Comissió de la Dignitat

The Comissió de la Dignitat (Commission of Dignity) is a Catalan memorialist organisation founded in 2002 with the primary goal of securing the return to their legitimate owners of documentation confiscated by the Franco dictatorship in Catalonia, popularly known as the Papers de Salamanca. The name refers to a writing by Portuguese author José Saramago stating that peoples disappear when they lose the capacity to feel indignation. It was an initiative of Antoni Strubell, and in its early days Enric Borràs, Pep Cruanyes, Pilar Rebaque, Carme Forcadell and Elisenda Romeu played very active roles. It has collaborated with numerous Catalan entities and institutions, as well as political and intellectual figures such as former President of the Parliament of Catalonia Joan Rigol and Hispanists Henry Ettinghausen and Paul Preston. Since 2003, the organisation has annually awarded the Premis Dignitat to individuals notable in the causes it advocates. Beyond achieving the—still partial—return of documents, the Comissió de la Dignitat has played a prominent role in the recovery of historical memory in Catalonia, maintaining constant activity honouring and vindicating the victims of the Franco dictatorship. The confiscation took place in the months following the entry of Nationalist troops into Catalonia after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Archives and shelves of all kinds of entities, the institutions of the Generalitat, town councils, and many individuals were emptied. This included correspondence, books, posters, photographs and diverse administrative documentation. This task began on a large scale in Barcelona at the hands of the Delegación del Estado para la Recuperación de Documentos, the day after the city fell. The documentation was transported by train to Salamanca, where it was sifted and classified to facilitate the political persecution of defenders of the republican Generalitat and opponents of the Franco regime. As an instrument of fascist repression, it constituted one of the basic sources of information for the Tribunal Especial de Repressió de la Maçoneria i del Comunisme created in 1940, and many death sentences handed down by this tribunal were based on the confiscated documentation. After a democratic regime was reinstated in Spain and the Generalitat de Catalunya recovered, one of the first demands of the Catalan government was the return of its plundered archives. Throughout the 1980s the documentation was carefully catalogued. On 17 March 1995 the PSOE government, then presided over by Felipe González, agreed to restore to the Generalitat the documents conserved in the Archivo Histórico Nacional, Sección Guerra Civil. The angry reaction of Salamanca authorities, with the largest popular demonstration in the city's history, made the socialist government back down. By Royal Decree 426/1999 of 12 March, the Spanish government, now in the hands of the Partido Popular, tried to lock down the deposit of documents in Salamanca, turning it into the 'Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española'. Despite pressure from various Catalan parties, the Spanish government repeatedly refused to return the stolen documents. On 11 June 2002, the Comissió de la Dignitat presented at the Paranimf of the University of Barcelona an 'International Declaration' demanding the confiscated documentation, which had the backing of the international academic community, led by distinguished personalities such as Noam Chomsky, Francesco Cossiga, Rigoberta Menchú, Danielle Mitterrand, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Nawal al-Sa'dawi and Mario Soares, together with more than 700 professors from over 200 universities worldwide who supported the demand.

