Spanish Civil War Research Articles

The places where nothing happened

The Francoist violence and repression through the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the Francoist dictatorship (1939-1975) have left many voids that all add up to an unbalanced narrative between the victorious on Franco’s side and the defeated republicans. This is a narrative that builds on the material voids created in the places where presumably ‘nothing happened’ during the civil war and the dictatorship. Through concepts of transgression, like non-absence, ghosts and the abject, I explore the materiality and the material memory left at two sites in particular: the House of Horrors in Arévalo, and Little Russia in Belchite. It is a narrative about how absence and silence materialize as structures of violence and instruments of repression. I argue that to approach these materializations, a broader understanding of the archaeological assemblage and what is accepted conventionally as archaeological knowledge is needed.  

Digital reconstruction of partially lost altarpieces. The case of the Rosary’s altarpiece of Sant Pere Màrtir de Manresa.

An important challenge of Digital Cultural Heritage is to contribute to the recovery of artworks with their original shape and appearance. Many altarpieces, which are very relevant Christian art elements, have been damaged and/or, partly or fully, lost. Therefore, the only way to recover them is to carry out their digital reconstruction. Although the procedure that we present here is valid for any altarpiece with similar characteristics, and even for other akin elements, our test bench is the altarpieces damaged, destroyed, or disappeared during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) in Catalonia where most suffered these effects. The first step of our work has been the classification of these artworks into different categories on the basis of their degree of destruction and of the available visual information related to each one. This paper proposes, for the first time to our knowledge, a workflow for the virtual reconstruction, through photogrammetry, digital modeling, and digital color restoration; of whole altarpieces partially preserved with very little visual information. Our case study is the Rosary’s altarpiece of Sant Pere Màrtir de Manresa church. Currently, this altarpiece is partially preserved in fragments in the Museu Comarcal de Manresa (Spain). But, it can not be reassembled physically owing to the lack of space (actually the church does not exist anymore) and the cost of such an operation. Thus, there is no other solution than the digital one to contemplate and study the altarpiece as a whole. The reconstruction that we provide allows art historians and the general public to virtually see the altarpiece complete and assembled as it was until 1936. The results obtained also allow us to see in detail the reliefs and ornaments of the altarpiece with their digitally restored color.

New Perspectives on Italian Fascism: A Review Article

ABSTRACT: This article examines developments in the historiography of Italian Fascism through an appraisal of four major recent contributions to the field, addressing aspects such as theatre production, intervention in the Spanish Civil War, mass media and propaganda, imperialism, the exportation of Fascism, and anti-Fascism. Beyond the scholarly merits of each work, the article highlights the shift from a scholarship based on establishing Fascism’s intentions and assessing its success, towards one which probes the intertwining tensions and negotiations at play between Fascism and the chosen subject matter.

The State, the Police and Political Violence: A Case-Study Before Spanish Civil War (1936)

This article deals with the management of public order during a crucial period of Spain's twentieth-century democratization process. A regional case-study is employed in order to analyse the detail of political violence and gain a clearer understanding of both the participants and the role of the police and the civil governor. It is based on an exhaustive database containing all the episodes of violence that led to deaths and serious injuries. Quantitative research, combined with adequate contextualization, is vital to unravel the evolution of this violence and identify the main actors. This article pinpoints important differences in the case of Asturias – compared to the nationwide data available – and contributes to the academic debate on the authorities’ responsibility for the rising toll of victims during the spring of 1936. It shows that police participation in the generation of victims was of minor relevance, partly due to a deliberate policy pursued by Asturias’ civil governor, which ruled out the preventative and recurrent use of the police to control conflictive situations.

«Защитим Испанскую Республику!»: добровольцы англоязычных стран на сто-роне республиканцев в годы Граждан-ской войны в Испании. 1936 — 1939 (ис-ториографический очерк)

The Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, which in many aspects was a "rehearsal" for the Second World War, attracted the in-terest of the world community almost from the very begin-ning and caused an unprecedented surge of volunteerism, act-ing in opposition to the "non-intervention policy" of the League of Nations. The biographies of thousands of volun-teers from 54 countries have been studied in varying detailed elaboration, and some aspects remain unexplored to this day. Volunteers from English-speaking countries, who have tradi-tionally received little attention in Russian historiography, de-serve special attention. In this paper we attempt a brief histo-riographical analysis of this topic using materials from Russian and foreign studies: monographic literature, essays and publications by researchers from the USA, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, as well as digital archives, document databases and other Internet resources.

