Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil Warresearch paper due and don't know how to start it? How about starting your world history project like this?
In 1936, civil war broke out in Spain between the loyalist forces (Republican) and the fascist rebels (Nationalist). In many ways, this war is most famous in the writings of Ernest Hemingway, but also served as a dress rehearsal for World War II. Italy and Nazi Germany sent assistance to the Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, while the USSR supported the Republicans. Additionally, many Americans volunteered to fight for the Republicans.
The Civil War and the Munich Agreement
Fighting raged back and forth for three years (1936-1939). After the Munich Agreement, the loyalist forces realized they would not receive assistance from either Britain or France, and slowly began to retreat. Barcelona fell to the Nationalists in January 1939, followed by Madrid on March 28. The Civil War ended on April 1, 1939. Franco would rule Spain until his death in 1975.
The Spanish Civil War Statistics
The Spanish Civil War was a brutal, sanguinary conflict in which, the following is estimated:
- 700,000 lives were lost in battle
- 30,000 people were executed or assassinated
- 15,000 were killed in air raids
In terms of Spain it was an unmitigated disaster.
- Fascism prevailed
- The war unleashed the polarized passions of extremism on both sides.
- It was not merely fratricide; it was an immensely bitter form of fratricide.
- The war also had pan-European implications and these implications were negative in a moral, political, and spiritual sense.
Be sure to discuss those implications first in your research paper on the Spanish Civil War.