"TO DIE IN MADRID" "Spain, 1931." "503,061 km2, almost as big as France." "24 million people." "This year, 1931, half the population, 12 million, is illiterate." "There are 8 million poor, 2 million landless farmers." "20 thousand people own half of Spain." "Whole provinces are owned by one man." "Average wage of a worker:" "1 to 3 pesetas per day." "A kilo of bread costs 1 peseta." "20000 monks, 31000 priests, 60000 nuns and 5000 convents." "15000 officers, among which 800 generals." "1 officer for every 6 men 1 general for 100 soldiers." "King Alfonso XIII, the fourteenth sovereign since Isabella the Catholic." "In April 2, 1931, the monarchists' candidates lose municipal elections." "King Alfonso XIII abdicates." "It is the Republic," "republic by surprise." "The people discover that they exist" "They have the right to speak, the right to discourse." "But the peasants are still landless, the workers are still without work." "Everybody goes at the same time to direct action." "Monarchists against the Republic," "Catalans for autonomy, anarchists against the state, peasants against the civil guard." "The left is organizing." "The right hardens." "Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera founds the Falange." "October 1934." "It is the uprising of Asturias." "Miners resist 15 days in Oviedo and Gijon." "The repression is fast." "1500 dead, 3000 injured, 50000 workers imprisoned." "A General is distinguished." "Alcala Zamora, President, calls him "saviour of the nation"." "He is called Francisco Franco." "1936 general elections." "Two fronts: the Popular Front and the National Front." "The Popular Front wins with 4 million votes, against 3.5 million on the right and gets the absolute majority in the Spanish Parliament the Cortes." "For the first time in Spain, the Popular Front gains access to power." "The peasants appropriate unexploited land." "The miners in Asturias are released." "All wages are increased by 15%." "200 churches destroyed, 300 political assassinations, 130 spontaneous strikes," "10 newspapers sacked." "The generals protesting, were exiled." "Franco to the Canary Islands," "Godet to the Balearides." "The holy figure of Spain is in danger." "On behalf of the eternal Spain, Carlists, monarchists, the Falange, united behind the banner of the church prepare the rebellion." "From Africa to the Burgos army barracks the order of the plot circulates with the phrase:" ""Arriba, Espana"." "In June 16, 1936, at the Cortes, the leader of the right," "Calvo Sotelo, threatens the government." ""Against this sterile state, I propose the integral state." "What many call fascist." "But if the fascist state is the end of the strikes, the end of the unrest, the end of abuses against property, then I declare with pride that I am a fascist." "I declare crazy all soldiers, who faced with eternity will not rise against anarchy if necessary. "" "Three weeks later, Calvo Sotelo was murdered." "The rebellion found its pretext and its martyr." "Madrid, July 19, 1936." "Strike of the waiters of cafes." "Suddenly the news." "The day before, the Moroccan military rose against the republic." "Francisco Franco declared in the Radio of Tetouan:" ""All of you." "Who feel the holy love for Spain." "Who vowed to defend Spain against enemies until death." "The nation calls upon you to defend it." "The army decided to restore the order in Spain."" "By treason, by ruse or by conviction, fall away Sevilla, Algeciras, Cordoba," "Granada, Andalucia, Navarra, Oviedo and Zaragoza." "The Basque provinces, Malaga, Barcelona, Madrid, victoriously resist and disarm the model." "Franco says:" ""Spain is saved."" "The president of the Republic, Manuel Azana proclaims:" ""The Republic continues."" "Thus begins the civil war." "It begins with the massacres." "Rich, poor, employers, workers, officers, civil guards, priests, nuns." "No one is immune." "7937 monks were killed." "Some were burned alive." "Both sides have waited for too long." "Both sides are executing without trial." "200000 dead in two weeks." "The writer Saint-Exupery reports:" ""Here is a rifle as logging."" "The crime took place in Granada." "The one killed had written:" ""Green, green that I love." "Green wind." "Green branches." "The boat on the sea and the horse on the mountain. "" "He loved the secret Granada gardens, loved the wind." "He said: "I am and always will be on the side of those who are hungry."" "He said: "If I die, leave the window open."" "He said: "No, that blood I do not want to see."" "In Granada, in his Granada, he was arrested, tried, convicted to death, executed the next day:" "the poet Federico Garcia Lorca." "Master of millions of men, civil war is