This Day in 1939: The Spanish Civil War Ends

On April 1, 1939 the Spanish Civil War finally ended after three bloody years that had left the idea of post World War I European peace, such as it was, in tatters and only further destabilized a continent that had never really put the ghosts of the First World War behind it.

The Spanish Civil War had begun on July 17, 1936, when rebels in Spanish Morocco, calling themselves The Nationalists and led by Francisco Franco, initiated an insurgency designed to overthrow the Popular Front government of the Spanish Republic. The Nationalists espoused fascist ideology similar to that found in Germany and Italy – each of whom not unsurprisingly provided ample support to their ideological brethren in Spain. The Republicans, or Loyalists, meanwhile had successfully lobbied for help from the Soviet Union and the new Popular Front Socialist government in France.

The war, in addition to causing horrendous civilian casualties as well as being marked by numerous atrocities, served as an important proving ground for, in particular, those European states most responsible for plunging Europe into a continent wide war – Germany and the Soviet Union. Of the two it is not a stretch to argue that Germany benefited the most from its experiences in Spain. The German military contingent, named the Condor Legion, featured many of Germany’s future wartime officers. These officers rotated through the Legion in short tours lasting no more than several months at a time. Although brief, these tours of duty provided critical experience for the participating German soldiers. Both Mussolini and Hitler, signed pacts with Franco whereby Spain provided economic aid and natural resources to Germany and Italy in exchange for military assistance for the Nationalists. Germany secured considerable quantities of iron ore, critical for fueling the booming economic expansion and rearming German military.

The British and French, instead of sending direct aid, ever fearful of general European war, acted to stop the war from spreading by declaring a non-intervention policy. Both Germany and Italy publicly signed on to the associated treaty late in 1936, but covertly aided the Nationalists anyway.  The Soviet Union served as the prime Republican benefactor, and although volunteers from Britain, France, and the United States all served with the Republicans - it was not enough.  Fascist military assistance helped Franco defeat the Republicans and consolidate his power early in the spring of 1939.  Two years prior to the Republican defeat however, as if there was any doubt regarding what National Socialism would mean, Germany displayed its true colors to the outside world in an event, since memorialized for eternity by the artist Pablo Picasso (see image), occurring at an unassuming Spanish town named Guernica.

The small town of Guernica sat within the Basque region in northwest Spain; a region falling within range of the Spanish Civil War’s front lines. By April 26, 1937 Guernica’s population of 7,000 people had swelled with war refugees seeking shelter from the combatants battling just over the horizon, only miles from the town. In spite of the thousands of refugees packing the town the German Condor Legion swept over Guernica, dropping over 40 tons of bombs. The Condor Legion’s pilots then ruthlessly winged above, repeatedly strafing the devastated town; leaving over one thousand dead civilians in their wake. The Spanish Civil War, and atrocities such as Guernica, markedly raised the political temperature in Europe. Of course Hitler welcomed the winds of war; sensing the opportunity to begin the racial struggle he had long since viewed as Germany’s destiny.