Repression in Franco's Spain 1939–1975

Repression in Franco's Spain 1939–1975: from memorial propaganda to historical reality

A serious study of Francoist post-war repression had been missing. This work is, without doubt, a major milestone in the historiography of the Spanish Civil War.

Having gained access to the previously unpublished archival holdings of the Cuerpo Jurídico Militar (Military Legal Corps), historian Miguel Platon spent five years tracking down and studying, one by one, the files of those sentenced to death who, from 1939 onwards, were forwarded to Francisco Franco for him to decide on the commutation of the death sentence or on their execution. The actual number of executions — approximately 15,000 — is considerably lower than the figures published to date (200,000 executions had long been cited). Above all, it emerges that an order from Franco himself, in January 1940, made it possible to commute most death sentences to prison terms.

A work supported by hundreds of cases and testimonies of great dramatic intensity, which shows the tragic harshness of the post-war period, while at the same time placing in its proper perspective the long-standing controversy over the repression ordered by the Caudillo. A highly recommended work for all those seeking information free from political or ideological distortion.

Miguel Platon is a historian and journalist, and former special adviser to Radio Televisión de Madrid. Stanley Paine is an American historian and one of the foremost specialists on twentieth-century Spain, author of some twenty works on the subject.