Spain opens first official investigation into deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi camps 

For the first time, Spain's Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights and Democratic Memory has launched an investigation into the deportation and deaths of thousands of Spaniards in Nazi extermination camps during World War II. 

The investigation, led by prosecutor Dolores Delgado, focuses on Spanish Republican exiles who fled to France after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), which ended with Francisco Franco's victory and the establishment of a military dictatorship.  

Many of these exiles were later captured during the Nazi occupation of France and sent to concentration camps such as Mauthausen and Gusen. There, they were subjected to forced labor, torture, and execution. 

Delgado's investigation seeks to clarify whether Franco's regime collaborated with Nazi Germany in sending these individuals to the camps, and to identify those responsible. It follows the recent receipt of a case file from the Central Civil Registry requesting official death registration for 4,435 Spaniards who died in the camps, many of whom remain unidentified. 

This is the first time the Spanish state has officially opened such an investigation. It coincides with the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Mauthausen in May 1945.  

The investigation is being carried out in accordance with Spain's Democratic Memory Law, which aims to address past injustices and recognize the victims of the Franco dictatorship.