The Spanish Civil War was a small-scale showcase of what was happening in Europe. The economic crisis of 1929 showed that capitalism was not an infallible system and greatly affected democracy. Given that except the most consolidated democracies such as the British or the American resisted the setbacks, in the rest of countries emerged totalitarian parties that led to political radicalization, as in the case of the USSR, Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. In Spain, the lack of a democratic culture worsened the situation.
The situation in Europe at the time of the Spanish Civil War was in growing tension. Since 1933 the Nazi regime had been established in Germany and years before in Italy (1922) Mussolini controlled power. In the USSR, Stalin exercises a communist dictatorship controlling the Communist Parties of the rest of the countries. During these years and until the beginning of the Spanish conflict Italy invaded Abyssinia (1936); Germany has occupied the Sudetenland (1938), has re-militarized the Rhineland (1936), has annexed Austria (1938); Japan has occupied Manchuria (1931), in China.
Spain to date had not been an issue of international interest but the Civil War will go from being an exclusively an internal conflict to be also an international conflict. Spain represented at that time a situation that extended throughout Europe: strategic interests of political powers and ideologies were crossed.
The great democracies had an attitude that we can classify as one of the great diplomatic deceptions of the century.
It is clear that the revolutionary left wing that took the Republican bloc decided to countries like Britain not to take sides, although the establishment of a sympathetic regime with fascism, represented by the national side, did not count on their sympathies.
From the beginning each of the sides had their own sponsors since they had similar ideologies and defended similar models of State and society.
The creation of the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF NON-INTERVENTION in August 1936, joined by 27 countries including Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany, whose objective was neutrality by refraining from sending arms to either side, was not enough since the principle was violated especially by Germany, Italy and by France (in its case depending on the political moment and of Great Britain to which it needed of its side against Germany).
It is necessary to point out that the aid received by the respective sides was unequal both in the number of military personnel, weapons and economic resources. The one received by the Francoist side was more effective and generous than that provided to the Republican side.
The support received by the Popular Front will be the following:
· The Republic of Mexico.
· The government of the French Popular Front of León Blum (we have already indicated that depending on the moment).
· The Soviet Union with the formation of the International Brigades, and the sale of supplies and weapons.
· Both Mexican and French aid were not important enough.
· If Soviet assistance was important, although it was not abundant in men, if it was in arms, especially tanks and planes (with the corresponding training of Spanish pilots by the Russian military). However, it was not a free help. The communists' control of the capital of Spain favored moving from the Bank of Spain's gold to Cartagena to be transferred later to Odesa (Black Sea) and from there to Moscow, from where it never returned. The excuse to seize the gold deposited in the Bank of Spain was the fear that it fell into the hands of the insurgents and the Soviet government lent itself to guarding it in the Kremlin. The Soviet government had charged in advance and by far the aid to the republican government. Another part of the Bank of Spain's gold was deposited with the Bank of France and returned to the Spanish authorities in July 1939. The loss of gold reserves caused great damage to the population after the war.
· As for the International Brigades, (it is estimated that there were around 35,000 men) organized by the Soviet Union (Komintern) and their combatants left the members of the Communist parties of the Soviet countries. However, not all the participants in the brigades were communists. These brigades were trained in Albacete and from there sent to the different fronts. We must highlight the work they did in the battles of Jarama and Teruel. But Soviet aid had its drawbacks; the purges carried out by Stalin also affected the components of the brigades, and a considerable number of their soldiers were eliminated, a fact that did not favor the Republic.
The support received by the national side was, as we have noted earlier, less spectacular but more effective and generous. Their main aid received them from Italy and Germany, although countries like Portugal or Ireland sent small contingents of soldiers.
· The most important Italian aid was in soldiers (around 60,000 soldiers) framed in military units. The collaboration with the Italian submarines that controlled the Mediterranean was also highlighted.
· The German aid, hardly important in the number of men sent if it was important in the aid of material of war and especially decisive was its aid with airplanes and boats at the moment of the uprising for the transport of the troops from Morocco to the Peninsula that would have been impossible without German collaboration.
On the other hand explain that "the generosity" of the aid from Italy and Germany not demanding immediate payment and much less in advance to the national army (contrary to what happened with the USSR) facilitated things to the rebels.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR
· Demographic consequences
There have been very different figures when quantifying the demographic losses caused by the conflict: deaths on the front and repression in war and post-war, hunger, epidemics; The consequent reduction in birth rates have been data for your accounting.
The most accepted calculations estimate in two hundred thousand deaths in combat by both sides. But to this figure we must add the number of casualties as a result of the repression by both sides that we could calculate around 130,000 victims. In addition we must add the injured (400,000) and the decline in the birth rate as a result of the conflict as the birth rate fell by almost ten points.
Another key element of the demographic consequences was the Republican exile. Already during the conflict, the "children of war" were evacuated to foreign countries, but the great exodus (about 400,000 left the Catalan border) took place in January and February 1939, as a result of the conquest of Catalonia. However, most of them returned, leaving 160,000 in exile. Although some were returning during the dictatorship, many did not return to Spain or awaited the death of the dictator in 1975. This exile meant an important demographic loss for the country: a young and active population, which included a large number of intellectuals (Sánchez Albornoz, Buñuel, Machado, Juan Ramón Jiménez ...).
· Economic consequences
The war was a true economic catastrophe. A fact reveals its magnitude: the national and per capita income will not recover the level of 1936 until the 1950s. These were the main elements of that economic catastrophe:
- Destruction of the country's industrial fabric, which led to the return in the 1940s to a basically agrarian economy.
- Destruction of houses, are estimated at some two hundred and fifty thousand, communications, infrastructure ...
- Increase of the external debt and loss of the gold reserves of the Bank of Spain, used by the government of the Republic to pay the Soviet aid.
- Abandonment of Spain by the democratic countries when establishing a dictatorial regime, as for example the case of the USA. that did not include us in the so-called Marshall Plan of 1947 of economic aid to the European countries affected by the Second World War. Spain did not have the support of the European states.
· Social consequences
The result of the war brought with it the recovery of economic and social hegemony on the part of the landed, industrial and financial oligarchy. At the same time, there was the loss of all the rights acquired by the workers (the Labor Law implied the prohibition of the unions).
· Moral consequences
The war supposed a true moral fracture of the country.
Several generations marked by the suffering of war and the repression of the long postwar period.
The Franco regime never sought the reconciliation of the Spaniards and always remembered and celebrated its warlike origins.
The wounds of the civil war lasted for decades.
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