Seventy Years On: Historians and Repression during and after the Spanish Civil War

The issue of repression remains one of the most controversial issues arising from the Spanish Civil War and General Franco's unconditional victory in 1939. This article discusses the (mainly Spanish) historiography of both Francoist and Republican political violence, and questions the widely held belief that a `pact of forgetfulness' characterized Spanish historians' treatment of the subject following the death of Franco in November 1975. It argues that the dominant characteristic of repression historiography has been the persistence of contemporary Republican explanations, in particular the alleged contrast between Francoist `plans of extermination' and Republican `uncontrollable' violence. The article rejects such interpretations, and points to new trends in research.