Refuges Museum Cartagena

Refuges Museum Cartagena

As Cartagena was so important to the Republic it became a regular target for Rebel (Nationalist) air raids from both Italian and German (Condor Legion) bombers. In an attempt to protect the civilian population the city government built and dug a number of air raid shelters across the city. 

This museum is situated on the eastern flank of the highest hill in the city under the Castillo de la Concepción right next to lift gangway, entrance into the museum costs 3.5 Euro each, you can get a discount if you buy entrance into several of the museums/attractions across the city.

As with other civic museums of this type, the idea is to remind and teach present generations about the history and function of these places. The tunnels were dug out of the mountain as the safest defence and best protection from the bombs. There were 117 air raids upon the city!

There are displays and notice boards all in English and Spanish. As with other refuges museums I had visited at Alicante and Alcoy, the focus was more about the civilian side of the Civil War than the military. 

A lot of the focus in this particular museum was on children and how the war affected them - fathers away at the front, no men around during their formative years, women having to do "mens work" - unloading ships, working in the fields and factories, etc. The Republican Government really tried to improve the education within Spain, the idea was an educated lower class would be able to find better jobs and improve their lives. Also if the populous was educated they would be less suseptible to the control of the church and old landowners and nobility! At the end of the Civil War Franco`s Government reversed all these changes!! 😔 There was a very interesting video with interviews of civilians who had been children during the war giving their rememberances.

250lb Italian bomb

Mannequin dressed as a Naval volunteer

A impressive art instalation representing a bombing run as seen from below

One of a number of patriotic posters

At the time of our visit there was also a WW2 exhibition with mannequins dressed in uniforms with equipment and brief information boards

Soviet scout/sniper

British 8th Army engineer officer in Libya

German field policeman

Italian Naval infantry uniform

Last Days of Berlin (interesting to note the Espana patch on the SS smock)

Finally there was a great section on codes and code breaking including a very interesting video on Enigma and how it worked. It turns out Enigma was invented towards the end of WW1 (which I did not know) and was used between the wars to encript industrial secrets so competitors couldn`t steal them!

 Hitler gave Franco twelve machines to aid him with communicating orders in secret. These early models had only three cylinders, later models could have as many as five! There was also a board about Bletchley Park and the work of Alan Turing.

All-in-all well worth the visit.

Whilst we were at the Parque Arqueológico Molinete we came upon another air raid shelter entrance

Down below the parque is the Roman Forum Museum and here we found yet another shelter entrance cut into the hillside.