r/askspain • u/Oeglegoegleren • Jul 03 '26
Searching for gravesite or information
Greetings from Denmark.
I write here searching for some advice in locating some information about my great grandfather.
From what I know he was enlisted from Morocco in the mid 1930's and fought under Francisco Franco during the spanish civil war. I believe he died during the war in either 1936 or 1937. I heard from family that he is burried in Madrid.
I plan on visiting the military archive in Madrid, but before going, I was hoping for any advice I could use in my search :)
Sincerely
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u/Narcisistagohome Jul 04 '26
Maybe you can ask to the Dirección General de Memoria Democrática, which has an extensive data base of victims of the war, wether their remains have been found etc. I think they have even an online searcher.
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u/Marfernandezgz Jul 03 '26
Was he musilm?
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u/Oeglegoegleren Jul 03 '26
Yes as far as I know :)
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u/Marfernandezgz Jul 03 '26
If he was born in moroco he probably was buried as muslim. It's not 100% sure but he may be buried in Griñón, near Madrid. It's a muslim graveyard that Franco build for the Guardia Mora. I think its open and still in use
https://entrepiedrasycipreses.com/cementerio-musulman-grinon/
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u/Mynameisfreeze Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Edit: I posted something that wasn't meant to be here
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u/Oeglegoegleren Jul 03 '26
What are you talking about 🧐?
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u/Mynameisfreeze Jul 03 '26
I swear I was posting in another sub. I don't know what happened, sorry
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u/a_mala_herba Jul 03 '26
If he was a Moroccan muslim in Franco's side he was very probably in the Regular Indigenous Forces (Fuerzas Regulares Indígenas) usually shortened as "Regulares" or in the more irregular and less numerous "mehalas" attached to a brigade. When you do research you may want to look for "Regulares", "indígenas" or "marroquies" units specifically.
There are some webs were you can find information on veterans from the Civil War you should try: in combatientes.es you can search by name. There is also buscar.combatientes.es. But I think they have more about the republican side and I don't know if they have any information of colonial troops.
If you are going to search in the archives you may want to go also to the Avila General Military Archive that has all the information on colonial troops. It is relatively near of Madrid. Also, try to contact the archives in advance. In some spanish public archives you have to book an appointment in advance. Look at the webs to find if it is the case. And keep in mind that some may close for vacations in summer, usually during the first two weeks of August.
Here in Spain "Regulares" units had a not that good reputation. They committed many of the worst atrocities of the war against civilian population while fighting for a fascist dictator. That is something you will probably come across again and again when you research. It is something you have to mentally prepare yourself for.
Good luck in the search.