Death

This photograph of a group of dead bodies taken by the Photographic Unit of the Army of Galicia, reflects a reality that confronted all of Spanish society during the Civil War: the omnipresence of death at the front as well as in the rearguard. At the front, it was mostly draftee soldiers, most of whom had never before used a gun unless they had already done their national service, who suffered death, or caused it. They were ordinary men forced to abandon their job and their lives to fight for ideals which many of them did not hold. The photograph also illustrates the indifference to death that war can cause.

Violent death was not limited to the front lines, however. When a position was taken, many soldiers killed those who had fought against them. Later on, the Military Police organized violence against prisoners and civilians.

After the war had ended, the ex-combatants generally denied having taking part in such violent acts. In an interview in 2010, a former rebel soldier who wished to remain anonymous admitted that he had been ordered by a field officer or sergeant to be part of firing squads, but that he had fired in the air so as not to harm anyone. Many other former soldiers have said the same thing.  To adapt to a new reality, they tried to forget that they could have killed, even if forced to do so, and claimed that they had not shot to kill.

FLC