Travels Through the Spanish Civil War
A revelatory journey into the Spanish Civil War’s physical and visual legacies, investigating how conflict is memorialised, and obscured, today.
Description
Fifty years after Franco’s death, and almost ninety since the Civil War began, the scars of violence still run deep in Spain.
Nick Lloyd traces this legacy through a series of road trips. Travelling through Catalonia and Aragón, among the last Republican strongholds, he visits battle sites, museums, memorials and more. Speaking with historians, local guides and descendants of International Brigaders, he discovers how places and objects offer clues to a painful past. A Barcelona plaque, metres from the author’s home, commemorates the birthplace of Francesc Boix, a photographer whose short but eventful life took him from the Catalan front to the Nuremberg witness box. In Huesca, a dogged journalist builds monuments to his city’s wartime resistance, while the preserved ruins of Belchite mark the devastation of fierce street fighting. A journey across the Franco-Spanish border follows the footsteps of the anti-fascist refugees later incarcerated in French concentration camps.
As debates over ‘historical memory’ highlight enduring political rifts, Lloyd powerfully chronicles how war is remembered—or not—in Spain and beyond.
Reviews
‘A thoughtful and engaging journey through Spain’s troubled past. Nick Lloyd brings history to life with curiosity, clarity and compassion, shedding fascinating new light on familiar ground while revealing overlooked stories from one of Europe’s most pivotal conflicts.’ — Jason Webster, author of Guerra: Living in the Shadows of the Spanish Civil War
‘A masterly piece of objective writing on the Spanish Civil War. Researched with scrupulous honesty in the vein of Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, it makes compelling reading, helping us to understand more about this terrible war.’ — Richard Blair, Trustee of The Orwell Society, and son of George Orwell
‘For anyone who cares about the Spanish Civil War, this book is a literary—and visual—treat. And for anyone who wants to see how history can be brought alive by going to the places where it happened, it’s a superb model.’ — Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost and
‘Nick Lloyd combines an encyclopedic knowledge with the art of a gifted story teller. Rich in historic detail and with an eye for the telling anecdote, this book is a fascinating account of the Civil War in Catalonia and what it means today.’ — David Mathieson, author of
Author(s)
Nick Lloyd runs an acclaimed Spanish Civil War tour in Barcelona. His previous book, Forgotten Places, is an in-depth look at the conflict in that city. In addition to modern Spanish history, he has a strong interest in Iberian wildlife. He lives with his partner and children in Poble-sec, Barcelona.
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