hope." "For the braziers working day by half, for junteros that are hired with their mules, for the rebates thet are dismissed when the vine dies, for the peasants in Galicia, La Mancha, Andalusia," "Extremadura, that are burdened with taxes for centuries, the tax to the state, the tax to the master the tax of blood, for all those who have hungered for centuries, for all that have nothing," "civil war is hope." "For others, civil war is faith." "For those who look on eternal Spain." "For those who look on the rule of Carlos V and Christ the King, for the descendants of the conquerors," "for the mystics at Teresa of Avila, for Spain of the cross and the sword for those that always need to crusade, war is necessary." "Queipo de Liano launches, on radio from Sevilla the nationalist motto." "General Mola organizes the Army of the North" "Franco, the army of Africa." "The nationalist bourgeoisie learns the new gesture of fashion:" "the fascist salute." "And the greatest force in Spain, the church openly takes part supporting the rebellion." "Franco says:" ""We are Catholics." "In Spain, one is a Catholic or one is nothing. "" "The head of the Catholic Action says:" ""Crusade Spain." "We have to win." "Winning as the Spaniard has always won, with a sword in his hand, heroism in the heart and a prayer on his lips. "" "The reverend father, Ignacio Mendez Reigada says:" ""The uprising was not only fair, it was a duty." "The Spanish national war was a holy war, the most holy that history has known."" "The Archpriest of Burgos says during the Mass:" ""You." "Listeners." "You." "Who are called Christians." "No forgiveness for the destroyers of the church and the murderers of the holy priests." "That their seed is crushed." "The bad seed, the seed of the devil." "Because the children of Belzebul are also enemies of God."" ""It is better to die standing than to die on your knees."" "says in Madrid Dolores Ibarruri, wife of miner, called the "Pasionaria", Communist deputy." "She adresses the union:" "Anarchists of the CNT and the FAI," "Catalans following Companys, the socialist UGT and Largo Caballero," "Basques following Aguirre, Marxists of the POUM, all united as the fingers of the hand." "The closed fist becomes the symbol of unity." "Except for the rebels, the rebellion is the end of civility." "Justice is delivered by military courts." "The outcome is usually the death penalty." "Muslim mercenaries number 40000." "The Republic has no army." "A crowd of peasants, laborers, women and children are willing to defend it." "They vote the following resolution:" ""We want to be militiamen of freedom, not soldiers in uniform." "Militiamen?" "Yes!" "Soldiers?" "Never! "" "However, it is necessary to have soldiers." "In Spain, everybody knows death." "The Republic must teach them to live, teach them to overcome." "Durutti says to his anarchists:" ""We must leave for tomorrow many reforms." "First victory! "" "Barely trained, barely armed, these fighters start up at the front." "All are determined to defeat fascism and die for the republic." "On the other side, they have to die for Christ the King." "The two halves of Spain are launched against each other." "July 22, 1936." "The first battle takes place in the port of Somosierra, natural defense of Madrid." "General Mola's falangists and Madrid's popular militias clash with fury." "Every stone, every tree is defended with rage." "Prisoners are shot, the wounded are killed on the spot." "The first threat to Madrid is stopped at Somosierra." "From the other fronts:" "Triumph of the Barcelona militia in Aragon." "But the most important things happen in the south." "Gen. Yague is heading North and conquers Badajoz." "2000 people are shot in 24 hours." "In the North, Gen. Mola attacks Irun." "Objective:" "To block the French border of the Basque provinces." "Immersed in the fire, defenders died at the scene." "The population flees to France by the international bridge." "In the French beaches, vacationers," "Europe as a whole, observe." "From Biarritz, the American ambassador Bowers writes to Washington:" ""The war will be long." "They raise an army against a people. "" "That people whose first refugees taste exile." "The rebels succeed in their first strategic victory." "The entire north of the Republic is surrounded." "They blocked the French border." "In Toledo, capital of the ancient kings" "Republican militias are masters of the city." "Rebel Col. Moscardo is entrenched in the Alcazar with 1,300 soldiers, 550 women and 50 children." "The head of the militia phones Col. Moscardo:" ""If the Alcazar does not surrender, we're going to shoot your son." "Talk to him. "" ""What happened, son?"" ""They say