Corbrera d’Ebre, #56, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Yeah, I know what you are thinking. This is going to be yet another political blog post, this time about the potential threat of civil war in the United States because of how divided and hostile the country now appears to be.
But, no.
Today, I just wanted to present some photographs that will take you back to Spain’s Civil War (1936-1939).
But, wait, yes, it does apply somewhat to us ‘Mericans as well, so maybe I’ll just say this much…
There are apparently some in our fair country who are frothing at the mouth with glee at the thought of firing (with extreme anger) all the weapons in their home gun locker at “the other side” in order to “save the country”. Fortunately, I think this is just a very vocal and brainwashed minority, so I don’t anticipate any significant violence associated with Trump’s upcoming defeat. So I hope, anyway…
The thing about a civil war that armed fanatics don’t seem to understand, though, is that, once such forces are unleashed, you can’t simply slip the genie back in the beer bottle and you never know where it all might lead. It becomes a hydra monster that neither side can completely control. The end result could easily be much, much worse than the intial status quo. Think atrocities, reprisals against neighbors and whole families, mass murder, ethnic cleansing, firing squads, torture, dictatorship… the bloody list goes on. Take a look around the world and throughout history for plenty of examples.
So, as a reminder of the Spanish Civil War, and what civil war anywhere might mean, I thought I’d present some images of the physical destruction wrought on one particular town in Spain–destruction still visible today. Keep in mind that the physical demolition you see in these pictures is just the tiny tip of the devastation iceberg–you can’t see the emotional and psychological trauma, the PTSD, the fear, the paralyzed, the burned, and the limbless in the hospitals, the orphans left behind, the starving, the sick, the jailed, the hate and resentments that stay behind for generations… simmering.
But the ghosts who lived the war are still there, haunting the ruins…
The town we will visit today is Corbera d’Ebre near the Ebro River in the Tarragona province of Catalunya, the scene of heavy fighting from July through November of 1938.
Background: Some Spanish Civil War Factoids and Thoughts
–The 1939 victory by General Franco’s Nationalists over the Republican forces removed from power a democratically elected (if not very effective) government and Spain became a fascist dictatorship for the next nearly 40 years.
–The war resulted in some half a million deaths among soldiers and civilians of both sides, with many more wounded and disfigured. A similar number went into exile to avoid the violence and the reprisals. (This was out of a population of roughly 25 million, so the equivalent in the US today would be 6 1/2 million dead and the same number leaving the country for safety.)
–Franco’s regime was closely allied with Hitler and Nazi Germany. Indeed, the German and Italian fascist regimes lent important military support to Franco during the Civil War.
–The Germans with its Condor Legion were especially active in Spain in support of Franco’s troops. (Perhaps you have heard of Guernica?) This was excellent live fire experience for the Luftwaffe before Hitler started his own massive world war on September 1, 1939.
–Somewhere between 15,000 and 50,000 Spaniards were executed by the Franco regime in purges after the war concluded.
–For decades, schoolchildren in Spain raised their arms a la Nazi and sang Cara al Sol, the fascist hymn, to pictures of Franco on the wall.
–After the war, regional languages and cultures suffered harsh repression–especially in Basque Country and Catalunya.
–Spain has yet to really come to terms with the cruelties of that war and the excesses of the Franco regime. Indeed, political descendants of the Franco regime still serve in the government in Spain’s Partido Popular.
Photographic Essay – Corbrera d’Ebre
All images were made with the Nikon D850, various lenses, and handheld.
The bell tower of the church rises up behind the ruins:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #42, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Along with all the shrapnel and bullet damage, note the date: 1804. When this church went up, the Lewis and Clark Expedition departed for the West, the final formalities of the Louisana Purchase were completed, the last northern state abolished slavery (New Jersey), Alexander Hamilton died in a duel with Aaron Burr, and Thomas Jefferson was President. And around these parts they consider this structure relatively new!
Corbrera d’Ebre, #18, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
The XPMS above the Year 1804 is an abbreviation for Christus, passus, mortuus, sepultus, or Christ suffered, died, was buried. Note the huge structural cracks:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #76, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
I liked the angles, curves, tones, and lighting at the entrance to the bell tower as viewed through a wide angle lens at 14mm:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #10, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
A few steps higher and you find the entrance to the narrow spiral staircase leading up into the heights of the tower:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #8, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
They say that spiral staircases turn in this direction so that the defenders (above) can use their right hand (with sword) to defend themselves from the invaders (below) who are forced to use their left hand (with sword) on the way up:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #6, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Somehow this bell tower survived the months of bombardment in 1938:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #3, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
People, places, events, headlines from the Battle of Ebro, 1938:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #11, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
In the main hall of the church, here are several views of what remains of the ceiling:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #12, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Corbrera d’Ebre, #14, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Corbrera d’Ebre, #15, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
On the far right, note the huge iron staples that were installed to stop the worsening of some of the big structural cracks:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #17, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
A partial Moon hangs over Carrer Ample (Broad Street):
Corbrera d’Ebre, #28, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Some interior images from #13 Broad Street (Carrer Ample, 13). That odd thing in the corner looks to be an old, very weathered saddle. From 1938? Who knows?:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #22, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Some work is being done to reinforce the structure:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #24, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
The color version of the above is much more striking and seems more appropriate in this case:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #24, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
In the same building, upstairs, there was another scene that cried out for color. Were these walls painted this way in 1938? Or was this a post-war renovation?
Corbrera d’Ebre, #23, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Back to B&W in the basement at Carrer Ample, 13:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #25, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Inside this house you can see how rural folks used to live in the same structure with their animals–the beasts on this ground floor, the human beans above:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #45, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
More ruins:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #39, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Mural by the artist Manuel Andreu:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #41, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Around the corner from Broad Street, more ruins and the slightly bent bell tower beckons:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #42, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Unfortunately, that round carving under the street number has eroded into oblivion and is no longer legible. Was it a coat of arms, maybe?
Corbrera d’Ebre, #43, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Stone and timbers:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #48, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Corbrera d’Ebre, #59, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Ruins in vertical:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #61, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
I liked the juxtaposition of 1938 with the 21st century windmill generators in the background:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #64, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
More ruins and timbers:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #65, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
This is the back side of what used to be the doctor’s residence:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #67, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
The doctor’s residence, a closer view:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #71, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Here you can see the neat roofs of the new town that was rebuilt below the hill after the war. Can you spot the Catalan independence flag? In late November of 1938 (and later), that flag would have likely gotten you summarily executed in this village:
Corbrera d’Ebre, #75, Tarragona, Spain, 2020
Leave a reply