Málaga massacre
The nationalist massacre of Málaga under General Franco of refugees from the population of Málaga in the Spanish Civil War occurred in February 1937. Between 3,000 and 5,000 refugees were killed. The massacre was kept secret for a long time and only dealt with years after Franco's death, almost exclusively on a local historical level.
On January 3rd, the nationalists approached the city of Málaga, which was then attacked from land, sea and air. After the collapse of the defense, the city was captured on February 8, 1937. Since there were insufficient evacuation possibilities and the area was geographically limited in the north by the Betic Cordillera and in the south by the Mediterranean Sea, the only way to escape the population was to Almería, about 200 km away . According to various estimates, around 15,000 to 50,000 people independently embarked on this escape route via the coastal road N-340. As a result, the escape route was bombed by Spanish planes and the road was bombarded by two Spanish warships, including the light cruiser Almirante Cervera .
Remember the victims
A section of the old coastal road was renamed “Paseo del Doctor Bethun” in memory of the massacre in honor of the Canadian doctor Norman Bethune , who was in charge of patient care on the street. On February 7, 2005, a memorial was to commemorate the victims of the massacre in Torre del Mar opened. It did so with the support of some of the survivors of the massacre. Since 2005, the victims have been commemorated on February 7th every year. In the last few years there has been a traveling photo exhibition about what is happening.
literature
- Norman Bethune: The crime of the road. Málaga-Almeria . Madrid 1937.