Intolerance: Spain in a Turbulent Europe, 1914-1945

From 19 December to 12 April 2026, the Transatlantic Pavilion of the Residencia de Estudiantes cultural centre is putting on an exhibition, exploring how Spain experienced the historical period from the beginning of World War I to the arrival of the Franco regime, and how it affected the country’s culture, politics, economy and society. 

The exhibition presents the José María Castañé Collection, which contains nearly five thousand original pieces, most of which have never been publicly displayed before (photographs, letters, posters, brochures, administrative documents, etc.), illustrating the culture, politics, economy and society in the central decades of the 20th century. These items allow us to look back at key episodes such as the First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Spanish Republic, the Civil War, the Second World War and the post-war period.

The exhibition is divided into five sections: Intolerance: A European story; Spain. Coup d'état and revolution; Francoist Spain in Axis Europe; Eradicating the enemy; and The Free Institution of Education and the Residencia de Estudiantes: persecution and resistance.

This exhibition highlights how José María Castañé's donation complements and integrates into the documentation gathered by the Residencia de Estudiantes centre as part of its work to recover its intellectual and moral legacy. 

Image credits:  

• 'Fists raised', illustration by SIM from July 1936. JOSÉ MARÍA CASTAÑÉ COLLECTION, RESIDENCIA DE ESTUDIANTES, MADRID