they are going to shoot if the Alcazar does not surrender."" ""Entrust your soul to God, my son." "He shouts: "Long live Spain" and dies as a hero."" ""Goodbye, father." "A big kiss."" ""The Alcazar does not surrender."" "He turns AIcazar into a symbol." "The Republic wants to finish with him." "Specialists in dynamite are brought in from Asturias." "Largo Caballero, head of the Republican administration, comes in person to witness the final assault." "Franco, en route to Madrid, gives Col. Yague the first order to liberate Alcazar." "In Sept. 27, 1936, the Alcazar is released after 68 days of siege." "Franco visits in person to congratulate the defenders." ""Defenders of Alcazar, You are the honour of Spain."" "The civil war after three months." "July 17, 1936." "The army rises in Spanish Morocco." "On July 18, the rebellion extends to all of Spain." "The army of Africa arrives at Sevilla." "The stain of rebellion extends over Spain." "The rebels attack." "From the north against Madrid." "From Seville against Andalusia." "The Republic attacks Aragon." "In Somosierra, the first major battle." "The militiamen of Madrid block Franco's attack." "The Republic tries to land in Mallorca." "Irun in the north, Badajoz in the south, are occupied by Franco." "The North is separated from France." "In Talavera, Francists are diverted, they attack Toledo and free Alcazar." "In the north, Francists occupy Oviedo." "1, October 1936, at Burgos," "Gen. Franco becomes head of state." "All partes of the rebellion are fused into a single party." "A single theme:" ""One state, one nation, one leader."" "On November 18," "Italy and Germany recognize the government of Burgos." "Franco declares:" ""This moment marks a milestone in the history of the world. "" "To beat the people they need weapons and mercenaries." "Franco finds both in Fascist Italy." "The Italian contribution will be 70 thousand men." "Four divisions completely equipped." "For the defense of the Republic, weapons are required." "A lot fewer than needed arrive." "From France, Mexico, the Soviet Union." "Marshal Goering does things well." "Germany donates the elite of the Luffwaffe and of the German army." "The Condor Legion." "Professional soldiers, highly trained, these men will be architects of the victory." "But the best the allies can procure for the Republic are:" "lawyers, students, workers, they are the International Brigades." "They do not receive salary, do not seek glory." "They come from around the world." "They are going to die in Madrid." "Madrid is the heart." "The rebel generals:" "Franco, Mola, Queipo de Llano, Jara, Yague." "The Falange, the church, they need Madrid." "The Republican government abandons the capital." "Shouts in the streets:" ""Viva Madrid without government!"" ""Every man at the front!" "You shall not pass!"" "The whole world expects the fall of Madrid." "Madrid is nothing more than a hand tense over a rifle." "Gen. Mola prepares the final assault." "4 columns converge in Madrid." "On November 7, Gen. Mola attacks." "It's a miracle!" "The Francists are blocked in the University Campus." "The 11th and 12th international brigades resist." "Placing bombs in elevators, fighting between neighbors, shooting point blank range." "Suddenly the front is immobilized." "Madrid resists." "In the rain, cold and hungry, but behind each window, there is one man and a rifle." "They remove the children." "Women must stay to bring food to men." "They remove the children." "There are no more smiles in Madrid." "Franco instructs the Germans of the Condor Legion to bomb Madrid methodically." "For the first time in history, the world may live a new experience:" "the demoralization of the enemy by systematic aerial bombardment of civilians." "One million inhabitants:" "500 thousand refugees." "Basements and subways can only contain 10000 people." "The francist radio of Salamanca declares:" ""Spain is not in the villages nor in the cities." "It's in the ideas and the genius of Franco." "We are at war!" "Advance until we are above our dead! "" "Also for the Republic, in the air, the adventure is international." "From all the skies of the world" "Russian pilots and the squadron "Spain" organized by Andre Malraux, defy the adversary and almost always win individual fights." "Madrid resists." "It is necessary to try to surround it." "5 brigades of the Army of Africa and the artillery of the Condor Legion attack in the valley of Jarama." "Objective: to cut the route Madrid-Valencia." "The international brigades:" "Thaelman battalions, Andre Marty," "Abraham Lincoln, Garibaldi," "Dimitrov and the British battalion begin the counter-attack." "Valle du Jarama, Jarama Valley Valle