Flourishing literary, intellectual, and artistic activity during the vanguard and Republic years reflected felicitous confluences of several talented generations, but allegations that the war ended thriving novelistic production are unsubstantiated by canonical novels from those years. Vanguard experimentation produced primarily novellas – stylized, “dehumanized,” and relatively unsuccessful with critics and public alike. Literary production generally suffered from the death, exile, and imprisonment of towering figures of earlier generations, and the Civil War left Spain’s emerging industry in ruins, destroyed half the nation’s housing, and halted agriculture for three years, causing widespread shortages of food, shelter, and other necessities. Understanding postwar Spanish literature requires acquaintance with grim socio-political realities, physical devastation, ideological tyranny, cultural, political, and sexual repression. Readers outside Spain depended mostly on exiles – not too objective or well-informed about the internal literary situation – for early literary and cultural news, resulting in skewed perspectives. The Falange, Spain’s only legal political party (closer to Mussolini’s than to Hitler’s fascism), abolished political associations, activities, and discussion. Immediately following cessation of hostilities, the dictatorship sealed the borders, sending death squads throughout the country to execute or imprison those associated with the Republic, including postal employees and schoolteachers whose jobs dated from the monarchy. Government documents issued to the “politically correct” were required for everything from ration cards to employment, increasing difficulties for the losing side.

Francoist censorship – officially non-existent – scrutinized everything printed in Spain, from playing cards and matchbooks to newspapers. A censorial triumvirate enforced political, religious, and “moral” orthodoxy, prohibiting criticism of the government, its functionaries, the police, military, or Falangist party.