Catalonia was the last province to fall to Franco, with the Nationalist troops marching into Barcelona in March, 1939. The head of the Catalan government, Luis Company's, escaped into France. In 1940, he was captured by the Gestapo and turned over to the Franco police. He was executed shortly thereafter with no trial, but not before being sadistically tortured by the fascists. The best source on the Spanish Civil War is still Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War. The progressive Left has never forgiven the disgraceful conduct of the RC Church and the Vatican during this episode, and they never will. These events linger on into the Spanish consciousness to this day, and old wounds are being opened.