Seven thousand Spaniards lost their lives in Mauthausen. Paco Aura remains true to the promise he made with the other survivors: they would never allow their experiences to be forgotten. Even in old age, he organized conferences and lectures. From his memories, he speaks about the persecution of the Spanish Republicans after their defeat against Franco. He recounts crossing the border, the refugee camps, the Maginot Line, and the escape to Switzerland. But nothing, not even the harsh experience on the battlefield, could prepare him for what was to come: Mauthausen. Paco Aura, born in 1918 in Alcoy (Spain), joined the Republican forces in 1936 in the fight against the fascist Franco troops and their German and Italian allies.