The Spanish Civil War
Publisher: Arris Books
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Moreton-in-Marsh
Language: eng
Number of pages: 128
ISBN-13: 9781844370498
First sentence: In the mid-1930s, after languishing at the margins of history for more than a century, Spain became the center of world attention.
Description: On July, 1936, Spain suddenly captures the world stage when a group of generals rebels against the legitimate Republican government. The youngest, Francisco Franco, stands out among them. It might have been just another of the many military uprisings characterizing Spanish history, but this time the rebels receive the immediate support of Hitler and Mussolini. The world takes sides: Stalin and the Communist International line up alongside the Popular Front government, which receives only lukewarm support from France and England.

What could have been a failed coup this leads to a long war, in which thousands of volunteers fight and die. The world interprets the war as a struggle between fascism, communism and democracy. But the war is first of all a civil war, in which the two faces of Spain confront each the other, the metropolitan, secular, Republican one. The terrible fighting —as in every civil war— lovers the level of civilization on both sides. For three long years, Spain offers a scene that prefigures the future horrors of World War II, before the country finally sinks into dictatorship.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 122), index, illustrations (some color) and maps.
Table of contents: label: Chapter 1
title: Spain at the center of the world
pagenum: 8; title: July 1936: A nearly-aborted coup d'Etat
pagenum: 11; title: Foreign intervetion
pagenum: 15; title: The Battle of Madrid
pagenum: 21; label: Chapter 2
title: Incubation
pagenum: 26; title: Militarism and fascism
pagenum: 27; title: Other misfortunes of democracy
pagenum: 31; title: The Republic: An opportunity beset by problems
pagenum: 33; title: 1934_ The year of the great fear
pagenum: 42; title: Toward civil war
pagenum: 45; label: Chapter 3
title: From coup d'état to revolution
pagenum: 50; title: Revolution Spreads
pagenum: 51; title: A view of Barcelona and the countryside
pagenum: 54; title: Civil war within a civil war
pagenum: 59; label: Chapter 4
title: The rise of Franco and the birth of his regime
pagenum: 66; title: From Generalísimo to Caudillo
pagenum: 68; title: The Cruzada
pagenum: 72; title: The New Reconquista
pagenum: 77; label: Chapter 5
title: The horrors of civil war
pagenum: 84; title: "Dirty work" and "cleansing"
pagenum: 85; title: State Massacres...
pagenum: 91; title: ... And popular massacres
pagenum: 95; label: Chapter 6
title: Roads to defeat and victory
pagenum: 102; title: Questions about defeat
pagenum: 103; title: The Battle of the Ebro
pagenum: 106; title: From Spanish War to World War
pagenum: 112; title: Bibliography
pagenum: 122; title: Chronology
pagenum: 123; title: Index of names
pagenum: 125