The massacre of Paracuellos

Abstract

In early November 1936, the troops of General Franco were near Madrid. The capital’s assault seemed imminent and inevitable. On the 6th of November, in a context of chaos, the government of the Spanish Republic was evacuated to Valencia. A Defense Committee driven by General Miaja took over the military and civilian functions. The initial power vacuum was boldly covered by PCE (Spanish Communist Party): its leadership posts got strategic positions with competences in defense and public order. The Defense Committee’s Public Order Ministry fell in Santiago Carrillo’s hands, who took decisions in a few hours to curb the Fifth Column, suppress its actions and reorganize the repressive forces. One of the most problematic matters that Defense Committee had to assume was the high number of jailed rebel’s supporters in Madrid; if they had been released, they would have strengthened Francoist side. Initially, the inmates had to been evacuated, but actually many of them –at least 2.500– were executed near Madrid, mainly in the village of Paracuellos del Jarama. These killings damaged decisively the international image of the Spanish Republic. Most of them occurred on the 7th and the 8th of November, but this kind of atrocities continued until early December. Responsibilities on the facts are shared by different people and instances, but it is still a subject of debate.