In the

history of Spain The history of Spain dates to contact the pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula made with the Greeks and Phoenicians and the first writing systems known as Paleohispanic scripts were developed. During Classical A ...

, the

White Terror White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...

was the series of assassinations realized by the Nationalist faction during 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, lin ...

(1936–1939), and during the first nine years of the régime of General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

. 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 municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

(with perhaps more than 4,000 bodies). The

Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory The Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica or ARMH in Spanish) is a Spanish organization that collects the oral and written testimonies about the White Terror of Francisco Fr ...

(''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 by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

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 9,579Preston, 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 30 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.

Notes

References

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