The Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez López, has attended the commemorative events for the declaration of Place of Democratic Memory of the city of Alicante, which has been published today the Official State Gazette.

Martínez affirmed that “the city of Alicante is closely linked to the Democratic Memory of Spain through three especially significant episodes: the bombing on the Central Market on May 25, 1938, the dramatic exile through the port of the city, as well as the tomb of Miguel Hernández”.

These milestones constitute, on their own, facts of singular relevance for their impact on the collective memory, linked to repression and violence against the population as a result of the resistance to the coup d’état of July 1936, the War and the Dictatorship, as well as to exile. For this reason, the Declaration of Place of Remembrance, the result of the agreement signed by the Secretary of State last Thursday, November 20, is published today in the Official State Gazette.

The city’s Central Market, which was bombed on May 25, 1938, when Italian aircraft aiding the rebellious army dropped up to 90 bombs on the market, was completely overcrowded. The consequences of that massacre were 273 dead and at least 244 wounded, some of them very seriously, in addition to destroyed or damaged buildings.

The Port of Alicante became the great point of exile. From this place, the ships Winnipeg and Marionga left in the early days, with the first refugees. On the 12th, the Ronwyn did the same with more than 700 refugees. On the 19th the American Trader sailed with 859, to which were added small boats that left the ports of El Campello, La Vila Joiosa, Santa Pola and Torrevieja. At the end of the month, the humanitarian drama intensified with the arrival of thousands of refugees to the city fleeing the advance of Franco’s troops. Finally, on March 28, the last two boats depart: the Maritime, with 32 passengers, and the Stanbrook, with 2,638 refugees. Today, the event was held alongside the bust of Captain Archibald Dickson, who captained the evacuation at the Stanbrook.

The third enclave is the tomb Miguel Hernández, a place of remembrance and tribute to the poet of the town who died in the infirmary of the prison of Alicante on March 28, 1942, as a result of the disillusionment, abandonment and mistreatment received by the Franco authorities.

Martínez highlighted the commitment of the Spanish Government to the recovery of the memory of the victims of war and dictatorship· on the third anniversary of the adoption of the Democratic Memory Act. He also regretted that the Valencian Community insists on the repeal of the Law of Autonomous Memory, “an attack on the dignity of victims and family members who are still seeking recognition of facts and the search for truth and justice.”

The Secretary of State remarked that the Government of Spain will follow the path marked by the law, with the declarations of ‘Places of Memory’, which to this day there are 19, plus another 18 files already opened; and with the application throughout the territory “of a law that obeys the mandate of the UN, respect for Human Rights and that defends the dignity of the victims.”