Definition of Spanish Civil War

Between 1936 and 1939 two visions of Spain clashed in a war civil that, after 80 years, still continues to arouse controversy and debate in Spanish society.

The end of the warfare meant the triumph of the national side led by Francisco Franco, the caudillo who remained in power until 1975. The victors imposed their doctrine based on National Catholicism and a political regime without freedoms. The losers saw how their republican ideals only had the path of jail, exile or silence.

By the 1930s two ideologies had become established in Europe: the communism and fascism. The Spanish Civil War is considered the first episode where both doctrines clashed.

What ideas and values ​​did those on the national side defend?

The military that rose up in July 1936 understood that their uprising was totally legitimate. They considered that the ll Republic it had led the country into an unsustainable situation. It must be taken into account that at the beginning of the Republic churches were burned and Catholics suffered a smear campaign.

On the other hand, the nationals viewed with concern the social disorder and, very especially, the rise of communism and the anarchism in Spain.

It should not be forgotten that during the republican period the regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country demanded the independence and this situation generated a deep malaise between the military, the conservative politicians and some sectors of the republican left.

For the supporters of the national side, the only way out of the Spanish situation was to defeat communism, defeat the separatists and make Spain a Catholic, traditional and united country.

The Republican Perspective

The government Republican and broad sectors of society understood that the coup led by Francisco Franco was an unjustified attack on the democracy and to the established legal order. Since the proclamation of the 11th Republic in 1931, the country was in a period of change. It was intended to abolish the privileges of the Catholic Church, modernize and decentralize the state, end social privileges and create a democratic society.

The governments of the republican period aroused an intense debate in society. Communists, anarchists and socialist sectors understood that it was necessary to start a revolutionary process. The moderate sectors of the politics Spanish were losing prominence and revolutionaries and fascists became the benchmarks of society.

80 years later

To this day there are still aspects of the Civil War that are very present in national politics. A sector of society identifies with republican ideals and does not sympathize with the monarchy. Some associations demand the opening of graves of their relatives during the war.

Certain episodes continue to be debated among historians: the massacres of both sides, the support of the Soviets and the Germans, the role of the Catholic Church or the maneuvers of the Basque and Catalan nationalists during the period of war.

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