Francoist repression in Spain and the crime of genocide
| Author | Leanid Kazyrytski |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211017385 |
| Published date | 01 November 2022 |
| Date | 01 November 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958211017385
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2022, Vol. 22(5) 676 –693
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/17488958211017385
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Francoist repression in Spain
and the crime of genocide
Leanid Kazyrytski
University of Girona, Spain
Abstract
This article describes the characteristics and scale of Francoist repression in Spain and analyses the
potential interpretation of the mass killings of people with leftist ideology as an act of genocide in
accordance with the provisions of international law. Focus is placed on the difficulties associated
with the inclusion of political groups in the category of genocide victims, and the possibility
of a broader interpretation of this categorization is defended. Furthermore, the present study
emphasizes the influence of the positivist trend on the configuration of Francoist criminal policy
and provides evidence that allows Francoist repression to be considered as genocide in full
accordance with international law.
Keywords
Francoist repression, genocide studies, Spanish Civil War, Spanish genocide, criminology of
genocide
Introduction
Criminology did not pay due attention to the problem of genocide for a considerable
period of time, attaching greater importance to explanations for common crime
(Brannigan, 2013: 3; Hagan and Rymond-Richmond, 2008: 57; Rafter, 2016: 4; Rymond-
Richmond, 2014). After several decades of oversight and of potential difficulties regard-
ing the inclusion of ‘genocide studies’ in the subject of criminology (Morrison, 2003;
Savelsberg, 2010), increasing emphasis is now being placed on the need to conduct
criminological research in areas related to genocidal practices and crimes against human-
ity (Hagan and Rymond-Richmond, 2009; Haveman and Smeulers, 2008; McGarry and
Walklate, 2016; Maier- Katkin et al., 2009; Parmentier, 2013). In this regard, despite the
considerable interest shown by criminological research, particularly based on critical
Corresponding author:
Leanid Kazyrytski, Faculty of Law, University of Girona, 17071, Campus de Montilivi, c/ de la Universitat de
Girona 12, Girona 17004, Spain.
Email: leanid.kazyrytski@udg.edu
1017385CRJ0010.1177/17488958211017385Criminology & Criminal JusticeKazyrytski
research-article2021
Article
Kazyrytski 677
perspective, in explaining cases of genocide in the 20th century, not all crimes with signs
of genocide have received sufficient coverage. One of these notable omissions is the
mass extermination of supporters of leftist ideology carried out by the Francoist govern-
ment during and after the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939.
For decades, issues related to the Francoist repression in Spain have been almost exclu-
sively the subject of research by historians, political scientists and specialists in criminal
law. Criminological research in this field of study is scarce and has been conducted almost
exclusively on the issue of how the Spanish state has treated the victims of Franco’s
repression (De la Cuesta and Odriozola, 2018; Tamarit, 2011, 2012, 2014). Hence, the
question regarding the nature of the mass murders carried out by the punitive institutions
of the Franco dictatorship, as well as the question of whether this repression can be con-
sidered an act of genocide has not been the subject of criminological analysis.
It is widely known that during the consolidation of the Francoist dictatorship during
the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 and the immediate years following its conclusion,
there were mass killings, imprisonment and other forms of persecution of citizens based
on their adherence to leftist ideology. From the outset, one of the goals of the Francoist
regime was the physical elimination of a social group identified as ‘enemies of Spain’,
which included liberal and left-wing individuals (Babiano et al., 2018: 89; Casanova,
1999: 59; Miguez Macho, 2013). Thus, it could be assumed that the purpose of carrying
out the mass repression of political opponents was to eliminate any kind of ideological
opposition rather than to destroy, in whole or in part, any national, ethnic, racial or reli-
gious group as such. In this sense, it seems logical to reason that due to the fact that the
repression was directed against political groups and due to the absence of a racial or
national component, the mass killings committed by the Francoist regime cannot be
treated as genocide as prescribed in Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (United Nations (UN), 1948),1 but should be con-
sidered typical excesses occurring in any civil war based on a personal vendetta (Ruiz,
2005, 2011) and therefore unconnected with any genocidal practices. Nevertheless, it is
the opinion of this author that, when considering the Francoist repression, it is possible
to identify a number of indications that directly point to an interpretation of the mass
executions carried out by the Francoist authorities in terms of the crime of genocide. This
is so because the victims of these murders were viewed not only as individuals who were
members of an antagonistic political movement but also as individuals belonging to a
different race, to the race of non-authentic Spaniards.2
In this regard, the main purpose of this article is to show that, despite the fact that the
victims of Francoist violence were political groups mainly composed of Spaniards,
which presumably indicates the absence of the actus reus of the crime of genocide in
accordance with the aforementioned UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide, the racial element did in fact play a rather significant role in
the use of repressive practices, and, therefore, the mass killings in Spain can indeed be
treated as genocide.3
To achieve this goal, first, the nature and scale of Francoist repression in Spain are
described. Second, attention is paid to the problem of including political groups as pos-
sible victims within the groups whose interests are protected by the 1948 Convention.
For this purpose, the criticism that has been expressed by the academic community
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