Spanish Civil War: Key Terms and Events
Fascism
Fascism was a doctrine and nationalist political movement created in Italy by Mussolini in 1919. According to Mussolini, “Everything is the State and nothing human or spiritual exists outside the state. Instead of rights, we have to talk about homework; instead of freedom, service.”
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from various countries who fought for the Republic during the Spanish Civil War. In 1938, the Republican government withdrew their provision.
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain refers to the dictatorial regime imposed in Spain by General Franco from 1938 until his death in 1975. It was characterized by the accumulation of legislative and executive power in the military. The decree of 1938 proclaimed him Chief of State, Army, and Government.
Democracy
Democracy is a political system wherein all citizens can hold office and participate in choosing those who will exercise power.
National Uprising
The National Uprising is the name given to the military uprising against the Second Republic in 1936. It began in Melilla with General Franco’s army in front of Morocco, and its partial failure led to the Spanish Civil War.
Autarky
Autarky is an economic policy typical of fascism, aiming towards the self-sufficiency of an economic system. It involves the reduction of imports through the implementation of fiscal, monetary, and customs policies, and the use of a nation’s own resources.
Blue Division
The Blue Division was a body of Spanish volunteers who fought on the Soviet front alongside the Germans during the Second World War. It was created in 1941 under the command of General Muñoz Grandes. The name comes from the blue shirts worn by Falangist fighters.
National Movement
The National Movement is the name given to all political forces that supported the military uprising of 1936. It was articulated in a unitary ideology and bureaucratic organization, with a National Council and provincial and local councils.
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion is the name given to the intervention force, mostly air, that Nazi Germany sent to aid General Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War.
Battle of the Ebro
The Battle of the Ebro was the largest battle fought in the Spanish Civil War. It took place in the lower channel of the Ebro valley, in the provinces of Tarragona and Zaragoza, and developed between July and November 1938.
Emilio Mola
Emilio Mola was a Spanish military officer. When the Republic was established, he was expelled from the army. However, in 1934, the conservative government of Gil-Robles allowed him to re-enter and gave him command of the Spanish troops in Africa. Mola had already prepared, with Sanjurjo, the military coup that would trigger the Civil War.
General Rojo
General Vicente Rojo Lluch was a Spanish soldier known for his role at the head of the forces on the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War in the defense of Madrid, as well as the operational planning of the Battle of the Ebro.
The Bombing of Guernica
The Bombing of Guernica was an air raid conducted on this symbolic Basque town on April 26, 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, by the German Condor Legion and the Italian Legionary Aviation, who fought on behalf of the rebels.
Exile
The Republican exile after the Spanish Civil War began with the victory of Franco’s troops in 1939. Many were exiled before the start of the war, during the Second Republic, due to political and religious persecution in 1934.