Political Terror/Repression

• Law for the Repression of Banditry and Terrorism 1947:

  This law gave harsh penalties for anyone suspected of aiding and harbouring resistance fighters.
• Guardia Civil:

  These were the police in rural areas and often patrolled in pairs.
• Policia Armada:

  These were the police for larger cities and the capital.
• Secret Police:

  These were to track political opposition.
• Somaten:

  These were created in 1947 to protect the 'new state' and included 100000 armed men.
• By the mid 1940s, nearly half of the state budget was dedicated to forces of law and order.
• Social Purification:

  In March 1940, the Special Tribunal for the Repression of freemasonry and Communism was established to gather information on people, such as their political beliefs and how often they attended church. It also included a purge of teachers, journalists and artists. Priests were even expected to provide information on their local congregation. These commissions could authorise the demotion, temporary suspension and even internal exile of the people suspected of anti-Franco sympathies.
• Concentration Camps:

  Established in 1937, by 1940 over 500000 people had passed through Spanish concentration camps.
• Prisons:

  Pre war, in 1933 prisons contained around 12000 prisoners but by 1940, this had increased to 280000 in over 500 prisons. This meant that prisons became very overcrowded, with 270000 prisoners in a prison with the capacity of 20000, leading to a lack of food and poor sanitary conditions, for example. Republican prisoners were also sent to 121 labour battalions and 8000 military workshops to work on munitions manufacture for Franco.
• Identity Documents:

  Due to the expense of keeping prisoners, there was a general pardon for 'civil war crimes' in 1945. In March 1944, national identity documents (NIDs) was introduced and issued to former prisoners. These recorded past 'crimes' and political activities, making surveillance of ex-prisoners easy. Only 7 years later, in 1951, was NIDs compulsory for all Spaniards.
• Law for Political Responsibilities (February 1939):

  This made it illegal to have belonged to the UGT, CNT or any left wing party. If you were arrested under this law, you were tried in military courts which could implement exile, execution, house arrest or imprisonment. People were often found guilty on flimsy evidence. By 1945, 500000 people were convicted under this law, including urban workers, peasants and liberated women. This also placed the Falange militia and police under military control.