DOC The Spanish Holocaust: Inquisition and Extermination in Twentieth-Century Spain by Paul Preston in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The House of the DeadBy Keith A. ComessBy many standards; Francisco Franco; the Spanish dictator in power from 1939-1975 is a forgotten murderer and despot. By virtue of his longevity in office and the increasing irrelevancy of Spain as a major international power; his regime seemed to become more of a relic; a lingering curio from another era with a bemedaled; pot-bellied; prancing buffoon in the seat of power. Yet; the catalogue of his crimes is vast and rivals the depredations of Pol Pot and Stalin; but is second to those of his supporters in Nazi Germany; both in terms of scale and mechanization; though perhaps not in brutality.To refresh and reveal to the annals of history these overlooked and/or submerged murders; Paul Preston has assembled this prodigious record of Francoist regime crimes. The catalogue is so extensive it's oftentimes overwhelming. The utterly gratuitous and generally vengeful murders; usually conducted by feudal landlords and their mercenary minions; adds another revolting dimension to the crimes. Yet; Franco and his fascist paladins reveled in the carnage. True enough that Francoist Spain eventually became a minor pariah on the international scene; yet justice was never administered by the UN or other nations; even including those of the Warsaw Pact.Because of the encylopedic nature of this history; it's sometimes difficult reading. The book strives for (and succeeds) status as an academic reference. Nonetheless; even a cursory reading is useful; especially as context for the Civil War: Franco's African Army pioneered the methods used domestically overseas; a fact well known to his opponents at the time of his rebellion. Plus; the Nazi and Italian Fascist regimes were able to refine many military techniques (e.g.; terror bombing) used to great avail during WW-2 during this conflict.In the final analysis; the fact that a book like this one is needed is testimony to the fact that; as Dostoevsky once wrote in "The House of the Dead"; "Man is a creature that can get used to anything and I think that is the best definition of him". It seems that forgetting is a convenient means of accomplishing that end and Preston's book is a good corrective for those who are determined to remember.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A valuable contribution... and a little sick-making.By J. LaphamI'm about half way through this after three weeks or so. Truth to tell; it's not easy to read. Oh; it's well written; shows immense research; and is a must-read for those who are interested in the Spanish Civil War; which I have been since reading Orwell and Hugh Thomas in college back in the 60's. But the steady; relentless; accumulation of descriptions of killing makes me put the book down after 20 or 30 minutes. Preston doesn't hide his preference for the Republican side (which I share); but it doesn't really matter since there are 123 pages of notes (plus an index) included which back him up; most of which seem to be from contemporary sources. Lots of fascinating detail. Who knew that Franco and his military colleagues were firm believers in "The Protocols of the Wise Men of Zion" and the international Jewish-Semitic-Masonic conspiracy? If you have space on a shelf reserved for books about the Civil War in Spain this should be there. It has photographs; too. It was interesting to compare the photo of Franco and Hitler with the one of Franco and Eisenhower which I saw on a Spanish tv documentary. Eisenhower must have known how many murders Franco was responsible for. Realpolitik.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great and Meticulously Researched BookBy KaraThis is a very meticulously reaearched book on a very interesting and seldom explored subject which he notes is partially due to reluctance of Spanish government to allow researchers much access to governmental files regarding the Francoist regime. My grandpa was a young chuld survivor of the Spanish civil war and I showed him both the illustrations and the subject of the book and he cried - in a good way because he had not found much literature on the array of atrocities committed particularly by Franco's Legion on the citizens of northern and all together civilians of Spain. He does a good job at explaining the various factions and takes time to have a glossary exploring and explaining at the beginning.