The Battle of Mallorca (August 16 - September 3, 1936). Quantitative study and profile of Republican expedition members killed in combat

Abstract

In recent years, various public institutions of the Spanish State have programmed, promoted and executed initiatives related to the implementation of public policies related to Democratic Memory. Among the initiatives, the location and exhumation of mass graves of reprisals and Republican combatants stand out, the elaboration of censuses that collect the data and characteristics of the deceased as a result of the armed conflict and political repression, the creation of public DNA banks for the identification of victims and, especially, the new law of Democratic Memory promoted by the Government of Spain, 20/2022, by virtue of which, crimes committed during the war and the military dictatorship can be reviewed and tried by a specialized prosecutor's office and classifying them as crimes against humanity.

This study provides new quantitative and qualitative data in relation to the republican combatants killed during the summer of 1936 and in the context of the Battle of Mallorca—both the casualties in combat and those killed in the rear of the rebels after being captured—and that they must be useful for the correct implementation of democratic memory policies in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.