Recognition, Ma Non Troppo: how FIFA dribbled the Spanish football schism during the Civil war

ABSTRACT One of the facets of the Spanish Civil War’s sportive dimensions which has received relatively ample attention by scholars is the attitude of FIFA in the battle between de republican and the Francoists football federations for international recognition. The dominant interpretation of the facts is that the Francoists had already won this battle in late November 1937, when FIFA allegedly recognized it, and that this was somehow due to FIFA’s elite conservatism or even Nazi-fascist leanings. We contend that this was not the case. On the basis of a broad examination of Spanish, French and Belgian newspapers of the time, and a thorough search of FIFA archives in Zurich, we conclude that, although ambiguously, a FIFA dominated by a liberal elite remained true to its ‘no politics’ principle, avoiding to take sides, and actually suspending both sides until the end of the war, although tolerating unofficial international activity of both.

The “Indios” of Spain and the Mexican Revolution: Racial Ideologies and the Labor of Internationalist Solidarity

Abstract This article examines the influence of the Mexican Revolution (1906–40) on Spanish anarchists’ views on racial and class solidarity. Whereas recent transnational studies of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) have highlighted the conflict's lingering imprint on Latin American politics and society, this essay explores why Spanish anarchists interpreted the Mexican Revolution as an insurrection led by Mexico's Indigenous communities. It argues that such readings of the conflict, most of which were advanced by non-Indigenous revolutionaries, both challenged and reinforced racialized notions of social and political upheaval. This article therefore demonstrates how these views challenged orthodox interpretations of social revolution while exposing the obstacles to building internationalist solidarity among laboring classes in postimperial and postcolonial societies.

International Political Sociology through the Colonial Mirror: A Contrapuntal Reading of the Spanish Civil War

Abstract This paper invokes Edward Said’s notion of counterpoint to present a transnational sociological account of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. This contrapuntal reading raises questions of sovereignty, violence, and identity, which—filtered through a political sociological lens—offer novel perspectives on the power of empire and colonialism in relation to these key IR categories. Specifically, I argue that the Spanish colonial frontier in Morocco served as a laboratory for distinctive expressions of transnational state-building, violence, and identity-formation, which were reproduced in the metropolitan heartlands of the Iberian Peninsula during the interwar years. The complex interaction between core and periphery in this period had momentous implications for both Spanish and Moroccan history, many of which continue to play out in contemporary politics across the Gibraltar Strait.

Hermeneutics of Memory for Tourist Promotion: An Upcycling Process of Spanish Civil War Air Raid Shelters

This study delves into the transformative role of air-raid shelters from the Spanish Civil War in Alicante, Spain, highlighting their significance in the recovery and preservation of intangible heritage. Through a detailed hermeneutic analysis based on interviews and existing research, the investigation explores the shelters’ contribution to cultural identity, memory, and sustainable urban development. It reveals how the hermeneutics of memory, applied via a rigorous scientific approach, serves as a vital tool for justifying, rehabilitating, and planning these historical sites for tourism aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals. The rehabilitation of these shelters not only acts as a conservation effort but also as a means to promote cultural tourism enhancing Alicante’s cultural and tourist offerings. The study underscores the shelters’ dual role as educational resources and tourist attractions, facilitating a deeper understanding and connection with the past, and fostering community development and sustainability.

Juan Vegue Martín (1884-ca. 1949). Del Guijuelo salmantino a la Guinea española

Using as main source the documentation kept in the Official Colleges of Pharmacists of Madrid and Toledo, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the section of Africa in the General Archive of the Administration and the local periodical press, particularly the one printed in Salamanca and Santa Isabel (Guinea), we reconstruct the biography of the pharmacist Juan Vegue Martín, from his homeland in the Guijuelo region of Salamanca to the latest known data, in the colonial territories of Spanish Guinea. A biography that can serve as a case study for other rural pharmacists, with a nomadic life, who lived through -and suffered- the years of the Spanish Civil War. Keywords: Juan Vegue Martín (1884-ca. 1949); Biography; Pharmacy; Twentieth century; Spain

Ins and Outs: Immigration Policies in Early 20th Century Mexico and the Arrival of Spanish Immigrants and Exiles

Abstract: In the early decades of the 20th century, Mexican immigration laws and government circulars dictated populations believed to be economically, racially, and intellectually favorable. Determined to be a population able to easily assimilate into Mexican society based on their ability to maintain Mexico's mestizo demographic identity, the government gave preferential treatment to Spaniards seeking the opportunity to migrate. The Mexican government sought to protect the nation's mixed-identity through the promulgation of restrictive immigration policies, establishing limitations for populations believed to be too "other" to seamlessly integrate and bring wide-spread benefit to the nation. To understand Mexico's provision of aid to Spanish exiles and refugees unable or unwilling to return to their homeland during and after the Spanish Civil War, this article examines the Ley de Migración, the Ley de General Población, and other immigration laws promulgated between 1926 and 1936 and their efforts to control who was able to enter the country.

