The common trace

The Spanish Civil War and World War II are closely linked politically and strategically. During the Spanish conflict, between 1936 and 1939, the German and Italian armies tried the strategy of systematic bombing of the civilian population. A brutal practice which, when the international conflict broke out in 1939, was transferred to the rest of the European countries, with the German and Italian civilian populations also falling victim to this practice.

The common trace. Traces of the shared memory of civilian bombing in Europe explores the urban marks and memories left in the cities of Munich, Rome and Madrid, whose populations were victims of the atrocious bombing strategy in the 20th century. To do so, young students from both cities investigate the origin of the shrapnel marks that still remain in their streets and become aware of the suffering shared by their fellow citizens in the past.

On the basis of this research, the students reconstruct the memory of their cities through art and photography, and then discuss together, in an online meeting, how to prevent the experience of the horror suffered by their ancestors from being suffered by other human beings living outside the borders of Europe.