after leaving the Argelès camp and before leaving for Mexico, found encouragement to paint some of the most emblematic paintings of exile.

The horror of the Nazi extermination was also reflected in a series of magnificent works presented in La Arquería by the Catalan artist Josep Franch-Clapers, in addition to the writers Jorge Semprún and Joaquim Amat-Piniella, interns in Buchenwald and Mathausen. The approximations that they made from the sculpture Baltasar Lobo or Ángel Hernández García, 'Hernán', are also noteworthy. The ships of exile, such as the 'Stanbrook', the 'Sinaia' and the 'Winnipeg', have a protagonist space. The Republican exile in Mexico, one of the most important, is documented through different publications. The Caribbean, Chile and Argentina were outstanding cultural hotbeds of exile. The Soviet Union was another of the destinations of Spanish exile.

The exhibition, curated by Juan Manuel Bonet, pays homage with portraits of Picasso and Miguel Prieto, and a sculpture signed by Pablo Serrano, to one of the most famous victims of the Retreat, the poet Antonio Machado, who died in the town of Colliure, and whose tomb is today a place of pilgrimage and memory. As is the cemetery of Montauban, where Manuel Azaña is buried. The exhibition also dedicates a space to the broadcasts of the BBC, Radio Paris and Radio España Independiente, the popular 'Pirenaica', and looks to the Transition to portray the spirit of what was involved in the reunion of Spain with exile.

The space of La Arquería also houses a collection of unpublished photographs of Philippe Gaussot discovered by his son Jean-Philippe in a suitcase, after the death of his father. These are a hundred images that portray with enormous harshness what the Withdrawal to France of thousands of exiles after the fall of Barcelona meant. The curators Felip Solé and Grégory Tuban, reconstruct in this exhibition, coordinated by Kiko Herrero, the legacy of this photographer.

La Arquería presents, finally, the research work carried out by the artist Pierre Gonnord based on the memories of survivors and descendants of the Spanish republican exile. It is presented as an exhibition narrative of portraits, testimonies and photographs of intimate objects. In the exhibition, coordinated by Commissioner Carmen Fernández Ortiz, word and image form an inseparable ensemble that invites the viewer to cross the borders of their own territory and recognize the existence of other realities, establishing a deep intimacy with the people portrayed.

On the occasion of this exhibition, a very large catalogue of more than 700 pages has been published in which half a hundred authors, the greatest experts in historical memory in our country, have participated. The catalogue is available on the website of the Ministry of Justice.