Witness History
Witness History
The Fall of Madrid
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June 11, 2021
10 minutes
Available for over a year
In 1939, the Spanish capital, Madrid, finally fell to the fascist forces of General Franco – spelling the end of a brutal Civil War in which hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians were killed. The city had been under siege for more than two years and had become a symbol of resistance for the defeated Spanish Republic. Simon Watts has been listening to the memories of Rene MacColl and William Forrest, two British war correspondents who reported from Madrid.
PHOTO: Franco's troops entering Madrid in 1939 (Getty Images)