European History Quarterly 2016, Vol. 46(2) 327–418 ! The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0265691416637313 ehq.sagepub.com Book Reviews Peter Anderson and Miguel A ´ ngel del Arco Blanco, eds, Mass Killings and Violence in Spain, 1936–1952: Grappling with the Past, Routledge: New York, 2014; 234 pp.; 9780415858885, £90.00 (hbk) Reviewed by: Daniel Oviedo Silva, Nottingham University, UK The violence unleashed during the Spanish Civil War and its aftermath remains one of the most contested and prolific historiographical domains of recent times. Significantly, as the title of this volume implies, over the last 15 years the focus of specialist literature has shifted gradually away from the question of physical elimination to the study of a wider range of violent practices. The editors have suggestively captured this spirit by assembling a cross-generational group of British and Spanish scholars in a bid to challenge deep-rooted interpretations and con- tribute to a heated social debate. In their respective original overviews, the partici- pants offer a fine combination of introduction to the field and interrogation of the manifold aspects of the repression through detailed case studies. Though the ana- lyses often go beyond the limits set in order to establish revealing parallels with other places, times and themes, this 10-chapter book is classically arranged in four parts: ‘Rebel Violence’, ‘Violence in the Republican Zone’, ‘Repression and Resistance in the Post-War Period’ and ‘Facing the Past’. The difference in space devoted to Republican and Francoist repression is rightfully explained by noting their asymmetric scale, impact and provenance. Several of the authors also engage actively in these ongoing discussions, disputing both new and long-standing efforts to downplay Francoist repression and to overemphasize the role of the Republican authorities in atrocities. The introduction is followed by a set of insightful chapters on rebel violence, starting with Paul Preston’s assessment of General Queipo de Llano’s contradict- ory personal, professional and political life before, during and after the war. The author describes an extremely violent and mendacious character but, most import- antly, he provides a revealing portrait of the man in charge of a territory where 45,000 lives were cut short. Francisco Cobo Romero and Teresa Marı´a Ortega Lo´pez examine how Francoist authorities – crucially with the assistance of part of the population – implemented diverse forms of gendered repression. Their chap- ter demonstrates that imprisonment, public humiliation, social marginalization and killings were aimed at paving the way for the reestablishment of traditional gender relations, which had been severely disrupted during the previous decades.