He argues with impressive detail that the repression by the Nationalists was largely planned and institutionalised, whereas the Republicans' violence was more spontaneous and mainly in defence against the better armed and trained Francoist forces.

保罗·普雷斯顿以令人印象深刻的细节描述有利论证了民族党派的镇压很大程度上是有计划且被制度化的，然而，共和党的暴力更多是自发地出于抵御先进的武器装备和佛朗哥特训过的部队。