The Spanish Civil War

April 26th, 1937. Guernica, northern Spain. German and Italian war planes roar overhead, dropping bombs on the market town. People flee. Houses burn.

Donkeys and pigs brought to market wander through the midst of the chaos. But Spain is not at war against Germany or Italy; this is a war between groups within Spain — a civil war — each side helped by outside forces. What brought Spain to this point? For decades, two broad groups have been vying for power. On one side are mostly Roman Catholics, landowners, and businessmen.

They will come to be called the Nationalists. The Nationalists are conservative. Many of them want the king, who was forced to leave the country, back in power. They really don’t want Spain to become a socialist country, like the Soviet Union. On the other side are mostly workers in the cities, farm labourers, and educated middle-class people.

They are the Republicans. The Republicans are socialist. They don’t want Spain to become like Nazi Germany or fascist Italy. In February 1936, a group of Republicans called the Popular Front wins the Spanish general election. The Nationalists are riled.

If they don’t take action, Spain will become radically socialist… Not on their watch! Nationalist generals in the army form a plan to rebel against the government, to launch a coup. They will overthrow the Republicans and take control of Spain! Most of the military is on board, while some soldiers stay loyal to their government. To launch their plan, the Nationalists decide to first take over Morocco, a Spanish controlled territory in Africa.

Nationalist soldiers in Morocco seize the Spanish Army’s fortresses. They shoot or imprison Republican officers. The next day, the Nationalist soldiers travel to mainland Spain, to continue their attack. Victory will be quick, they think, just like it was in Morocco. But the Republicans put up an unexpected fight… not just Republican soldiers, but workers and peasants, too.

They break into army barracks and seize guns to arm themselves. Fighting continues for months. Each side tries to take control of more territory. And each kills anyone they suspect of going against them. The attempted coup has turned into a civil war.

Leading the Nationalists is an ambitious general of the rebelling military, Francisco Franco. Franco knows that, to win, the Nationalists need to take Spain’s capital city, Madrid. But they can’t do it alone. Franco asks Germany’s leader, Hitler, and Italy’s leader, Mussolini, for help. They support the Nationalists’ political ideas and want them to win.

So they send planes, tanks, and guns to help defeat the Republicans. The Republicans gain outside help, too. The leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, wants his socialist priorities to take hold across the world, so he helps arm the Republicans. Thousands of individuals from across Europe and the United States also support the socialist vision — or want to defeat fascism. They travel to Spain to fight with the Republicans.

This volunteer army is called the International Brigade. The Spanish civil war has become a much broader fight between fascism and socialism in Europe and beyond. Gradually, the Nationalists gain power in more and more of Spain’s towns and cities. The Republican side is weakened by disagreements over the details of their socialist vision, and their weapons are no match for the German bombers. Republican leaders realise they cannot win.

They try to negotiate peace, but Franco refuses. On March 28th, 1939, the Republicans finally surrender Spain’s capital. The war is over. More than two hundred thousand lives have been lost. Franco becomes Spain’s leader.

He will rule as dictator for 36 years.