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"La Memoria de los Ninos"

rappahannock_rev

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At the entrance to El Burgo Ranero there is a lovely monumental cross, It bears this inscription: "A la memoria de los ninos."

Anybody know the story behind that inscription?
 
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Hi - I don't know the particular story behind that cross, but there are several similar memorial markers throughout France. I encountered many of these while walking the Via Podiensis in May and June this year and took photos of many. The full inscription reads generally "In memory of our glorious children who died fighting for the freedom of France 1914 - 1918." Perhaps there is a similar memorialization in Spain for their own conflicts. These memorials certainly give one a reason to pause and reflect when we see these brave soldiers referred to as 'our children'.








 
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mspath said:
In France the local war memorial citation "Aux enfants..." generally refers to those fallen from a place and not necessarily children in age.
Click to expand...
Which reminds me of the French national anthem ... Allons, enfants de la patrie ... where the children are also not minors.

In the case of the memorial of El Burgo Ranero, the names of two individuals are on the memorial: Maria Monserrat and José Maria Baños Lozano. The cross was prehaps erected in 2002 - it says "2002" on the cross.

See clear photo and text here:

Crucero, El Burgo Ranero - 86526 - Biodiversidad Virtual / Etnografía

Título: Crucero, El Burgo Ranero, Descripción: Crucero de piedra construido en 2002 en memoria de los niños María Montserrat y José María Baños Lozano. Se encuentra en la entrada de la localidad de El Burgo Ranero, León, España., Provincia/Distrito: León, País: España, Fecha: 24/09/2017...
www.biodiversidadvirtual.org
 
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Here is the link to a forum thread from 2014 and a likely explanation by forum member @Olivares:

So the memorial is likely to have been erected by José Maria Baños Lozano - who is a son of Rufino Baños Lozano - and by his wife (? sister? mother?) in memory of his father and in memory of the children imprisoned in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Germany/Austria.

See also:
http://psoesahagun.es/rufinobanos/

This article sheds some light on why the memorial was erected so late:

«Es de justicia que Zapatero recuerde a las víctimas españolas del nazismo»

El único gesto de España había sido un homenaje en la embajada española en París en el 2001
www.diariodeleon.es
 
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While I agree with the sentiment that we must not forget there is actually little indication what it is that the memorial wants us to remember. There is apparently no explanatory note near the memorial itself. There is next to nothing in relation to the "niños" on the web while there is some information about Rufino Baños in regional newspapers and similar recent sources. On further reflection, I am no longer convinced that @Olivares' attempt at an interpretation in the forum thread of 2014 is the most logical one.

Perhaps it is a memorial not only to their father Rufino but to all "niños de la guerra", all children of war, a term that may have a specific meaning in the cultural context of Spain. We have many memorials for fallen soldiers and for kings and generals who won battles. But the children of war, the ones who got killed, got murdered, got maimed, grew up as half-orphans because their father had died in war, grew up in exile, grew up under the shadow of their parents' suffering, were separated from their parents to be sent to an area that was safer than home, even to another country ... not many memorials for them. In one of the sources I read it says that Rufino Baños, after he had survived Mauthausen, continued to live in France where his son was born, and he returned to Spain only once for a short visit. He died in 1980 at the age of 63.
 
rappahannock_rev said:
At the entrance to El Burgo Ranero there is a lovely monumental cross, It bears this inscription: "A la memoria de los ninos."

Anybody know the story behind that inscription?
Click to expand...
I just wanted you to know that I contacted the Ayuntamiento of El Burgo Ranero to inquire about the history of this memorial. If, by chance they would respond - hopefully they will, I will post it.
 
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