From its early years, the Franco dictatorship institutionalized repression as a core policy, with forced labor playing a central role. This practice served a dual purpose: rebuilding the economy and re-educating the population through punishment. Across Spain, various forced labor units were established, ranging from worker battalions and disciplinary battalions of penalized soldiers to penitentiary colonies for those imprisoned due to their political actions. This vast institutional system was marked by labor exploitation and abuse, with hundreds of projects—including ports, roads, railways, bridges, canals, and mines—constructed using near-slave labor.
Today, many of these physical remnants still exist, but their origins are often forgotten, detached from the oppressive policies of Franco’s regime. These sessions aim to shed light on this hidden history, exploring specific cases and restoring the identity and dignity of those who suffered under these brutal practices.
