Notes
p.4 Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio (1927—): Considered one of the most notable Spanish writers of his generation. Two of his early novels have been translated into English: Adventures of the Ingenious Alfanhui (Ixans. Margaret Jull Costa, 2000) and his very influential 1956 novel, El Jarama as The River (trans. Margaret Jull Costa, 2004).
p.6 Franco, Francisco (1892–1975): General of the Spanish Army. One of the conspirators in the military revolt against the Republican government in July 1936, after an initial hesitation he became the leader of the Nationalist forces during the course of the war. He ruled Spain from the end of the Civil War until his death.
p.6 José Antonio Primo de Rivera (1903–1936): Son of Miguel Primo de Rivera (dictator from 1923–1930), one of the founders of the Spanish Falange (see afterword), and its undisputed leader until his death in November 1936 made him the first martyr of Spanish fascism. He is generally referred to in Spain simply as José Antonio.
p.9 Antonio Machado (1875–1939): One of the greatest Spanish poets of the twentieth century. During the war he was a tireless supporter of the Republic in his writing and became a symbol of resistance to fascism.
p.10 Manuel Machado (1874–1947): Spanish poet and dramatist. Often referred to as 'the bad Machado' in contrast to his famous and revered brother Antonio, both for having failed to support the Republic and for the decline in quality of his literary output. The plays they wrote together influenced Lorca and his poetry was admired by Jorge Luis Borges among others.
p.17 nationalist: Supporter of regional (in this case, Catalan) autonomy or independence. [Translator's note: 'Nationalists' is in this context written with a lower-case 'n' to avoid confusion with Franco-supporting Nationalists (Nacionales).]
p.18 Generalitat: Regional autonomous government of Catalonia.
p.19 checas: Improvised prisons in the Republican zone where justice was imposed by 'popular, revolutionary' tribunals. Checas, as the Russian-derived name suggests, were especially prevalent in areas controlled by socialist or Communist parties or trade unions.
p.19 SIM: Servicio de Información Militar, or Military Information Service, the political police organization created by Indalecio Prieto in August 1937 but almost immediately taken over by the Communists, was a rationalization of the various intelligence services within the Republican forces. Previously the Army, the foreign ministry, the Catalan regional government, the Basque regional government in exile, the Carabineros, the International Brigades, etc., had each run their own 'counter-espionage' networks.
p.19 Líster, Enrique (1907–1994): Moscow-trained colonel of Republican army. He commanded the Fifth Regiment, a legendary Communist unit that defended Madrid from the Nationalist onslaught in the early stages of the war. Later he fought in the Second World War as a general in the Soviet Army and organized guerrilla actions against the Franco regime in the late 1940s.
p.25 old shirts: Original members of the Spanish Falange and later members of FET (see note p.67) loyal to original 'revolutionary' ideals of the Falange as opposed to the ultra-Catholic, arch-conservative values of their imposed allies and the many people who joined the party as the Nationalists gained ground during the course of the war.
p.26 Ridruejo, Dionisio (1912–1975): Spanish poet. Leading member of the Falange before and during the war, later to become a democratic opponent of the Franco regime.
p.67 Falange Española Tradicionalista y de la JONS, usually called the FET, was an amalgamation of the Carlist (ultra-Catholic and monarchist, supporters of a rival claimant line to the throne, their principal party was called Comunidn Tradicionalista) and fascist parties, forcibly united by Franco in April 1937 and thereafter the only legal party in Nationalist Spain.
p.72 Indalecio Prieto (1883–1962): Moderate socialist leader. Republican Minister of Air Force and Navy and later Minister of Defence.
p.89 Carabineros: The border police force in pre-war Spain, a majority of them stayed loyal to the Republic after the uprising, fighting with the militias and later as an elite force within the Popular Army.
