5/8/13

13 Roses (executed on August 5, 1939)


It tells the story of 13 young women who were sentenced to death by a military court for a crime they had not committed: an attack on a military official during the first years of Franco's dictatorship in which three people died. The women were already in jail when the assault took place.

Arrested a month after the end of the Spanish Civil War, the women were sympathizers of the socialist Spanish Republic which was overthrown by the fascist Nationalist forces. They suffered harsh interrogations and were jailed at Las Ventas in Madrid. The women, known as the 13 roses were executed at dawn on August 5, 1939.

There's a film: Las 13 rosas (2007)

Plot: True story of thirteen totally normal young women that suffered harsh questioning and were put in prison under made up charges of helping the rebellion against Franco back in the 1940's. Despite of their innocence, the thirteen were soon executed without even a trace of evidence of any wrong doing.

And the couple of documentaries you can watch here. They were broadcast on Spanish TV.
The first documentary (in nine parts) is called From Oblivion to Memory; the second one is a quote from one of the women's last letters: not my name be cut off from history (que mi nombre no se borre de la historia)











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