Eight decades back. 1 April 1939: II Spanish Championship in three years. The military rebels against the Republic officially proclaimed victory through part of the handwritten war of General Francisco Franco. As in many European countries, fascism prevailed in the Spanish state. The new political regime was called Franco, identified with the general who led the movement.

In previous years, some fought for the unity of Spain and others for democracy and socialism. For many peoples who fell, during these three long years it was a nightmare. In Bilbao, for example, in July 1937 the last symbol of Basque resistance fell. In the case of Tolosaldea, however, the separation took place earlier, at the beginning of the war, when the coup d ' état in Leitza. In August 1936 they entered Tolosa victorious. Resistance, albeit humble, came from the hands of the Socialists. And in some parts of the region, some physical remains of those struggles have been preserved to date. The consequences were appalling. The death penalty, imprisonment, exile or harassment were known to those who considered them defeated, including the most representative politicians and culturists in the region.

Visits by Franco

The fear and oppression caused by Franco in the first years had a great force and presence in the town. Head of State, Francisco Franco Bahamonde, was very rarely in Tolosa, where Toulouse remained. Specifically, on three occasions: 1941, 1948 and 1952. Always taking advantage of your stay in San Sebastian during the summer. During their stay, opponents of the regime were arrested and imprisoned. Franco was salted in Spain and also in Tolosaldea. The music band played the anthem of Spain and the villages were haggling under the Spanish flag. He visited the Elosegi de Tolosa berets factory on September 13, 1941, and was welcomed by the City Hall in Idiakez Square, where he had to go out to the balcony to respond to the cries of the neighbors. And not only then. Franco went several times through Tolosa, Madrid to San Sebastian and back. According to the chronicles of the time, in 1939 the tolosarras showed him “tremendous heat.”

However, fascist force had a special feature: the unlimited expansion of fear. The repression, beyond significant public figures, also affected the general population. In the region alone, five hundred people were killed, hundreds of citizens were imprisoned and deported, and 106 people were sent to the Gurs concentration area. Meanwhile, those who remained were starving, silent in terror and rage. It should be borne in mind that, after the end of the war, the Franco regime left over 200,000 deaths throughout the state.

Starting in 1939, a small number of brave people continued in politics, many of them far away and in exile. On the other hand, the lives of the inhabitants of the region changed radically and Tolosa was established in the center. The paper factory marked daily in the town, and the Basque Country regressed remarkably; most were dedicated exclusively to Spanish. In the surrounding villages, work predominated over the farmhouse and was spoken in Basque. Political dissent, on the contrary, remained at everyone’s house in general. They all carried war with them, in memory, in some secret drawer.

Franco tried to abolish everything related to the dictatorship, but the part of the concentration camps remained for a long time in the memory of many. Tolosarra Manu Aiertza, for example, knew the events of that time and is aware, at least, that in the bullring of Tolosa, as in many towns of Gipuzkoa, the Francoists established a concentration camp. The father and his father-in-law told him these stories. “My brother and I were going to ask, because we liked to know the story.”

“We were looking for rabies”

In 1903 the bullring of Tolosa opened. Besides carrying out numerous bullfights, other cultural events have also been organized and in recent years the bullfighting parties of the Carnivals have attracted the attention of many neighbors and neighbors. However, by the 36th War, the Francoists were looking for a special place.

At the age of 18-19, Aiertza had a great interest with his brother in knowing what happened in Tolosa during the war. “We knew that our parents had a very bad time because of tolosarras. And, understandably, we were young and we were going to look for rage; we wanted to know who they were and what they did.” In addition, Aiertza's father-in-law lived next to the bullring. He knew the situation very well in his youth. “There was also a need for the citizen’s willingness to live. He was going to wash the dishes to the soldiers in exchange for some food.”

Specifically, a division of military officers with bulls was located in the concentration enclosure of the Plaza de Toros. “They told me that they had started taking people there, as if it were a jail. In return, inmates had to fix roads and railways. The secret death was like a punishment, for four or five years, with endless torture. Many times, I'm sure it was better to die from a shot."

To make known

Aiertza says bullring was “strategic places”. “They were closed high wall areas, safe and relatively easy to control, because they had few doors.” As far as the figures are concerned, there is a great deal of ignorance about tolosarra. “It’s very difficult to calculate, but it would be thousands. In addition, under unfavorable conditions, the bullring had the capacity to accommodate a large number of people. There were many diseases and little cleanliness.”

He explains that very little was said about all these issues before. “It was forbidden to talk about feelings.” However, he stressed the importance of knowing the truth. “You have to learn from history, because that helps not to repeat the same mistakes.” In this regard, he added that, at present, "history is being crushed". “Young people do not know the old times and that is important for everyone to have their own principles and criteria. They don’t mean the whole truth.” It believes that the issue can be addressed in the field of education. “We want to get the workers out of the centers, but we must not forget that we have to get the people out.” On the other hand, he stressed that, over the years, the curiosity of many citizens has been lost to see how society has been transformed. “It’s understandable that today’s young people don’t ask about it. Now they are things far away and closer to us.”

This news has been posted by the Tolosaldea Portal and we have brought it thanks to the CC-by-sa license.