Memories of the Spanish Civil War, exile and political repression under Franco: Basque children’s personal testimonies (1936–40)

The following interviews were conducted during the field work of my doctoral thesis, funded by the University of Reading. Interviews were conducted face to face in the summer of 2019 in Bizkaia. Both interviewees were over 90 years old when interviewed and lived through the state repression suffered under Franco’s regime following their childhood exile. The fear that they endured remained latent. These excerpts are parts of interviews relating to their personal experience of childhood exile in the context of the Spanish Civil War. When the war intensified on the northern front with the bombing of the civilian population (specifically the bombings of Otxandio in July 1936 and Gernika in April 1937), the Basque Government of the Second Spanish Republic organized the so-called ‘expediciones infantiles’ (‘childhood expeditions’) for the evacuation of children. These first-person testimonies show how these children lived their experience of exile as refugees and their subsequent integration into Franco’s Spain, a hostile space for them, as the evacuated children were considered traitors, ‘los hijos de los rojos’ (‘the children of Reds’).

Typology of reasons why a person kills in a war context: The case of rebel/nationalist army combatants in the Spanish Civil War.

European historiography on wars has embarked on a study of a matter of crucial significance: the involvement of ordinary individuals as perpetrators of mass casualties. This article aims to provide insights and hypotheses concerning the underlying motives behind such actions, focusing on the unique context of the Spanish Civil War. The data utilized for this study are drawn from a sample of 112 oral interviews conducted with former combatants of the Spanish Civil War, all born between 1905 and 1920. During these interviews, 112 men participated a semi structured discussion. Individual perceptions and variables of interest relevant to acts of violence were subjected to qualitative analysis. Our analysis suggests that instances of aggression often arise because of emotional triggers, alignment with fascist ideological convictions, societal pressures and a sense of duty-driven obedience. Our results refute the notion that ideological factors alone suffice as explanations.

A narrativa de Hemingway na Espanha da Guerra Civil e suas implicações históricas e políticas a partir da teoria de Edward Said

This article consists in an historical analysis of three works by Ernest Hemingway that are set in the Spanish Civil War. The analysis is complemented by Edward Said’s theory called Orientalism to extract the narrative that the author proposes to be contrasted with the historical events to see how it is that the narrative that sought to unite the United States with the USSR to go together against fascism contributed to the illusion in which republican and democratic Spain of has being seen as a satellite state of the Soviet Union and, therefore, an enemy of the United States in the framework of the recently begun Cold War.

What If I Were the Exile? Linking Past and Present for Democratic History Teaching with Pre-Service Educators

The academic literature has fostered a debate in recent decades regarding the concept of historical empathy and the typology of activities that can help to treat and develop it, although there is no consensus as to the real effectiveness of narrative activities of a descriptive type that involve the projection of the person into the past. The aim of this research was to check whether the implementation of a programme that uses historical contextualisation, contact with primary testimonies, the use of sources and historical empathy, linking the situation of the exiles of the Spanish Civil War with the current refugees, can contribute to the development of tolerant attitudes towards the figure of the displaced in pre-service teachers and the degree to which these attitudes are modified after the application of the programme. The research design is quantitative and corresponds to a quasi-experimental design with a control and experimental group. A questionnaire was used to measure the attitudes of 101 pre-service teachers at a Spanish university towards refugees. The questionnaire was completed at two different times, before and after a historical empathy exercise on the exiles of the Spanish Civil War. The results indicate that programmes using historical contextualisation, testimonies close to refugees and historical empathy relating the situation of refugees to that of the exiles of the Spanish Civil War can contribute to increasing and/or reinforcing positive attitudes towards refugees in pre-service teachers.

