Monument practices around Spanish War and Dictatorship mass graves since 1936 (working title)

On 19 July 1936, Emilio Mola gave the following instruction to the insurgents against the Spanish Republic: “It is necessary to create an atmosphere of terror, to leave a feeling of domination by eliminating without scruple or hesitation anyone who does not think as we do.” According to historians such as Santos Juliá, Julián Casanova, Francisco Espinosa, and Paul Preston, the number of people killed is estimated at between 100,000 and 130,000. The most obvious material testimony is the existence of hundreds of mass graves throughout the country. However, not everybody was killed. The generational transmission of the memory of those who were murdered remained in the hands of families, militants, and activists who survived. They opted for different strategies to make memory go beyond mind. The forms chosen to externalize these memories are symptomatic of the need to define a place and establish a certain order. Initially, this took the form of placing stones, crosses and flowers on the mass graves despite the repression. Subsequently, in the final years of the Dictatorship, the spaces were progressively monumentalized with the construction of enduring structures such as monoliths, gardens, and sculptures on the mass graves, and with the exhumation of the bodies to integrate them into vaults, pyramids, or obelisks in the years of the Transition. Those actions that have continued to be reproduced up to the present day.

It is possible to see in this context that the decision to externalize the memory of those who were murdered will pass through affections, but also through values and criteria of rationality. Thus, the social action, as defined by Max Weber, of producing a physical structure to mark the mass graves would acquire a meaningful character. Through these bodily actions, through commemorations and intervention in the places, a memory beyond the mind is produced. It is done by remembering as Edward Casey describes, creating structures using the mass graves, and visiting them as part of rites and tributes despite the material limitations for remembrance imposed by the Dictatorship and the subsequent governments. The production of these forms in a society dominated by repression since 1936 produces a manifestation of consciousness for those who remember. As Valentin Voloshinov says:  "Consciousness can harbour only in the image, the word, the meaningful gesture, and so forth." This meaningful gesture of producing a new image by means of the bodies buried in the mass graves, trying to influence the society that has ignored their existence for decades is a social action that starts from an externalisation of the memory beyond the mind where the memory of the murders was kept.  This is how the monument practices around mass graves could be defined. These practices that have evolved around the mass graves are thus the object of my research.

I travelled along more than 25,000 kilometres of road to visit only a hundred of the more than 600 practices that have been developed at points all over the territory. A large sample, which consisted of visiting the sites and interviewing and observing, participating in tributes and commemorations, as well as recording the construction and unveiling of monuments. I used ethnographic techniques to develop a qualitative understanding of the chosen sample that enabled me to access my field of study from my commitment to an art history merged with comprehensive sociology. 

Short biography

Daniel Palacios González is Eumanities Fellow at the a.r.te.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne, as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Horizon 2020: MSCA). He is currently pursuing his PhD at the Universität zu Köln in cotutelle with the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and co-supervision with the Université Rennes 2. He holds a MA in Cultural Policies and Management from the Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu (UNESCO Chair for Interculturalism and Mediation in the Balkans) and Université Lyon 2, and a MSc in Community Cultural Development from the Universidad de Oriente, Cuba. Prior to joining the a.r.te.s. Graduate School for the Humanities, he was Assistant Professor at the Universidad de Oriente, Research Assistant at the Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende in Chile, Fellow at the Centro de Estudios de América Latina - Universidad de Chile, Student Fellow at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Visiting Researcher at the Université de Rennes 2 and the Institute of Language, Literature and Anthropology of the Spanish National Research Council. He participated in the research projects Long exposure: the narratives of Spanish contemporary art for “wide audiences” at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and “BELOW GROUND: Mass Grave Exhumations and Human Rights in Historical, Transnational and Comparative Perspective” at the Spanish National Research Council. He is currently member of the research project “Beyond Bellow Ground: From the Forensic Turn to Necropolitics in the Exhumation of Mass Graves” at the Universitat de Barcelona and the research group DeVisiones. Discourses, genealogies, and practices in contemporary visual creation at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he teaches as Honorary Professor.

Contact: daniel.palaciosgonzalez(at)uni-koeln.de

Scientific Conferences

Palacios González, D.: “Monument Practices on War and Dictatorship Mass Graves in Spain since 1936: Local Cultural Memories Upstream Official Narratives”, War Memories: From the Civilians to the Military, June 23-24, 2021, Le Mans Université, Le Mans, France.

Palacios González, D.: “Une écriture de l'histoire sur le territoire: Pratiques sur les fosses communes depuis 1936”, Séminaire CAPS, March 11, 2021, Université Rennes 2, Rennes, France.

