HISTAGRA launches the Four-Year Plan for Democratic Memory in Galicia 2024

HISTAGRA launches the Four-Year Plan for Democratic Memory in Galicia 2024


In October 2024, the Xunta de Galicia, through the First Vice-Presidency and Regional Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Tourism, and the Regional Ministry of Culture, Education and University and the University of Santiago de Compostela, signed a collaboration agreement to implement the Four-Year Democratic Memory Plan in 2024, under the auspices of the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory.


The team formed by historians, forensic anthropologists, archaeologists and geneticists continues to find out about the past of violence in Galicia, already with the experience of 2021, 2022 and 2023, through the study and exhumation of two new graves from 1936-1939 in the municipalities of Narón and Salvaterra de Miño. In addition to starting with the historical research of the Soutelo grave in Salceda de Caselas.
 

In addition, we continue updating the map of graves in Galicia, in order to carry out in the coming years a greater number of exhumations of the burials of those murdered by Franco's violence. At present we have 91 located, of which 12 were transferred the remains to Cuelgamuros in different years.


This year, we will proceed to inaugurate the monuments of recognition as a space of memory in the Municipal Cemetery of Vilagarcía de Arousa and Celanova.

 

You can consult the list of pits at:


www.nomesevoces.net/lugares/cartografia


In 2021, 2022 and 2023 the investigation and exhumation of the graves of Vilagarcía de Arousa and Crecente (2021), Celanova, Lousame and A Capela (2022), Narón Phase I, Oza-Cesuras and Viana do Bolo (2023) were carried out.


The four-year Plan integrates three fundamental strategic lines of the public policies of Democratic Memory that are intended to be developed throughout the period (2021-2024), although its objectives can be reviewed annually. These strategic lines are:
- Location, exhumation of graves and identification of victims.
- Dissemination of work carried out and results achieved.
- Recognition of burial sites and promotion of places of memory.


On the part of the USC, through the Histagra Group, the Professor of Contemporary History Lourenzo Fernández Prieto and the Doctor in History and professor Antonio Miguez Macho, coordinate a research team formed by archaeologists led by the USC professor Jose Carlos Sánchez Pardo, the forensic anthropologist of the IMELGA Fernando Serrulla Rech and the genetics team of the Institute of Forensic Sciences ‘Luis Concheiro’ led by María Victoria Lareu.


The tasks to be carried out in 2024 will be the following:

 

1. Location, exhumation, identification of victims:
Cabreira grave (Salvaterra de Miño).
Santa María do Val grave (Narón). Phase II
Grave of Soutelo (Salceda de Caselas). Phase I


2. Dignification of burial sites and promotion of places of memory. Works of recognition of the space of the mass grave in the cemetery of Celanova, Vilagarcía de Arousa. Event with the families of those murdered in Celanova and Crecente.


3. Dissemination of work carried out and results obtained.


Once again, the help and presence of Galician civil society, through democratic memory associations, local researchers and relatives of those murdered, became a fundamental pillar of the research, just as it was for the smooth running of nomesevoces.net.
Contact with social agents is essential, and we call on all those who wish to exhume or investigate graves related to Franco's violence, as well as to provide information about them.


More information:

 

https://www.nomesevoces.net/gl/novas/3/presentamos-el-inicio-de los-trabajos-del-pmd-un-ronda-de-prensa-junto-con el-rector-de la-usc

 

https://www.nomesevoces.net/gl/lugares/proxectos/1/fosas-y-lugares-de-violencia


Contact:


histagra@usc.es
881812734 / 881971010 Ext. 101