Belchite (pronounced Bellsheetay) is located approximately halfway between Madrid and Barcelona. When
planing our trip it was the first 'must see' that we penciled in. The
town was far more sobering than we envisaged.
Belchite is a memorial to the Spanish civil war. At the commencement of the uprising the province of Aragon decided to join the Nationalists (Franco). About 200 people in Belchite, who were known Republicans, were shot.
On the 24th August, 1937 the battle of Belchite began as the Republican army launched a major offensive, supported by the International Brigade (including a New Zealander - Bill Belcher), and Soviet tanks. The siege of Belchite lasted for 13 days. There were 6000 Nationalist troops defending the town, over 4000 of them perished under the onslaught. The town was taken street by street; house by house, as the design of the town did not allow armoured vehicles to enter. Fatalities amoungst civilians and Republicans were also extreme.
In March, 1938 the town was recaptured by Franco with the help of German bombers.
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| A cross made by Prisoners and erected on the site where hundreds of dead bodies were piled up and burnt. |
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| The remains of San (St) Martins church |
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| A view across part of the town |
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| Tank shell holes, not windows |
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| Desolation |
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| An example of a basement. The majority of the town had tunnels running under it. These tunnels were home to the civilians during the siege. |
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| Bullet holes/marks cover all the walls that remain standing. |
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| Red cloths were tied to the outside of buildings when it was conformed that no more Nationalist soldiers remained inside. |
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| The entrance to High street. |
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| The interior of the main chapel. |
Dreadful business war. I read somewhere that since the end of the 2nd WW there has been only 60 days of peace across the planet, That includes civil wars obviously. Husks of culture bring home the reality and brutality of conflict. Almost hear the people screaming 'scream time'.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to the Prado? You mentioned Madrid. Gretel you are one of three artists in the family. I missed the boat genetically on that:) However I do like Francesco Goya. His Black Paintings are in there including his Saturn Devouring His Sun. I wote the details of that to you years ago while I was in Sydney. You may not remember. I likened it to my relationship to my father. Very excited to be able to see it up close.
And also I found Madrid so sophisticated. Humming and modern. Happy like Amsterdam. Not because of any stereotypical reason but because they are young vibrant European cultures. It made NZ seem like a very Protestant judgemental backwater. #justsayin.
The history is as fascinating as it is gut wrenching. I hope some lovely tapas and good wine was on the menu after this day in pictures:)