Remembering Spain’s war: Violence, social change, and collective identity since 1936

Richards, Michael

Abstract

The public resurgence in Spain of memories of the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship has been crystallised and articulated by civil society associations whose aim has been 'the recuperation of historical memory'. The democratic principles of the post-Franco Transition, enshrined in the 1978 Constitution, are viewed as sacrosanct and are legitimated in daily political discourse and democratic practice, of which the current memory forums are a part. The control of history and suppression of memory under Franco's regime created the conditions for recent calls to remember. The Civil War, which brought the Second Republic to a bloody end, had been legitimated as a 'Holy War' against 'atheistic' and 'Asiatic' communism within weeks of the military rebellion which triggered the conflict in July 1936. Amid economic regression, a rampant black market and hunger, 'justice', both formal and informal, was applied to erstwhile 'opponents of the regime', and opportunistic confiscation of property and denial of livelihoods became commonplace.

• Online Publication Date: Oct 15, 2014
• Publication Date: Nov 18, 2014
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 195-209
• Series Title: Routledge/Canada Blanch Studies on Contemporary Spain
• Edition: 1
• Book Title: Mass Killings and Violence in Spain 1936-1952: Grappling with the Past
• Chapter Number: 9
• ISBN: 9780415858885
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203706404
• Keywords: Spain, Civil War, post-Franco Transition, 1978 Constitution
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/844194
• Publisher URL: https://www.routledge.com/Mass-Killings-and-Violence-in-Spain-1936-1952-Grappling-with-the-Past/Anderson-Blanco/p/book/9780415858885