12-09-09 Dispatch de Barcelona: Franco and Fascism - an unfinished business.

Truth and Liberty are inseparable.  Reckoning with Fascism and the Franco Era is an unfinished business in Spain in general, and in Barcelona in particular.  The People of the United States are not even in position to reckon with conduct of the US government during the W. Bush and Obama years.  Likewise, the People of the State of Israel are not in position to reckon with events such as the Bus 300 Affair and the Assassination of Yitzhaq Rabin – landmark events in announced regime change.
 

Monolith en Passeig de la Gracia - where Gucci, Armani, Chanel, Feragamo, etc are lined up - a Fascist monument commemorating Franco's victory in the Civil War. 

Fountain in Carre de la Karme near La Biblioteca de Catalunya - commemorating the civilian victims of Franco's bombing of Barcelona in 1938.


The broken walls of Placa de Saint Felip Neri.  The walls, damaged by the bombing, were left unfixed through the years.


Capella in the Cloisters of La Catedrala

Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, stands side by side with the 1,000 year old Convent de Angels, and what looks like an 18th century Spanish-style nearby, stands side by side with an ugly 1960s construction.  The same is seen on other blocks in the area, including the buildings surrounding the Fountain in Carre de la Karme, above.  I guess that they all reflect rebuilding, during the post-WWII years, of blocks that were damaged in the bombing.
 
The largest existing monument of anti-Fascist nature, are probably the Galerias Subterraneas, Barcelona, where civilians hid during the bombings. They are open to the public only a few hours a week. 

"The Bombing of Barcelona was a series of Nationalist airstrikes which took place from 16 to 18 March 1938, during the Spanish Civil War. Up to 1,300 people was killed and at least 2,000 wounded."

Spain to this date is unable to reckon with the Civil War and the Franco Era, as reflected in the photographs of the monuments above.

The People of the United States are not even in position to begin to address the events of the W. Bush and Obama years.

Likewise the People of the State of Israel are not even in position to begin to address the "Lankmark Events in Unannounced Regime Change," such as the Bus 300 Affair or the Assassination of Yitzhaq Rabin. [2]

LINKS: 

[1] More on the history of Barcelona during the Civil War years, can be found in the history of the School of Engineering, of all places: LA ESCUELA DE INGENIEROS EN GUERRA (1936-1938)

http://www.google.es/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC0QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fupcommons.upc.edu%2Frevistes%2Fbitstream%2F2099%2F4010%2F1%2FDocument_pral(1-74).pdf&ei=QF5MUPDNIsi90QWg44CIDA&usg=AFQjCNGHV08eU7EdGRovTqzpxHOYzm0tUA&cad=rja
[2] 12-09-07 the Ongoing US-Israeli Love Affair, b) Landmark Events in Unannounced Regime Change in Israel
http://www.scribd.com/doc/105237579/