The exhibition presents the most complete panorama possible of the Spanish Civil War, from the outbreak of the military uprising on July 17 and 18, 1936, until the final victory on April 1, 1939 of the Nationalist troops, led by General Francisco Franco, against the Republican forces.

This fratricidal conflict caused some 500,000 deaths 80 years ago and cut in two a country which then remained for nearly 40 years, until 1975, under the dictatorial regime of General Franco.

Often considered as a "prelude" to the Second World War, the war in Spain, fierce and cruel opposition between the "Two Spains", was also marked by foreign interventions in the fighting. Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy backed the insurgent military, while Stalin's USSR and the International Brigades backed the ruling Frente Popular in Madrid.