The Spanish Civil War in the Basque Town of Barakaldo: eleven months of resistance

The Spanish Civil War in the Basque Town of Barakaldo: Eleven Months of Resistance is a book that attempts to reconstruct the events which took place between July 1936 and June 1937 in this industrial town. The history begins with Barakaldo during the Republican period and continues through to the first years of the post-war era. Facts and figures have been presented that have never before been published, forming a global work that will seek to clarify a number of enigmas such as the surrender of Barakaldo without a single shot being fired and the handing over of the factories to the enemy intact. More than 600 people died during the war in Barakaldo who were from the town or directly connected to it. Barakaldo was attacked from the air more than 18 times causing the loss of life of 57 people. The number of children evacuated was 1,180. Many of these children did not return until much later and many others remained in the countries that had taken them in. The location and industrial nature of Barakaldo was of greatest importance and may have been one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Republicans when the town fell into the hands of the Francoist troops on the 22nd June 1937. This book is the culmination of more than 14 years of research. Twenty-seven testimonies, newspapers of that time, documents, archives and books helped the author bring these events in Barakaldo to our attention. Lastly, this work has various appendages with the names of the fallen in the war and at the beginning of the post-war era, lists of evacuated children, etc. The war began in full swing of the Fiestas del Carmen. (…) As many witnesses recall, the voice of the mayor Eustaquio Cañas sounded from the loudspeakers in the Plaza del Carmen, explaining that there had been a coup d-état but that it was all under control (…). After the intervention of the mayor, Fueros Avenue began to fill with trucks and groups of people that were setting out tables and chairs all along it in order to organise the voluntary enlistment of the young men of Barakaldo.