Historian finds documents that confirm there was a concentration camp in Torremolinos

Since the return to democracy it has never been officially recognised, but in Torremolinos there was a concentration camp between 1938 and 1939. It was built at the site currently occupied by the Aqualand waterpark. Thousands of prisoners passed through that inhumane prison, living in the open air and kept inside by a metal fence. Although investigation carried out several years ago brought this information to light, the lack of evidence has meant that knowledge of one of the darkest parts of Malaga's history has not been made public.

Until now. Local historian Carlos Blanco has found official documents that show the existence of the facility; these include a quartermaster's report, an administrative journal and an invoice. A budget from the Ministry of National Defence reveals that the Seville Treasury covered the expenses of this terrible service, with a daily cost of 1.65 pesetas per prisoner.

The documentation discovered by Blanco leaves no room for euphemisms despite years of attempts by the council to play down the facility. Former mayor Pedro Fernández Montes (PP) denied that there had ever been a concentration camp in Torremolinos - only a detention centre, which is not the same - and called the claim cliché during a council meeting in 2015.

Documents from the time describe the confinement centre as a concentration camp designed for prisoners of war. It even had its own stamp. On 30 March 1939 a document signed by the captain of the camp confirmed that the facility had a population of 1,924 inmates, although the total number of people detained in Torremolinos during the final months of the civil war and the beginning of the dictatorship is unknown.

Another document details the costs associated with running the prison; the warden validated the invoices, which were reviewed by the chief accountant, the auditor and a tax office representative. For example, 6,349 pesetas were sent from Seville to pay for the concentration camp to be run on 30 and 31 March 1939.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, however. We don't know how long the camp remained there for or what happened to the prisoners although it is known that one of the cemetery walls was used for executions by firing squad.

While the majority of the inmates in this type of Franco camp were Republicans, there were also foreigners, Gypsies, political dissidents, homosexuals and other citizens. They were all used for labour. Some research indicates that part of Malaga Airport could have been built by prisoners.

The inmates slept in the open air and had no medical services.

Research by Javier Rodríguez, a lecturer at the Universidad Autónoma in Barcelona, revealed that in April 1939 there were 4,494 people registered at the Torremolinos concentration camp, and more than 13,000 in this and other camps in the province of Malaga.