The Law of Political Responsibilities () was a law issued by

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

on 13 February 1939 two months before the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. The law targeted all supporters of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

and penalized membership in the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

of the defeated republic. The law was modified in 1942 and remained in force until 1966.Cuadernos de Historia Nº 39 - Universidad de Chile
/ref> It was promulgated to give a legal cover to the repression carried out during the dismantlement of the Spanish republican institutions, as well as to penalise those who had remained loyal to the legally established government at the time of the July 1936 military rebellion against the Spanish Republic. It was a central piece of the

Francoist repression In the history of Spain, the White Terror ( es, Terror Blanco; also known as the Francoist Repression, ''la Represión franquista'') describes the political repression, including executions and rapes, which were carried out by the Nationalist ...

in the postwar era, and an estimated half-a-million people were prosecuted.

History

Background

In February 1939, soon after the fall of Catalonia, the war was lost for the Republic, and Francisco Franco rejected the only condition of the Republican government for a surrender: a guarantee of no reprisals against the defeated Republicans. According to

Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. Early life Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at tw ...

, Nationalist Spain was "little more than an open prison for all those who did not sympathize with the regime". According to Helen Graham, Francoist Spain was "constructed as a monolithic community by means of the brutal exclusions of specific categories of people.... Those excluded, broadly speaking, were defeated Republican constituencies who could not leave Spain... who to the Franco government were all ''reds'' and, once placed beyond the nation, they were deemed to be without rights.".

Promulgation

On 13 February 1939, Franco published in Burgos the Law of Political Responsibilities (''Ley de Responsabilidades Políticas''). The law declared guilty of a crime of military rebellion, all those who were members of a

party from 1 October 1934 and all of those who had opposed the military

Coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

of the 17–18

July July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...

including all government officers of the Republic and all members of the Republican Armed Forces. The law was retroactive and could be applied with effects as far back as October 1934, a juridical aberration since those who had followed the laws of the legally constituted government of the Spanish Republic were suddenly prosecuted for "helping rebellion". The law established fines and expropriations for defendants and their familiesGraham, Helen. ''The Spanish Civil War. A very short Introduction.'' Oxford University Press. 2005. p. 134 (from 100 pesetas to the confiscation of all the accused's assets). Furthermore, additional penalties included restriction of professional activities, limitation of freedom of residence and forfeiture of Spanish citizenship. Deceased and disappeared persons could be held responsible, and their families inherited the economic sanctions.Mir, Conxita. ''The Francoist Repression in the Catalan Countries.'' p. 8 Among the victims of the law were intellectuals and artists such as

Isabel Oyarzábal Smith Isabel Oyarzábal Smith (12 June 1878 in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain – 28 May 1974 Mexico City) was a Spanish-born journalist, writer, actress and diplomat, also known as Isabel de Palencia. Biography She had a Scottish mother, Anne Guthrie ...

,Eiroa Sanfrancisco, Matilde. Isabel de Palencia: diplomacia, periodismo y militancia al servicio de la República. Universidad de Málaga, Publicaciones y Divulgación Científica, 2014, pp. 266-67.

Pere Bosch-Gimpera Pere Bosch-Gimpera (1891 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain – 1974 in Mexico) was a Spanish-born Mexican archaeologist and anthropologist. He went into exile in Mexico, with many other intellectuals, after the Spanish Civil War. He became a Mexica ...

Josep Lluís Sert Josep Lluís Sert i López (; 1 July 190215 March 1983) was a Spanish architect and city planner. Biography Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Sert showed keen interest in the works of his uncle, the painter Josep Maria Sert, and of Gaudí. He s ...

and Pablo Casals.

Aftermath

The Law of Political Responsibilities was only nominally repealed in April 1945. A ''Comisión Liquidadora de Responsabilidades Políticas'' (Commission for the Discharge of Political Responsibilities) remained in operation until 1966, when the law was effectively abolished. Between 1939 and 1945, 500,000 persons out a population of 23,000,000 (2% of the population of Spain) were subject to proceedings on political responsibilities.

References

Sources

*Beevor, Antony. ''The Battle for Spain; The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939.'' Penguin Books. 2006. London. . *Graham, Helen. ''The Spanish Civil War. A Very Short Introduction.'' Oxford University Press. 2005. *Jackson, Gabriel. ''The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939.'' Princenton University Press. 1967. Princenton. *Preston, Paul. ''The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolution & revenge.'' Harper Perennial. 2006. London. *Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War.'' Penguin Books. London. 2001.

External links

Spain History - Rule of Franco (1939 - 1975)

''The Francoist Repression in the Catalan Countries.'' Conxita Mir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Law of Political Responsibilities Francoist Spain Legal history of Spain White Terror (Spain) 1939 in law 1939 in Spain