the German soldiers would become demoralised. Estimates of death toll The massacre is one of the most controversial events of the war, and estimates of the number of victims vary significantly depending on the historian doing the research. In addition, since the Nationalist side won the war, there was never an official investigation into what happened to Republicans in the city after its fall. Most estimates suggest that between 2,000 and 4,000 people were executed. An investigation by the historian Francisco Espinosa has established a list of 1,341 names of victims of the Nationalists in the city of Badajoz, but he said that was only a partial figure and that the true death toll may be higher. Several human rights associations have categorised the events in Badajoz as crimes against humanity. or even genocide. As of 2007, there were several complaints to that effect under consideration. The troops who committed the killings at Badajoz were under the command of Yagüe, who after the war was appointed Ministry of the Air by Franco. For the actions of his troops at Badajoz, Yagüe was popularly known as the butcher of Badajoz. According to a census, Badajoz had 41,122 inhabitants in 1930 and so if the correct figure was 4,000 executed, the percentage of retaliation would have reached 10% of the population. The Nationalists tried to conceal the massacre, but some journalists (Mário Neves, Rene Brut, Daniel Berthet, Marcel Dany and Jay Allen) entered Badajoz after the seizure of the town and discovered the executions. Furthermore, Yagüe himself boasted to the American correspondent John T. Whitaker: However, lower figures have also been suggested. A 2010 study put the death toll at between 500 and 700. Notes References Beevor, Antony. The battle for Spain. Penguin Books. London. 2006. De Madariaga, Maria Rosa. Los moros que trajo Franco...La intervención de tropas coloniales en la guerra civil. Ediciones Martínez Roca. Barcelona. 2002. Espinosa, Francisco. La columna de la muerte. El avance del ejército franquista de Sevilla a Badajoz. Editorial Crítica. Barcelona. 2003. Julía, Santos; Casanova, Julián; Solé y Sabaté, Josep Maria; Villarroya, Joan; Moreno, Francisco. Victimas de la guerra civil. Ediciones Temas de Hoy. Madrid. 1999. Neves, Mario. La matanza de Badajoz. Junta de Extremadura. Mérida. 2007. Preston, Paul. The Spanish Civil War. Reaction, revolutions & revenge. Harper Perennial. 2006. London. Southworth, Herbert R. El mito de la cruzada de Franco. Random House Mondadori. Barcelona. 2008.