World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was established. Although social progress was made under this government, political instability led to the Spanish Civil War which began in 1936. The right-wing Nationalist rebels sparked off their rebellion on 17 Jul 1936, taking Seville, Pamplona, Cádiz, Jerez de la Frontera, Córdoba, Zaragoza, and Oviedo very quickly. On the third day of the rebellion, General Francisco Franco took over after the death of José Sanjurjo in a plane crash. The rebellion was widely supported by nationalists, fascists, monarchists and a portion of the religious right who felt threatened by the Spanish Republic. While Britain fought hard to remain neutral, which actually hurt the Republicans, Germany, Italy, and Russia jumped into the conflict. Italy sent 60,000 men into the fight as volunteers for the Nationalists, while Germany took the chance to evaluate new artillery, armor, and aircraft in combat situations also on the side of Franco. The Russians, on the other hand, sent in their supplies for the Republicans. On foreign soil, the Germans realized the usefulness of the 88mm anti-aircraft guns against ground units, while the Russians developed tactics for I-15 and I-16 aircraft; all those weapons played important roles in the upcoming European War. The conduct of the war was brutal with both sides committing massacres of civilians and prisoners. In the end, as Franco emerged victorious and established his Spanish State. An estimated 300,000 to 1,000,000 people lost their lives.

Franco's victory led to the British and French fear that Spain would join what was to become the Axis alliance. Should Germany become aggressive, France feared a concurrent conflict with Spain that would make the war two-front for her. Britain, on the other hand, feared for the safety of her strategic garrison at Gibraltar. Adolf Hitler remained on friendly terms after the Spanish Civil War, and after Sep 1940, actively courted Franco to join him in his cause. To the relief of the Western Allies, however, Franco remained neutral. Franco stalled Hitler's requests draw Spain into war, in part by making demands of large quantities of German war supplies (so much that Hitler would not easily agree) and in part by secretly approving Spanish volunteers to fight under German command and approving German intelligence agents to operate in Spain (so to slightly appease Hitler's needs). At the same time, Franco knew Hitler's ambitions well, and he secretly manned the French border and the southern coasts of his country to counter any potential show of force by Germany. By the end of 1940, Germany's need for Spain to openly join the conflict largely subsided, but Hitler continued to press for Franco's cooperation. In Dec 1940, Germany requested the right of passage so that German troops could strike Gibraltar via land; Franco refused, and that was largely the end of active negotiations between Germany and Spain. After 1943, when the tide of war turned in favor of the Allies, Spain withdrew the 45,000 volunteers fighting for Germany on the Russian front and became more so a neutral nation.

At the start of WW2, thousands of Spaniards who fought for the Republicans joined the Free French forces abroad and the French Resistance. Ethnically Spanish troops were among some of the first troops to enter France in Aug 1944. After the Nationalist victory in 1939, some of the former Republicans fled to Russia and joined the Russian military.

As the European War raged on, Franco purged his political opponents on a large scale. Between 1939 and 1943, many were exiled while thousands died as a result. Franco's decision to steer clear of German influence benefited Spain by avoiding the devastations of another war, and however unlikely, benefited Holocaust refugees. Despite her anti-Semitic history, Spain helped more Jews during the Holocaust than any other neutral nation during the WW2 era. 25,000 Jews passed through Spain to escape from Europe, while a few thousand remained in Spain under her protection.

Although Spanish politics was characterized by isolationism between 1943 and 1955, after that period Spain quickly emerged as an influential European nation again. Franco held dictatorial powers until his death in Nov 1975. King Juan Carlos I took power after Franco's death, and restored Spanish monarchy in 1978 as a constitutional monarchy.

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
   25 Feb 2009 10:24:50 AM
   
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2. Anonymous says:
   11 Mar 2009 05:34:48 PM
   
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