The State Secretariat for Democratic Memory has declared the penal detachments used for the construction of the Madrid-Burgos railway between 1926 and 1968 as a Site of Democratic Memory (Resolution of 18 May 2026). This measure recognises the use of penal labour through the 'Redemption of Sentences through Work' system between 1941 and 1955, during which approximately 6,000 prisoners worked (Resolution of 18 May 2026). The declaration aims to preserve remaining vestiges and disseminate the historical memory of the victims.
For the General State Administration, the resolution imposes a duty to promote audiovisual and digital resources, as well as memorial signage (plaques or panels), to disseminate the facts (Resolution of 18 May 2026). The current use of the assets remains unchanged, but any future use must be compatible with the preservation of the memory of human rights violations (Resolution of 18 May 2026). Interested parties have one month to file an optional appeal for reversal (Articles 123 and 124 of Law 39/2015).
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