The Path to Mass Murder
Rebel Decision Making and Francoist Power in the Spanish Civil War
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3516330 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ángel Alcalde (0000-0003-4048-812X, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 596-626 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Modern History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-2801 • E-ISSN: 1537-5358 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/726130 |
| OpenAlex | W4386468705 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 11 |
This article analyses the decision-making process of Francoist repression during the Spanish Civil War. Most historians assume that the different phases and methods of Francoist repression were manifestations of a single “extermination plan” allegedly drafted by anti-Republican conspirators before the war and implemented immediately following the coup d’état of July 17–19, 1936. By carefully observing the escalation of the rebels’ repressive policies and decision-making processes in July and August 1936, this article revises that interpretation. It argues that a repressive exterminatory policy that disregarded all legal considerations was the result of a number of incremental decisions made between July 23 and July 31, 1936, by Generals Queipo de Llano, Franco, and Mola. Drawing inspiration from a long historiographical tradition in holocaust and genocide studies, the article discusses the contextual factors and power dynamics behind these decisions. It shows how the rebels secretly and gradually implemented the exterminatory policy in rebel territory throughout August, and how their policy was reinforced by Franco’s accession to absolute power
Absolute power · Accession · Economics · European union · Genocide · Historiography · Interpretation (philosophy) · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Spanish Civil War · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Philosophy
Deadly Embrace
Estructura, Cadena de Mando y Ejecutores de la represión de boina roja en Navarra en 1936
Franco's Justice
Transition to Genocide, July 1941
Mechanics of Mass Murder
El desembarco de Bayo en Mallorca según las cartas del periodista Gabriel Fuster Mayans ‘Gafim’
A Spanish Genocide? Reflections on the Francoist Repression after the Spanish Civil War
War and Genocide
The Wannsee Conference, the Fate of German Jews, and Hitler's Decision in Principle to Exterminate All European Jews
Four Schools of Thought on the Relationship Between War and Genocide
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |