Effects of the Spanish Civil

War
Dictatorship after 1939
• Franco ruled until 1975 but did not create fully fledged fascist state
• High repression, restricted educational opportunities and expenditure
on health and welfare was among the lowest in Europe
• Dictatorship backed by pre-war elites in business, Church and army
• Strikes – considered crime against the state (forbidden)
• No regional self-government (autonomy) allowed
• Law of the Cortes, 1942, established a parliament( but largely
ineffective, powerless and mostly appointed by Franco – who was
considered Caudillo)
 Dictatorship after 1939
• Spain was to be traditional, Catholic,
and monarchial – after Franco’s death
the Bourbon monarchy did return to
power by Franco’s wish (Franco
appointed his successor before his
death)
• During the years of dictatorship,
censorship and oppression of
opposition continued – but there was
no clear commitment to any ideology
– in this way the results of the Spanish
Civil War were different from those in
Juan Carolos de Bourbon
China.
 Effects: Human Cost
• Great human and material destruction
to Spain due to the civil war
• Ca. 100,000 Republicans killed, 70,000
Nationalists
• Killing continued after the war – Franco’s
terror campaign to eradicate opposition –
many killed or exiled
• Thousands of Republicans held for years
in concentration camps and
prisons/Republican children often taken
from parents to “reeducate”
• Divisions and hatred remained in Spanish
society for decades after the war
Impacts on Women:
• Dramatic increase in participation of women in functioning of both
government and society
• In the Republican Zone – women played a crucial role in industrial production,
but also in political and military establishment (militia women)
• However sexism present – assumption by male counterparts that women be best
cooking and washing; sexual pressure on women in military roles reported
• Mujeres Libres (Free Women) - an anarchist women's organization in Spain that aimed
to empower working class women.
• Initiated in 1936 by Lucía Sánchez Saornil, Mercedes Comaposada, and Amparo Poch y Gascón, it
had approximately 30,000 members.
• Women ran public services in transport, welfare and health
• All of these briefly challenged the traditional gender role
Impacts on Women:
• In Nationalist Zones – no such
emancipation attempts were made
• Once Nationalists assumed control –
“feminist revolt” reversed
• No female emancipation allowed;
women known to have engaged in
government, politics, or military were
publically and privately humiliated/ and
often beaten and tortured
Economic Effects:
• Economy devastated by the war- some 10 – 15% of the wealth destroyed;
per capita income was 28% lower in 1939 than in 1935
• Lots of industrial machinery needed to be replaced, communication and
transportation networks had to be rebuilt
• Dislocation of trade and industry
• Spain had to focus on building self- sufficiency
• From 1956 Spain’s economy began to modernize
• 1960s were a period of economic growth, greater prosperity, mass tourism
• Also relaxation of censorship and religious tolerance
• 1975 – return to democratic government under prince Juan Carlos the
Bourbon
Social Consequences:
• Clergy endured republican violence
• Teachers, trade unionists and known political activists were
likely to be killed by nationalists
• 77,000 executed by the right, 55,000 by the left
• Fighting made no distinction between civilians and
combatants
• Evacuations of civilian groups were common on both sides
– often to other EU countries, or South America
• In some Republican areas, confiscation of landowner land /
redistribution
Political Effects:
• Franco emerged from the war as Spain’s dictator; he
remained in power until his death in 1975
• Declared they had to save the country from Communism
• White Terror – killing of thousands of Republicans and the exodus
of half a million Spaniards which included many intellectuals
• 1939, the Law of Political Responsibility made support for
the Republicans (before or during the war) liable to
punishment, including confiscation of land, large fines, or
even the death sentence
• Key objectives of the new regime were to restore the power
of the privileged class and to control the working class /
industrial political activism was outlawed
• The suppression and removal of all political opposition led
to a period of political stability in Spain
• Franco increasingly delegated control from the 1960s, and
following his death in 1975 democracy was restored.
The international effects of the Spanish Civil
War
• USSR and Communism:
• The Communists had been defeated in Spain – undermined international
creditability
• Pushed Soviet foreign policy away from attempting to build and alliance with
the Western powers in order to contain Germany - it became clear to Stalin
that neither Britain nor France would be a sound ally against Hitler’s
expansionist ambitions
• Stalin began to look into a possible deal with Nazi Germany
The international effects of the Spanish Civil
War
• Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy
• Hitler gained valuable military lessons from the war / importance of air power
highlighted , as was the effectiveness of blitzkrieg
• Germans also tested bullet-resistant fuel tanks
• Bombing of civilians seemed effective
• War brought Italy and Germany closer together, and it further prevented a
reconciliation between the members of the Stresa Front
• Rome-Berlin Axis signed Oct 1936; Pact of Steel in May 1939
• Germany appeared as a principal country “defending the world from
Communism”
• For Italy, intervention was very expensive – economically weakened
The international effects of the Spanish Civil
War
• Britain and France
• Suffering of Spanish civilians made it clear
that another general European war would
be filled with horrors on a scale never seen
before – this fostered support for the policy
of appeasement
• The Spread of Communism still appeared as
a greater threat
• Apparent weakness of GB and FR in Spain
led Hitler to change his perception of GB –
he was losing respect – Britain's attempts to
avert war by non-intervention encouraged
Hitler to be more aggressive
The international effects of the Spanish Civil
War
• The USA
• Remained neutral, offered no tangible
assistance
• Strengthened isolationism
• Spain was excluded from the USA;s massive
economic recovery package for post-war
Europe, Marshall Aid
• During the Cold War, USA warmed up to
Franco as he was a strong anti-Communist
force - “enemy of my enemy is my friend’
Was the Spanish Civil War a cause of World
War II?
• Played a significant part in the causes of WWII:
• It emboldened Hitler / increased his popularity
• Drew closer Italy and Germany
• Hitler gained practical military lessons
• Distraction for GB and FR, and pushed away USA
• Fostered new direction for the Soviet policy (no broad alliance in EU to
contain Hitler)
• Strengthened support for a policy of appeasement