Alex Trelinski
AN INFORMATION board at the site of an infamous concentration camp in Alicante Province has been daubed with the name of Spain’s far-right political party, Vox.
Up to 20,000 people were interned over a six-month period in 1939 at the Albatera camp, shortly after General Francisco Franco was victorious in the Spanish Civil War,
A team of archaeologists had just begun excavation work at the site to find a mass grave when they spotted graffiti sprayed on the board.
It had been unveiled by the Associations for the Historical Memory for Alicante Province at a special ceremony on October 17.
The board outlines the history of the prison site, which was one of the largest internment camps in Spain at the time.
A bouquet of flowers in the Republican flag that were laid below the board were smeared with red paint.
Valencia’s Democratic Quality minister, Rosa Perez Garijo said:
“This act of vandalism stains the memory of all the people that suffered persecution and death at the hands of Francoist authorities in the immediate post-war period.”
Opposition politicians, journalists, and soldiers were amongst those interned at Albatera, with torturing and executions part of the daily routine.
A three-week dig is taking place to find out exactly how many victims were buried at the camp in a common grave.
“No type of intolerance can prevent Valencian people from knowing about their history,” Perez Garijo added.
