The city of Dénia was the setting for a solemn act to remember the residents deported to the Nazi camps of Mauthausen and Gusen, as well as all victims of Nazism. Relatives of the deportees, including those of Asensio Vives Roselló, Jaime Crespo Vengut, José Ramis Grimalt, and Vicente Pérez Bolufer, laid white carnations on a commemorative plaque. Only Vicente Pérez survived the liberation on May 5, 1945.
The tribute also included a remembrance for the crew of the French merchant ship Brisbane, bombed and sunk in Dénia by Italian fascist aviation on June 9, 1938, where all aboard perished. A white carnation was placed on the grave of Yaya Benhamou, one of the crew members.
“"This act of remembrance is necessary."
During the event, a family member read the names of the 18 residents of Marina Alta deported and murdered in Mauthausen and Gusen, from various towns such as Beniarbeig, Benimaurell, Benimeli, Calp, Castell de Castells, Dénia, Pedreguer, Pego, and Xàbia. A musician performed a song dedicated to those who never returned, and a historian announced the recovery of the history of nearly 50 residents of Marina Alta who were forced into slave labor by the Nazi regime.
Students from IES Sorts de la Mar participated in the act, reading the manifesto of the Amical de Mauthausen, which concluded with a resounding
“"no to war"
Alongside the plaque dedicated to the deportees, there is another commemorating the 49 republicans executed after the Civil War by the Francoist dictatorship at the same wall, underscoring the importance of historical memory in the locality.
