Civil War Remembered 75 Years On

Today Spanish newspapers and television channels have marked the 75^th year since the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War by reproducing iconic images and film taken during the conflict.

In 1936 Spain was divided by two opposing ideologies after years of high political and social tension. On the 17^th July 75 years ago this tension finally boiled over as right wing factions of the Spanish army attempted a coup d’état against the left wing government of the 2^nd Republic. The following brutal fighting lasted until April 1939 when General Francisco Franco and the right wing Nationalists claimed victory over the left wing Republicans marking the beginning of a dictatorship that would last until 1975.

An estimated 600,000 people lost their lives during the three years of conflict. These were not only Spaniards, but also foreigners forming the International Brigades who went to fight in support of the ideologies they believed in. As a result the war was one of the most tragic yet significant chapters in modern European history.

The Civil War did however produce some of the most culturally significant works of the 20^th century. Robert Capa’s photo Muerte de miliciano and Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica, which can be seen at the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid are two of the most iconic images symbolising conflict throughout the past century. Foreign artists were also moved by what they saw during the war, among them the famous authors Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell. Original photos and footage from the Civil War can be viewed in the archives of the Centro Documental de la Memoria in Salamanca, where they are currently preserved.