del Jarama." "Those who die here talk all languages." "About 15 Km: 45000 dead, 10 days of fighting." "But the route Madrid-Valencia remains under Republic control" "Madrid is not surrounded." "Mussolini wants to succeed where Franco failed." "He wants the glory of defeating Madrid for himself." "On March 8, 1937 30000 Italians supported by 20000 Moroccan and Carlist legionaries, preceded by 250 assault tanks attack and demolish the Republican front in Guadalajara." "Faced with danger, the Lister division is put in front." "Clustered behind the tanks of Russian Gen. Pavlov, it fights back." "Demoralized by the violence of the counterattack, the black shirts are fleeing." "Defeat." "Left on the ground 30 cannons, 150 guns and 1,300 trucks." "1 against 5, Republicans achieve victory in Guadalajara." "12 Italian battalions are taken prisoners with their commanders." "Faced with defeat in Guadalajara, Mussolini declares:" ""All Italians to return defeated, will be shot. "" "For the diplomats, Spain's war is premature." "The Rome-Berlin axis wants Franco's victory, but the German and Italian armies are not ready for World War." "France and the Soviet Union want the victory of the Republic but do not want war." "England and the United States, isolationists on principle hide behind absolute neutrality." "Leon Blum, president of the French Council, socialist in solidarity with the Spanish Republic, must sacrifice everything for civil peace in France." "Invents the formula:" ""No intervention in the war in Spain. "" "Adolf Hitler adopts non-intervention." "It serves his purpose to buy time." "Joseph Stalin is working on the victory of the Spanish Republic, above all making sure of the security of his country." "Franklin Roosevelt preserves the principles of American life." "His doctrine: neutrality." "Benito Mussolini proclaims support for Franco." "Is ready to fight, but not alone." "Neville Chamberlain, The British premier seeks agreements with dictatorships to save peace." "To reconcile all these contradictions, a committee meets in London." "All member countries officially accepted not to intervene in the war of Spain." "Germany sends the Condor Legion to Franco and accuses the Soviet Union of sending tanks to the Spanish Republic." "Italy sends an expeditionary force to Franco and accuses France of arms trafficking with the Spanish Republic." "England and the U.S. disapprove of everything." "And during this time the Condor Legion and the Italian expeditionary corps actively contribute to the victory of Franco." "Franco, repelled in Madrid, attacks the South." "The militiamen of the Republic are outnumbered by the Italian battalions of Gen. Roata and the nationalist troops under the command of Col. Duke of Sevilla." "Republican defenses are broken." "Malaga is under siege." "In the seven days that follow the fall of the city" "Thousands of supporters of the Republic:" "militants, workers, women, farmers, are executed without trial." "Every day, at dawn or at dusk, the sinister vehicle will deliver its victims." "The great massacres outraged a direct witness, Georges Bernanos." "He writes in "A Diary of my Times":" ""They are arrested every night from lost villages at the time when they came in from the fields." "They set off on their last journey with their shirts still clinging to their shoulders with sweat," "with their arms still full of the day's toil, leaving soup untouched on the table" "and a woman who arrives a minute too late, at the garden wall, breathless, with a little bundle of belongings hastily twisted into a bright new napkin." ""Adios, recuerdos."" ""Do not wake the children." "For what? "" ""I'm going to prison, am I not, sir?"" ""Of course," said the officer who was sometimes less than 20."" "Queipo de Llano said:" ""Seek the enemies where they are." "And if they are dead, shoot them again. "" "Nobody protests except one man the old philosopher Miguel de Unamuno, author of "The Tragic Sense of Life"," "Rector of the University of Salamanca, master thinker of his generation was the head of a university in nationalist territory." "On Day of the Race, in Salamanca, in the amphitheater of the university the francist Gen. MiIan Astray, mutilated in the war, injured in Catalonia and the Basque provinces, hears his supporters shout:" ""Long Live Death!"" "Unamuno rises slowly and says:" ""There are circumstances in which silence is lying." "I just heard a scream morbid and stripped of meaning:" ""Long Live Death"." "This paradox is barbaric and repugnant to me." "The Gen. Milan Astray is an invalid." "It is not rude, Cervantes was as well." "Unfortunately, today in Spain there are many invalids." "I have to think that