Spain - Remembering The 13 Rosas, Executed By Franco's Fascists in 1939

The 13 Rosas, photographed 3 days before they were lined up and shot by Fascists

'Las Trece Rosas' - the Thirteen Roses - is the name given in Spain to a group of thirteen young women who were executed by a Francoist firing squad just after the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War. Their execution was part of a massive Execution Campaign against AntiFascists, known as the "Saca De Agosto", which also included 43 young men, among them a fourteen-year-old.

• Carmen Barrero Aguado (age 24)
• Martina Barroso García (age 22)
• Blanca Brissac Vázquez (age 29)
• Pilar Bueno Ibáñez (age 27)
• Julia Conesa Conesa (age 19)
• Adelina García Casillas (age 19)
• Elena Gil Olaya (age 20)
• Virtudes González García (age 18)
• Ana López Gallego (age 21)
• Joaquina López Laffite (age 23)
• Dionisia Manzanero Salas (age 20)
• Victoria Muñoz García (age 19)
• Luisa Rodríguez de la Fuente (age 18)

Their crime ? They were Socialists, and Anti Fascists.

During their detention in the Ventas prison they were repeatedly tortured and humiliated, and conditions in the prison were considered inhumane and overcrowded. They were ultimately executed by firing squad against the wall of the East Cemetery (now la Almudena) on 5 August 1939.

While they were being driven away by lorry to their deaths, they sang the Spanish Socialist anthem, "Youthful Guardsmen".

Memorial at the spot of their execution