Publication/Publicación- Crosses of Memory and Oblivion

Vient de paraître, chez l’éditeur Routledge, l’édition anglophone du dernier livre de Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco, Cruces de memoria y olvido (édition originale Crítica, 2022), sous le titre Crosses of Memory and Oblivion. The Monuments to the Fallen in the Spanish Civil War (1936-2022). Le descriptif éditorial en anglais et le sommaire du livre se trouvent ci-dessous.

La editorial Routledge acaba de publicar la edición anglófona del último libro de Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco, Cruces de memoria y olvido (primera edición Crítica, 2022), bajo el título Crosses of Memory and Oblivion. The Monuments to the Fallen in the Spanish Civil War (1936-2022). El resumen proporcionado por la editorial, en inglés, y el índice del libro pueden leerse abajo.

Résumé/resumen

This book explores the history and legacy of monuments to the fallen from the Francoist side in the Spanish Civil War. Del Arco Blanco studies thousands of monuments in towns and cities across Spain to provide a detailed account of the history and memory of the civil war, Francoism, and the transition to democracy.

Chapters in the book focus on the myth of those said to have ‘fallen for God and for Spain’—a phrase that encapsulated and shaped the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Spaniards. They also focus on the use of monuments to control political and ideological ideals and to legitimise the Francoist dictatorship. Further chapters study Spanish society’s struggle to deal with its past of mass killing, denial, and exclusion. Del Arco Blanco also pays attention to the way the Francoist authorities used monuments and memory for their political and ideological advantage and to control people, power as well as the political agenda.

The book draws on extensive research to reconstruct both the specific history of monuments scattered throughout the country and their role within manipulative Francoist memory of the Spanish Civil War. In these ways, monuments helped shape the Francoist narrative and memory, but they also became part of the landscape of contemporary Spanish history.

This book is an excellent resource for postgraduate students and professional researchers studying the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and the influence of monuments on the construction of national memory, culture, and society in Spain both at the time and through to the present day.

Sommaire/Índice

Part One: The ‘Crusade’ and the Monuments To The Fallen ‘For God And For Spain’

1. The Final Hour: The Civil War and the Birth of the Myth of the Fallen

2. Stone on Stone: The Construction of Memorials to the Fallen

Part Two: Meanings and Aesthetics of Monuments

3. Monuments to the True Spain: Meanings and Style

4. The Profile of the Spanish Nation: Typology of Monuments

5. Stone and omnipresence: materials and spaces 6. The National Monument to the Fallen for Spain: the Valley of the Fallen

Part Three: History of The Memorials to the Fallen Between the Franco Regime and Today (1939-2021)

7. The fallen and monuments under Franco (1939-1959)

8. The first cracks: decadence and conflict over monuments between Franco’s regime and democracy (1960-2000)

9. Memorials to the Fallen and the Battles for Memory (2000-2021)

Conclusion: Crossroads and echoes of memory and oblivion

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