Spanish Civil War: Impact, International Aid, and Aftermath

The Nationalist Government During the Spanish Civil War

The Nationalist government accepted some drastic measures: the establishment of a war state in all the territory, the suppression of all freedoms, and the dissolution of all political parties except for the Phalange and Carlist requetes.

At this moment, the Nationalist propaganda aimed at justifying the coup d'état against a legally elected government. They qualified their movement as a National Pronouncement against a Marxist and anti-Spanish republic, and their fight was known as a crusade to liberate Spain from atheism.

The economic measures were aimed at a double purpose: to cancel all the Republican reforms and the intervention of the state in the economy.

The need for a unique direction was evident, and Franco was designated as Head of Government of the Spanish State. In the future, he was known as Caudillo and started a personal dictatorship that counted on the Technical Junta of State, formed by the military, for receiving advice.

In 1937, the Unification Decree was approved, and the Phalanges and Carlists were mixed, creating the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS, a unique party as in the Italian model.

Franco concentrated all the powers in his hands thanks to the Law of Central Administration of the State. The Press Law established censorship, and the Labour Fuero ended with union freedom, allowing the state to control owners' and workers' associations.

The new system established a confessional state. In addition, a Law of Political Responsibilities was elaborated to punish the "rebels".

The International Dimension of the Conflict

The Spanish Civil War provoked international repercussions. In this conflict, the interests of international potencies crossed, the same as that of the big ideologies of the moment.

The fascist nations offered important assistance to the rebels. Apart from strategic reasons, they wanted an ideological ally. Portugal, too, supported this group at once, with Germany and Italy.

The USSR offered its assistance to the Republic. In this way, they opposed fascisms and tried to divert the attention of German armies instead of looking to them.

The big democracies decided to maintain neutrality so as not to increase the tensions towards the European war to come. They allowed private individuals who wanted to take part in the war to create their own committees.

Foreign Aid During the War

The different international assistance is one key to the victory of the insurgents.

The National group received the support of Hitler and Mussolini. They helped the insurgents to come from Africa to the Peninsula thanks to the aerial bridge. The German Condor Legion constituted an incontestable force, and Portugal, too, contributed to supplying the insurgents with weapons.

The Republicans received limited help because the democratic countries had signed a Non-Aggression Treaty. Soviet help arrived right on time for defending Madrid. The International Brigades, constituted by volunteers, not all of them communist but recruited by the International, were important in the Madrid, Jarama, and Teruel battles.

Consequences of the Spanish Civil War

Demographic

The number of casualties is controversial, but it includes both deaths on the front and victims of the repression. To these should be added those prey to hunger, illnesses, and the reduction of the birth rate. It is estimated that no fewer than half a million people died.

Another key element is the Republican exile. During the conflict, the children of the war were evacuated.

Economic

The war was an economic catastrophe. The national rent wouldn't recover until 1950. The main elements of this crisis were:

• Destruction of the textile industries, this led to a return to the land.
• Destruction of houses, communications, and infrastructures.
• Increase of foreign debt and loss of gold reserves of the Bank of Spain, used by the Republicans to pay for Soviet help.

Social

The oligarchy of landowners benefited from the recovery of the economy and society. This also brought the loss of rights for workers.

Moral

The war supposed a moral breaking in the country. Several generations were marked by the war and the following repression.

Franco's regime never looked for reconciliation and always remembered the armed origin of his government. The wounds of the war still lingered for decades, and the persecution and repression of the defeated were a characteristic of Franco's regime.