Spanish Civil War: Republican Resistance and Francoist State Formation
The Republican Zone: Revolution and Resistance
Facing the rising insurgency, the nascent Republican government of José Giral had to hastily organize a military force capable of opposing the rebels. This involved arming militias of political parties and unions, and decreeing the creation of volunteer battalions to be integrated into these militias. Consequently, trade unions and leftist parties became the primary armed forces defending Republican legality.
In the summer and autumn of 1936, the power of the state suffered a near-total collapse and was replaced by councils, committees, and boards governing the territory.
In the initial months of the war, the Republican zone witnessed a spontaneous popular response against anything associated with the so-called “rebels.” The Church, the bourgeoisie, landowners, and wealthy classes became targets of persecution, which often occurred outside the direct control of the Republican government. Murders, sometimes euphemistically called “strolls,” occurred, alongside unlawful detentions in checas (secret prisons), looting and burning of churches and convents, and seizures of private property and assets.
The Republican forces were aware of the need for concerted efforts to win the war. In September 1936, Francisco Largo Caballero formed a new government composed of Republicans, Socialists, Communists, and Anarchists. Largo Caballero’s government worked to reconstruct the state, integrate and militarize the militias, and establish the Popular Army.
By March 1938, life in Republican territory had become extremely difficult. Some political factions began to contemplate the impossibility of victory. Furthermore, in September 1938, the Munich Agreement was signed, through which France and Britain recognized Adolf Hitler’s occupation of Czechoslovakia. Hoping that the impending European conflict would alleviate the pressure on the Republic, Juan Negrín coined the motto: “Resistance is Victory!”
In late February 1939, Britain and France recognized the Francoist government, and in early March, Manuel Azaña submitted his resignation as President. Despite Negrín’s efforts, the Republic’s days were numbered.
The Nationalist Zone: State Formation and Repression
The diverse social and political groups supporting the military uprising initially lacked a common project. However, the army quickly took charge of organizing the new state.
The accidental death of General Sanjurjo on July 20, 1936, coupled with the insurrection’s failure to achieve a swift triumph, immediately raised the issue of leadership. On July 24, the National Defense Council (Junta de Defensa Nacional), composed solely of military officers, was established in Burgos. Its mission was to govern the occupied territory, and its first actions included banning all political parties, suspending the Constitution, and freezing the agrarian reform.
Francisco Franco quickly asserted his leadership, especially after Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini recognized him as the sole valid interlocutor for negotiating their support for the uprising. He was elected Chief of the Uprising by the military, and subsequently recognized as Head of State and Government, and Generalissimo of the Armies.
In the territories they controlled, the rebels prohibited all political parties and unions. Only the Falange Española de las JONS (Spanish Phalanx of the JONS) was permitted to operate as a political group.
Drawing on the model of the Italian Fascist state, in April 1937, Franco announced the Unification Decree (Decreto de Unificación), which created a single party: the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS. Franco became the national leader of this sole party, which adopted the blue uniform shirt of the Falange, the red beret of the Carlists, and the fascist salute with the raised arm. Any resistance was silenced through exile or imprisonment.
The institutionalization of the new Francoist state culminated in January 1938 with the formation of Franco’s first government. From then on, he was formally named Caudillo de España (Leader of Spain). This new state was explicitly inspired by fascism.
Religious, political, association, and press freedoms were suppressed, as were the statutes of autonomy, and the death penalty was restored. In March 1938, the Fuero del Trabajo (Labor Charter) was approved, establishing a single, state-controlled union representing both employers and workers, and banning strikes and independent worker demands.
The construction of the Francoist state was accompanied by extreme violence, involving the systematic annihilation of the vanquished in the occupied territories. Often, prominent individuals were killed not merely for their political actions, but because they symbolized the Republic. A tragic example was the poet Federico García Lorca, murdered in Granada at the very beginning of the war.