A study by the Balearic Government reveals that the trauma of the Civil War and Francoism is transmitted up to the fourth generation. Psychologist Anna Miñarro assisted 93 people between February and June 2023.
A girl who, deceived with a sweet, led the Falangists to her hiding father. He was murdered, and she developed schizophrenia. This is one of the cases recorded in the study Evolution of Transgenerational Trauma from the 1936 Coup in the Balearics, which is part of the Fourth Plan for Graves 2023-2024 published by the Government.
A Drama that Spans Generations
Psychologist Anna Miñarro, author of the work, explains that "when there is a situation of social catastrophe, of genocide, of horror and terror like that which meant the intergenerational and transgenerational trauma generated by the 1936 coup and the War in the Balearic Islands, its effects are transmitted and we can confirm them up to the fourth generation."
The study, based on testimonies from victims and their families, shows how Francoist repression left deep psychological scars that perpetuate over time. "The different forms of mistreatment will sometimes be transmitted unconsciously to the following generations," Miñarro adds.
Public Psychological Care and Its Stagnation
The Balearic Graves Law, approved in 2016, already recognized the right of the families of the disappeared to receive free psychological assistance. The subsequent Memory Law of 2018 extended that right to all victims of the Civil War and the dictatorship in the archipelago.
Miñarro took charge of this care within the public system, assisting 93 people between February and June 2023. However, with the change of government, the arrival of new patients was halted, and the department was restructured. The psychologist refused to renew her contract, considering that the changes did not offer "sufficient democratic guarantees."
Today, Miñarro continues to assist many of her former patients altruistically in a space provided by the Obra Cultural Balear.
The Transition, a "Simulation" According to the Expert
In her research, Miñarro argues that "the Spanish transition could not erase from the social imagination of the Balearic Islands the feeling of guilt for what happened. On the contrary, the transition, instead of becoming a place of meeting and reflection, has remained a simulation imposed by the dominant classes."
For the psychologist, "remembering and telling the truth about traumatic situations are essential tasks for recovering mental health, not only for the victims but also for the families." Therefore, she considers the testimony and support of mental health professionals indispensable.
The study, which respects the privacy of the victims, includes heart-wrenching stories such as that of the girl who went mad from the guilt of having betrayed her father. A drama that, according to experts, remains latent in Balearic society.
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