Abstract
Over the past several decades, Spanish historiography has seen a proliferation of studies examining the systemic repression inflicted by the Franco regime (1936–75) on society at large. A catalyst for this historiographical trend was the enactment of the 2007 Ley de Memoria Histórica (Historical Memory Law). As the first major legislation of its kind since the transition to democracy, it recognised and extended rights to individuals who suffered persecution or violence during both the Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship. Consequently, subsequent scholarship expanded its scope to encompass all spheres of political, economic, and cultural life in which millions of Spaniards had exercised the civil rights granted to them during the Second Republic (1931–39). This body of literature places particular emphasis on the political and economic repercussions endured by the defeated: imprisonment, execution, exile, asset forfeiture, professional bans, and the purging of civil servants. This repressive apparatus began to take shape during the Civil War and was consolidated just months before the ultimate collapse of the Second Republic. To legitimise these actions, the Franco regime enacted a foundational framework of punitive legislation, most notably the Ley de Responsabilidades Políticas (Law of Political Responsibilities) of 9 February 1939, and the Ley de Depuración de Funcionarios (Law for the Purging of Civil Servants) of 10 February 1939.
While both laws had a profound societal impact, the Ley de Depuración directly targeted the entire civil service. To institutionalise itself and ensure its longevity, the nascent Francoist administration demanded strict ideological conformity and the total alignment of public employees with the regime's political, moral, and religious tenets. Consequently, the state sought to systematically evaluate officials’ political histories during the Second Republic and, crucially, their wartime conduct. This purge extended beyond the traditional civil service to encompass public utility companies, including the railways. During the Second Republic, railway workers had been characterised by high levels of unionisation and intense political mobilisation – a collective leverage the incoming military regime recognised as a potent destabilising force. Consequently, the Francoist state systematically targeted the railway sector to neutralise its disruptive potential. This resulted in widespread political persecution, mass imprisonment, and numerous executions by firing squad, alongside the systemic dismissal and professional sanctioning of thousands of workers.
This subject is central to a recent study by Carles Gorini and Eduard Caballé, researchers at the Catalan Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, entitled Ferroviaris en guerra. Revolució, guerra civil i repressió franquista als ferrocarrils catalans de via estreta [Railway Workers at War: Revolution, Civil War, and Francoist Repression on Catalan Narrow-Gauge Railways]. This volume contributes to a broader historiographical corpus – including foundational work by the Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (Spanish Railways Foundation) – that analyses the experiences of major Iberian-gauge railway companies and extends into the RENFE era from its inception in 1941 until the end of the Franco regime. Furthermore, scholarship has increasingly explored the regional dimensions of this repressive apparatus across various narrow-gauge lines in the Basque Country, Catalonia, Extremadura, Navarre, Mallorca, Andalusia, and Castile-La Mancha. Crucially, this scholarship is also expanding to examine the distinct gendered dimensions of this persecution, specifically targeting female railway workers.
Ferroviaris en guerra explores the profound social and political consequences of the Civil War and the ensuing Francoist repression. The volume is driven by a desire to comprehensively document the systematic purges enacted by the regime against railway workers within the networks of the Compañía General de los Ferrocarriles de Cataluña (General Railway Company of Catalonia) and the Ferrocarril de Sarrià a Barcelona (Sarriá to Barcelona Railway) – both of which have since been integrated into the modern Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government Railways). The network of the Compañía General de los Ferrocarriles de Cataluña extended from Barcelona to key mining districts, cement works, agricultural zones, and industrial estates, while also providing a transit link to the Sanctuary of Montserrat. In contrast, the Ferrocarril de Sarrià a Barcelona featured a fully electrified, predominantly urban alignment that connected the capital to Terrassa and Sabadell – both major hubs of Catalonia's thriving industrial sector.
The authors’ findings are anchored in an exhaustive review of primary literature and diverse archival repositories, including the historical collections of the Catalan Government Railways, the Centro Documental de la Memoria Histórica (Centre for the Documentation of Historical Memory), and the Archivo General de la Administración (General Administrative Archive). Ultimately, Ferroviaris en guerra provides a significant contribution to the historiography of Francoist repression and plays a vital role in preserving the collective memory of railway workers.
