The family history of Amalia Barrajón López It is already global: the photograph that the woman sent can be seen from all over the world. In the image his grandfather, Vicente López Nieto, appears with a companion in the Battle of the Ebro (between July and November 1938). Born in Extremadura, López Nieto was wounded twice in combat. After getting married, he settled in Madrid. His personal experiences are posted in the digital corridors of the Virtual Museum of the Spanish Civil War, the only center dedicated exclusively to the contestborn in Canada and inaugurated in September 2022.
The project, which already has more than 74,000 visitors from 130 countries (about 44,000 from Spain), has just announced the beginning of its second phase: opens four new galleries, increases its linguistic offering and, precisely, invites the public to share objects and personal experiences about the most important Spanish historical episode of the 20th century. Meanwhile, on Spanish soil, the opening of the Teruel Civil War Museum is still pending, financed by the autonomous government of Aragon, whose works have suffered delays and are scheduled to conclude in September.
The promoters, Adrian Shubert, professor of History at York University in Toronto, and Antonio Cazorla Sánchez, professor of the same area at Trent University (also in Canada), underline the growing interest on the part of the public, as well as the importance of the new rooms for a better understanding and preservation of this historical period. The platform is located now available in French, in addition to the existing versions in English and Spanish.
For the museum’s creators, the most important element of This second phase is the Open Gallery. It is a room made up of photographs, letters, documents and other objects contributed by the public. Like Antoine Nieto Sandoval, born in Madrid and son of Spanish republicans, who has lived almost his entire life in France as a result of his parents’ exile. The man shares a letter in this gallery, with the letterhead and seal of the Military Aviation, written and signed by his father in September 1938 at the Los Monjos airfield, near Villafranca del Penedès. The letter extends gratitude for the delivery of a pennant made by the Young Women’s Association of Igualada. Nieto Sandoval’s mother, who belonged to the group, met her future husband in said Catalan town; They met again later in France. “The letter represents something like the origin of our family,” writes Nieto Sandoval.
intrafamilial history
“It is a very important space, since it will allow us to tell the intimate and intra-familial story of the Civil War, that is, its most human, diverse and nuanced side,” explains Cazorla Sánchez. For his part, Shubert explains how to participate: “We ask for a photo of the object with a text of no more than 400 words describing it, telling how it was obtained and explaining what meaning or importance it has for the sender.” Those interested can contact the museum via email [email protected].
Additionally, two new galleries focus in Catalonia yel Basque Country: facts, protagonists, the impact and legacy in those regions. The first is also available in Catalan and the second in Basque. “The creation of these spaces is due to two important reasons: to affirm the diversity of Spain and the fact that both communities had very particular dynamics during the war,” comments Antonio Cazorla Sánchez. Likewise, the museum signed an agreement with the Democratic Memorial of Catalonia to have access to a database of 486 interviews.
Another new gallery It is the so-called Global; a space that shows how the Spanish Civil War was perceived in different parts of the world. This room so far presents a dozen countries, but another 20 will be added soon. An example is Canada: in this section it is possible to learn multiple details, such as the role of international brigade members of Canadian origin, the support for Franco’s troops by some sectors of the country and the non-intervention policy established from Ottawa. A policy that, as a document in the gallery shows, did not prevent the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from carrying out monitoring and surveillance work on individuals, groups and organizations that could help the Republican side.
Regarding the next steps, Shubert comments: “The museum is a project under continuous construction, made up of an increasingly large team of collaborators. We have other galleries planned. One, which will appear soon, on the origins of the war; another, a little later, about its consequences. We will also open a room focused on the war in Galicia that will have a version in Galician. At the same time, there will be a section dedicated to teaching resources.”
The Virtual Museum of the Spanish Civil War has received contributions from York University and Trent University, as well as the Social and Human Sciences Research Council of Canada, the Government of Spain, the Spanish embassy in Ottawa and Modern Records Centre. Likewise, the Generalitat of Catalonia will cover the translation of some of the content into Catalan.
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