Spanish Civil War Begins
The Spanish Civil War began in July 1936, when a group of army officers rebelled against Spain's elected Republican government, and it ended in April 1939 with the victory of the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco. The conflict killed several hundred thousand people, brought a dictatorship that lasted until Franco's death in 1975, and became an early battleground between fascism, communism, and liberal democracy in the years before the Second World War.
The roots of the war lay in deep divisions within Spanish society. The monarchy fell in 1931, and the Second Republic that replaced it attempted land reform, secularization, military reform, and greater regional autonomy for areas such as Catalonia. These measures alarmed landowners, the Catholic Church, much of the officer corps, and conservative groups, while many workers and peasants, including anarchists and socialists, felt reform was too slow. Political violence rose steadily. In February 1936 a coalition of left-wing parties, the Popular Front, narrowly won national elections, and the country grew even more polarized.
On 17 and 18 July 1936, garrisons in Spanish Morocco and then on the mainland rose up. The coup was meant to seize power quickly, but it succeeded in only part of the country. Republican loyalists, aided by trade unions and militias, held major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, while the rebels controlled much of the north and west and, later, the south. The result was a prolonged war. Both sides committed atrocities, including executions of civilians, attacks on clergy in Republican areas, and widespread repression in territory held by the Nationalists. Major episodes included the siege of Madrid, the bombing of Guernica in 1937, and the Battle of the Ebro in 1938.
Foreign involvement shaped the outcome. Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sent aircraft, equipment, and troops to the Nationalists, while the Soviet Union supplied arms and advisers to the Republic. Volunteers from many countries joined the International Brigades. Britain and France, along with dozens of other states, adopted a policy of non-intervention, which in practice hampered the Republic more than its opponents. Historians debate how decisive this outside help was, but most agree it prolonged the fighting and tilted the balance toward Franco. The Republican side was also weakened by internal conflict, notably the clashes in Barcelona in May 1937.
Franco's forces took Catalonia in early 1939 and Madrid shortly afterward, and the war ended on 1 April. Many thousands of Republicans fled into exile, and many who remained faced imprisonment or execution. Franco ruled Spain for almost four decades and kept the country officially neutral during the Second World War. The memory of the conflict remained contested long after the return of democracy, and debates over how to remember its victims continue in Spain today.