Research in Italy

The most important section for the study of the Civil War is the Ufficio Spagna, created by the Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano. We can find the reports on the situation in Spain between January and March 1937, with numerous references to the situation in the Basque Country.

– Negotiations with Basque nationalists (April 5, 1937).
-Report on Franco’s skepticism about the possible surrender of Bilbao (April 12, 1937).
-Conditions for the surrender of Bilbao proposed by the Francoists (April 25, 1937).
-Report of the consul Cavaletti on his meeting with Basque delegates for the surrender of Bilbao (May 11, 1937).
-Instructions from Ciano to Cavaletti to suspend contacts with the Basque delegates (May 15, 1937).
-Summary of the negotiations with the Basque delegates since the end of March 1937 (June 29, 1937).
-Note of the nationalist canon Alberto Onaindia on how to carry out the surrender of the Basque battalions (July 7, 1937).
-Report of the Italian ambassador in which he narrates an interview with Franco regarding the attitude of the Basques surrendered and the commutation of most of the death sentences passed (September 18, 1937).
-Informative note on the commutation of the death penalty of Juan Ajuriaguerra (December 15, 1937)
(More than 1000 documents).

There is important documentation on the military operations in Biscay at the archive of ”Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito”. The type of documents: reports, maps and photographs relating to the Italian participation in the Civil war in the Basque Country.

It is interesting the documentation relative to the Iron Belt, to the agreements between Italians and the Basque nationalists in 1937, and to the surrender of the Basque battalions.

It is necessary to stand out the funds called ”Campagna di Spagna 1936-1939”, with the topographic number VS/1, which contains 300 photographs corresponding to the effects of Aviazione Legionaria’s bombings in several places.

Continuation of the research in the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy (Rome), Archivio Storico Diplomatico, Ministero degli Affari Esteri in March 2011.

The Ufficio Storico Estado Major dell’Aeronautica Militare (Ministry of Defence) (Italy) contains many documents on air operations in the Basque Country during the Civil War. The main documents are the orders of operations transmitted to the different units: the target of the attack, its location, equipment makers do, schedule and route, the mode of attack and the number of bombs to be used, among other technical data.