The Archives of Repression

The archives generated by the various punitive jurisdictions and the vigilance and security apparatus of the state were keystones of the system of coercion that made possible the control of Spanish society between the coup of July 1936 and the regime’s twilight in 1977.

At the end of the day, General Franco was always in charge of the maintenance of public order. The Organic Law of the State of 1967 confirmed this power, which he has exercised since 1936. It is no coincidence that one of the first archives devoted specifically to repression was under his direct control. This is the famous Salamanca Archive where the documents seized from the parties and other organizations connected to the Popular Front and support for the Republic, as well as from Masonic organizations, were brought together, classified, and put at the disposition of the various courts of repression, the political police, and the Civil Guard. To give just one example, the documentation seized in Madrid weighed 7,500 kilograms and there were 1.3 million files for individuals in the Political-Social register.

Salamanca was not the only city where the state created archives to facilitate repression. The Army of Occupation Auditing service located in Zaragoza created a file of references to 573,198 people, as well as a duplicate that was sent to Salamanca for security purposes.

After the war, the dictatorship created a security and vigilance structure that included the General Directorate of Security (DGS), the Civil Guard, and the Falange’s Information and Investigation Service. The creation and rapid implementation of the National Identification Document (DNI) in 1944 was put in the hands of the dreaded DGS. It was a means of exercising control over the population.

Some of the archives of repression no longer exist. The Investigation and Information Service of the Falange, which in 1940 had more than 5 million file cards referring to files for more than 3 million people and which was burned during the Transition, is one of these. Others continue to exist but have been purged. These include the archives of the Political Social Brigade of the DGS and the Civil Guard, which are in the National Historical Archive in Madrid and the General Administrative Archive in Alcalá de Henares.

JER