Arte y Caja de Reparaciones

The set of goods requisitioned from the coup plotters with the aim of being able to deal with the losses that the war had caused the country was called the Reparations Box. Most were of an economic nature, but the question is whether pieces of heritage value could also be found, as has been verified. In fact, they had been handed over in 1938 to the Artistic Treasure Board, in charge of the work of artistic-heritage salvage. The most important will be evacuated at the end of the war to Geneva, to the headquarters of the League of Nations. Arriving at the beginning of 1939, Juan Negrín, anticipating the worst, had given the order to begin packing and sending the goods from the Repair Fund destined for Mexico to cover the expenses of exile. This is the first part of this book. The second is centered on the trip of the yacht "Vita" to Mexico with goods mainly from the Repair Fund. A lot has been written about this yacht, but there are also many unknowns, especially with regard to its cargo and if there were assets of a patrimonial nature in it. The fact that it was Indalecio Prieto, in open belligerence with Negrín, who took possession of the yacht, further deepens the problem due to the evident lack of inventory of the cargo. The key to this research lies in not isolating the study of the "Vita", but relating it and comparing it with the evacuation of works of art to Geneva. The third part focuses on Franco's management in the immediate postwar period of the assets of the Caja de Reparaciones. It is about analyzing the destination of these pieces, with paintings of the first importance, their returns, deposit deliveries and deviations. From a research stay in Mexico, the author has been able to access numerous archival documentation, largely unpublished, so the objective of this book is to provide new information with the aim of being able to clarify this historical enigma.