The Spanish holocaust : inquisition and extermination in twentieth-century Spain / Paul Preston

Long neglected by European historians, the unspeakable atrocities of Franco’s Spain are finally brought to tragic light in this definitive work. The remains of General Francisco Franco lie in an immense mausoleum near Madrid, built with the blood and sweat of twenty thousand slave laborers. His enemies, however, met less-exalted fates. Besides those killed on the battlefield, tens of thousands were officially executed between 1936 and 1945, and as many again became "non-persons." As Spain finally reclaims its historical memory, a full picture can now be given of the Spanish Holocaust-ranging from judicial murders to the abuse of women and children. The story of the victims of Franco's reign of terror is framed by the activities of four key men-General Mola, Quiepo de Llano, Major Vallejo Najera, and Captain Don Gonzalo Aguilera-whose dogma of eugenics, terrorization, domination, and mind control horrifyingly mirror the fascism of Italy and Germany. Evoking such classics as Gulag and The Great Terror, The Spanish Holocaust sheds crucial light on one of the darkest and most unexamined eras of modern European history. 16 pages of black-and-white illustrations Long Neglected By European Historians, The Unspeakable Atrocities Of Franco's Spain Are Finally Brought To Tragic Light In This Definitive Work By Paul Preston, The World's Foremost Historian Of 20th-century Spain. Pt. 1: The Origins Of Hatred And Violence. Social War Begins, 1931-1933 ; Theorists Of Extermination ; The Right Goes On The Offensive, 1933-1934 ; The Coming Of War, 1934-1936 -- Pt. 2: Institutionalized Violence In The Rebel Zone. Queipo's Terror : The Purging Of The South ; Mola's Terror : The Purging Of Navarre, Galicia, Castile And León -- Pt. 3: The Consequence Of The Coup : Spontaneous Violence In The Republican Zone. Far From The Front : Repression Behind The Republican Lines ; Revolutionary Terror In Madrid -- Pt. 4: Madrid Besieged : The Threat And The Response. The Column Of Death's March On Madrid ; A Terrified City Responds : The Massacres Of Paracuellos -- Pt. 5: Two Concepts Of War. Defending The Republic From The Enemy Within ; Franco's Slow War Of Annihilation -- Pt. 6: Franco's Investment In Terror. No Reconciliation : Trials, Executions, Prisons -- Epilogue: The Reverberations. Paul Preston. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Selected as the Sunday Times History Book of the Year for 2012, this is a meticulous work of scholarship from the foremost historian of 20th-century Spain.The culmination of more than a decade of research, æThe Spanish Holocaust' seeks to reflect the intense horrors visited upon Spain during its ferocious civil war, the consequences of which still reverberate bitterly today.The brutal, murderous persecution of Spaniards between 1936 and 1945 is a truth that should have been told long ago. Paul Preston here offers the first comprehensive picture of what he terms "the Spanish Holocaust": mass extra-judicial murder of some 200,000 victims, cursory military trials, torture, the systematic abuse of women and children, sweeping imprisonment, the horrors of exile. Those culpable for crimes committed on both sides of the Civil War are named; their victims identified.æThe Spanish Holocaust' illuminates one of the darkest, least-known eras of modern European history. Long neglected by European historians, the unspeakable atrocities of Franco's Spain are finally brought to tragic light in this definitive work.Evoking such classics as Anne Applebaum's __Gulag__ and Robert Conquest's __The Great Terror__, The Spanish Holocaust sheds light on one of the darkest and most unexamined eras of modern European history. As Spain finally reclaims its historical memory, a full picture can now be drawn of the atrocities of Franco's Spain—from torture and judicial murders to the abuse of women and children. Paul Preston provides an unforgettable account of the systematic terror carried out by Spain's fascist government. Long neglected by European historians, the unspeakable atrocities of Franco’s Spain are finally brought to tragic light in this definitive work. Evoking such classics as Anne Applebaum’s Gulag and Robert Conquest’s The Great Terror, The Spanish Holocaust sheds light on one of the darkest and most unexamined eras of modern European history. As Spain finally reclaims its historical memory, a full picture can now be drawn of the atrocities of Franco’s Spain—from torture and judicial murders to the abuse of women and children. Paul Preston provides an unforgettable account of the systematic terror carried out by Spain’s fascist government. Paul Preston sheds crucial light on Spain's darkest period, when Franco and his supporters reconstructed an entire society through violence