Machine-gun emplacement in the outskirts of Madrid. Another example of remains without interpretation.
Old Belchite and Old Corbera d'Ebre share many things in common. Both were small towns whose inhabitants lived more or less peacefully. However, the rages of war caught up with them. The Spanish Civil War was fought in a very traditional way, following the seasons. Therefore, both armies built up their forces for the Spring and Summer campaigns. Belchite and Corbera d'Ebre were in the middle of several of those offensives and counteroffensives.
After the war, a new town was built a couple of miles northwest, but the ruins of the so called Viejo (old) Belchite remained intact as testimony of the "red army" destruction. While no serious attempts have taken place to preserve these ruins and other similar ones, Corbera d'Ebre shines as an example of the opposite. Several public agencies under the Generalitat Catalana, created centers of interpretation, memorials and partially reconstructed several buildings. The product of this concerted effort translates in a comprehensive and non-partisan discourse about the conflict.