Just before Alfonso XIII’s flight from Madrid, Emilio Mola was chief of police in Spain, won the title of “the most hated man in Spain” for ordering Civil Guards to fire on the students.

On the very day Franco issued his decree, Madrid was swamped by royalist leaflets. Promptly, the city buzzed with rumors of widespread arrests. Freedom under Franco was still a castle in Spain.

A controversial law that will officially condemn the Franco dictatorship has been presented to parliament in the hope of healing the deep wounds that have divided Spain since the start of the ...

A dark and painful part of Spain’s history will be brought back under the spotlight Thursday when the remains of Francisco Franco are exhumed from a landmark basilica in the hills near Madrid.