Estimates of The Death Toll
The massacre is one of the most controversial events of the war, and estimates of the number of victims vary significantly depending on the historian who did the research. In addition, since the Nationalist side won the war, there was never an official investigation into what happened to Republicans in the city after its fall. Most estimates suggest that between 2,000 and 4,000 people were executed. An investigation by the historian Francisco Espinosa has established a list of 1,341 names of victims of the Nationalists in the city of Badajoz, but he said that is only a partial figure and it is incomplete. The true death toll may be higher than this.
Several human rights associations have categorised the events in Badajoz as crimes against humanity. or even genocide. As of 2007 there were several complaints to this effect under such consideration.
The troops who committed the killings at Badajoz were under the command of general Juan Yagüe, who, after the civil war, was appointed Ministry of the Air by Franco. For the actions of his troops at Badajoz, Yagüe was popularly known as the butcher of Badajoz. According to a census, Badajoz had 41,122 inhabitants in 1930, so if the correct figure of 4,000 executed, the percentage of retaliation would have reached 10% of the population.
The Nationalists tried to conceal the massacre, but some journalists (Mário Neves, Rene Brut, Daniel Berthet, Marcel Dany and Jay Allen) entered Badajoz after the seizure of the town and discovered the executions. Furthermore, Yagüe himself boasted to the American correspondent John T. Whitaker:
«Of course we shot them -he said to me- What do you expect? Was I supposed to take 4,000 reds with me as my column advanced, racing against time? Was I expected to turn them loose in my rear and let them make Badajoz red again?» —Juan Yagüe to John T. WhitakerHowever lower figures have also been suggested. A 2010 study put the death toll at between 500 and 700.
Read more about this topic: Massacre Of Badajoz
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