for the Spain they believed to be better
An invitation to recover historical memory in Spain
in Miranda de Ebro concentration camp
Miranda de Ebro concentration camp was a Francoist concentration camp located in Miranda de Ebro, Burgos (Spain). It was created to house republican prisoners in 1937 and remained open until 1947, being the last to be closed down in Spain.
At the begining of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) there were thousands of Republican prisoners in northern Spain. To alleviate the problem, Burgos government was ordered to build four concentration camps in the province. One of them was installed in Miranda de Ebro thanks to its privileged geographical location near the enemy front and to its excellent communications by rail and road.
The concentration camp was placed in a 42,000 m² site belonging to the company Sulfatos Españoles SA, between the railway facilities and the river Bayas.
During its existence -1937-1947 Miranda de Ebro concentration camp housed different groups of prisoners:
-1937-40: It is estimated that the camp housed about 65.000 republican prisoners during this period.
-1941-44: Under German influence the camp was run by Paul Winzer, the head of the Gestapo in Francoist Spain. In 1943 the camp was housing about 3.500 foreigners, basically from International Brigades and other people fleeing collaborationist France. It also housed jews fleeing the Holocaust.
1944-47: During this period the camp housed nazi deserters and collaborators but not as common prisoners. In fact they were allowed to leave the camp during the day and some of them left Spain and went to South America thanks to the Odessa plan.
The camp was closed down in 1947 and demolished in 1953. Little of the camp remains, except the washhouse, the guard hut and the base of the guard tower.
These photos were taken in March 2017