Palacios González, D.: “Embodied Monumental Forms:  Memory Practices on Spanish Mass Graves since 1936”, AHRC Interdisciplinary Conference 2020. FORM AND FORGETTING, September 21-23, 2020, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Palacios González, D.: “De marcas, cuerpos y supervivencias: Prácticas monumentales sobre fosas comunes desde 1936”, Seminario de estudios visuales y antropología de la imagen, September 16, 2020, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “De la señalización de las fosas comunes a su representación en las calles: Estrategias visuales y búsqueda de justicia para las víctimas de la Guerra Civil Española”, Journées d'études Street art : territoires physiques, virtuels et interactions, October 9-10, 2019, Université Rennes 2, Rennes, France.

Palacios González, D.: “Monument Practices on Spanish War and Dictatorship Mass Graves: Urban Ostracism and Strategies for Spatial Justice”, Balzan Prize Research Group “Urban Change and Memory” Summer School, 20^th August 2019 ,the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.

Palacios González, D.: “Performing Memory in the Arts and the Media” [As Chair], Aftermaths of War International Conference, 25-28th June 2019, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “Searching for the Arts of Memory: Prints, Paintings, Performances and Multimedia” [As Chair], Memory Studies Association Annual Conference, 25-28th June 2019, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “The  Monument  as Expanded Practice: Interdisciplinary Approach to the After-exhumation Memorials of the Spanish Civil War” [As Chair], Memory Studies Association Annual Conference, 25-28th June 2019, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “Special Session: Institutional Memory Politics in Spain” [As Chair] in Memory Studies Association Annual Conference, 25-28th June 2019, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “Un lugar donde llevar flores: La monumentalización de fosas comunes en Castilla desde 1977”, Aftermaths of War International Conference, 5-7th  June 2019, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “From Mass Executions to Mass Graves Excavations: Legitimation and De-Legitimation of the Spanish State”, Journée d’étude « Légitimation du politique: discours, acteurs, pratiques », 8-9th November 2018, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.

Palacios González, D., Souto Martín, M.: “Narrar la Guerra Civil desde el arte contemporáneo: El Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía como espacio de memoria”, Seminario. Larga Exposición: las narraciones del arte contemporáneo español para los “grandes públicos”, 17-18th November 2017, Madrid, Spain.

de Haro García, N., Madrid Brito, D., Rivas Venegas, M., Palacios González, D., García Pérez, B.: “Modern and contemporary Spanish art for all: some experiences in public art history” [Poster], 4th Annual Conference of the International Federation for Public History, 5 - 9th June 2017, Ravenna, Italy.

Palacios González, D.: “El valor del trabajo en la obra de arte contemporáneo: una aproximación a su reconocimiento desde la economía política”, 1st International Conference: Culture from a multidisciplinary perspective, 17th March 2017, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “El reconocimiento de la valorización social del trabajo en la obra de arte: posibilidades metodológicas desde la sociología francesa”, Seminario en Construcción 2017, 20th February 2017, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Palacios González, D.: “La Dimensión Comunitaria del Desarrollo Cultural: por una gestión cultural participativa”,  II Congreso de Gestión Cultural, 29th September 2016, Valencia, Spain.

Souto Martín, M. and Palacios González, D.: “The Museum of America in Madrid: A Problematic Colonial Heritage in Postcolonial Times” [Poster], YOCOCU 2016 - YOuth in COnservation of CUltural Heritage International Conference, 21 – 23th September 2016, Madrid, Spain.

Research Papers

Palacios González, D.: “Prácticas monumentales Post-Exhumación: Entre el pragmatismo y la escritura de la historia”, Huarte de San Juan. Geografía e historia, N.28, 2021, https://doi.org/10.48035/rhsj-gh.28.8

Palacios González, D.: “Memoria, ética y educación desde las fosas comunes: más allá del duelo y el monumento”, Dilemata. International Journal of Applied Ethics, N. 33, 2020. ISSN 1989-7022.

Palacios González, D.: “De la señalización de las fosas comunes a su representación en las calles. Monumentos, marchas y grafitis frente a la Memoria Histórica”, HispanismeS. Revue de la Societé des Hispanistes Français, N. 14, 2020.

