Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of the Bellón Commission, which was tasked with assembling the evidence needed to ‘demonstrate clearly the illegitimacy of the current powers in the Spanish Republic on July 18, 1936’. It considers how military courts became the central feature of Francoist justice, the punishing and purging of Republicans from Spanish society, and the anti-Spaniards sentiment in post-war Spain. The chapter then presents the purpose of the book, which is to examine the implementation of the post-war repression in Madrid province. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.