Spanish Civil War (1936-39)

Start of Spanish Civil War

17th july 1936

Long-term causes

Regionalism, Industralization vs rural and Ideology

Regionalism

Spain had different cultural, linguistic, historic and economic factors between its parts.

This often precluded any form of national cooperation

Some parts were economically strong, others were backwards in terms of industrial and agricultural production methods

Ideology Polarization

Nationalist: Landowner, church, monarchist, carlist, facist

Republicans: anarchism, anarco-syndicalism, marxism, socialist and republicans

Short-term causes

Second Republic, Popular Front and International support

Second Republic

The Great Depression affected Alfonso XIII’s monarchy.

Second Republic was declared in April 1931.

The right was furious, the left was not content and the majority if the people dissatisfied because the reforms didn’t solve the wide spread poverty.

1933 elections

1933 elections brought the right into power, left denounced the government.

Neither of the parties trusted the democratic decision-making process

the suspicious of the right were based on the immidiate reverser or ignorance of the new reforms by the new government. Therefore strikes began.

To some on the left, it was a way to not finish like Germany. However to other, the left had abandoned the constitution and it couldn’t be trusted to govern.

Both contained lack of faith and political differences.

Failing of Popular Front

April 1936 Left wing won election and decided to apply the french strategy of Popular Front

Lack of stability provided pretext for an organized military insurrection led by army generals Godeo, Mola Franco and Morroco troops (Falange)

The government ignored the warnings. Hesitating in arming their organizations

Popular Front

Political strategy of electorak cooperation of left-wing parties, designated to prevent vote-splitting and thus defeat right-wing parties.

Left-wing parties cooperated and not run against each other

Esssentilly a defensive strategy, though the parties who paricipate have still political and ideology differences

International support

Germany and Italy ignored the non-intervention agreement and supported the nationalist with artillery and troops.

Republicans were supported USSR but only in the development of ideologies,not with weapons or troops.

Practices

Ideological war, new weapons, guerrilla warfare, international intervention, guernica.

Ideological war

confrontation among the ideologies that political groups use.

The Republicans: Mainly militias and military that remained loyal to the government. Militias armed themselves, lacked training and leadership. International brigades

The Nationalist: Military units who had rebelled and volunteers from right-wing organisations. Supported by the church and landowners.

New weapons

Aircraft was lended by Germany

Guernica

Battle that showed the brutality of the war.

Italian and german aircraft were used to target civillians

Picasso’s painting reflects the horror of the event and its

Guerrilla Warfare

fought by republican militias.

Civillians vs soldiers

civillian suffering

own sources

no external support

Effects

Nationalist won-39 years of dictatorship

500000 deaths, vast majority non-combatants

WWII more certain-France surrounded by fascist

Isolation of Spain- Not participation in WWII

“Cleaning the house”: those who were against the regime during and after the war were punished- Exile

The Great Depression

Short-term cause that affected on the long-term

How did the great depression affected Spain?

Spain´s agriculture, such as olive oil and wine, received benefit from US exports.

When The great depression exploded, US stop buying, therefore Spain lost their main customer.

Alfonso XIII didn’t put up with reforms- Exile

Second Republic: didn’t put up with reforms- society divided

People tended to choose a extreme political idealogy due to the seriousness of the economic issue.

There it affected socilly, economically and politically.