Spanish Opposition to Franco: Exile, Resistance, and Struggle

Opposition: Exile and Resistance

In the final phase of the civil war, more than four hundred thousand people associated with the Republic left Spain and came to France through the Pyrenees, or fled to northern Africa. Many of the refugees returned to Spain when the regime promised to take no action against those who had committed no crime, a promise that was not fulfilled. About two hundred thousand people remained in exile or only returned to Spain after Franco’s death. In France, they established

Read More

Mussolini’s Rise to Power: Understanding Italian Fascism

The Rise of Fascism in Italy

The March to Power of Fascism

The founder of fascism was Benito Mussolini. In 1919, Mussolini founded the Fascist Italian Milan Combat, an ultra-nationalist paramilitary group whose members were identified by the black shirt and a military cap. Its core was composed of very diverse people. The fascists positioned themselves as defenders of nationalist claims. One of their first violent actions was the destruction of the offices of the Socialist newspaper Avanti in 1919.

Read More

Liberal Revolutions and Nationalism in 19th-Century Europe

Key Concepts of the 19th Century

Revolution: A collective expression of ideas by a group of people.

Liberalism: A physiological, economic, and political system derived from civil liberties, but it rejects collective freedom.

Declaration of Rights: A document outlining citizens’ rights.

Constitution: The fundamental, written or unwritten, form of governance for a sovereign state.

Nation: Citizens united by common laws, customs, history, ideology, and beliefs.

Nationalism: A social and political movement

Read More

Nazi Totalitarianism and World War II

Nazi Totalitarianism

In 1933, the National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler won the elections. Supported by right-wing parties, he formed a government, imposed a dictatorship, liquidated the Weimar Republic, and founded the German Third Reich. Hitler combined a desire for revenge against the victors of World War I with measures for economic recovery, imbued with racist antisemitism and an exalted pan-Germanism.

Hitler’s Nazi Totalitarian Regime

Hitler’s Nazi totalitarian regime was characterized by:

  • In
Read More

World War I Aftermath and Rise of Totalitarianism

Effects of the Treaty of Versailles

2.4.6

What Was One Effect of the Treaty of Versailles Mandate System?

Allied powers took over German colonies and profited from them.

How Did National Boundaries in Europe Change Due to the Treaty of Versailles?

Smaller nations formed along ethnic and cultural lines.

What Is One Way the Treaty of Versailles Affected Germany after World War I?

It made Germany reduce its military.

After World War I, How Did Former Ottoman Territories Differ from Former Austro-Hungarian

Read More

The Reign of the Catholic Monarchs: A New Era

The Union of Castile and Aragon

The union of Castile and Aragon began in 1469 with the marriage of Prince Ferdinand, son and heir of John II, King of the Crown of Aragon, and Princess Isabella, sister of Henry IV, King of Castile. Upon the death of his father in 1479, Ferdinand became King of the Crown of Aragon. That same year, Queen Isabella of Castile was imposed after a civil war (1475-1479) against her niece Juana la Beltraneja. The union of the Castilian and Aragonese territories did not entail

Read More