“Under the Pacifying Arms of the Cross.” The Valley of the Fallen: a Place of Imprisonment, Reconciliation and Social Reintegration in Spain (1940-1959)

Abstract

The Valley of the Fallen is the monument that boasts the largest Christian cross in the world. Buried at its feet are tens of thousands of those who fought and fell during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). They rest in the Basilica of the Holy Cross together without any designation as to on which side they fought. The article focuses on the vicissitudes of the penitentiary colony made up mainly of Republican prisoners sentenced for serious crimes committed during the war. This monument, a symbol of atonement and reconciliation, has become the target of a relentless political onslaught carried out by the socialist and communist government and fuelled by a series of myths analysed in the article.