The Comissió de la Dignitat is a Catalan memorialist organisation founded in 2002 with the primary goal of securing the return to their legitimate owners of documentation confiscated by the Franco dictatorship in Catalonia, popularly known as the Papers de Salamanca. The name refers to a writing by Portuguese author José Saramago stating that peoples disappear when they lose the capacity to feel indignation. It was an initiative of Antoni Strubell, and in its early days Enric Borràs, Pep Cruanyes, Pilar Rebaque, Carme Forcadell and Elisenda Romeu played very active roles. It has collaborated with numerous Catalan entities and institutions, as well as political and intellectual figures such as former President of the Parliament of Catalonia Joan Rigol and Hispanists Henry Ettinghausen and Paul Preston. Since 2003, the organisation has annually awarded the Premis Dignitat to individuals notable in the causes it advocates. Beyond achieving the—still partial—return of documents, the Comissió de la Dignitat has played a prominent role in the recovery of historical memory in Catalonia, maintaining constant activity honouring and vindicating the victims of the Franco dictatorship. The confiscation took place in the months following the entry of Nationalist troops into Catalonia after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Archives and shelves of all kinds of entities, the institutions of the Generalitat, town councils, and many individuals were emptied. This included correspondence, books, posters, photographs and diverse administrative documentation. This task began on a large scale in Barcelona at the hands of the Delegación del Estado para la Recuperación de Documentos, the day after the city fell. The documentation was transported by train to Salamanca, where it was sifted and classified to facilitate the political persecution of defenders of the republican Generalitat and opponents of the Franco regime. As an instrument of fascist repression, it constituted one of the basic sources of information for the Tribunal Especial de Repressió de la Maçoneria i del Comunisme created in 1940, and many death sentences handed down by this tribunal were based on the confiscated documentation. After a democratic regime was reinstated in Spain and the Generalitat de Catalunya recovered, one of the first demands of the Catalan government was the return of its plundered archives. Throughout the 1980s the documentation was carefully catalogued. On 17 March 1995 the PSOE government, then presided over by Felipe González, agreed to restore to the Generalitat the documents conserved in the Archivo Histórico Nacional, Sección Guerra Civil. The angry reaction of Salamanca authorities, with the largest popular demonstration in the city's history, made the socialist government back down. By Royal Decree 426/1999 of 12 March, the Spanish government, now in the hands of the Partido Popular, tried to lock down the deposit of documents in Salamanca, turning it into the 'Archivo General de la Guerra Civil Española'. Despite pressure from various Catalan parties, the Spanish government repeatedly refused to return the stolen documents. On 11 June 2002, the Comissió de la Dignitat presented at the Paranimf of the University of Barcelona an 'International Declaration' demanding the confiscated documentation, which had the backing of the international academic community, led by distinguished personalities such as Noam Chomsky, Francesco Cossiga, Rigoberta Menchú, Danielle Mitterrand, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Nawal al-Sa'dawi and Mario Soares, together with more than 700 professors from over 200 universities worldwide who supported the demand. This international call was complemented by a series of public events in Salamanca to explain the reasons for the campaign, in which a delegation formed by representatives of all Catalan parties—except the PP—, the poster artist Carles Fontserè and the philosopher Xavier Rubert de Ventós participated, gaining some support among progressive sectors of the city but unable to overcome the reluctance of the main political institutions. Two years later, the victory of the PSOE in the 2004 general elections and the investiture of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as new president of the Spanish government with the support of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya opened the way towards satisfying the aspirations of the Comissió de la Dignitat. Thus, in January 2006 a slow return began of most of the documents, almost all of those of the Generalitat de Catalunya, despite last-minute attempts by the Salamanca City Council to prevent it through the courts. But the appointment of the new culture minister, César Antonio Molina, once again frustrated the complete return of the bundles, leading to new events and demonstrations. The most notable was the great concert at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona on 21 October 2007 within the campaign 'La Nació Catalana diu PROU, volem tots els papers!', in which Maria del Mar Bonet, Raimon and Pep Sala performed before nearly twelve thousand people. In October 2010, the Comissió de la Dignitat organised at the church of Sant Agustí Nou in Barcelona the first national funeral dedicated to the figure of President Lluís Companys on the 70th anniversary of his execution, attended by 700 people, and promoted the restitution of the large flag that the republican Generalitat had flown from Montjuïc Castle, which was finally placed there permanently the following year. In early 2013, the Comissió de la Dignitat collected… (text truncated).

• 2023

  On 31 October, filed a contentious-administrative appeal before the Audiencia Nacional against the Ministry of Culture for inaction regarding the restitution of the Papers de Salamanca.

• 2011

  The large flag of the republican Generalitat was permanently placed at Montjuïc Castle.

• 2010

  In October, organised the first national funeral for President Lluís Companys at Sant Agustí Nou church.

• 2007

  On 21 October, a great concert at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona as part of the campaign 'La Nació Catalana diu PROU, volem tots els papers!'.

• 2006

  In January, a slow return began of most of the documents, almost all of those of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

• 2003

  Began annually awarding the Premis Dignitat.

• 2002

  Comissió de la Dignitat founded as a Catalan memorialist organisation.

• 2002

  On 11 June, presented an 'International Declaration' at the University of Barcelona demanding the return of confiscated documentation.

Memorialist civil society organisation advocating for the return of confiscated documents and historical memory.

1. 1Comissió de la Dignitat official websitecomissiodeladignitat.cat
2. 2Comissió de la Dignitat - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Comissió de la Dignitat - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org