Fascist Models and Literary Subversion: Two Fictional Modes in Postwar Spain
Janet Pérez
At the close of Spanish Civil War, Franco regime sealed borders and began a systematic campaign reprisals against those who had served Republic. Those been unable to escape into exile were in effect trapped, as escuadras negras (death squads) went from village village, rounding up even postal workers other civil servants whose employment dated monarchical period prior inception Depending upon circumstances (and especially whether they friends or relatives on winning side), such persons either summarily executed jailed political prisoners. Some tried later executed, others sentenced death but eventually pardoned, released after serving sentences varying lengths. Immediately following cessation hostilities, all bookstores Spain closed for two three weeks while their shelves purged long list texts unacceptable new regime. Destroyed confiscated foreign works except by German, Portuguese Italian fascists, majority modern works, including nineteenth-century realists naturalists, members Generation 1898 1925, Modernists, vanguardists experimentalists aesthetic criteria anathema Nationalists. Not only readers would-be writers rising generations cut off contemporary European writing, also deprived own immediate past literary traditions. As consequence, postwar not educated war received so much formation deformation: maintained an artificial state innocence, ignorance naivete. The censorship, already functioning Burgos well before end operated out bureau Ministry Information euphemistically dubbed Servicio de Libros (Book Service). Officially nonexistent, it was extraordinarily effective. Everything printed country-even match-books, playing cards magazine covers-had be approved licensed censorial triumvirate consisting different separate entities: political, religious, moral. most important potentially dangerous censorship: offended this area could jailed,
South Central Review