Spanish Civil War: Republican and Francoist Developments
Developments of the Two Sides
Republican Side
During the three years of war, labor organizations (UGT, CNT, FAI, POUM…) gradually moved to socio-political control. In their Marxist ideology, anything typical of the bourgeoisie and middle classes would be pursued without mercy, including the Church (except in Euskadi), its members, buildings, and prominent figures. The military army officers (including their own special forces based in assault, police, Catalan police, militias, libertarian, former prisoners, International Brigades…) also pursued Republican politicians who did not act according to Marxist ideology, farm or business owners who refused to deliver their goods to the Republic’s cause, and all those who had publicly defended the monarchy.
It was felt that the time for a social revolution led by the workers had arrived. The most significant action was the collectivization of private property, carried out independently and in dispersed locations. An example is the collectivization of all mines in Cartagena, which passed into the hands of the miners. Collectivization was a failure because the market was not understood, nor operated properly. Churches and religious schools were burned and confiscated, becoming stores, municipal offices, and union offices, saving only the images that people could hide.
The first months of the war were marked by organizational chaos. The government considered it a minor uprising until a few days later when the Legion arrived on the peninsula. With control of the Navy in Cartagena, Valencia, and Barcelona, and aviation, it was believed that the military withdrawal would be quick. In Parliament, there was a dispute over whether the priority was war or social revolution. It was agreed that military exercises would be done by politicians. Largo Caballero, a Socialist with connections abroad, became the president of the government. He allowed trade unions to control local councils and started collectives. His plan was to follow in Lenin’s footsteps in Russia.
As President of the Republic, his feat was to control international relations to gain followers, presenting the situation as a war against fascism and the extreme right, which already had some fear due to its anti-Semitism. Needing money, the state engaged in economic requisitioning of all sites and newspapers related to royalists and right-wing parties, control of banks (which were nationalized), requisition of vehicle fleets, control of food with food stamps, delivery obligations, and gold jewelry, etc. Constitutional guarantees were suspended by the Popular Front government, which declared a state of war and opened the prisons. This led to various irregularities: censorship, home searches, surveillance of suspects, arrests without warrants, and irregular popular trials.
In the autumn of 1936, Largo Caballero reorganized the army into the People’s Republic Mixed Brigades, organized by regiments. Some of these depended directly on political parties, such as the Fifth Column of 60,000 men belonging to the PCE and dependent on Stalin. They were effective, disciplined, and prioritized war over revolution. Thanks to them and the International Brigades, the capture of Madrid by the Nationalists was prevented (which would have ended the war quickly and made its development less harsh). Under the slogan “No Pasarán” and with the arrival of supplies and foreign communist and democratic volunteers, the siege of Madrid failed. However, the government fled to Valencia. The capital was then in the hands of the Communists, who carried out harsh repression, such as the mass shootings at Paracuellos and Guadarrama.
This disunity led anarchist army units, such as the Iron Column of Aragon or the ERC Durruti Column, to refuse orders from politicians in the organization of the war. In May 1937, a real war broke out in Barcelona between anarchists and communist-socialists who formed the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC). The confrontation was in the streets, and the government of the Generalitat de Compmanys (the Lliga) was unable to maintain order. Anarchists (CNT, POUM) proclaimed the Anarchist State of Catalonia and declared war on the socialists. Largo Caballero’s government fell, and Dr. Negrín (hard wing of PSOE) was appointed Chairman. He initiated the systematic control of the anarchists and appointed mostly communists to his new government, which advocated a policy of war to postpone the revolution, reorganize the army, and fight back, as the Nationalists were controlling the entire north. The government moved to Barcelona to control the situation and try to negotiate with the Nationalists.
The failure of negotiations in 1938 led to risky operations to obtain money (1938-39). It was decided to send the contents of the Museo del Prado to Switzerland by train for later sale, leaving Spain. All the gold from the Bank of Spain was also sent to Moscow from Cartagena. Another measure was negotiating the departure of political refugees. While countering in Aragon, the KGB recommended Negrín extend the war, as a European conflict loomed, which would tie up the war and potentially lead to a Republican victory. Before the war ended, Dr. Negrín and the government fled, leaving Republican Mason Martínez Barrios (Republican Union) to face the end of the war and exile. He openly confronted the Communists who refused to leave Madrid when all was lost and organized the departure of the last refugees from Alicante to North Africa and France.
Francoist Side
There was only one objective: winning the war and seizing power to establish a military dictatorship in the manner of Primo de Rivera. From the outset, the uprising was declared anti-monarchist, leading to the displacement of CEDA politicians.
Initially, General Sanjurjo was to be the chief conspirator, but he died in a plane crash. Other military figures had to obey Mola and Franco. Franco had contacts abroad, knew about the Masons (he had tried to join), and had contact with employers who advanced him money. He was also the head of the Legion. For these reasons, he was appointed Head of State and Government and Generalissimo of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Only the northern sector, led by Mola, who was killed in the siege of Bilbao, escaped Franco’s direct control.
At first, Franco found himself in an area where the majority of the population was monarchist or centrist. He dismissed their politicians but realized he had no policy to maintain the institutions. He declined to appoint military figures, as the army needed them, so he decided to rely on smaller parties from Calvo Sotelo (BN Patriotic Union) and José Antonio Primo de Rivera’s Falange, both of whom were deceased. The Falange had a fascist political ideology and many young graduates. They were given control of the social situation, which was directed from Burgos, his headquarters. He prohibited political parties and trade unions, imposed censorship, allowed movies and public performances, carnivals, and casinos, returned seized property, opened schools, churches, and universities, required travel permits to enter Spain, gave significant importance to the army and women, issued his own currency, and invalidated the Republican currency in his area.
To avoid disputes among youth during the northern campaign, Franco issued the Unification Decree to neutralize the Carlists. The Falange and the Carlist JONS (whose army was the Requetes, now the Ertzaintza) were unified into a single party called the Movement, with Franco as its sole leader. Membership in the Movement was required for official positions and ensured adherence to the regime. There was also a women’s section.
Women were not given significant power but were responsible for matters related to culture, elementary and secondary education, and social affairs, especially nursing and abandoned children.
In 1938, the Labor Law was enacted, the closest thing to a constitution, defining Spain as a non-Marxist trade unionist republic organized in a three-tier structure: the family, the municipality, and the Vertical Union. The principle of the new regime was to keep Spain “great and free” (the regime’s slogan).
The relationship with the institutional Church is a controversial topic. Having a crucifix at home was enough to be jailed, and being a priest or monk was sufficient reason to be shot or tortured, leading to support from the Catholic hierarchy and part of the population for the Movement. The bishops wrote a letter calling on Europe to acknowledge their difficult situation. The Nationalists manipulated Catholicism to present the war as a crusade against Marxist atheism, as seen in many billboards. The Vatican always refused to consider it a crusade, and relations with Franco were cautious throughout the war. When the war ended, the Vatican refused to be manipulated, and relations were broken for eleven years, despite Franco seeking approval for his regime and repression.