Gen. Milan Astray could lay the groundwork for a psychology of the masses." "But an invalid who does not have the spiritual greatness of a Cervantes seeks relief in the mutilations that he can inflict around him." "You." "You win because you have more brute force than necessary, but you do not convince." "Because, to convince, you should persuade." "And to persuade, it would take what you lack:" "Reason and being righteous in your fight." "I feel it is useless to think in Spain." "I finished." "Arrested in his home, Miguel de Unamuno dies with a shattered heart some weeks later." "Blocked from Madrid, blocked from Barcelona far from the government of Valencia, the Basque provinces are left alone to defend democracy, their right to freedom and their language." "For centuries, the Basques fight for autonomy." "Franco refuses." "The Republic agrees." "The Basque provinces are Republican." "Directed by President Aguirre, the Basque provinces become Euskadi and live their own war." "The Basque clergy leave the village, they join the struggle." "It is the only clergy of Spain that support the Republic." "For the Basque provinces, neighboring Asturias, the beginnings of the civil war were quite easy." "Short battles, victoriously led by Basque militias and the Asturian miners, retain the north of Spain for the Republic." "March 22, 1937, Franco decides to attack the Basques." "Gen. Mola launches an ultimatum:" ""I decided to finish quickly with the war in the north." "Those who lay down their arms, get to save their life and keep their property." "But if the submission is not immediate, I will attack Biscay with everything."" "The Condor Legion uses a new method called "Carpet Bombing."" "The results, carefully photographed, were reported to Berlin and were found "very interesting"" "by Marshal Goering, head of the Luftwaffe." "In the Basque province there is a holy town called Guernica." "In past centuries, under the old oak of Guernica, the kings of Spain came once a year to pay respect to the freedom of the Basques." "Under the holy oak tree of Guernica, the elders taught justice." "Sunday, April 26, 1937 was, like every Sunday, market day in Guernica." "At 5 pm, the four hills of the horizon of Guernica" "At 5 pm ..." "The planes were Heinkel 111 and Junker 52." "The shelling lasted 3 hours." "The successive waves came with precision every 20 minutes." "The bombs weighing 500 kg 1654 dead." "889 wounded." "There were 7000 people in Guernica." "The German general Galant, commander of the German offensive, said:" ""Guernica was not a military target just an unfortunate mistake."" "They made the war to be a united people." "The war forced them to disperse their children." "Those children who wanted to fight." "Those children who were denied courage." "Those children who know how to die like soldiers, cry like any other child." "Most of these children do not return to their country." "They grow up elsewhere." "In Mexico, Russia, England, in France." "Demolished at the beginning of the offensive," "Basque forces replenish behind the Iron Circle:" "the fortified line of Bilbao." "The Italian-German artillery and Franco's army broke the circle of iron." "The Basque army, beaten by superior force 1 to 3 pounds, a rearguard action." "Bilbao drops, but the slaughter of the Basque people, guilty of the crime no rebellion, caused a scandal in the Catholic world." "To respond to this outrage, and at the request of Franco," "Cardinal Goma y Toma, Primate of Spain, sends a collective letter to the bishops around the world:" ""Today there is no other hope to regain peace and justice but through the triumph of the national movement."" "On the night of Oct. 27, 16 Basque priests were executed." "278 were imprisoned, 1300 were classified as undesirable." "Their crime?" "To have kept the Christ's presence in the Republic." "After the murders, Francois Mauriac reacts:" ""We say that the murders committed by the Moors who have the Sacred Heart punctured on their clothes, by German and Italian aviators at the service of a Catholic leader who claims to be a soldier of Christ," "we say that this is a horror whose consequences are frightening for the cause which we should place above all others and that is the kingdom of God on Earth."" "In eight weeks the north is completely occupied by forces of Franco." "The Italians occupy Santander." "Legionnaires and Moroccans occupy Gijon." "In the land of Spain, the war does not consist of a series of battles." "It is a succession of tragedies." "The tranquil village of Brunete, becomes a point of impact of the Republican offensive." "The goal: to loosen the screw around Madrid and force Franco to abandon the northern