In the
history of Spain
The history of Spain dates to contact between the List of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Greeks and Phoenicians. During Classical A ...
, the
White Terror was the series of assassinations realized by the
Nationalist faction
The Nationalist faction (), also Rebel faction () and Francoist faction () was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 ...
during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
(1936–1939), and during the first nine years of the régime of General
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
. Thousands of victims are buried in hundreds of unmarked common graves (over 2,000), more than 600 in Andalusia alone. The largest of these is the common grave at San Rafael cemetery on the outskirts of
Málaga
Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
(with perhaps more than 4,000 bodies). The
Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
(''Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Historica'' or ARMH) says that the number of
disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...
is over 35,000.
Concrete figures do not exist, as many supporters and sympathizers of the Republic fled Spain after losing the Civil War. Furthermore, the Francoist government destroyed thousands of documents relating to the White Terror and tried to hide the executions of the Republicans.
[Fontana, J. (Ed.). (1986). ''España bajo el franquismo: coloquio celebrado en la universidad de Valencia, noviembre de 1984''. Universidad; Crítica: Departamento de Historia Contemporánea. p.22] Gabriel Jackson states that:
Scholarly estimates of the White Terror's death toll
There is no concrete number, but there is a variety estimates of those murdered during the Francoist Repression.
Deaths from the White Terror in individual regions and provinces
There are, however, concrete regional and partial figures as compared to the figures to the amount killed in Spain overall.
For example, in the
province of Córdoba the victims of the White Terror number 9,579
[Preston, P. (2006). ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolution & revenge''. London: Harper Perennial. p.202] (the historian Francisco Moreno Gómez has increased the number to 11,581).
[Moreno Gómez, F. (2008). ''1936: el genocidio franquista en Córdoba''. Editorial Crítica. p. 585.]
On the other hand, the victims of the Red Terror in the same province come to 2,060.
According to the historian Francisco Espinosa, the victims of the Nationalists in only five Spanish provinces (Seville, Cádiz, Huelva, a part of Badajoz and a part of Cordoba) out of fifty were 25,000. The historian
Paul Preston
Sir Paul Preston CBE (born 21 July 1946) is an English historian and Hispanist, biographer of Francisco Franco, and specialist in Spanish history, in particular the Spanish Civil War, which he has studied for more than 50 years. He is the winn ...
says that the number of victims judicially executed in 36 out 50 Spanish provinces were 92,462 (many other victims were executed without a trial). They died either as a result of the Nationalist repression during the war or as a result of the Francoist State's repression after the war.
[Beevor, A. (2006). ''The Battle for Spain; The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p.94.]
Other provincial number breakdowns are as follows:
Deaths from the White Terror in individual cities and comarcas
There are also various studies with concrete figures of the deaths caused by the White Terror in specific municipalities, comarcas or metropolitan areas. Local/comarcal figures can be inconsistent with the provincial/regional ones because they tend to be more accurate and complete.
See also
*
Historiography on Spanish Civil War repressions (numbers)
Notes
References
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