The Chetwode Commission and British Diplomatic Responses to Violence behind the Lines in the Spanish Civil War

Abstract

In recent years historians have broken years of silence on the brutal repression behind the lines that marked the Spanish Civil War. Despite this, we continue to know very little about British diplomatic efforts to put a stop to the repression carried out by the insurgents grouped around General Franco. By focusing on the understudied Chetwode Prisoner Exchange Commission, this article shows that the British, working alongside the International Committee for the Red Cross, and at times with significant support from the Republican government, did take steps to try and prevent Francoists executing prisoners of war and bring an end to a cycle of reprisals. However, these attempts largely came to naught because the insurgents refused to be swayed by humanitarian considerations and because the British, faced with an imminent Franco victory and pursuing national self interest, abandoned supporters of the Republic to their fate.