Robert Capa - Heart of Spain

In 1936, the rebellion of monarchists and fascists led by General Franco, in alliance with Hitler and Mussolini, mobilized anti-fascists all over the world, among them Robert Capa. During the entire period of the war, Capa traveled throughout the Loyalist-held areas of Spain photographing battles, cities under siege, and the chaos of a modern nation at war with itself. One series of images documents the heroic Loyalist defense of Madrid; another the mass exodus of Catalonians from Barcelona to the French border. His iconic photograph of a Loyalist militiaman who has just been shot shocked the world with its brutal immediacy. Capa’s pictures not only illuminated the courage of the soldiers who carried on against overwhelming odds but also galvanized compassion for the innocent and injured.