The exhibition consists of 20 panels that show how the Benagéber reservoir was built, which began in 1932 as the Blasco Ibáñez reservoir and in 1941 was renamed the Generalísimo reservoir, incorporating Republican prisoners in forced labor. The photographs and diagrams reflect the hard living and working conditions between 1941 and 1944 of almost 600 prisoners who, together with hundreds of other workers and their families, lived through a little known episode of our recent history.
In a country torn apart by war, the dictatorship decided to use the prison population as forced labor, presenting this exploitation as a way of redeeming the defeated and reintegrating them into that country.new Spain. The “Redención de Penas por el Trabajo” (Redemption of Penalties through Work) was born.
Exhibition coordinated by Acció Ciutadana contra la Impunitat del Franquisme
It will be installed at the Fine Arts Library of the UPV between February 20 and March 13, 2026.