front." "Unable to take advantage of their initial triumph," "Republicans lose time and let Gen. Franco Varela retaliate." "Brunete was taken and then recovered." "In its ruins, under the sun, 12 days of battle 40000 dead, Republic won 5km." "A month after Brunete, the Republic resumes the attack." "Center of the attack: the small fortified city of Belchite." "Since the start of the rebellion," "Belchite and Zaragoza resist the Republic militia." "Belchite is fascinating." "The Republican Gen. Jauja declares:" ""It is the struggle of courage against courage is a battle of Spaniards against Spaniards."" "Gen. Franco Yague, declares on his side:" ""The reds are fighting with determination." "Spanish they are and therefore courageous."" "The republic wins Belchite." "Gains time." "Loses too many men." ""War is to do the impossible so that pieces of iron enter the living flesh."" "While fighting in the Basque Country in Brunete and Belchite, while fighting in Madrid the government of the Republic is headquartered in Valencia." "The council of ministers convene, a president's council replaces another, at the classic game of democracies:" "Giral, Largo Caballero, Negrin." "With either, it is the same policy or the same impotence of policy." "The power of decision is elsewhere." "The Gen. Lleja in Madrid" "President Companys, in Barcelona, the president Aguirre in Bilbao." "The real problems are also multiple." "The republic must wage war and achieve land reform." "Must eat and feed the fighters." "Must give at the same time taste of freedom and of culture." "Must stand at the same time, in the name of common struggle, and in the name of the parties that are many and divided." "The POUM, the party of extreme left, wants at the same time victory and revolution." "The anarchists of the CNT and the FAI, who are the majority of the workers want victory without discipline." "The people without the state." "Both the Socialist Party and the Communist Party are in power." "The Socialist Party by the number of deputies, the Communist Party by its dynamism and Russian weapons." "But the political conflicts are solved with weapons in hand and by mobilisation in the streets." "Under these conditions which exasperate the lack of weapons, with these contradictions, the government of the Republic must win militarily the war against the rebel government of Burgos led by a soldier in office." "In midwinter, pressed by the internal difficulties, mobilized by fear of another Franco offensive on Madrid, the Republicans attack Teruel." "Teruel is soon overtaken, but the snowstorm makes the combats slower." "With 18 below zero, the material is immobilized, men frozen." "Franco, surprised at first, counterattacks with violence." "180 thousand fighters are concentrated in the cold under the snow in a small space." "When the weather permits, 100000 Republicans launch the assault on Teruel." "On Jan. 8, 1938 the official communique announces that" "Teruel belongs completely to the Republic." "After 10 days Teruel is once again under siege." "The African army, with support of Italian tanks, counterattacks." "In two days, the republic loses 15000 men." "On the ruins of burning Teruel, Franco's flag." "The civil war takes two years." "December 15, 1937." "Teruel." "The Republic attacks the advanced point of the francist zone." "Teruel is taken." "February 7, 1938." "Victorious counterattack of the Franco regime." "The front is broken in Aragon." "They reach the sea of Vinaroz on April 15." "The Republican Spain is divided into two." "The balance finally breaks." "The republican army, exhausted, ill-equipped, initiates retreat on all fronts." "Franco's troops arrive at Vinaroz in the Mediterranean on April 15, 1938." "The Republic is divided into two." "Madrid is separate from Barcelona." "Across about two thirds of Spain, now the New Order reigns, the Francist order." "The three pillars of the state are:" "the army, the church, the party." "The military have the right and the duty to assess the lack of capacity and the moral failures of civilians." "The militants of the Falange are heads of barracks, heads of subcartels, heads of blocks, heads of houses." "The goals of life are as follows:" "Battle, sacrifice, discipline, fight, austerity." "Under the tutelage of the three polices:" "the Security, the Secret Police and the Falange Police, the new nationalist prayer is recited." ""I believe in property and the grandeur of Spain which the traditional route will secure." "I believe in forgiveness for the repentant heart," "I believe in the resurrection of former work corps organized as corporations and durable peace."" "Not afraid of death but afraid to die, they