Family’s 90-year search for answers after father vanished in Francoist uprising
2026 marks the 90th anniversary of the Francoist uprising and the beginning of the Spanish civil war. An estimated 120,000-150,000 people disappeared during Franco’s repression, their remains scattered across 2,567 mass graves. The far right’s entry into regional governments, as in Extremadura, is dismantling the historical memory laws that allow for reparations for victims of the disappearances. The photojournalist Roberto Palomo researched the life of his great-grandfather, the recovery of his remains and the effects of traumatic memory on the descendants
TL;DR
- Silvestre Indias Carvajal, a municipal clerk in Feria, Spain, disappeared in August 1936 during the Francoist uprising.
- Rumors suggested he was shot and thrown into a well, but his family, including his wife María Sánchez González and daughter Silvestra Indias, endured years of uncertainty and hardship.
- In October 2021, archaeologists discovered the remains of 20 people in a well near Feria, and after DNA analysis, Silvestre's thigh bone was identified.
- His remains were returned to his 90-year-old granddaughter, Silvestra, in November 2023, providing closure but underscoring the generational trauma and the fight for historical recognition.
- The article touches upon the political polarization in Spain regarding historical memory laws, with recent efforts by conservative and far-right parties to repeal or replace them, potentially hindering efforts to find and identify victims of the civil war and dictatorship.
- It is estimated that between 120,000 and 150,000 people disappeared during the war and subsequent dictatorship, with many bodies buried in mass graves.