Palacios González, D., Saqqa Carazo, M.: “De la exhumación a la monumentalización : Una perspectiva interdisciplinar sobre la legitimación política en España desde el año 2000”, Amnis. Revue d'etudes des sociétés et cultures contemporaines Europe-Amérique, N. 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.4000/amnis.4377

Palacios González, D.: “Los Centros Socioculturales de Distrito en Madrid. Un análisis estratégico para la participación comunitaria”, Culturas. Revista de Gestión Cultural, vol. 4, No 2, 2017, eISSN: 2386-7515. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/cs.2017.8734

Palacios González, D.: “Desarrollo cultural local y desarrollo cultural comunitario. Deslinde conceptual para una gestión participativa”, Culturas. Revista de Gestión Cultural, vol. 4, No 1, 2017, eISSN: 2386-7515. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4995/cs.2017.7487

Palacios González, D.: “Las Casas de la Cultura en Madrid: estado actual de un problema histórico para la comunidad local”, SANTIAGO: Revista de la Universidad de Oriente, vol. 142, 2017, e-ISSN: 2227-6513

Palacios González, D.: “Euskadi con el pueblo chileno: Donaciones de artistas vascos y navarros al Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende”, Ars Bilduma: Revista del Departamento de Historia del Arte y Música de la Universidad del Pais Vasco.  nº6, 2016, ISSN 1989-9262.

Palacios González, D.: “ETA contra los Encuentros de Pamplona: Un desencuentro entre arte y política”, Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teoría del Arte. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, vol. 27, 2015, ISSN: 1130-5517, eISSN: 2530-3562. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15366/anuario2015.003

Palacios González, D.: “Artistas vascos y navarros: Una revisión generacional (1966 - 2007)”, RIEV – Revista Internacional de los Estudios Vascos, nº60 - 1, 2015, ISSN 0212-7016.

Book Chapters

Palacios González, D. 2021. “Sobrevivir para construir memorias: El largo camino de las prácticas monumentales sobre fosas comunes “. Gabrada, V. (Ed) Valencia 1936-2020. Violencia, conceptualización, memoria, represión, estudios, monumentalización, exhumaciones. Valencia: Diputación de Valencia, 2021. ISBN: 978-84-7795-865-9.

Saqqa Carazo, M. and Palacios González, D. Spanish Civil War Mass Grave Exhumations: Legitimations and De-Legitimations In Contemporary Spain. Дискурс легитимации: язык и политика в эпоху глобальных вызовов : монография / Н. В. Грибачева, Д. Диас, А. А. Дорская [и др.] ; под общ. ред. А. В. Колмогоровой. Красноярск : Сиб, 2019. pp.142-166. ISBN 978-5-7638-4130-5.

Souto Martín, M., Palacios González, D.: “The Museum of America in Madrid: A Problematic Colonial Heritage in Postcolonial Times”, 5th International Conference Youth in Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Madrid: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 2018, ISBN: 978-84-617-4237-0.

Palacios González, D. and de Haro García, N.: “La solidaridad artística con Chile desde España: un viaje de ida y vuelta”. Solidaridades, Villafamés: MACVAC, 2017. ISBN: 978-84-697-7453-3.

University Lectures

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid – As Honorary Professor (February – May 2021): Visual Arts in the Contemporary World.

Université Rennes 2 – As Guest Speaker (March 2021): Une écriture de l'histoire sur le territoire.

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid – As Honorary Profesor (February – March 2020): Visual Arts in the Contemporary World.

New York University (Madrid Campus) – As Guest Speaker (January – February 2020): Et in Hispania Ego: Monument Practices on Mass Graves in Spain and guided tour in the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

Université Rennes 2 – As Guest Speaker (November 2018): Cultural Memories of the Exhumations of the Spanish Civil War.

Universidad de Oriente – As Guest Professor (November - December 2016): History of Spanish Art in the 20th Century.

Universidad de Oriente – As Assistant Professor (November 2015 – March 2016): History of Art 4, History of Art 5, History of Spanish Art, History of Latin American Art.

Awards and Fellowships

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Felloship
European Commission Horizon 2020 funds - Universität zu Köln (2018-2021)

Second price of the National Graduate Excellence Awards
Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Deporte (2018)

Postgraduate Fellowship
Fundación Mutua Madrileña (2015-2017)

Extraordinary award to the best academic record
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2014)

Graduate Thesis Awarded with honours
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2014)

Graduate studentship
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2013-2014)

Center For Latin American Studies scholarship
Universidad de Chile (2012)

 

_{Cover photo: Mass grave in the Talavera Cemetery. (Photo: Daniel Palacios González) // Portrait photo: Patric Fouad}

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a.r.t.e.s. EUmanities has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 713600.

Details:
Call: H2020-MSCA-COFUND-2015 | Proposal: 713600 – artes EUmanities
CORDIS: http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/203182_de.html