Spanish Civil War: Crucial Terms, Figures, and Events

Regional Council

A body formed by the unification of various councils, boards, and committees to organize regional governments. These councils gathered the forces of the Popular Front. An example is the Sovereign Council of Asturias.

Juan Negrín

The last Prime Minister of the Republic during the Civil War. He was in favor of maintaining the fight until the commencement of World War II.

Manuel Azaña

Served as Minister of the Interim Government and was a reformist Prime Minister from 1931 to 1933. He later became President of the Republic from 1936 to 1939. He resigned and died in exile in 1940.

Committee on Non-Intervention

Driven by France, this committee was created in London in August 1936. Its stated aim was to prevent foreign intervention in the Spanish Civil War, though its effectiveness was limited as participating countries often provided covert support or monitored each other.

"War of Spain"

This was an international designation for the Spanish Civil War. This conflict deeply divided rulers and global public opinion.

Board of National Defense

A body created in 1936 by the military rebels to govern the occupied territory. It suspended the constitution and banned political parties and union activity.

Vicente Rojo

A general in command of the Popular Army of the Republic, which integrated professional soldiers, militias, and volunteer International Brigades.

Argelès-sur-Mer (Camp)

A French concentration camp for exiled Spanish Republicans. A notable example of an inmate was Don Antonio Machado, who died a few days after crossing the border into France.

Durruti Column

A volunteer anarcho-syndicalist militia, led by Buenaventura Durruti, which left Barcelona and came to help in the defense of Madrid.

Decree of Unification

Published by Franco in 1937, this decree created a single party: the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS. It adopted a uniform consisting of the blue shirt of the Falange and the red beret of the Carlists, along with the fascist salute (hand raised).

Labor Charter (Fuero del Trabajo)

Promulgated in March 1938, this charter created a single union representing both employers and workers. It banned strikes and workers' meetings.

Anti-Fascist Militia Central Committee

A body that reached an understanding with the Catalan political parties and rebuilt the power of the Generalitat.

Francisco Largo Caballero

General Secretary of the UGT and Prime Minister from 1936 to 1937. He died in exile after being released from a Nazi concentration camp.

May Events

A confrontation in the streets of Barcelona in 1937 between militant anarchists and POUM militants, and those of the PSUC and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. The toll was 200 dead and resulted in the defeat of the anarchists and the POUM.