Soviet & Nazi Support

in the Spanish Civil War

Pratch G12
What is the
Spanish Civil War?
➔ took place between 1936-1939
➔ Manuel Azaña was the
president
➔ A group of generals from the
Spanish Army
➔ A coup led by Francisco
Franco
➔ Civil War began
➔ Involvement and side choosing
Republicans VS Nationalists
➔ Republicans (The Left Wing)
◆ formed by the Spanish government
● Communists
● Socialists
● Liberians
◆ together with
● Unions
● Anarchists
● Workers & Peasants
◆ supported by Soviet Union and Mexico
(and indirectly French)
➔ Nationalists (The Right Wing)
◆ the rebel part of the army
● Bourgeoisie
● Landlords
● The Church
● Upper Classes
◆ supported by facist Germany and Italy
(Portugal was also there)
Non-intervention
Pact
➔ European powers sign a N-IP
regarding the Civil War in April
1936, London.
➔ including Britain, France, USSR,
Germany and Italy,
➔ France hope that the
Republicans will benefit
➔ Actually helped the
Nationalists
◆ Germany & Italy failed
to honour the
agreement.
UK & France
➔ UK proclaimed neutral but
prefered Nationalist.
➔ British Foreign Secretary Anthony
Eden publicly maintained the
official policy of non-intervention
but privately expressed a
preference for a Nationalist victory.
➔ secretly permitted Franco of power
ex. colony (Gibraltar)
➔ prevent the Republican navy
shelling the port of Algeciras
➔ France wanted to directly aid the
Republicans.
➔ But both were scared of starting
war with Germany and Italy.
➔ France was also scared of the
possibility of becoming a facist
country themselves.
Italy
➔ provided the “Corps of
Volunteer Troops”
◆ Infantry
◆ about 50,000
➔ This supported goals of facist
leadership
➔ New tactics and weapons
➔ contributed over 60,000 troops
➔ increased Mussolini’s
popularity
➔ helped nationalist against
anti-church (anti-catholic)
➔ worked well with Italian
propaganda targeting
Catholics
Germany
➔ The German signing of a
non-intervention agreement in
September 1936
➔ Almost all in support of the
Nationalist faction.
➔ Operations gradually expanded to
include strike targets
➔ German contributes to several
battles of the Civil War.
◆ The bombing of Guernica
on 26 April 1937 (200 to 300
civilians dead)
➔ ~ 16,000 German citizens fought
mostly as pilots, ground crew,
artillery men, in tanks, and as
military advisers and instructors.
➔ distract Italy to force a union with
Austria
➔ prolong war by secretly helping the
Condor Legion, sent to assist Franco
republicans.
Italy & Germany
➔ By July 1936, Hitler had sent 6,000
rifles, nearly 500 machine guns
and 10,000 grenades over to the
Nationalists
➔ Mussolini provided 130 aircraft,
12,000 machine guns and 2,500
tonnes of explosives as well as
sending over 75,000 Blackshirt
volunteers.
➔ The presence of foreign troops
from Italy helped to counter the
influence of the 35,000 volunteers
from the International Brigades
who fought for the Republicans.
Portugal
➔ Upon outbreak, Portugal was
neutral but favoured
Nationalist.
➔ played a critical role in supplying
the Nationalists with ammunition
and logistical resources.
➔ played an important diplomatic
role in supporting Franco
◆ insist that Franco’s facist
government is not like
Mussolini’s but like Salazar’s
➔ After war, signed a treaty of
friendship and non-aggression
pact, the Iberian Pact.
Soviet Union (USSR)
➔ also broke the Non-intervention
Pact by sending aid to the
Popular Army.
➔ Due to the Franco-British arms
embargo, the Government of the
Republic could receive material aid
and could purchase arms only
from the Soviet Union.
➔ The Republicans poor buy, wasted
a lot of money
◆ Stalin demand huge cost
➔ Stalin also demand that
Communists given important role
◆ Alienated other left-wing
Spinards
➔ Stalin hesitate to help
◆ UK & France wouldn’t
tolerate communist
government in Spain.
Mexico
➔ publicly support the Republicans.
➔ refused to follow the French-British
non-intervention proposals.
➔ President Lázaro Cárdenas saw the
war as similar to Mexico's own
revolution although a large part of
Mexican society wanted a
Nationalist victory.
➔ Mexico's attitude gave immense
moral comfort to the Republic,
especially since the major Latin
American governments—those of
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and
Peru—sympathized more or less
openly with the Nationalists.
International
Bregades
➔ 9,000 Frenchmen, of whom 1,000
were killed
➔ 5,000 Germans and Austrians of
whom 2,000 died
➔ about 3,000 from Poland at the
time.
➔ Italy with 3,350 men.
➔ the United States (2,800 men with
900 killed) and the United Kingdom
(2,000 with 500 killed).
➔ 1,500 Czechs; 1,500 Yugoslavs; 1,500
Canadians; 1,000 Hungarians and
1,000 Scandinavians, about half of
whom were Swedes.
➔ The rest came from a "claimed" 53
countries.
Aftermath
➔ The war was one of the hardest
Spain has ever faced.
➔ After the Nationalist victory, a
dictatorship ruled the country for
almost 40 years, from 1939 to
1975, when the Spanish dictator
Francisco Franco died.
➔ Although Franco's side had
received German aid during the
Spanish Civil War,
◆ decided not to get directly
involved in World War II
● because Spain was
in terrible
conditions after
suffering the civil
war.
◆ The only support Spain
sent to Germany was a
small group of volunteers.
Thank you for your attention