The Defense of Madrid: Evacuation

As the battles around the capital drew ever closer, the Republican authorities' main concern was evacuation. This became obligatory after January 1937, with the exception of men aged between 20 and 45, and those who had a role in the war.

In January 1937, the Republican government launched its Help Madrid campaign (Ayuda a Madrid), aimed at the rest of Spain.

Madrid was subject to fascist air raids from the beginning of the siege. The entire city came under attack—not just positions on the front—meaning the civilian population was also affected.

From late August, the nationalist Condor Legion (Legión Cóndor) bombed the city using German JU-52 aircraft (nicknamed pavas, or turkeys), with particular intensity between November and December. Bombs weighing 440 pounds (200 kg), many of them incendiary devices, were capable of destroying Madrid's buildings in a single strike.

Infant mortality increased during the civil war, rising to 18,000 more deaths than were usually expected. In addition, between 1936 and 1939 there were 395,000 fewer births than there would ordinarily have been.

The evacuation of children was a priority, since they were not useful to the war effort, were not receiving an adequate education, and were more severely affected by the widespread shortages.

Until late 1938, the Evacuation Delegation (Delegación de Evacuación) ran a press and radio campaign to try to convince the civilian population that it was vital for them leave Madrid for places not affected by the war, for their own safety.

As Madrid strengthened its defenses and it became apparent, in November, that the rebel forces were not going to take the city as quickly as anticipated, people's desire to leave the city began to dissipate. This became a major problem for the Madrid Defense Council (Junta de Defensa).