The Spanish Civil War

Communism V Fascism

too simplistic

Paul Preston: ‘… not one but many wars.’

The Popular Front or Republicans

• Moderates hoped for a liberal democracy

• Radicals hoped for a workers state

• Anarcho-syndcalists, left-wing socialists and Trotskyist Communists called for collectivisation and a workers’ militia

• The directive from Moscow was to focus on winning the Civil war as without victory all else would be wishful thinking

The National Front or Nationalists

• A war against the godless left

• Opposed to secularisation

• Concerned about declining moral standards

• Franco also promised to revise Spain’s glorious traditions, including military power, strong personal leadership and religious zeal

• But there were also democrats, monarchists and the Falange (fascists)

What about the Church?

• Many of the lower clergy supported Republicans

• Some liberal leaders too

• But the majority of the Church establishment supported the Nationalists

• The Pope supported the Nationalists too

What about the army?

• Most senior officers remained loyal to the Republic

• Middle-ranking officers supported the Nationalists

The Regions

• The Basque country and Catalonia both supported the Republic

Class Divisions

• The w/c and the peasantry supported the Republican

• Out of the m/c, the young intellectuals and professionals supported the Republicans

• But the older m/c supported the Nationalists

• The upper class and the landlord class supported the Nationalists too