Key Terms of the Spanish Civil War: A Concise Lexicon
Key Terms of the Spanish Civil War
Requeté: Carlist fighting unit during the nineteenth-century Carlist wars fought in the Basque Country (VN). In the twentieth century, the name was given to armed groups during the Carlist monarchy of Alfonso and the Second Republic. They were preparing militarily, organized in thirds, and took part in the civil war with General Franco.
Social Democracy: Supporters of social democracy, a branch of the international socialist movement characterized by the renunciation of Marxist theory and a moderate and reformist political practice. They reject the dictatorship of the proletariat and advocate a slow transformation of the capitalist system through a process of gradual and successive reforms, achieved through parliamentary struggle.
BOC (Bloc Obrer i Camperol): Marxist ideology of a Catalan political party founded in 1930. Defended the right to self-determination and opposed the apoliticism of anarchists. Their press organs were La Batalla and L’Hora. Joaquim Maurín was one of its principal leaders.
Esquerra Comunista (Communist Left): Trotskyist ideology of a Spanish political organization founded in 1932. Under the direction of Andreu Nin, it opposed the politics of the Communist Party.
PSUC (Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya – Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia): Catalan political party of communist ideology created in July 1936 as a result of the merger of the Communist Party of Catalonia, the Catalan Proletarian Party, the Socialist Union of Catalonia, and the Catalan Federation of the PSOE. It was linked to the Third International.
UME (Unión Militar Española – Spanish Military Union): A clandestine association of Spanish military officers with right-wing, anti-republican leanings.
UMRA (Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista – Antifascist Republican Military Union): An association of officers organized in 1934 to counteract the UME. It was headed by the communist official Eleuterio Díaz.
Organiqes Divisions (Organic Divisions): Territorial distribution of military regions during the Republic to replace the old military headquarters. They had their headquarters in La Coruña, Burgos, Valladolid, Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville.
State of War: The declaration of an area under military authority, whereby all constitutional guarantees are suspended, and the inhabitants of the circumscription fall under the jurisdiction of the Military Justice Code.
Militias: Republican forces formed by civilian volunteers and military advisors, organized by left-wing political groups and trade unions (1936-1937). In Andalusia, Commander Henry Pérez Farrás was appointed chief.
Checas: Local political prisons where the police used to subject detainees to torture.
Prime Minister: A figure provided for in the current status within Andalusia (1933), in which the President of the Government could delegate executive functions of government, reserving for himself the functions of institutional representation.
Nationalization: The disappearance of private ownership of means of production and the adoption of a form of governance carried out hierarchically by state officials, especially in socialist revolutions.
Central Committee of Militias of Anti-Fascist Catalonia: After militias in Barcelona defeated the insurgency, the president of the Generalitat, Lluís Companys, proposed forming a new body that would encompass all anti-fascist forces. This committee acted as a de facto government of Catalonia. The anarchists initially opposed it, but on July 21, 1936, the committee was formed with the integration of all organizations of the Catalan left.
Municipalització de Lloguers (Municipalization of Rentals): Confiscation of rental properties by the municipality. In Barcelona in 1937, there were more than 300,000 houses for rent. People living in these houses had to pay the rent to the council instead of to the former owners.
Paseos (Walks): The name given during the civil war to actions consisting of going to get someone to assassinate them in the open air.
May Days of 1937: From May 2 to May 7, there was a confrontation in Barcelona between the armed forces of anarcho-syndicalists and the POUM on one side, and the forces of public order and the Generalitat, members of the PSUC and UGT on the other. The political fight, which prioritized revolution or war, resulted in the assassination of Roldán Cortada, a prominent leader of the PSUC. On May 2, the internal security minister, Artemi Aiguader, ordered the occupation of the telephone building, controlled by the CNT, to limit the power of the anarchists. The CNT resisted by force, and for six days, Barcelona saw barricades and armed clashes that caused more than 500 deaths. The crisis was resolved by the central government sending 5,000 assault guards.