are civilians." "Soldiers of the people, soldiers of life and not death." "These civilians were converted into the Army of the Republic." "The Republic launches its last battle." "Negrin, president of the council says to them:" ""A war is only lost if considered lost." "The defeated proclaim the winners. "" "100000 men, the entire army of the north engaged in the most audacious operation tactics of the war in Spain." "Gen. Modest leads his troops in the last offensive of the Republic." "The passage of the Ebro." "The Lister division penetrates nationalist defenses and moves to Gambeza, 40 Km behind enemy lines." "Lister says to his officers:" ""If someone loses an inch of land, he must retrieve it at the head of his men or be executed."" "President Negrin wants to use the victory at Ebro and the international crisis of Munich to obtain peace." "He proposes to Europe and to Franco the foundations of a compromise." "To demonstrate goodwill, he suspends the International Brigades, in full battle, and sends them back to their countries." "The departure of the International Brigades is an emotional moment for Spain." "Pasionaria bids them farewell in barcelona:" ""They speak different languages, but we understand." "They know the danger and face it singing." "They can leave with their heads up high." "When the olive trees of peace again are green, to return." "And you, women of Spain, talk to your children." "Tell them of the International Brigades." "Tell them how, crossing seas and mountains" "These men arrived to our country." "They left everything to come here and say:" ""Your cause, the cause of Spain, is ours. "" "Many of them, thousands of them are here with Spanish land as a shroud."" "Rejecting the peace offer of Negrin," "Franco wants, and prepares for, total victory." "He obtains from Hitler the reinforcement of the Condor Legion." "His reserve troops, trained by Italian and German instructors are sent to the front." "New weapons arriving from Germany assure absolute mechanical superiority." "On December 23, 1938." "When the Pope calls on behalf of the Holy Father a truce for Christmas" "Franco begins the attack." "600 artillery pieces and 1000 planes open the breach." "The front breaks everywhere." "The nationalist army sweeps Catalonia, but Serrano Sunna, general secretary of the Falange, is suspicious." "He says: "The enthusiastic reception the population made to our troops must not delude us." "The people, whose conduct I was able to observe personally, are sick morally and politically." "Barcelona will be treated at the beginning, as being sick. "" "200000 Republican soldiers are taken prisoners in Catalonia." "They are interrogated, prosecuted." "Those presumed guilty, are executed." "The rest, freed after a few months, will be the pariahs of the regime." "The end of Catalonia was the beginning of the great exodus." "300000 fled to the border." "In some of the closed hands, a handful of earth." "Franco's troops close the last frontier." "The defeated will no longer be able to choose exile." "Catalan children learn a new greeting." "Madrid remains." "Negrin and the Communists want to resist until death." "The senior officers of the Republic rebel." "Franco demands unconditional surrender." "They capitulate." "At noon, March 27, 1939, the troops of General Franco enter Madrid." "For Franco it is the time of triumph." "Mussolini telegraphs:" ""I thank you for having given the legionnaires the ultimate honor of parading in front of you in a Madrid reconquered for a Spain united, free and grand that you are building." "Berlin, June 1939." "Hitler reviews the Condor Legion." "They are the elite of the German army." "Three months later they will be in Warsaw." "A year later in Paris." "Spain, 1939." "503,061 km2, almost as big as France." "There are 2 million prisoners, 500 thousand exiles." "In 3 years, 1 million violent deaths." "Only 1 party:" "The Falange." "Only 1 leader: the Caudillo." "On December 31, 1939, Franco proclaims:" ""What we need now is a united and conscious Spain." "It is necessary to settle hatreds and passions left by our last war." "But this settlement should not be made so liberally with monstrous and dire amnesty which is a deception, more than a gesture of forgiveness." "Must be Christian, thanks to the redemption through work, accompanied by repentance and penance."" "In the port of Somosierra, where so many men from Madrid died." "In the port of Somosierra, at dawn, like every day, a man returns to his job..." "This film is dedicated to the war correspondents who died in Madrid and all those: journalists, reporters, cameramen, who,by doing their job in Spain, allowed us to make this movie."