The Spanish Civil War began on July 17th of 1936 and ended on March 28th of 1975. The war was fought between the Nationalists and the Republicans. The Nationalists were aligned with Nazi Germany and Italy, this side rebelled against the rest of Spain. Francisco Franco was a leader of the Nationalists. The Republicans were the opposing side that supported the republic and the Republicans got help from the Soviet Union. The Republicans did lose the Spanish Civil War, they were defeated by Francisco Franco and his nationalist regime. Many impacts of the Spanish Civil War were centralized in Madrid. In Madrid, there were riots and covenants were burned during the war. Violence was centralized in Madrid because Madrid became an important city for the Republicans. It also became a symbol of anti-fascism during the war in July of 1936. However, the city eventually fell to Franco’s regime in March of 1939 leading to the end of the Spanish Civil War.

The Arco de la Victoria is located in Madrid, in its Moncloa area. This arch was built in the 1950’s following the success of Franco’s regime in the Battle of Ciudad Universitaria. Which is where the meaning of its name comes from ‘Arco de la Victoria’, which means the arch of victory. Franco wanted to commemorate his regime getting closer to taking over the city of Madrid. This arch is forty meters high and looks similar to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It also has a sculpture made of bronze on the top of the arc of Minerva on a chariot. Today, the arc is a symbol of what happened in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. The current state of the arc is not the best, it is slowly falling apart because there is no money provided from the government for its maintenance. 

de Vos, Julie. “The Places Where Nothing Happened: An Archaeology of Absence and Silence during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco Dictatorship.” Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, vol. 8, no. 2, July 2021, pp. 228–51. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.proxy.longwood.edu/10.1558/jca.20229.