Spanish Civil War
1936-1939
A Spanish republic was
established in 1931 made up of
democrats and reformist socialists
The Popular Front (antifascist) gained
control of the government in 1936
Many army officers such
as General Francisco
Franco found the left wing
coalition unacceptable
Francisco Franco with Mussolini. Italy
supplied troops and equipment to
support the Fascist cause in Spain
The Spanish Civil War is often referred
to as a “dress rehearsal” for World War II
German-supplied Junkers Ju-52
during the Spanish Civil War
The town of Guernica was used as
target practice for Luftwaffe pilots
Guernica today
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Innocent civilians were strafed with
machine gun fire and bombs were
dropped on homes and public buildings
The republican government called on western
nations to help them in their struggle against
the rebel nationalist armies. France, Britain
and the US stayed neutral
Weapons the
nationalists used
in the civil war
The Soviet Union provided some aid in
the form of war materials and equipment
for the republican government
Spanish women also served as
defenders of the republican government
Private citizens from
around the world
joined the fight
against fascism
International Brigade
volunteer from
Liverpool, England
US volunteers formed the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade
George Orwell
volunteered and
fought on the side
of the P.O.U.M.
(Party of Marxist
Unity) during the
Spanish Civil War
Orwell was seriously wounded
by a shrapnel wound to the neck
On the Aragon
front: Orwell is
the tall figure
standing in the
center, Eileen
Blair (wife) is
crouching in
front of him
Orwell wrote Homage to Catalonia about
his experiences during the civil war
“Smash Fascism”
The following
images are
loyalist posters
urging people to
fight for the
government…
“Anti-Fascists! Think of
those who are fighting!"
"Workers! Peasants! Unite for Victory!"
"Peasants, the land is yours"
Iron Column Fighting Brigade: "For
a free humanity! For anarchy!"
Anti-Illiteracy: "Illiteracy blinds
the spirit. Study, soldier"
Capra’s famous photo of a loyalist
soldier at the moment of death…
Government troops (loyalists) in
snow sprinkled trenches firing
on the outskirts of Madrid
A republican (loyalist) soldier
takes cover in east Madrid
The war ended with the fall of
Madrid in March 1939
400,000 people died in the war
and Fascism prevailed in Spain
200,000
people were
executed
under the
Franco regime
in the
following
years…
"They wrote in the old days that it is
sweet and fitting to die for one's country.
But in modern war there is nothing
sweet or fitting in your dying. You will
die like a dog for no good reason."
--Ernest Hemingway after witnessing the
brutality of the Spanish Civil War
The Franco dictatorship
lasted until 1975