Links: Magnum. The Spanish Civil War: The Catalonia Offensive. Robert Capa

This January marks 80 years since the fall of Barcelona to nationalist General Franco's troops in the Spanish Civil War
Robert Capa

On December 23, 1938, the Nationalist Army started an offensive that rapidly conquered Republican-held Catalonia. Barcelona – the Republic’s capital city from October 1937 – was eventually captured on January 26, 1939. The Republican government headed for the French border and safety, and thousands of people fleeing the Nationalists also crossed in the following month, to be placed in internment camps. Franco had closed the border with France by February 10, 1939.