Museum of Aljube Resistance and Freedom

Alexandra Bumbăcaru

The second study visit was dedicated to the ​Museu de Aljube​. This museum is the
only one in Lisbon committed to the history and memory of the fight against the dictatorship
and the recognition of resistance in favour of freedom and democracy. The name of the
building is from the Arabic word "al-jubb" – well without water, cistern, dungeon or prison
and it dates back to the Roman and Islamic period. It was almost always a prison: an
ecclesiastic prison, a prison for women and, finally, a political prison from 1928 to 1965.
It is a site and a historical museum which has the purpose to fill a gap in the
Portuguese museological fabric, by adding the appreciation of the memory of the fight
against the dictatorial regime that governed the country between 1926 and 1974. Both tourists
and local people should find out and remember the dark part of portuguese history.
The building is situated near the Sé Cathedral in the parish of Santa Maria Maior. At
first, it served as a prison for those convicted through the Ecclesiastical Forum until 1820,
then it hosted women accused of common crimes until the end of the 1920s. From 1928 until
1965 it was a political prison. Famous former inmates include Francisco Miguel Duarte, Telo
Mascarenhas and Mário Soares. After this it was converted to hold common criminals and
offices of the Ministry of Justice.
The first room we entered it was called the visit room, the place where the visitors
could meet their families, but now it was presented as a temporary exhibition. This temporary
exhibition was dedicated to nowadays portuguese prisons. Two famous photographers
worked or this: Peter Schulthess and Luis Barbosa. Schulthess succeeded to capture the hard
life of the prisoners, their routine, their work, while, Barbosa captured the emotions, paying
attention to the social part of the imprisonment. As our kind guide, Ana, said: they wanted to
show different approaches and perspectives.
The permanent exhibition could be found on the first, second and third floor.

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The first floor presents the rise and fall of fascism and provides a brief history of Portugal
between 1890 and 1976. It also shows examples of censorship on the media and the book and
record production during the dictatorship. Here we found out the three principles of Salazar’s
regime: "God, Homeland and Family". For the people who tried to fight to the dictatorship
regime, ​clandestinity represented a solution. Clandestinity was considered as a form of
resistance. People used clandestine press to spread the real and free news and also those who
were in danger, clandestinity was their salvation. They lived under cover and act they have a
normal life, trusting the regime, but they continually kept fighting against it.
On the second floor, we visited a part of the permanent exhibition which focuses on
the combined operation of the police and judicial power of the dictatorship, revealing its
different stages from the moment someone was detained.

This was my favourite part of the visit as

we could see the cells, which were
extremely small and also the painful
testimonies. These statements of fear and
suffering made me realize what was really
happening between these walls.
Some of the most impressive for were:

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→„They beat me so bad that my body was full of sores all over. I woke up in Aljube prison
with a doctor checking me over. I was one of that drawer cells in Aljube. When the doctor
saw that I was free of danger he shook me and gave me a pill with a glass of water.”
(Americo Joaquim Bras)
→„We slept naked on the floor, our clothes were placed on the ground to act as a mattress,
we didn’t even have a boot. They took our boots. (Edmundo Pedro)
→„I lost my memory, I lost my certainty… And some other things that you can’t recover.
There are lots of times that are completely blank for me” (Georgina Azevedo)
→„They gave me a few punches to the head and on my arms and I stayed awake. I left the
state of suffering from a lack of sleep”(Helena Pato)
These torture were made to destroy the prisoners from inside. They tried to kill their mentally
health and the capacity to resist.
The third and last floor we visited is dedicated to colonialism and the struggle for
freedom of the colonial peoples. Also, here are evoked many of the opponents who stayed
behind, victims of the repressive system of Salazar. The most impressive part for me was the
big wall of carnations. Ana, the guide, told us the story of the revolution on April 1974 and I
have to admit this time I really understand it. Even though I have read about it, now I was
able to understand the emotions behind the events.

What this did this visit mean for me? Of course, a comparison was born in my head
while we were walking between Aljube walls. As my country, Romania, suffered from 42
years Communist regime, now I understand that also Portugal people were in pain. I didn’t
know until now that fascism was also aggressive. I realised that they have a lot in common:

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secret police (PVDE vs. SECURITATEA), the crimes and imprisonments of innocent people,
the censorship, political prisons, the totalitarian dictatorship, the personality cult, violation of
human rights, the secret life people had to live to survive the oppression.
Furthermore, I didn’t know before about the hate of Portuguese dictatorship for
communists. In the present I was surprised when I found out that PCP is ​a major political
party in Portugal.
Another sensible idea important for me was the faith of the children born and raised in
prison, during the time Aljube was a women prison. What happened with these poor
children? How was their childhood and how about their future? These are questions which
were definitely asked by many people over the years.