La Soledad y la Alienación Psicológica en la novela "Nada" de Carmen Laforet …La tentativa de la interpretación (Un estudio analítico)

     في هذا البحث نناقش الآثار السلبية من العزلة والاغتراب في المجتمع الإسباني، في مرحلة ما بعد الحرب الأهلية الإسبانية مباشرة، وهذا الوضع له تأثير سيء في الفرد والمجتمع، من خلال رواية (لا شيء) الكاتب الإسباني (كارمن لافوريت) إنها دعوة إلى الكتّاب والمفكرين إلى نجدة ودعم مجتمعهم من خلال تلك الكتابات الإبداعية، وأثر سيء من الحروب والكوارث والأزمات دمر كل جوانب الحياة (الاجتماعية والاقتصادية والسياسية والثقافية)، والتي تؤدي إلى العزلة والاغتراب والحاضر يترك على الأثر النفسي البشري. ان غاية البحث هي  التعريف باثر العزلة والاغتراب في تفكك الاواصر الاجتماعية والمكانية والاسرية وضررها على المجتمع والانسان بنفس القوة , ولعل المجتمع العراقي في هذه المرحلة احوج ما يكون لمعرفة نتائج الظروف الصعبة التي بلا شك ستقود للعزلة والاغتراب , ولا سيما الطبقة المثقفة لكي تقوم بعمل جدار صد ثقافي عله ينقذ بلدنا . 

To the Barricades! The Social Revolution of 1936 in Catalonia

AbstractThis paper aims to illustrate how several emotional mechanisms very probably played some causal and presumably significant role during the revolution that took place in Catalonia between July 1936 and May 1937 within the framework of the Spanish Civil War. Beyond this specific case study, the article contributes to the discussion on the role of emotions in large‐scale collective action and the concept of enthusiasm. In this regard, it is argued that the analyzed case suggests hatred could be an emotional antecedent of enthusiasm.

From Oblivion to Life: The Recovery of Intangible Cultural Heritage through the Anti-Aircraft Shelters of the Spanish Civil War

This article examines the rehabilitation of anti-aircraft shelters from the Spanish Civil War in Alicante, Spain. Funded by European resources and managed by local public administration, these shelters have been restored as cultural and tourist attractions. This study aims to analyze their role in preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage, with a focus on their significance as tangible remnants of a historical period and their reflection on survival practices during the war. This research investigates the impact of public management in rehabilitating these shelters and in disseminating their history and culture. It explores decision-making processes, community engagement, and strategies for promoting cultural tourism. Employing a mixed methodology, this study gathers primary data through interviews with individuals who witnessed the war and secondary data from documentary and bibliographic sources. Findings suggest that the rehabilitation of these shelters has been pivotal in preserving Alicante’s historical memory and cultural heritage. Making the shelters accessible to the public facilitates knowledge transmission about the Spanish Civil War, promotes cultural tourism, and engages the local community in the dissemination of history and culture. This study’s results and conclusions are relevant for academics, professionals, and cultural heritage managers at both national and international levels, offering insights into the effective preservation and promotion of historical sites.

‘El mío no es un asilo’: Aging Masculinity, Disability, and Animalization in Mario Camus’s Los santos inocentes

As an attempt to reflect 1960s rural Spain under Franco’s dictatorship, Mario Camus’s 1984 film adaptation of Miguel Delibes’s Los santos inocentes [The Holy Innocents], published three years before, depicts the daily coexistence of human and non-human animals in an Extremaduran cortijo. Within the highly hierarchized social structure of the Francoist regime, the elderly male characters that are physically or mentally disabled are consistently exploited and humiliated by the caste of señoritos as a metaphorical reproduction of the type of class-based hierarchy established after the Spanish Civil War between the victors and the defeated. The aim of this paper is to examine how the aging, disabled male body of the dispossessed contributes to deepening the class divide through their animalization. By aesthetically emphasizing the blurring of species boundaries in the lower social strata, Camus recreates the type of rural Spain that, under the auspices of the dictatorship, endorses an understanding of the normative, young masculine body as one that distinguishes itself through biological, class-based and androcentric determinism. This triply reinforced canon of the male subject, so irreparably bound to tautologies between class and species, places the aging, masculine body at the heart of an oppressive social system that seeks to justify its hierarchy, mythologizing it as the only viable option through which to erect an empowered, reputable nation.

Transnational memories of war and conflict in Aotearoa/New Zealand

This article analyses the ways in which the memory of transnational traumatic events of war and conflict of the past have been represented at Wellington's waterfront and whether the site, with its multitude of memorial plaques, can be read as a lieu de mémoire. The study focuses on three commemorative plaques: the memorial plaque to those New Zealanders who took part in the Spanish Civil War (2011); the commemorative plaque to the Polish children of Pahīatua (2004); and the memorial plaque commemorating the arrival of the United States Marine Corps to New Zealand (1951/2000). It, first, examines the memory entrepreneurs behind the commemoration of the events the plaques depict and analyse whether these agents engaged in bottom-up or top-down mnemonic practices and activities (or a mixture of these). Second, it analyses the significance of these memorials in the collective memory of contemporary Aotearoa/New Zealand.